Shows
CircumscriptionEpisode 14: RoughPaul Schofield is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bates College. His areas of speciality are ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of film. He teaches a range of courses, including Capitalism and Its Critics; Wellbeing and the Good Life; and Human Natura, Morality & Politics. Much of his recent public-facing writing has focused on the problem of homelessness.
OTHER LINKS
--YouTube video of Rally for Housing and Services to End Homelessness
--Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women, by Elliot Liebow (1995)
--"The necessity of guaranteed housing," by Paul Schofield (2022), Blog of...
2026-01-2154 min
The ThiefA Huddle-close Yarn (Remastered)"A Huddle-close Yarn" is a wintry tide-me-over between seasons of The Thief. Originally published Winter 2024, I've remastered it to bring you all good tidings. Huddle close around the fire with the other never-wanted, the weather's dropping, and listen carefully to the yarn spun by Aebbe Half-hand about a certain never-do-well who used to sit right where you are - before she ungratefully ran off: Symphony, the eponymous thief herself.The second season of The Thief is publishing right now for patrons on patreon.com/thethief, and will be available for everyone in the spring. Credits
2025-12-2410 min
The ThiefA Huddle-close Yarn • An Interlude“A Huddle-close Yarn” is an interlude — a kind of tide-me-over — between seasons of The Thief. Listen or read the story entirely out of context: it is spoiler free, and it doesn’t require having listened to the first season. The Thief is a labor of love. Refer just one rogue and earn your way into the fyrd.A full transcript is available.CreditsWritten and produced by Michael SchofieldPerformed by Emily Morse-Lee (BlueSky, YouTube)Music by Tabletop Audio (see usage statements).The Thief is p...
2024-12-3110 min
The ThiefA Huddle-close Yarn • An InterludeA Winter Parable of a Rich Man's Comeuppance
“A Huddle-close Yarn” is an interlude — a kind of tide-me-over — between seasons of The Thief. Listen or read the story entirely out of context: it is spoiler free, and it doesn’t require having listened to the first season.
Read the transcript: https://open.substack.com/pub/thief/p/a-huddle-close-yarn-an-interlude
Credits
Written and produced by Michael SchofieldPerformed by Emily Morse-Lee (BlueSky, YouTube)Music by Tabletop Audio (see usage statements).
The Thief is produced by the fyrd: our thegns Nandi K, Amzyl...
2024-12-3010 min
The ThiefGilded, Courtly Cage • TeaserI am in the script-making part of the next season of The Thief, so there’s not much creative exhaust that makes for a neat update. Instead, how about a new teaser? Here is a letter found in Wirwen Osgard’s things.
Transcript
Credits
Written and produced by Michael SchofieldVoices in order of appearance: Micah Schroeder is Gisela, Michael Schofield is Subprior.Music by Tabletop Audio (see usage statements).
About The Thief
"The Thief" is a Dungeons and Dragons actual play, with just one player -- Si...
2024-03-0302 min
The ThiefS107 • "Thief"A house like the Merchants never sleeps for long. CreditsWritten and produced by Michael Schofield. Played by Sisi Wei. Sound design by Michael Schofield.Hector is Jeremy RomanLady Merchant is Patricia WiresNora is Patricia WiresAnna Braithwaite as Her Lady's MaidFletcher Noman as Valet 1 and Guard 1MusicMedieval Harp 2 by _Blacksmith_2 Violins Dark Ambient, Slow Minimalist Emotional Cello, Dark Documentary Piano by Orchestralis ThankyouThe Thief is made possible with the s...
2023-10-3023 min
The ThiefS106 • Night CallersSymphony's audience with Lady Merchant concludes, and she spends her first fortuitous night in Merchant's Row.CreditsWritten and produced by Michael Schofield. Played by Sisi Wei. Sound design by Michael Schofield.Cast, in order of appearance: Patricia Wires as both Lady Merchant and Nora Charles Villard as both Marley Osgard and the lovesick Godwin Anna Braithwaite as Her Lady's Maid Fletcher Noman as Doorman Isabela Duffles of the Night-calling Polewick Jeremy Roman as HectorThe licensed music you heard that I just love was Celtic Harp and respectively Medieval Harps 1 & 2...
2023-09-1119 min
The ThiefS105 • Good ImpressionsSymphony, as Asta Evansdottir, manages an audience with the belle dame Lady Merchant herself. She has only this one chance to get in through the front door.Support our story, gain early access to new unpublished audio dramas in the same world, and find a free transcript for this episode alongside its highest quality version of the audio on patreon.com/thethief.CreditsWritten and produced by Michael Schofield. Played by Sisi Wei. Sound design by Michael Schofield.Cast, in order of appearance: Patrik Derakovic-Rakas as Drypoint Kristian Byrne as...
2023-07-3115 min
The ThiefS104 • DopplegangerSymphony can’t get in with Merchant’s Row without some proof of - competency. So, she drops-in on an old friend. A transcript is published for free alongside the highest quality version of the audio on patreon.com/michaelschofield. CreditsWritten and produced by Michael Schofield. Played by Sisi Wei. Dialogue editing by Brianna Jean. Sound design by Michael Schofield.Cast, in order of appearance: Sisi Wei as Symphony Kristian Byrne as the announcer Charles Villard as Haldwen Patricia Wires as Isobel Hart Pa...
2023-03-2014 min
The ThiefS103 • The First StoneFor the first time we really see Symphony's neighborhood, Lorim's Hill, as she -- against Haldwen's warning -- starts looking under the rocks for clues about Eleanor Merchant and Lord Cagwen. A transcript is available on patreon.com/michaelschofield.CreditsWritten and produced by Michael SchofieldPlayed by Sisi WeiDialogue editing by Brianna JeanCast, in order of appearance: Kristian Byrne as the announcer Michael Schofield as the storyteller and Old Gossip Sisi Wei as Symphony Patricia Wires as Regal Gossip, Shrewed Gossip, and Isobel Hart Charles Villard...
2023-03-2018 min
The ThiefS102 • WhistledownOsment is carted away by the haldaen, but Symphony pursues, clambering through scaffolding and roof-spanning clotheslines - only for him to leave her nothing but a gossip pamphlet. Why?Content warning: this episode is tame.Credits:Written and produced by Michael SchofieldPlayed by Sisi WeiDialog Editing by Brianna JeanVoices in order of appearance: Kristian Byrne, Patrik Deraković-RakasThe music you heard was Gateway to the Fjords by Crypt of Insomnia, Mystic Desert by J Blanks, and some sad vocals by Orchestral.The Thief i...
2023-02-1914 min
The ThiefS101 • Rogue BazaarWe meet Symphony again months after paying Bafford a visit. It's time to meet an old friend in the anonymity provided by a crowd.Credits:Written and produced by Michael SchofieldPlayed by Sisi WeiVoices in order of appearance: Kristian Byrne, Patrik Deraković-Rakas, Jeremy Roman, S. Kaiya J., and Elliot SchofieldMusic by iCentury, Crypt of Insomnia, and Tabletop Audio (see usage statements).The Thief is produced by the Fyrd: our thegn Trei Brundrett, spear-throwers: Rebekah Monson, Andy Priestner, Joshua Simpson, Kevin Wilson, and Mike Atchley.You c...
2022-10-0322 min
The ThiefThe Herald • Bonus :: Rumors of CountryThe Herald is a bonus podcast. A supplement. A treat. For fun. It is the gossip from the world of The Friar and The Thief, from our play-by-email RPG of intrigue called Thegns, where members of the Fyrd hoist their colors, invoke the names of their ancestors, and cement their legacy.Credits:Written and produced by Michael SchofieldPerformed by Jeremy RomanMusic by Will Sarvino and Tabletop Audio (see usage statements).My patreon is split with the performers and players and any profit is invested in sound effects and voice actors...
2022-03-2107 min
The ThiefThe Thief • Announcement :: New Episode on Valentine's DayAnnouncing the next installment of The Thief on February 14, 2022 - Valentine's Day. Credits:Written and produced by Michael SchofieldPlayed by Sisi WeiWe couldn't come to you without the support of our Fyrd. Our thegns, Trei Brundrett, and spear throwers: Rebekah Monson, Laura Spears, Andy Priestner, Joshua Simpson, and Kevin Wilson.You can join the Fyrd for free and help me make more stories about the Aendhrin and the legacy of Caledoran at patreon.com/michaelschofield.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thefriar/messageSupport this podcast: h...
2022-02-0701 min
The ThiefThe Friar • Episode 3 :: Poor-FellowsUthric, First Spear of the Poor-Fellows, learns of the theft of the relic Waergwengleom.Credits:Written and produced by Michael SchofieldAll voices performed by Charles VillardAmbiance by Tabletop Audio.Music by Allen GreySound effects (like chairs moving) by various creators paid by your support.I can't do this without the support of the Fyrd: our thegns, Trei Brundrett, and spear-throwers: Rebekah Monson, Laura Spears, Andy Piestner, Joshua Simpson, Kevin Wilson; and our free-peoples: the voice-actor Patrik Deraković-Rakas, Kaiya, the Warlock of Many Faces and c...
2022-01-2407 minThe ThiefThe Friar • Episode 1 :: War-stirringThe beginning of an epistolary fantasy adventure told through missives and diary entries of Friar Cynwerd, spear-thrower, of the mendicant Dindæoláw. Aendhrin.Credits:Written and produced by Michael SchofieldPerformed by Charles VillardMusic, city-by-day and city-by-night ambiance by Tabletop Audio (see usage statement).You can support me, and Charles, by subscribing at thefriaradventure.com, or look for The Friar on your podcatchers. Follow along as I tweet this story @thefriarcynwerd on Twitter. You can help me make more stories about th...
2021-07-0309 min
Metric UXUX Design is Morally GrayFolks tend to disagree with me whenever I say that user experience design is morally gray: there is no inherent requirement to making user experiences people like and prefer to competing experiences that leave users — morally or ethically — better off. Ethical design is a qualifier.This is an important distinction and nuance to design work that is critical to accept if we intend to push best practice in a more deliberately ethical direction. It empowers individual designers, teams, companies, entire verticals, even disciplines to differentiate themselves by choosing to design ethically. Assuming that good user expe...
2019-12-1302 min
Stoic DesignerIt's Halloween 🦇 The Veil is ThinBack in April I introduced Venerating the Grave UX (medium), which is about regularly “ritualizing” negative feedback. The idea is that periodically you make an event out of digging-up negative user feedback and determining whether it has been or how it might be addressed. For those of you who like to feel extra spooky, I called a collection of purely negative feedback — which, real talk, could be just a filter a on spreadsheet that weeds out the positive and neutral feedback — a “Charnel House.” Venerating the Grave UX isn’t really about emerging with solutions, but about norm...
2019-10-3102 min
Stoic DesignerThe Ol' College Try is the GoalWe idolize a project that is complete in design work. We don’t organize portfolios around failed experiments, incomplete products, the good ol’ college try. Instead, our bragging rights are constrained to a spectrum of doneness, notches in a belt, that — like a belt — represent arbitrary milestones on a line that loops back on itself. Saying this stuff out loud is a little woo, but I’m trying to temper our endemic reverence for getting things done. A complete collaborative project represents, if anything, compromise. It is the way in which a team worked together to weigh user needs...
2019-10-1402 min
Stoic DesignerAdhering to design principles under pressureWhen I meet with teams I’m sometimes asked to catch folks up on the progress of various feature requests in the system. I work pretty hard to make sure these statuses are transparent, so more often than not I’m confirming what they know: I haven’t made and probably won’t address these in the near future. That sucks to hear.Often many of these requests are small design tweaks that take no time at all, but stay in the backlog by principle. Here’s a real conversation between me (MS) and a stakeholde...
2019-10-1003 min
Stoic DesignerThe adaptable willOne of the first a-ha moments many of us have who are interested in user experience design is that whole maxim that “you are not your user.” At the time it’s a profound wagging of the finger that after years rings a tad cliche if only because it’s on the tip of every UX designer’s tongue. It’s not wrong, though. In fact, we reinforce this truth adopting principles like being data driven, internalizing infinity-loop design models with quadrants dedicated to testing. Good design, we learn, is about accepting that you’re wrong, your stakeholders a...
2019-09-1902 min
Stoic DesignerKlosterman's RazorBy recommendation on twitter I’m reading But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About The Present As If It Were The Past by Chuck Klosterman who talks about our inability to predict. I think he meant it as a joke but early in the book he describes how Occam’s Razor — the principle that the simplest solution is probably the right one — doesn’t work with predicting the future, and instead suggests Klosterman’s Razor:The best hypothesis is the one that reflexively accepts its potential wrongness to begin with.Stoic design teaches us to...
2019-09-1701 min
Stoic DesignerWhat is a "Design Virtue"?We might instead call a “design virtue” a design principle, the difference being that what we’re calling virtuous are principles that we have so much faith in we treat them with more reverence than rationality. Personally, or organizationally, we have them. Lately a principle like “design accessibly” — which describes the requirement that the service or product we put out into the world ought to be usable through any medium — has sort of ascended to community reverence, so that when you and I talk it up we’re not just using the language of good strategy (think mobile-first des...
2019-09-1603 min
Stoic DesignerSystems underlie the craftReal talk, “practicing Stoicism” involves a lot of reading of the same core concepts boiled down to “get good at prioritizing what really matters” and “don’t lose your s**t.” Tim Ferris calls Stoicism his operating system; I think of it - because I’m a dork - like an honor code. What’s appealing about Stoicism, I think, is its practical application devoid of woo.It’s less common to run across letters about interconnectedness, but that’s precisely what I did this morning.Keep reminding yourself of the way things are connected, of their relatedness...
2019-09-1202 min
Stoic DesignerActionable insight overloadSometimes the stars align just so and your to-do list explodes with actionable insights that, pursued, improves your design, makes your product easier to use, adds credibility to your cause, or grows your userbase. You find that except for substituting excitement for shame your anxiety around the to-do list isn’t too different than if it were a list of bugs.A to-do list is a to-do list. You prioritize a positive one no differently. * Will not pursuing this insight kill you, your colleagues, or leave either of you destitute and in shambles? Probably not. Do...
2019-09-1102 min
Stoic DesignerDesign for the recovery experienceNote: I don’t love “recovery experience” as a term, but I’m sorely decaffeinated. Halp.We advocate this meditation-of-evils practice the Roman Stoics called praemeditatio malorum where, in planning, we imagine the worst-case scenarios and make contingencies for them. The capital-d Design process common among many of us actually has mechanisms that embody this ethic like the beta test, like QA, and so on. We do our best to shore-up our thing against failure. Inevitably, though, things break. A server goes down, an API key gets revoked, form validation fails on a legit ph...
2019-09-1002 min
Stoic DesignerDevOps in the Shadow of Hurricane DorianThere’s this satellite image of the hurricane Dorian that shook me. There are neither grids nor map-markers, no projections, no data. It is this still of a dangerously awesome-in-the-true-sense destroyer an “inch” — fifty or so miles — from the south-Florida coast. Somewhere there in the wisps of cloud that demarcate Dorian’s outer rain bands is Ft. Lauderdale - where I live.My family and I spent the labor day weekend here moving s**t inside, waiting in half-hour long lines to fill-up on gas, freezing ziplocks filled with water just in case Dorian wobbled from its projection a...
2019-09-0501 min
Stoic DesignerOn systems of work and designGetting sprint estimation right is the kind of headscratcher product management twitter fusses over on the daily, but while we can’t agree on the nitty gritty we imagine the same u/dystopia. Behind one door, deadlines* evaporate in favor of inspired predictions based on sane systems of work established organically by solid [design] principles and a light hand. Behind the other, a developer mill.Both are modular agile blooms optimized for their hosts. A symbiotic relationship of system and culture. One welcomes the operational data like an omen, looking for signs of a flood so that it...
2019-08-1301 min
Stoic DesignerA Wake for Failed DesignGrief is on my mind. A thunder of mass shootings again sobered the nation to dovetail the death of a relative this weekend, so that just about everybody I know — for one reason or another — was feeling glum. If you’re interested you can read on twitter my guesswork about how Stoics might respond to a mass shooting, but for Stoic Designer I thought I’d adapt griefthink to designs, projects, or experiments that go wrong, have had their time, and slip the cable.In agile, at the end of a sprint we perform a retrospective. When s**t goe...
2019-08-0502 min
Stoic DesignerPractice gratitudeWe all have rough days. Joyless projects - even if they’re not particularly difficult - you slog through tap your morale like it’s a tree sap. This s**t makes you less productive, reduces the quality of your craft, inspires you the next morning to sleep-in or call-in sick. Day after day, tedious design work or engineering, inane obstacles, baffling people, will turn the footing under you into quicksand.Your practice of stoicism has toughened you against wily external forces, but - honestly - it’s hard to ignore the uneven footing when the mud is lit...
2019-08-0100 min
Stoic DesignerYour designs are just fingerprints and shapesNot too long ago we were designing this kickstarter-like feature we could use to help fund specific local journalism, and circumstances being what they were our team didn’t have the bandwidth to prototype a new thing without dropping something else. So, someone outside of that small silo did it. It was just a draft, screenshots puzzled-together in a word document, not intended to be pixel perfect but to start the conversation. Still, part of me bristled. The layout wasn’t “right,” or whatever. I nitpicked. We were, however, engaged in a democratization of design I’d been...
2019-07-3102 min
Stoic DesignerYour design work is not an end unto itselfSeneca, on the brevity of life, condemns this idea of dying doing what you love - particularly when what you love is your work:How disgraceful is the lawyer whose dying breath passes while at court, at an advanced age, pleading for unknown litigants and still seeking the approval of ignorant spectators.All the dicta and principles of stoicism try to concentrate all that you spend your time on from day to day and everything that you really value into a single, dense venn diagram, so much so that should you die — which you will, me...
2019-07-3001 min
Metric UXSpark JoyIn this episode of Metric: the UX Podcast,we talk about how we deal with signal overload and notification fatigue in our design work (and in life), and our strategies for staying sane in a super neurotic discipline. Follow Metric: the UX Podcast on Twitter @metricpodcast Follow Michael on Twitter @schoeyfield Follow Tim on Twitter @uxbear Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2019-03-1833 min
Metric UXWhat UX Can Learn from Ouija Boards In this episode of Metric: the UX Podcast, we investigate what ouija boards and World War 1 teach us about design solutions, that innovation lies in not immediately thinking that the problem can be solved by an app. Follow Metric: the UX Podcast on Twitter @metricpodcast Follow Michael on Twitter @schoeyfield Follow Tim on Twitter @uxbear Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2019-03-1130 min
Metric UXQuestions UXers should ask in Job Interviews In this episode of Metric, we talk about questions UXers should ask during job interviews, and what about that interview or organization are red flags. In the gloss, look for chatter about the origins of our usernames, how to pronounce "schoeyfield" (and how that's not my last name!), and a game recommendation for Ninja Theory's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Follow Metric: the UX Podcast on Twitter @metricpodcast Follow Michael on Twitter @schoeyfield Follow Tim on Twitter @uxbear Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2019-03-0432 min
Metric UXThirsty UXersHow do you get the experience you need -- or want -- to take that next step in your career? In this episode of Metric: the User Experience Podcast, Michael Schofield and Tim Broadwater try to define how they want to evolve their career - and how one goes about getting that experience if it's not an obvious step-up from the current job. This episode has been transcribed (!). You can find the transcription at metricpodcast.com. Follow Metric: the UX Podcast on Twitter @metricpodcast Follow Michael on Twitter @schoeyfield Follow Tim on...
2019-02-1829 min
Metric UXFrench Creek FreddieWhat can regional ground hogs teach us about UX design? In this episode of Metric, we talk about designing services and products that have a demonstrable need. Hear everything you ever wanted to know about about projects that never get off, the shelf of domain-name good intentions, that there are alternatives to Punxsutawney Phil. Tim Broadwater is @uxbear on Twitter Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield on Twitter Metric is @metricpodcast on Twitter. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2019-02-1131 min
Metric UXThe Persona ZooIn this episode of Metric, we pick up where we left off in 65: Mazes and Monsters and hit the user archetypes known as whales, fish, and barnacles - the persona zoo! We start with a travelogue about visiting creepy Facebook in Menlo Park. Eventually we delve into jobs to be done and critique of personas. Follow Tim Broadwater on Twitter: @uxbear Follow Michael Schofield on Twitter: @schoeyfield Heck, follow Metric on Twitter: @metricpodcast Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2019-02-0433 min
Metric UXMazes and Monsters This episode of Metric is about tabletop game design and play testing. Enter the awkward ass world of Michael explaining to Tim his slack-based Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Hear Tim's crazy interesting foray into play testing and its cross-overs with user onboarding. In addition to the banter, we touch on: NUIs: natural user interfaces lessons learned by other industries about how games onboard users Tom Hanks in Mazes and Monsters Follow Michael Schofield on Twitter: @schoeyfield Follow Tim Broadwater on Twitter: @uxbear Support Metric on Patreon to get this and other episodes (and...
2019-02-0441 min
Metric UXFitness and Gamification (?) - and Goth LARPing How do you title this episode? Tim Broadwater and Michael Schofield expertly tangent between fitness, gamification of health, tabletop games, Follow Michael on Twitter: @schoeyfield Follow Tim on Twitter: @uxbear Support Metric on Patreon to get this and other episodes (and a lot of other stuff) early: patreon.com/michaelschofield Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2019-01-2330 min
Metric UXMeasure the Future Jason Griffey on ethically designing a service to heatmap physical spaces that respects users' privacy - on open software, to boot. Jason Griffey is a librarian, technologist, consultant, writer and speaker, an Affiliate Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University where he studies decentralization, access to information, intellectual property, and more. A transcript of this show fully marked-up with links and the like will be available at at www.metricpodcast.com. Follow Michael on Twitter: @schoeyfield Support Metric on Patreon to get this and other episodes (and a lot of ot...
2018-10-0837 min
Metric UX62: Service Design and User Experience DesignThis episode of Metric: The User Experience Design Podcast is a no-guester: a shorty, but a goodie. It's about how to talk about service design and user experience design in the same sentence - which nobody can seem to figure out how to do coherently without writing a whole article! Also, I wrote a whole article. A transcript of this show fully marked-up with links and the like is at www.metricpodcast.com. Follow Michael on Twitter: @schoeyfield Support Metric on Patreon: patreon.com/michaelschofield Get full access...
2018-04-3008 min
Metric UX61: Personal Information in the name of "User Experience" with Donna LanclosIn this episode of Metric: The User Experience Podcast, Donna Lanclos - an unaplogetic anthropologist and folklorist - talks about the ethics of gathering personal data in the name of good UX, and how that's incredibly complicated to justify. We chat about learning analytics in universities, the concept of "UX Washing", and privacy as a social justice issue. A transcript of this show fully marked-up with links and the like will be found at www.metricpodcast.com in the next couple of days. Follow Michael on Twitter: @schoeyfield Support this podcast on Patreon...
2018-03-2632 min
Metric UX60: The Worth of UX Certification to Tim BroadwaterIn this episode of Metric: The User Experience Podcast, I chat with friend-of-the-show Tim Broadwater, a UX Master Certificate recipient, about the value of User Experience Certification, or even that of a more traditional route through college. This covers everything across the diversification of UX roles, leadership and management, and -- of course -- Scream Queens. A transcript of this show fully marked-up with links and the like can be found at www.metricpodcast.com Follow Michael on Twitter: @schoeyfield Support this podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/michaelschofield ...
2018-03-0530 min
W3 RadioEyes to the futureJanuary 22, 2012 | This week on W3 Radio, our festive trio waxes poetically about the future of the web, make resolutions, and recap the headlines that defined the web over the last year. Follow @w3_radio on Twitter and on w3radio.com. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhespy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2018-01-2241 min
W3 RadioBerenstein Bears Repeal Net NeutralityDecember 27th, 2017 | In the penultimate recap of the year, the world is topsy turvy. Dave and Michael stumble upon the Apple conspiracy to raise awareness of mobile device regulation; we now know why Magic Leap was hiring astronauts; jQuery Mobile is actually in the news; we remember fondly the days of m.dot websites; and oh yeah do you remember the Magic Jack? Follow @w3_radio on Twitter and on w3radio.com. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhespy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2017-12-2735 min
W3 RadioFirefox Quantum of SolaceNovember 20th, 2017 | This week on W3 Radio, we talk about Firefox Quantum (and Rust), Visual Studio Code Live Share, new Github security updates, and the continuing mess that is Twitter verification. Follow @w3_radio on Twitter and on w3radio.com. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhespy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2017-11-2035 min
W3 RadioU.S.S. McCain Stock UINovember 6th, 2017 | This week on W3 Radio, we talk about the releases of Angular 5 and TypeScript 2.6, as well as the UI gaffe behind the collision of a Navy ship, and the most disliked languages of the web. Follow @w3_radio on Twitter and on w3radio.com. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhespy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2017-11-0926 minW3 RadioHalloween SpooktacularOctober 30th, 2017 | This week on W3 Radio, we talk about Netflix's server-side rendering, the end of Firebug, and we ask the pressing question: what if the Nazis got access to AirBnB's Terminator-level design intelligence. This episode has spooky sounds! Follow @w3_radio on Twitter and on w3radio.com. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhespy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2017-10-3140 minW3 RadioOur Childhoods are Officially DisctontinuedOctober 9th, 2017 | This week on W3 Radio, we celebrate Hacktober, talk about releases like Shopify's Draggable JS, Google Firestore, the update to AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and hilariously mourn AOL Instant Messenger. Follow @w3_radio on Twitter. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhepsy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2017-10-0920 minW3 RadioBig Web Wins and DRM Makes it into HTMLSeptember 25, 2017 Follow @w3_radio on Twitter. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhepsy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims
2017-09-2523 minW3 RadioCloudflare boots the Daily Stormer then wonders at its own mightAugust 21, 2017 Follow @w3_radio on Twitter. Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield. Dave Gillhepsy is @yodasw16 Dan Sims is @danielgsims Headlines Google Search Console has started sending out notices to sites that have not yet migrated to HTTPS. CakePHP 3.5.0 was released, and it's ten users are really excited about it. After Firefox 55, Selenium IDE will no longer work Facebook is pushing a licensing model called "BSD + patents" in all their projects, including the wildly popular React. Related Squarespace says it's removing 'a group of sites' as internet cracks down on hate...
2017-08-2210 min
Metric UXWriting for the User Experience with Rebecca Blakiston - A LibUX WebinarJoin Rebecca Blakiston -- author of books on on usability testing and writing with clarity; Library Journal mover and shaker -- as she talks shop and makes the case for content strategy, using active and authentic voice, removing unnecessary words, writing meaningful titles/headings, using parallelism, and more. Our volunteer expert Rebecca Blakiston (@blakistonr) is the team lead for Web Design & User Experience at the University of Arizona Libraries. She is the author of two books: Usability Testing: a Practical Guide for Librarians, and Writing Effectively in Print and on the Web: a Practical Guide for Lib...
2017-07-1001 min
Metric UXOn design in user stories and user experience departmentsOne more over coffee edition of Metric before a string of interviews to round-out the month of April. In this episode: What role does photoshop play in UX? Should "design" be part of a user story? What are the necessary technical abilities for doing UX? What are your thoughts on UX Departments Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2017-04-2520 min
Metric UXOver Coffee: Ugh, UX Ph.D'sThis episode of Metric is a little special: no guests, no post, just loaded questions and loaded answers. In the actual recording I was thinking about calling it "coffee break," but I over-thought this and now feel like that suggests it's a super short episode. It's not. It's regular length. So, we're going with "over coffee" -- which it was! This episode, I tackle three questions about UX Certification, a UX Ph.D who sucks at visual design, and Guerrilla Usability Testing. Enjoy. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric...
2017-04-1925 min
Metric UXAndy PriestnerAndy Priestner is a global trainer and consultant on user experience, leadership, social media, and LEGO Serious Play. He's the originator and chair of UXLibs, among many things a best-in-show UX conference, as well as the title of the book he edited with Matt Borg. In this episode, we were able to wrangle our timezones and chat about the upcoming conference, as well as Futurelib -- an open innovation program exploring the future role of academic libraries within the University of Cambridge through ethnographic studies -- and, really, what prompted Andy to resign. 4:00 - About the "t...
2017-04-0929 min
Metric UXPersonas, Jobs to be Done - oh, and LITARecently, LITA embarked on a big persona-making project in order to better align their services to the needs of their members, the results of which they just revealed. This provides a solid talking point to introduce conceptual problems with personas and introduce a potentially better-suited approach: jobs to be done. 00:43 - LITA created a bunch of personas 2:14 - What does LITA actually want? 3:39 - Personas are more noise than signal 5:37 - Personas are best as a demographic snapshot 6:05 - The User Story 7:35 - The Job Story 8:04 - Jobs to be Done 11:36 - So what jobs do LITA personas nee...
2017-03-2118 min
Metric UXThe Accessibility TreeIf you thought your grip on web accessibility couldn't get any looser, let's talk about the Accessibility Tree. This is a hostful episode Amanda and Michael. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2017-03-1528 min
Metric UXTrey Gordner and Stephen Bateman from KoiosThis week on Metric we are joined by Trey Gordner and Stephen Batemen from Koios, who are designing services that amplify the discoverability and searchability of libraries with real emphasis on the end-user experience. We chat about startup opportunities in this space, the opportunity and danger of "interface aggregation," the design of their new service Libre (www.readlibre.com), and more. These two were super fun to interview. Koios: https://koios.co Libre: https://readlibre.com Trey Gordner is @darthgordner Stephen Batemen is @IAmBateman Amanda L. Goodman is @godaisies Michael Schofield is @schoeyfield Metric is @metri...
2017-02-2723 min
Metric UXYour front end is doomedMetric alum Emily King swings by again to chat about conversational UIs and "interface aggregation" -- front ends other than yours using metadata and API to connect with your site, so that users don't actually have to visit your site directly. Please rate and share! These little gestures go a long way. You can reach out to Emily at @emilykingatcsn on Twitter, I am @schoeyfield, and Metric is @metricpodcast. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2017-02-2233 min
Metric UXLITA Persona Task ForceThis week Amanda L. Goodman (@godaisies) gives you a peek into the work of the LITA Persona Task Force, who are charged with defining and developing personas that are to be used in growing membership in the Library and Information Technology Association. We — LibUX — are producing our first ever free webinar this Thursday, February 16th, at 1 pm with Metric alum Tim Broadwater, a UI designer and certified UX developer that has worked for Fortune 500 companies, grant-based education initiatives, and higher-ed. It’s called UX Quackery, which will focus on the prevailing dishonest practices that exist in the field o...
2017-02-1307 min
Metric UXWhen Native Apps are UnethicalThis episode of Metric is very much a companion to last week’s post on consciously infusing the ethics of the organization into design decisions. There is an opportunity for institutions that are positioned — either actively or by reputation — as intellectual and moral community cores (libraries) to exert greater if not just more obvious influence on the filters through which patrons access content.Critical Librarianship in the Design of Libraries It’s been an upward battle for accessibility wresting a seat at the design table even though it’s core to the user experience. It’s now time t...
2017-01-1728 min
Metric UXThe Nintendo SwitchEven if you’re not much of a gamer, the modular design of the Nintendo Switch is super compelling. What you see in its reveal is an experience that moves not just between your living room screen and your backpack, but one that adapts to different social contexts. Its controllers — joycons — peal off, can attach to a more conventional lean-back controller, or pop-on to the sides of the screen when you leave the house, or divvied-up between friends for — you know — some roof co-op (watch the video, really). What’s more, there’s a really good likelihood that joycons...
2017-01-0937 min
Metric UXLinks Should Open in the Same Window [Redux]Hey there. Michael Schofield here - thank you so much for tuning in to another Metric - a pretty good podcast about design and the user experience. This episode is a redux! I just recently updated the most popular post I’ve ever written called “Links Should Open in the Same Window” - because they should, you savages. I’m going to read it to ya. I’m proud of it. And hey, would you mind rating us in iTunes? It’s a pretty good show. And if you think so, we could use your help...
2016-11-2111 min
Metric UXThe Election as a Design ProblemCan we talk about the voting process as a user experience problem? Our — the LibUX — approach to the user experience is that UX is a metric, a plottable, predictable, and improvable measurement of the end-user’s cumulative experience of your service. And we care because we have seen that actively investing in a good user experience has positive returns on the measurements your business or organization cares about. Is it foot traffic, is it database usage, is it income. So, if we can apply this to civic participation, where we want people to vote — that’s the numb...
2016-11-1430 min
Metric UXOn BurnoutOn this episode of Metric, a podcast about design and user experience, guests Camille Thomas, Charles Villard, and Tim Broadwater join panel-up with Michael to kvetch and commiserate about burnout - oy. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-11-0735 min
Metric UXThe CoffinettesEach Halloween I get a little nostalgic for the best Halloweens I had ever had back when I was a punk rocker. Join me -- your pal, Michael Schofield -- in this special Halloween episode where I reminisce a little bittersweetly and dig-up old recordings of my band - The Coffinettes. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-11-0121 min
Metric UXA Thorough-as-hell Intro to the Kano ModelThe Kano Model is a tool for visualizing the relationship among features in a meaningful way. It's awesome. You'll need to use your imagination a bit, but stick with it: it's -- and I totally mean this -- the most useful UX method ever. Find show notes at http://libux.co. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-10-1721 min
Metric UXLibrary Usage and TrendsIn this episode I'm joined by not one but two (!) guests. Carli Spina (@carlispina) and Emily King (@emilykingatcsn) come on the show to talk about the 2016 Library Usage and Trends Report published earlier this month by the Pew Research Center. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-09-2733 min
Metric UXCarousels Are OkayWhat's up! Let's make some enemies and defend the use of carousels on behalf of actually good user experiences - maybe. Thank you for your kind reviews! Your brief reviews wherever you listen to LibUX make it easier to discover it. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-09-1911 min
Metric UXMark Dodgson Talks about Bluespark's Awesome ProcessThe very cool Mark Dodsgon from Bluespark joins me for this week's episode! Bluespark is the team behind many a library website, including Indiana University Libraries, which I wrote about recently. I pretty much just let him talk about Bluespark's design process, which is super interesting. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-09-1423 min
Metric UXCrafting Websites with Design Triggers (Repeat)Hey, listeners! This week's episode is an oldie but a goodie. I used all my available storage on libsyn for August being so on point with this weekly show, that I can't upload anything new until the first full week of September. So, from the archives, I present to you one of my favorite topics: design triggers. A design trigger is a pattern meant to appeal to behavior and cognitive biases observed in users. Big data and the user experience boom has provided a lot of information about how people actually use the web, which designs work, and–al...
2016-08-2832 min
Metric UXLibrary Service Design with Joe Marquez In their January design trends episode, Michael and Amanda guessed that this year would begin the library service design zeitgeist wherein seven months later ALA published Library Service Design, written by Joe Marquez and Annie Downey. #CalledIt. In this episode of the podcast, Joe and Michael talk about service design, the role of the UX designer, organizational inertia and inherited ecology, blueprinting, and a lot more. Please like, subscribe, and review. We appreciate it! Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-08-2248 min
Metric UXCirculating Ideas #99 - Cecily WalkerCirculating Ideas' host Steve Thomas generously allowed us to share the audio! We were stoked to guest-host. Guest hosts Michael Schofield and Amanda L. Goodman from LibUX chat with Cecily Walker from Vancouver Public Library. Cecily Walker is a librarian at Vancouver Public Library, where she focuses on user experience, community digital projects, digital collections, and the intersection of social justice, technology, and public librarianship. It was her frustration with the way that software was designed to meet the needs of highly technical users rather than the general public that led her to user experience, but...
2016-08-1733 min
Metric UX042 - Answer to the Ultimate QuestionAs the summer winds down, Amanda and Michael reunite to get cracking on the Fall schedule of all things Team LibUX - but first they just need to catch up. Really! It's been awhile. We chat about carousels, summer redesigns, copyright, and more. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-08-0839 min
Metric UX041 - Steve Thomas Bears WitnessFresh from a Summer's hiatus, this week on LibUX we -- Amanda and Michael -- talk shop with Steve Thomas, host of the popular podcast Circulating Ideas, about the process and grind of podcasting, metrics, quality, and monetization. Michael decided it would be a great time to try a brand new system of recording, which mucks with the audio, and rounds-out the last three minutes of the podcast with hellfire, the dreaded back button, and a very gracious guest. Lord help us. We hope you have fun. Get full access to Metric by Michael S...
2016-08-0329 min
Metric UXW3R - Thursday, June 9It is Thursday, June 9th. You’re tuned in to W3 Radio (MP3), your weekly newscast about the world wide web in under ten minutes. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-06-0908 min
Metric UX040 - Tim Broadwater, UX ArchitectTim is an artist and front-end developer, presently the UX Architect at West Virginia University Libraries and several times certified by the Nielsen Norman Group. He’s written two articles for LibUX ( “Value vs. Feasibility” / “Why am I doing this to our users?” ), and he’s been super amazing to work with. I asked to pick his brain about his experience in NN/g’s certification programs and the burgeoning UX degree field – and I am left feeling pretty good about the state of library user experience design. If you like, you can download the MP3 or subscribe...
2016-06-0638 min
Metric UXW3R - Thursday, June 2Progress toward HTML5 DRM continues; whether Trust API is the end of passwords; the Internet of Things is way big; internet giants pledge to remove hate speech and promote "independent counter-narratives" #bigbrother; Chrome 51 updates; people use ad blockers to make the web cheaper; Sublime Text 3! Who knew?; push for encryption law falters; MySpace was hacked; Americans increasingly mobile-data-plan only; and some new APIs. Thanks for giving my new podcast -- W3 Radio -- a spin. You can help it find its footing by leaving a nice review, telling your friends, and subscribing. I'm Michael Schofield (@s...
2016-06-0207 min
Metric UX039 - Jean FelismeJean Felisme is an entrepreneur, speaker, WordCamp Miami organizer, and developer at the School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University. I’ve known Jean Felisme for awhile through WordCamp Miami. We see each other quite a bit at meetups and he’s a ton of fun – he’s also been pretty hardcore about evangelizing freelance. Recently he made the switch from freelance into the very special niche that is the higher-ed web, so when he was just six weeks into his new position at the School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International Universit...
2016-05-3033 min
Metric UXPromo for W3 RadioDo you need your web design news right now in ten minutes or less? Well it’s just your luck that soon I Michael Schofield am starting a new podcast W3 Radio - bite sized best-of the world wide web. You’ll soon be able to tune in to W3 Radio on your pod catcher of choice and real soon at w3radio.com. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-05-2900 min
Metric UX038 - Tim SpaldingTim Spalding (LibraryThing and TinyCat) is on this episode of the podcast in which we are critical of library software, libraries' relationships with vendors, designing and developing TinyCat, and much more. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-05-1728 min
Metric UX037 - [Terrifying] Voice User Interfaces with Jason Griffey 3:34 – There is a Revolution Ahead and it Has a Voice What if we didn’t need to learn arcane commands? What if you could use the most effective and powerful communication tool ever invented? This tool evolved over millions of years and allows you to express complex ideas in very compact and data dense ways yet can be nuanced to the width of a hair [2]. What is this tool? It is our voice.Brian Roemmele 5:16 – Hound 8:46 – We talk about the benefits of the data-crunching power behind the Amazon Echo in Amazon web services compared to Apple’s Siri. 10...
2016-05-1033 min
Metric UX036 - Penelope SingerMichael talks shop with Penelope Singer (@pushingvision) -- an awesome UI designer at a major vendor -- about cross-platform and cross-media brand, animations, material design, cats, and anticipatory design. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-04-1330 min
Metric UX035 - Lisa RabeyAmanda and I interview Lisa Rabey ( Twitter ) ( Journal ) about how the trials of the job hunt for library technologists are exacerbated by employers’ unrealistic expectations for unicorns — full-stack engineers* who work the reference desk — given that, well, libraries aren’t really sure what they need.This lack of definition is really a detriment. Her recent writing on this — “I Want to be a XXX Librarian” / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four — exposes just how goofy the job titles are, let alone their descriptions, unearthed and logged over the course of more than a hundred applications.What...
2016-03-0735 min
Metric UX034: How "UX as a Measurement" Leads to "Service Design"You might remember that in our 2016 Design Predictions episode, my number one was that we are going to see an explosion of “Service Design” in writeups, job descriptions, and the like. I hadn’t really heard about Service Design until winter 2015, but as I was editing this episode — a recut of a talk from June prior — my spiel about conceptualizing the user experience as a measurement led into a totally unintended talk about service design. This makes sense, because when we think about UX as a measurement we are thinking about holistic experiences that transcend the screen which reflect back at us...
2016-02-2920 min
Metric UX"So, exactly how goth is the user experience?" The third episode in our new question-and-answer bonus series raises more questions than anything. Meg Ecclestone stumbles into a blooper reel. We hope you enjoy.0:32 – “I worry about the state of virtual reality for libraries.”0:45 – “I always tell people that in librarianship we need to dream smaller, but you have dreamed very small, Michael. Very small indeed.”2:16 – “How goth is the state of library user experience?”3:35 – Meg and Michael go to camp.This is so Hot Topic.MEG ECCLESTONE5:05 – We are clearly off topic.7:48 – “On Friday, April 16th, Deat...
2016-02-2611 min
Metric UX"Why are library websites so hard to get right?"The second question asked in our new question-and-answer bonus series. Meg Ecclestone and Michael Schofield talk about the plight of library web design. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-02-1109 min
Metric UXA UX Shop for One with Stephen FrancoeurStephen Francoeur is among the first user experience librarians and in this episode he shares his insight about thriving as a one-person UX shop. We talk about organizational buy-in, how best to pitch and communicate UX work, as well as a super interesting tear on imposter syndrome. For show notes, articles, and more episodes, visit www.libux.co. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-02-0831 min
Metric UXWhat can libraries learn from the FANG playbook?We read "The FANG Playbook" on Stratechery by Ben Thompson, which inspires some thoughts about the opportunity for libraries to exert control over the user experience and their negotiations with vendors, because libraries supply the commodity vendors want: patrons. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-01-2517 min
Metric UX"What research techniques and tools are actually used in library UX work?"In a new question-and-answer bonus series, Meg Ecclestone and Michael mull over one user experience topic at a time. This week, "what research techniques and tools are actually used in library UX work?" Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2016-01-1814 min
Metric UX2016 Trends for Library Web DesignOur first podcast of the new year kicks off with our predictions for trends in library web design. We're stoked to see how we tally-up at the end of the year. 1. 2:19 - "Service Design" will be the new "User Experience Design"2. 4:39 - the future of WordPress is JavaScript3. 5:07 - the library app is finally dead - moreover the app in general as something distinct from the web will bottom-out its unpopularity4. 9:41 - more predictive / anticipatory services5. 12:16 - maturing API Driven Design (inspired by [Tim Broadwater](http://twitter.com/tim_broadwater))6. 15:54 - w...
2016-01-1126 min
Metric UXThe Future of WordPress is JavaScriptAmanda and Michael talk about what it means now that the architecture for making API endpoints easier was added to WordPress 4.4 alongside the announcement of Calypso, the JavaScript front-end of WordPress-dot-com websites. Also, we mull over how WordPress gives libraries more negotiating power and options in the vendor space, as well as learning jQuery before JavaScript - we like it. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-12-2128 min
Metric UXBrianna Marshall and Cameron CookBrianna Marshall and Cameron Cook talk content strategy, humor, LITA Forum, and the redesign of Research Data Services at UW-Madison. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-12-1538 min
Metric UXEbookalypseOkay, so, ebook readership is fine regardless of misread data about its doom, but as of 2015 it still has yet to pull meaningfully away from print. Amanda and Michael talk about the negative impact of poor user experience on business - except for one outlier: Amazon Kindle self-published books. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-10-2127 min
Metric UX20 QuestionsMichael was grilled by #LIS3267 about what it's like to do web design, the future of libraries, maintaining work / life balance in a highly disrupted field, and other slightly neurotic grad-student things. Here are some of the gems and Amanda's take! Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-10-0526 min
Metric UXWordPress for Libraries with Chad HaefeleChad Haefele joins Amanda and Michael to talk about his book WordPress for Libraries, usability testing using tools from Optimal Workshop, and the inglorious fate of Google Wave. Find show notes and more podcasts and articles like this at www.libux.co. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-08-3133 min
Metric UXAnticipatory DesignUpdate: fixed audio! This week Amanda and Michael muse about Anticipatory Design, and whether it is possible - and ethical - to craft a user experience so personalized through data and context that it ultimately eliminates choice. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-07-1326 min
Metric UXThe User Experience (Part Two)This is the second part to a talk given June 3, 2015, called The User Experience (here’s part one!).Show Notes and SnippetsWhat is a “heuristic evaluation”?The Truth about Carousels and Other Antipatterns by me — Michael SchofieldUX, consideration, and a CMMI-based Model by Coral Sheldon-HessWhen an organization is well and truly steeped in UX, with total awareness of and buy-in on user-centered thinking, its staff enact those principles, whether they’re facing patrons or not. In short, UX thinking makes a person considerate. Coral Sheldon-He...
2015-06-2327 min
Metric UXThe DELIGHTful EpisodeThe DELIGHTful Episode was the second we ever recorded, but otherwise lost until recently. We read Jim Shamlin's "Satisfaction, Delight, Disappointment, and Shock." We talk about inspiring delight through customer service and novelty. Other gems: we like Treehouse, jingles, book lists, WordPress, and free dessert.www.libux.co Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe
2015-06-1529 min