Rob Walker June 2013 Newsletter: Printing the Internet, betraying Apple, how to get a beautiful postcard, etc.
Hey there — you look great today!
As usual I've let a while go by, but here is the latest quick update from me — concluding with the usual request to hear what's up with you.
Yahoo News news:
I'm having a lot of fun with my new gig, mentioned last time, as a columnist for Yahoo News. People keep asking whether there is an RSS feed for my column and sadly the answer remains: No. FWIW, I'm posting all my stuff to Facebook.com/Consumed, and @notrobwalker. Another Twitter option is @YahooTech, which is really well-run by Jason Gilbert, and will also get you Virginia Heffernan's columns, Jason's work, and other stuff Jason finds interesting.
I realize those answers may not suit everyone. A portion of what I'm writing plays off current events, but some should hold up just as well days or weeks after publication, so here are a few recent pieces I enjoyed and hope you might, too, if you haven't already read 'em:
Why Kenneth Goldsmith has launched an effort to print the Internet.
On Kyle McDonald's Social Roulette game, intended to give players a one-in-six chance of deleting their Facebook profile.
What is your most outdated device? Here's how some smart tech writers answered (don't miss the pic of Kevin Kelly's landline), and here's the best of what Yahoo News (and Boing Boing and Metafilter readers and even the might Kottke) had to say.
Testing "material of the future," Sugru.
Why I betrayed Apple, a brand I'd been loyal to for more years than I'd like to say.
What hunting down an old Divinyls video revealed about how music "discovery" has changed.
Meanwhile, on Design Observer:
On Jill Stoll's totally lovely mail-art project — and how you (or a friend of your choice) can get one of her collage postcards.
On Emilly Spivack's Sentimental Value, finding surprising narratives in the weeds of eBay listings.
My tribute to Ed Ruscha, The Hyperdocumented Sunset Strip.
If you read and enjoy any of this, please tell your friends, fans, and followers. Thanks — it makes a big difference.
In Other News:
I had an absolute blast teaching a mini-course on "Point of View" in connection with SVA's new Products of Design MFA program. I'll write something about this on Design Observer soon, but the students were amazing. Keep an eye on 'em. [And at the moment I'm in the middle of playing a role in a different SVA program: the DCrit Summer Intensive. More on that when it's done.]
I also had a great time talking about Significant Objects at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. Nice writeups that touch on the S.O. presentation are here and here. In other S.O. news, our book abruptly received an "Editor's Choice" notice from the Chicago Tribune a couple weeks ago. A little belated but we'll take it!
So that's my news. What is yours?
rw