Falcon Heavy Double Landing
Hello All
This week we look at several great articles. First the physics on the Falcon Heavy Double Booster Landing. What a feat! Next we look at several posts on UX, Image Compression, DPI, and Reader Engagement. No matter what your site may display, engaging users is always important.
Next we look at why some sites like the Atlantic are killing their commenting system, what some early ex-employees of Google and Facebook are doing to combat the machines they help create, and the effects of what single sources of information have upon other media outlets like FunnyorDie.com.
Lastly we look at two good pieces on BitCoin and why the U.S. Government fears it as well as the increase of market volatility.
Have a great weekend.
M
The Physics Of SpaceX’s Wicked Double Booster Landing
“There are a bunch of cool physics things you can do with a video like this. For me, I’m going to answer two questions. First, how far away was this camera from the boosters when they turned on the engines? Second, what kind of acceleration did the boosters have while slowing down?”
https://www.wired.com/story/the-physics-of-spacex-falcon-heavy-wicked-double-booster-landing/
Infinite Scrolling, Pagination Or “Load More” Buttons? Usability Findings In eCommerce
“Pagination is still the most popular way to load new items on a website because it ships by default in almost every single e-commerce platform. However, our usability test sessions found “Load more” buttons combined with lazy-loading to be a superior implementation, resulting in a more seamless user experience. We found that infinite scrolling can be downright harmful to usability — in particular, for search results and on mobile.”
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/03/pagination-infinite-scrolling-load-more-buttons/
Compression Plugin Review: Smush Pro Vs. Kraken Vs. EWWW
“For years now, WP Smush has been the most popular free image compression plugin for WordPress with more than 200,000 active installs.”
https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/smush-kraken-ewww/
What DPI Do Web Images Need To Be?
“spoiler alert: it doesn’t matter”
https://daraskolnick.com/image-dpi-web/
The Ultimate Guide To Increasing Reader Engagement
“Recently, we published a series to increasing reader engagement for publishers. Over the course of six chapters, we walked you step-by-step through proven tactics for sparking reader engagement. This journey started with listening to your readers as the foundation for building a strong relationship with your audience. We learned strategies for leveraging comments to craft more engaging content, developed ideas for hosting events to foster a sense of community, and identified common barriers to increased engagement and how to overcome them.”
https://blog.disqus.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-increasing-reader-engagement-free-ebook
The Atlantic Is Killing Its Comments In Favor Of A New Letters Section To Showcase Reader Feedback
“Design-wise, comments are treated as an afterthought. We wanted to find a way to elevate the best ideas from our readers.”
http://www.niemanlab.org/2018/02/the-atlantic-is-killing-its-comments-in-favor-of-a-new-letters-section-to-showcase-reader-feedback/
Early Facebook And Google Employees Form Coalition to Fight What They Built
“The campaign, titled The Truth About Tech, will be funded with $7 million from Common Sense and capital raised by the Center for Humane Technology. Common Sense also has $50 million in donated media and airtime from partners including Comcast and DirecTV. It will be aimed at educating students, parents and teachers about the dangers of technology, including the depression that can come from heavy use of social media.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/04/technology/early-facebook-google-employees-fight-tech.html
How Facebook Is Killing Comedy
“Last month, in its second round of layoffs in as many years, comedy hub Funny or Die reportedly eliminated its entire editorial team following a trend of comedy websites scaling back, shutting down, or restructuring their business model away from original online content.”
http://splitsider.com/2018/02/how-facebook-is-killing-comedy/
Why The I.R.S. Fears Bitcoin
“The extraordinary rise in the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has led many people to worry that this market is a giant bubble. Many, including the Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen and the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, have warned about a “Bitcoin bust” that could rival the dot-com crash of 2000 and wipe out speculators. But the bigger concern about cryptocurrencies may be the damage they could do, in the long run, to government finances through lost tax revenue. The core technology underlying cryptocurrencies, known as blockchain, is premised on anonymity: Transactions are public but linked only to an electronic address. This is a big part of what makes blockchain attractive.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/opinion/irs-bitcoin-fear.html
Stocks Plunge as Market Enters ‘Correction’ Territory
“The past week has offered a vivid illustration of how, in a market dominated by fast-moving, computerized trading strategies, things can go from good to bad in the blink of an eye. Last Thursday, markets were on an epic winning streak. But a bad day last Friday was followed by more selling, which begot more and more selling.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/business/stock-market-activity.html
