Where productivity meets design. How far can we push it?
I've also created a free template pack for Notion to create your own personal site. If you give it a shot please share the link with me - I want to feature a few in next months newsletter.
Lastly, if you're looking for some inspiration I have curated a list of over 60 personal websites from makers across the web. Enjoy!
Articles
Firstly, if your interesting in UX then check growth.design out and their case studies - so much fun. It's basically growth & UX case studies in a comic book format. Their latest critic on TikTok highlights some fascinating UX engagement hacks.
And while we are on the TikTok topic - check out Eugene Wei's colossal in-depth post about the inner working of the TikTok algorithm. In short, it's not as clever as we thought - An “algorithm-friendly” design has a large part to play in it's stickiness as a social platform.
Prefer the distilled audio version? check out the a16z podcast episode.
Links 📓
Can't stop looking at your phone? You're not alone. The obsessive appeal of social networking isn't a bug — it's a feature. I haven't watched a documentary like this since Food Inc - seriously interesting yet terrifying. Also, check out FB's published rebuttal to the doc's claims.
Products 📱
Discover TestFlight public links and join the latest betas for popular and up-and-coming iOS apps.
P.S I got access to Airport and it's awesome! Super slick app with higher quality TestFlight apps to play with.
It's another MSCHF drop alert 🚨
I have not idea what this product is but i'm super intrigued. I did some digging and they raised a recent $30m seed round with a seriously impressive founder roster. If you have an idea what they are creating let me know! This looks BIG!
With the recent Apple iOS14 release people have been seriously geeking out and building new custom home screens. I've been sucked in myself and gave it a shot. Turns out that Shortcuts app which no one ever seems to use is actually useful now. You can use the Shortcuts app to hack your homescreen icons and app names. You can also add custom third party widgets too with apps like WidgetSmith.
Check out the YouTube video below by Marques Brownlee which walks you through the process.
Tweet of the month
This tweet from Sheel sparked a facinting thread discussing how well known entrepreneurs, athletes, musicians etc actually made the majority of their wealth from other businesses they are less known for.
I'll leave you with this image - it's the founding team from PayPal (AKA Paypal Mafia) who have gone on to create a dozens of billion dollar companies, including LinkedIn, YouTube, Yelp, SpaceX, Tesla, Yammer, etc..
Can you tell who is who?
That's it for this month!
If you made it this far, hit reply and tell me what you thought think of this newsletter. What did you love? what didn't you like so much?
If you know anyone who would like this newsletter please share it!
Until next month,
Sam | @thisdickie 👨💻