Bobbie Chen
@bobbiechen.com
Product, platforms, UX, and more - writing about connections at digitalseams.com
From the excellent @spavel.bsky.social:
"The LLM experiment has taught us one thing: people are willing to tolerate error, explain themselves, collaborate, trust."
"The LLM experiment has taught us one thing: people are willing to tolerate error, explain themselves, collaborate, trust."
Corporations demand perfection from workers, but AI gets unlimited slack.
LLM users have bottomless patience for inconsistent tools, and no grace left for their colleagues. What if we could flip it around?
productpicnic.beehiiv.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:35 AM
From the excellent @spavel.bsky.social:
"The LLM experiment has taught us one thing: people are willing to tolerate error, explain themselves, collaborate, trust."
"The LLM experiment has taught us one thing: people are willing to tolerate error, explain themselves, collaborate, trust."
Alternate-world person-tool etymology:
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Computers that used to be human — Digital Seams
Before Macs or mainframes, computers were people: a brief etymology of people becoming tools.
digitalseams.com
January 11, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Alternate-world person-tool etymology:
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Protractor used to be someone who made meetings drag on longer by considering new angles (some say this role still exists today)
digitalseams.com/blog/compute...
Happy new year! I'm thankful for all the little interactions with people here and looking forward to more!
January 4, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Happy new year! I'm thankful for all the little interactions with people here and looking forward to more!
There are three kinds of Bluesky alt text
December 24, 2025 at 5:15 AM
There are three kinds of Bluesky alt text
What a journey, I fear SVG now lyra.horse/blog/2025/12...
SVG Filters - Clickjacking 2.0
A novel and powerful twist on an old classic.
lyra.horse
December 5, 2025 at 1:21 AM
What a journey, I fear SVG now lyra.horse/blog/2025/12...
Reposted by Bobbie Chen
I hope this email finds you under his domination you will never be free again.
November 17, 2025 at 8:35 PM
I hope this email finds you under his domination you will never be free again.
And... they've disabled tag notifications, presumably because they can't handle the abuse: github.blog/changelog/20... what a shame
November 9, 2025 at 8:32 PM
And... they've disabled tag notifications, presumably because they can't handle the abuse: github.blog/changelog/20... what a shame
At my first IETF in Montreal! #IETF124
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
Bluesky Alt Text Stream
A view of all alt text (image descriptions) on the Bluesky Firehose
bobbiec.github.io
November 3, 2025 at 1:08 AM
At my first IETF in Montreal! #IETF124
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
@bibo7086.bsky.social , meeting you inspired me to fixup some bugs on my Bluesky alt text stream, thanks! bobbiec.github.io/bluesky-alt-...
Reposted by Bobbie Chen
generally speaking, people should be eating way more candy than they do. next time you find yourself reaching for fresh produce at the grocery store, consider a bag of candy instead
October 24, 2025 at 7:54 PM
generally speaking, people should be eating way more candy than they do. next time you find yourself reaching for fresh produce at the grocery store, consider a bag of candy instead
Me as a birdwatcher messing with the guy interviewing me:
"After a great deal of practice, many bird-watchers can identify a bird by the ‘way it looks’... They even have a name for this brute property, which they call the bird’s ‘jizz’."
"After a great deal of practice, many bird-watchers can identify a bird by the ‘way it looks’... They even have a name for this brute property, which they call the bird’s ‘jizz’."
October 18, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Me as a birdwatcher messing with the guy interviewing me:
"After a great deal of practice, many bird-watchers can identify a bird by the ‘way it looks’... They even have a name for this brute property, which they call the bird’s ‘jizz’."
"After a great deal of practice, many bird-watchers can identify a bird by the ‘way it looks’... They even have a name for this brute property, which they call the bird’s ‘jizz’."
The Student's t-test is "named" after a brewer at Guinness. It's not Henry Gosset's t-test though; he published under the Student pseudonym so that rival breweries wouldn't realize the value.
I wonder what other discoveries are bottled up in some corp right now?
I wonder what other discoveries are bottled up in some corp right now?
This is also how you can tell we’re doing technofeudalism. If there were actual competition for customers of products and services, anything that was a true accelerator or super-efficient quality maximizer would be a trade secret.
If “AI” did the thing, organizations would be bragging about the outcomes instead of jawing endlessly about the tools.
October 17, 2025 at 5:46 AM
The Student's t-test is "named" after a brewer at Guinness. It's not Henry Gosset's t-test though; he published under the Student pseudonym so that rival breweries wouldn't realize the value.
I wonder what other discoveries are bottled up in some corp right now?
I wonder what other discoveries are bottled up in some corp right now?
Visited the Eames chair exhibit at the Transamerica Pyramid recently and it was delightful to realize that so many iconic chairs were designed by the same couple. And the staff there were really knowledgeable too!
October 17, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Visited the Eames chair exhibit at the Transamerica Pyramid recently and it was delightful to realize that so many iconic chairs were designed by the same couple. And the staff there were really knowledgeable too!
In the World War II draft, 8.8% of men failed dental examinations, mostly for missing the required 12 teeth! Twelve!
web.archive.org/web/20190627...
web.archive.org/web/20190627...
Office of Medical History
web.archive.org
October 2, 2025 at 4:37 AM
In the World War II draft, 8.8% of men failed dental examinations, mostly for missing the required 12 teeth! Twelve!
web.archive.org/web/20190627...
web.archive.org/web/20190627...
"Users are much more vocal about things not being possible, than about things being hard."
Loved this post!
Loved this post!
🔥 New blog post!
Covering, among other things:
- Why making simple things easy and complex things possible is not enough
- How to maximize your UI’s signal-to-noise ratio
- Why you can’t uncover friction through user feedback
- How to prioritize user needs
lea.verou.me/blog/2025/us...
Covering, among other things:
- Why making simple things easy and complex things possible is not enough
- How to maximize your UI’s signal-to-noise ratio
- Why you can’t uncover friction through user feedback
- How to prioritize user needs
lea.verou.me/blog/2025/us...
In the economy of user effort, be a bargain, not a scam • Lea Verou
User effort is a currency. To create a product users love, design the tradeoffs of use case complexity to user effort with the same care you design your pricing scheme.
lea.verou.me
September 30, 2025 at 3:34 AM
"Users are much more vocal about things not being possible, than about things being hard."
Loved this post!
Loved this post!
An update on better alt text for Bluesky images: I was really overconfident in how easy it would be to transcribe screenshotted text.
September 22, 2025 at 1:44 AM
An update on better alt text for Bluesky images: I was really overconfident in how easy it would be to transcribe screenshotted text.
A clever phishing attack today against developers on GitHub, using GitHub issue notifications to send a legit-looking message from an official GitHub email. Another supply chain attack attempt?
![📌 GitHub x Gitcoin Developer Fund 2025
Dear community,
GitHub and Gitcoin are launching the next stage of the GitHub Developer Fund, a program on Gitcoin created to recognize and support contributors who advance open-source technologies and public goods.
Your GitHub account has been identified as eligible for this extended phase. We believe that every type of contribution — from one-time efforts to long-term involvement — shapes the future of open source.
About the program:
Funding model: Quadratic Funding, amplifying community impact through a matching pool
Total pool: $15,000,000 USDC
Selection criteria: Engagement in the ecosystem and potential for future contributions - eligibility includes both regular contributors and maintainers, not only project founders
Next step:
To complete your preliminary registration and confirm eligibility, please verify your wallet via Gitcoin Passport.
This step ensures fairness, prevents Sybil attacks, and requires no sensitive personal data. The process takes less than a minute: simply connect your wallet and sign a message.
📝 Please advance to authentication and submission here: https://grants.github.com/apply
Final participation and allocation of funds require a valid Gitcoin Passport score. Full program terms are available on our portal.
Best regards,
GitHub Developer Fund Team
In partnership with Gitcoin
This correspondence was dispatched to you as a subscribed GitHub member.
©2025 GitHub, Inc. All rights reserved.
Corporate location: 88 Colin P Kelly Jr St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA.
[Adjust notification settings] | [Privacy Policy]
---
At the end of the message, several people are tagged, which triggers a notification email from an official GitHub email](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5kr3l2clcsd2b6w6j4be77x7/bafkreia7dabtulize4n6ze677fd7hybauaqod6jjxn52sfessal4sg45pa@jpeg)
September 20, 2025 at 1:13 AM
A clever phishing attack today against developers on GitHub, using GitHub issue notifications to send a legit-looking message from an official GitHub email. Another supply chain attack attempt?
Somewhere out there, there's a talking head vertical video saying this same thing (with captions that highlight each word)
The huge information environment dividing line isn't between offline (effectively nobody is now) and online. It's between people who became accustomed to the internet when it was still predominantly text-based as opposed to people habituated to primarily consuming audio/video.
Ultimate flex: I don't think I could name five podcasts
September 18, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Somewhere out there, there's a talking head vertical video saying this same thing (with captions that highlight each word)
Shoutout @andrewhinton.bsky.social for adding to the ~20% of Bluesky images with alt text.
For everyone who wants that number to go up (myself included): consider turning on "Require alt text before posting" under Settings > Accessibility to never forget again!
For everyone who wants that number to go up (myself included): consider turning on "Require alt text before posting" under Settings > Accessibility to never forget again!
September 10, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Shoutout @andrewhinton.bsky.social for adding to the ~20% of Bluesky images with alt text.
For everyone who wants that number to go up (myself included): consider turning on "Require alt text before posting" under Settings > Accessibility to never forget again!
For everyone who wants that number to go up (myself included): consider turning on "Require alt text before posting" under Settings > Accessibility to never forget again!
Great to see you today!!
Hitting up @bobbiechen.com at Stytch for boba, rick rolling, and agentic identities discussions🧋
September 10, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Great to see you today!!
This week's blog post: an investigation of image descriptions (alt text) on Bluesky
Image descriptions on Bluesky — Digital Seams
An investigation of image descriptions (alt text) on the Bluesky social media platform.
digitalseams.com
September 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
This week's blog post: an investigation of image descriptions (alt text) on Bluesky
Lately I've been thinking about vanity milestones: little achievements that are nice to celebrate, but not something to aim for directly.
August 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Lately I've been thinking about vanity milestones: little achievements that are nice to celebrate, but not something to aim for directly.
Why does @beehiiv.com let random people sign me up for newsletters? It's a real stain on their brand.
I usually fill out the report abuse forms but I'm tired of this. Maybe I should just mark as spam and let all the Beehiiv emails go to spam.
I usually fill out the report abuse forms but I'm tired of this. Maybe I should just mark as spam and let all the Beehiiv emails go to spam.
August 13, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Why does @beehiiv.com let random people sign me up for newsletters? It's a real stain on their brand.
I usually fill out the report abuse forms but I'm tired of this. Maybe I should just mark as spam and let all the Beehiiv emails go to spam.
I usually fill out the report abuse forms but I'm tired of this. Maybe I should just mark as spam and let all the Beehiiv emails go to spam.
Reposted by Bobbie Chen
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and a dog that plays basketball
August 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and a dog that plays basketball
This is the best form of landmark photo and you can't convince me otherwise
August 9, 2025 at 2:14 AM
This is the best form of landmark photo and you can't convince me otherwise