It is so fascinating how much we're conditioned to revere whistleblowers and how much status we give reformed or reforming bad boys, when it's entirely possible to just *not do the morally dubious thing* anildash.com/2026/02/27/a...

This might be the most sensible thing I've read in months.

The European commissioner for human rights urges countries planning to exercise authoritarian restrictions on children's access to online connection to instead focus on creating safer online platforms that protect children's rights.

A great result for London Centric (to which you should subscribe if you don't already.) Their work gives me hope, but also makes me think of all the council meetings and court sittings that happen every week across the UK with no reporters present because local journalism has been hollowed out.

so you've probably heard about the London measles outbreak. A lot of people are talking about anti-vax misinformation, but that's not actually the problem here. The problem is austerity. 🧵

Great example of desiging in the open: default to dark mode for a context where the user is looking at dark screens (mammograms) design-history.prevention-services.nhs.uk/manage-breas...

Disgusting and reprehensible though this is, because of the "unique way political neutrality works" in the UK, it is useful for someone to say the quiet part out loud because then it becomes a real thing to be deflected, rather than a hypothetical political imaginary to be lightly conjured

I didn’t even know misconduct in public office was a crime here 💀 You’re telling me that’s been illegal this whole time??!

The laugh, the tone, the words, the look. Absolutely glorious.

Scoop: Ring's CEO told staff Search Party is not going to be just for dogs, according to a leaked email I obtained. Said it is "first for finding dogs" before suggesting it would be expanded to be used for crime: www.404media.co/leaked-email...

Any of my UCD buddies on here working outside IR35 at the mo? The agency I contract with currently is looking to expand their network. I can only intro people I have worked with previously though. Hit me up!

People talk about this stuff in terms of how much it'll suck for gaming and I hate to inform you how many MRI machines, X-Rays, all sorts of other vital machinery are just a Windows IoT Edition PC in a beige plastic box with a big magnet/accelerator/whatever attached.

Other work of the Ladybird artists. ‘Missel Thrush’, 1937 Artist: CF Tunnicliffe

Concise and compelling.

My MP (who seems decent) has asked for people's views on social media for young people, as she's received more letters about it than any other subject. I'm going to wade in with my reckons, but I'll be reading this backlog of insight first.

SDinGov returns to Edinburgh in September. Call for Sessions is open: govservicedesign.net/call-sessions Can't wait till September? Virtual SDinGov will take place online on 11th March: virtual.sdingov.net

Ignore them for weeks until the public outcry becomes so overwhelming that you're forced to order a largely toothless regulator to launch a multi-week investigation with no actual consequences while continuing to use the platform the images were posted all-over as it poisons society? Go off, king.

Last Friday I hosted After Section 28, a conference looking back at Section 28, the law that banned the promotion of homosexuality

When the subtitle is actually the headline: “In an internal memo last year, Meta said the political tumult in the United States would distract critics from the feature’s release.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

This is ace. An NHS video that explains what user research is, aimed at mammographers, to recruit more research participants to a redesigned breast screening service. A brilliant way of explaining UR to people wary of unusable IT systems forced upon them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zM9...

🔥 this is fine ☕️

This is more popular than I expected on LinkedIn, figured it would come across as a shitpost, but people are vibing with it?

WHY ARE THEY REMAKING THREADS?! It's perfection as it is, and by perfection I mean perfectly terrible and the ending still haunts my dreams and I never want to watch it again thank you very much but really stop remaking things and changing them you absolute dunderheads

I cannot give enough kudos to the We Rate Dogs account for their clear explanation of this issue and for using their *enormous* platform to educate people.

While reporting this, I had something happen that's never happened. A comms rep for one of the co's disputed my reporting and said what I was telling them was untrue because it was not in Grok, xAI's chatbot. I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI to challenge the truth.

I'm still doing some stuff about PDFs and accessibility. Looking at how to fix legacy PDFs so they work for Assistive Tech users. Genuinely tempted to just have a single paragraph: First of all, question if you actually need it to be PDF? Then just don't publish it as PDF. Seriously. Don't.

So I know a lot is going on right now, but I do want to share this: I’m excited to share the launch of the new Microsoft Inclusive Design website 💙 This project is my love letter to the community and practice that’s shaped my work for nearly a decade. inclusive.microsoft.design 1/

It's refreshing to see people discussing and prodding at matters of AI critically in their work, and not just huffing all the hype. The upshot still seems to be, 'it can be handy in very specific circumstances when you already know what you're doing' though.

This was actually one of the harder things to adapt to when moving from academic research to user research. Going from knowing a subject inside out to being a complete newbie on each new project.

It looks like I'll be going up to Manchester at the end of the month which is not usually a part of the country I am in! Would be fab to meet some more Manchester design and government folks 😊

Today is Candlemas - which is a beautiful name. A chance to celebrate 'the return of light' Artist: Roger Hall

You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs) Good tech. Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales) Bad tech.

❤️

Last day for #CampDigital early bird tickets. An amazing lineup, including: @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social @himal.bsky.social @laurayarrow.bsky.social @dasbarrett.bsky.social @lisariemers.bsky.social and of course @sharonodea.com returns with lightning talks www.nexerdigital.com/camp-digital...

Had an episode of #FixTheForms about @radiobeartime.com struggling with the Civil Service Pensions website the other day. Here’s a blog post that sums up some crucial issues and links to a couple of apologies. Pro tip: Usability testing with a few people can save you from public humiliation

Calling generous gamer nerds! A relative of mine has just set up her own game design company and wants to go to UK Games Expo 2026 to ply her trade and make contacts. She needs £500 and needs a bit more to get her over the line. If you have a spare tenner, please consider. gofund.me/67b11a53d

Great summary of an excellent thread on the new AI skills hub.

"Digital geology" is a great term. That block of marble you hit amongst otherwise fairly soft soil is a spreadsheet from 2002 that somehow powers 476 different services.

What's not surprising is that the people who think LLMs improve general productivity are the same who will contract out a site to PwC.

I've just received a marketing email from CrossCountry Rail, with the subject line "January flew by, didn't it?" and hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa

The government’s suggestion that rolling out 20 minute courses on writing “AI“ prompts, sponsored by Google, Microsoft and Amazon, is somehow comparable to the founding of the Open University (the Wilson government‘s, & Jennie Lee’s, proudest achievement), is an insult to our human intelligence.

Age gating VPNs is a truly horrible idea. Teenagers deserve some kind of private access to the internet – which might mean LGB resources, or access to contraception or abortion advice, or resources to help with parental abuse. Shutting them off puts them in greater danger. This is just bad policy.

I have a brill time here ever time I go, and the cake is always good.

Full solidarity with this Year 6 kid

System Blame Judo in action Rather than regulate a few large corporations, we blame millions of families and kids

Further important news for alternative rock fans of a certain age: SUGAR HAVE ANNOUNCED A FULL UK TOUR.

Filling in a form and being told my last name is 'invalid'. There is punctuation in my surname on my ID so when I do the checks the names will not be the same. Adds an extra layer of anxiety

Denying under 16s the chance to develop critical thinking, build community, explore how they fit in with the culture choices they make all seems sad, when we could focus on regulating platforms, prosecuting content creators, fining tech vendors. Little incentive to improve if we make it adult only

We're looking for two part-time volunteers with lived experience of ADHD: a Content Designer and Graphic Designer. Both roles are flexible (4–6 hours/week). Want to help us prototype a guidance service and build our new website and visual identity? Email: [email protected]

lmao check the replies if you wanna see some grizzled gen x nerds