This week's best things
A book recommendation engine, the future of museum experience, an extremely offline person tries TikTok, photos from 1930s Prague, non-violent communication, data visualisation from the MTA, perspectives on privacy, and some predictions for 2025.
Tell me of the book you seek but cannot name
An LLM-powered book recommending thing.
I read a lot and get most of my recommendations from friends (usually quite reliable) and Goodreads (significantly less reliable).
This seems like it is possibly/probably built on top of Goodreads data, which likely places it in the less reliable camp for now, but it's a good example of how more conversational interfaces could be useful.

Future Museum Project - Holistic Visitor Journey Model:Combining Physical, Digital, and Emotional Engagement in Museums
The first white paper from the Future Museum Project is the result of 2 years of research, "Beyond traditional roles as collectors and preservers of cultural heritage, museums need to evolve into dynamic spaces that foster empathy, sustainability, and deeper connections with diverse communities. This involves adopting new operational models, embracing technology, and reimagining their value to society."
If you've ever done any user journey mapping or service design many of the concepts and the language in the white paper will be familiar, but it's useful to see them mapped onto a 'traditional' museum visit, and backed up with research.
"Museums are expected to evolve into "places of flow, platforms for stories, and
networks whose role is to reveal the obscured connections that make up our
reality.”"
What Happened When an Extremely Offline Person Tried TikTok
The title of this one is fairly self-explanatory.
Increasingly I am disengaging from social media, it is not a space that (m)any of my immediate circle of family or friends are active in so its value in connecting over shared jokes or content is minimal to non-existent.
The formerly useful ability to keep up with news and connect with strangers over shared interests has also, for now at least, ceased to be possible in a straightforward way.
Maybe I am (like the author of this piece) just ageing out of the target demographic, but it feels that this disillusionment with social media is becoming more widespread.
"The velocity of the clips and the rawness of their emotion is breathtaking. I immediately feel old, like a grandparent encountering a smartphone for the first time. What I notice most, though, is TikTok’s lack of obvious purpose. In a 2013 blog post called “Why I’m (Still) Not Going to Join Facebook,” I described a common argument in favor of legacy social media: that it “makes it possible to maintain lightweight, high-frequency contact with a large number of people.” This is clearly not the function of TikTok, which does not revolve around following friends or posting updates about one’s life. When I first signed up, the app didn’t even require me to pick a username; it asked only for my phone number and birthday. According to Pew Research, the typical TikTok user never adds information to their account’s “bio” field. They’re happy to remain anonymous consumers of content."

The offices of the Central Social Institution of Prague with the largest vertical letter file in the world, 1937
There is something strange and slightly unreal about these photos from the offices of Czechoslovak social security administration, taken in 1937.
"The office consists of cabinets arranged from floor to ceiling tiers covering over 4,000 square feet containing over 3000 drawers 10 feet high (3 meters).
The builder designed special electric-operated elevator desks which rise, fall, and move left or right at the push of a button, to stop just before the desired drawer. The drawers also open and close electronically. Thus work which formerly taxed 400 workers is done by 20 with a minimum of effort."

Non-Violent Communication
A good, succinct post on Linkedin from Susan Eldridge outlining a more effective way of giving and receiving critical feedback.
I've found shifts to things like language can be some of the most effective ways of resetting relationship dynamics at work.
Ever vented about a colleague instead of addressing them directly? Me too. Talking about people instead of to them builds resentment, breaks trust, and limits possibilities.
A tool that can help improve the clarity and quality of conversations is Non-Violent Communication (NVC).Don't be misled by the term "violent." NVC isn't just for conflict or about "being nice." It's a tool for meaningful conversations
Subway Stories
This sits at the intersection of a few things I like; data visualisation, scrollytelling, and open access to data.
"Every year, New Yorkers take more than a billion trips on the subway. Using data from the MTA, we mapped out how riders flow between stations at every hour. Each story explores a slice of city life."

What’s next for our privacy?
A long read in MIT Technology review looking at the state of online privacy (through a US-centric lens) in 2025.
The ways in which data is gathered, sold, and used in America differs from what is allowed in the rest of the world, but given that it is American companies who deliver so much of the internet most of use it's worth being aware of the context they live in.
America still has no federal privacy law and the ecosystem of companies that buy, sell, and use customer data is burgeoning to say the least, "Right now, there just aren’t many limits on how these companies operate—nor, for that matter, clear information on how many data brokerages even exist. Industry watchers estimate there may be 4,000 to 5,000 data brokers around the world, many of which we’ve never heard of—and whose names constantly shift. In California alone, the state’s 2024 Data Broker Registry lists 527 such businesses that have voluntarily registered there, nearly 90 of which also self-reported that they collect geolocation data.
All this data is widely available for purchase by anyone who will pay. Marketers buy data to create highly targeted advertisements, and banks and insurance companies do the same to verify identity, prevent fraud, and conduct risk assessments. Law enforcement buys geolocation data to track people’s whereabouts without getting traditional search warrants. Foreign entities can also currently buy sensitive information on members of the military and other government officials. And on people-finder websites, basically anyone can pay for anyone else’s contact details and personal history. ".
But there are some moves, on a state level, to address this, "In 2025, eight new state privacy laws will take effect, making a total of 25 around the country. A number of other states—like Vermont and Massachusetts—are considering passing their own privacy bills next year, and such laws could, in theory, force national legislation".

15 predictions for 2025
From mid-December, Casey Newton shares some predictions for 2025 (not an especially cheery list), and looks at what he got right and wrong about 2024.
"Next year will bring additional and possibly monumental changes to the landscape. The return of Trump to the presidency will resurface old debates about bias in social networks, and what responsibilities platforms have to fight democratic erosion. Big tech CEOs are already showing fealty to Trump with million-dollar contributions to his inauguration, which may buy them peace but seems just as likely to alienate their employees and their customers. On the flip side, CEOs that openly oppose Trump and his cronies now risk incurring the wrath of the entire federal government. "

This week's consumption
I've been listening to a lot of Shearwater (especially their 2012 album, Animal Joy, which is great).
I'm most of the way through Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan which is very very good.
We started watching Say Nothing on Disney+ which is as bleak as you'd expect a TV series about civil war, bombings, extra-judicial executions, torture, and force-feedings to be.