Parker Ehret

TAKE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA! #golf #nike #tigerwoods at Tehama...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:42:20 -0700

TAKE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA! #golf #nike #tigerwoods at Tehama Golfclub – Watch on Path.

an open letter to path

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:08:00 -0700

dave morin, you’re smarter than this.

as any of my friends would tell you, i overshare on path… to a fault. i overshare because i’m in love with path. i love everything about it.

the latest release, version 3.0, you added messaging and stickers. REALLY?! this is what you’ve been wasting your time with???

every release to this point had been pretty innovative… searching past moments; the ability to share movies, books, and songs; the nike+ integration; the beautiful UI that redefined mobile app navigation.

now, you’re officially going in the direction that you set out to go against.

if you set out to be a private network for only your closest friends and family, why isn’t path getting more granular? path should be the app i use to share the things that i only want a select few to know about.

path does some really special things. there’s nothing better than “getting cheers” in my head phones while i’m out for a run.

i should be able to share anything as i’m doing it, so my closest friends and family feel like they’re enjoying it with me. tv shows. youtube, vimeo, netflix and vdio videos. songs on spotify, rdio and pandora. sharing movie, concert or sporting event tickets. a “Parker just bought tickets to this”, or a “Parker is doing this right now” feature, with a “Join In” button. path should have geo-fences that alert me when my closest friends and family are nearby. if it’s truly a private network for those closest to me, i shouldn’t care if they know that i’m close or what i’m doing. in fact, i should be able to share where i’m going, and have an easy way for each of us to be alerted if we’ve made plans that are in proximity of each other. it should be about sharing our lives with those closest to us, even when we’re apart.

it’s not about stickers and text messaging.

the more granular path gets, the more it will be forced to stay the most private of networks. but, the more it goes in the direction it’s going, the less of a reason i have to use it.

oh, and drop the friend limit from 150 back down to 50. you’re doing path a disservice with that too.

a fun little video I shot with my crazy talented friend, Bradley...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:30:11 -0700

a fun little video I shot with my crazy talented friend, Bradley Hasemeyer, and a Mercedes AMG wagon.

new self portrait. i got bored with the old one.

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:23:16 -0700

new self portrait. i got bored with the old one.

fantastic video on the future of interaction design and user...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 07:38:33 -0700

fantastic video on the future of interaction design and user experience.

facebook graph search

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:22:00 -0700

whenever a new concept, new app, or new feature is released that includes some new search function, I always try to do the same thing… I try to break it.

I don’t think I was the only person that was confused about facebook holding a media event to announce graph search. I didn’t get it.

as soon as graph search was enabled on my facebook account, I could wait to have another reason to hate facebook. then, it all I blew up in my face…

I couldn’t break it.

in fact, I immediately began to rely on it. within minutes, i realized that graph search is probably one of the most powerful search and discovery engines available today.

let me give an example:

“Thai restaurants in Los Angeles, CA that are liked by people from Thailand who live in Los Angeles, CA”

there is a fairly specific string of words needed to return the exact results that you’re looking for, but results are the most specific and most accurate that I’ve seen.

last year, I went to Austin, TX for SXSW and found a great coffee shop called Houndstooth. this year I had to go to San Antonio, TX for a weeding. I love coffee. as soon as I landed, I opened up graph search:

“Coffee Shops in San Antonio, TX that are liked by people who also like Houndstooth Coffee in Austin, TX”

sure enough, I got a short list of great coffee shops in San Antonio.

if you already have graph search enabled on your facebook account, here are a few thought-starters that will help you take advantage of the power of graph search…

“Mexican Restaurants in Los Angeles, CA that my friends like”

Coffee Shops in Santa Monica, CA that are liked by people who also like Intelligentsia Coffee”

“Single girls who are friends with my friends”

…you’re welcome.

and, my personal favorite:

“Bars and Nightclubs in Los Angeles, CA that are liked by single girls that went to University of Southern California”

have fun.

tonight, a guy named colby burnett was on jeopardy. i...

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 23:12:00 -0800

tonight, a guy named colby burnett was on jeopardy. i don’t know who he is, but he is damn entertaining… and then i entertained myself by making this video.

"In the old days, you became an adult when suddenly your life went from learning to doing the same..."

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:08:00 -0800

“In the old days, you became an adult when suddenly your life went from learning to doing the same thing for the rest of your life, but today you can’t afford to do that.”

- Joi Ito

I have never agreed with anything more, in my entire life.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:28:00 -0800

I have never agreed with anything more, in my entire life.

over a year ago i posted an infographic showing where i’ve...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:41:00 -0800

over a year ago i posted an infographic showing where i’ve spent time in the united states. i recently did some travelling, so i decided to update the infographic.

ux best practice: tablet scrolling

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 14:21:38 -0700

as a designer, i’ve always valued symmetry and balance. however, i came across the tesla model x site on my ipad and it made me rethink some tablet best practices.

when i first got to the page i immediately noticed the ugly gutter on the right hand side of the page. i assumed it was a development oversight and the site hadn’t been optimized for a tablet device. but as i scrolled down the page, i realized this gutter had a purpose. a few of the modules on the page were interactive, and as i interacted with the modules, my touch inputs affected the interaction of the module, not the scrolling of the page.

tesla had designed a scroll gutter!

in hindsight, it seems like a no-brainer. but, this is one of the first sites that i’ve come across that has some really smooth touch interactions, coupled with a scrolling solution.

as i design for more interactive sites, i’m definitely going to start using this obvious solution as a ux best practice for tablet devices.

perfection.

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:10:09 -0700

perfection.

from bridge to bridge at Gazebo on the Water – View on Path.

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:56:37 -0700

from bridge to bridge at Gazebo on the Water – View on Path.

I’m not really a fan of these kinds of shows, but this just blew...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 01:09:00 -0700

I’m not really a fan of these kinds of shows, but this just blew my mind. I’m gonna start watching this show just to see this girl perform again. wow.

videos are not photos

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:30:00 -0700

videos are not photos.

i’m beginning to think that i’m in the minority of people who understand this concept.

photos are easily consumed. they don’t require attention. they can be enjoyed anywhere, at anytime, without being disruptive. they can convey everything that they need to communicate within a single glance.

videos are not photos.

more and more i’m coming across video apps and video sites, video sharing and video streaming, video with filters, video, video, video. yes, videos are the natural evolution from photos, the imminent successor, but they serve two completely different purposes. everyone is having trouble understanding why instagram got 100 million users in 2 years, yet similar services for video are relatively unknown. no one likes airtime, viddy never went anywhere, facetime and google hangouts require too much attention to be used regularly, and videos are usually passed over when coupled with a stream of photos.

videos are not photos.

photos provide an insight. a different perspective on the day, a captured moment, a quick snapshot of another part of the world.

videos are a storytelling device. they demand engagement. they require a specific environment. they allow you to transport yourself somewhere else and immerse yourself in that place for a short period of time.

stop treating videos like photos. stop trying to give these two very different mediums comparable functions. try to understand the beautiful purpose that videos serve, and cater to that purpose.

"One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful."

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:20:00 -0700

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.”

- Sigmund Freud

mix tape: september 2012

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:02:00 -0700

what i’m currently listening to:

1. the lumineers - slow it down
2. daughter - the woods
3. james vincent mcmorrow - we don’t eat
4. kiersten holine - nomad
5. john mayer - something like olivia
6. charlene soraia - rowing
7. agnes obel - riverside
8. of monsters and men - dirty paws
9. the xx - angels

the re-invention of email [UPDATED]

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:12:00 -0700

for the past few months, i’ve been complaining about email a lot.

people don’t respect email.

it’s used for communication, tasks and assignments, updates, news, sharing, etc.

it’s been around for 20+ years and hasn’t changed. every inbox looks the same and there’s nothing that categorizes email based on their different use cases.

i’ve been throwing around ideas of tagging systems that would allow a user to assign a task to someone that’s cc’d on an email. it would include the ability to highlight text and give it a specific attribute. then, once those things were categorized, those snippets would be organized into different action areas. once the email was sent, it would remain in the recipient’s archive, but the action items that were intended for the recipient would be placed placed in their correlating sections of a mail app.

things tagged “task” and “parker” would then show up in my “tasks” area. things tagged “update” would then show up in an “updates” area and be threaded. things tagged “sharing” would then show up in a “shared” area and could be used as “read later”.

then, no need to respond to every email, just mark it completed, and just as it is no longer an action item for the recipient, the sender would be notified of the status.

as i’ve been throwing these ideas around, i’ve come across a few people who have recognized the same problems, and i couldn’t be happier that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

why am i writing this?

there are some huge issues with email, and it needs to change. there are people working hard to fix these issues. if we’re all aware of the problem, it will be easier to adopt a solution.

dotmailapp

mailboxapp

fluent

UPDATE: looks like AOL is getting in on the action, as well…

alto

what is internet? and what does “@” mean? …i...

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:59:37 -0700

what is internet? and what does “@” mean?

…i guess things have changed a little in the last 18 years.

john cleese on creativity… extremely insightful and...

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 09:33:08 -0700

john cleese on creativity… extremely insightful and incredibly accurate.