Catalyst

Excelsior: In this episode of Track Changes, Paul and Rich discuss the new Apple-Google contact tracing app aimed at tracking the spread of COVID. We explain what contact tracing is and how the app works. We chat about the potential difficulties of onboarding these types of apps and whether the app will be able to help the most vulnerable. We also discuss how we can best combine technology with good old fashioned testing.  Links:  Dyson  Andrew Cuomo  Video, B-Roll, Audio, & Rush Transcript - Governor Cuomo Returns Ventilators  Apple  Google  What is contact tracing? - The Verge  Papa Johns  Steve Jobs  Eric Schmidt  Zoom  Amazon  Facebook Google Home  Amazon Alexa Nest  Wemo  Motorola  CNN  Clay Shirky - Twitter  CVS  Walgreens Trump tweets prompt speculation he could fire Fausi - The Guardian  WhatsAppSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Priorities as a leader: On this week’s episode of Track Changes, Paul and Rich sit down to discuss how the pandemic is impacting business and mental health. Priorities are changing, so what comes first? In juggling health, family, and work, it’s important to give employees space and empathy. But work can be a welcome distraction from the news and rising COVID-19 numbers. Links:  Yeti Nano  Screen Time Linux Windows 8  Windows 10  HP Pavilion Candy Crush  Chrome  Zoom Remember Jade Helm 15, the controversial military exercise? It’s over - The Washington Post See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Grind: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich chat with Postlight’s Head of Engineering Jeremy Mack about all things video games. Jeremy teaches us about current video game trends. We learn about loot boxes, battle passes, pay-to-win games and the controversy surrounding these types of monetization. We also get some great indie game recommendations and chat about the future of gaming. Warning for anyone playing the game Journey, this episode contains some spoilers.  Links:  PlayStation 4 Jeremy Mack - Twitter  Atari  Nintendo  Ultima Online  World Of Warcraft  Super Mario Brothers  Civilization  Age of Empire SimCity PlayStation 4 Pro  FIFA  EA Activision  Ubisoft  Call of Duty  NBA Playgrounds 2  NBA Jam  Stardew Valley  Harvest Moon  Dead Cells  Steam  Nintendo Switch  Journey  Wii U  Twitch Black Desert Online  Fortnite  Half-Life: Alyx  Half-Life 2  Oculus QuestSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Specify like a caveman: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich are joined by Gina Trapani, a managing partner at Postlight, to talk about statements of work (SOWs). We chat about Postlight’s unique SOW process. We talk about why we base our approach on trust and relationships rather than just time and money. We also talk about managing risk, what to do when someone oversteps their original demands and Paul gives some tips on how to make the SOW writing process easier. Hint: write like a caveman.  Links:  Gina Trapani  React Native  Org Mode  Google Analytics Facebook Twitter Github  LinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Craft and Quality: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich chat with Vice President of Partnerships and Community at InVision, Mike Davidson. We chat about everything from tomato seeds, to shower heads to how to lead a remote team and the ups and downs of remote work. Mike shows us that the one thing these all have in common is they can help simplify your life to help you dig deeper into the things you love.  Links:  Typescript  Sketch  Figma  Mike Davidson InVision  Twitter  NBC News  Newsvine  ESPN Clark Valberg - InVision  Whole Foods Slate Magazine  This Is the Perfect Tomato - Slate  Klee Lab Research - University of Florida  Kohler FlipSide Showerhead  Wirecutter  Dribbble  SimpleBits  Educated by Tara Westover  Duane Reade  Screen Time  Cold Turkey App  Slack  Mac MultiFinder OmmWriter  Roberta’s Pizza Dough - New York Times  Li Ziqi - Youtube  BKLYN Larder  Mike Davidson Twitter  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Work from home: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich chat with Postlight’s head of engineering Jeremy Mack about ways to improve your remote work setup. From basic tips like getting dressed in the morning and using wired headphones to tips on how to navigate remote meetings, Jeremy shares the best practices he’s developed after 6 years of working remotely. He also gives us some examples of non-verbal cues to show others that you’re busy and ways to unwind after a day working from home.  Links:  Jeremy Mack - Twitter  IFTTT Google Apps  Shush Google Meet  Zoom  AirPods  Rust Programming Language Apple TV Screensavers  Slow TV - Bustle  What You Need to Know About Treadmill Desks - Forbes   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big thoughts: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich sit down to discuss how branding impacts product design. We chat about how branding is critical when designing products, and how helpful it is when the brand comes first. Of course, that’s not always the case. We talk about the challenges of developing brand and product simultaneously and ways to deal with the complexities that come with this type of agile development.  Nike  Craftsman  Ford F-150   Michael Bierut  Jessica Helfand - Twitter  A Conversation with Michael Bierut and Jessica Helfand, Part 1  A Conversation with Michael Bierut and Jessica Helfand, Part 2  Pentagram  Wordpress  National Geographic  Vogue  Economist  Adam Smith  IRS Asana  Monday.com Basecamp  Infospace  Salesforce  Peppa Pig  Do the Brand First - Paul Ford  Careers at Postlight  PostlightSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s no secret knowledge: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich are joined by Postlight managing partner Gina Trapani to do a follow up on our previous episode about intranets. Gina explains why she was annoyed that we didn't know we had an intranet. From there we discuss why management and employees often need different tools and talk about what makes a good leader. Protip: a good leader is someone who knows how to limit stress, not spread it.   Links:  Gina Trapani  The Private Network: Paul and Rich on Intranets  Basecamp  Slack  Google Drive  Clockwise  Paper  Away  Warby Parker  Emotional Baggage - The Verge  The Verge  Gawker  Lifehacker  Postlight - Twitter See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Campaign Design: On this week’s episode of Track Changes Paul and Rich chat with political reporter Hunter Schwarz about political design trends. He breaks down the forms of visual design he’s seeing in political campaigns today and gives us an overview of the evolution of political design. He also tells us about how the Obama campaign in 2008 changed political visual branding and about the rise of grassroots political design.   Links:  Tiny Month  Tiffany’s  Harry Winston  Mike Bloomberg  Hunter Schwarz - Twitter  CNN  Washington Post  Yello  Joe Biden  Tom Steyer Why Tom Steyer Wears a Tartan Tie  The rise of the single-letter political logo - Washington Post  Pete Buttigieg  Shepard Fairey Obama “Hope” Poster    Bloomberg spent millions of dollars on 2020 campaign ads - CNN  Facebook Ad library  Google Transparency Report  Beto O'Rourke Twitter  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Twitter  Stacey Abrams Twitter  Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Warren Merchandise  The Strokes Bring the Bernie Sanders Revolution to New Hampshire - Rolling Stone  25-foot inflatable balloon of Warrens dog Bailey makes campaign appearance - The Hill  Robyn Grace Kanner  Amy Klobuchar  Bernie Sanders See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

People want to be heard: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich bring on their design team to talk about The Design Elephants -- Poslight’s quarterly event dedicated to tackling difficult issues within design. From there we go onto discuss one of the main ways agencies find their clients, the RFP. Paul and Rich share their thoughts on the process as a whole and how they prefer a more genuine and empathetic approach to sales.  Links Eventbrite - The Design Elephants Aimée Reed - website Nora Vanni - website Nora Vanni - Twitter PendoSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.