Max Wendkos
@maxwendkos
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Design Director at @Instagram . I use behavioral science to help companies create successful teams, systems, products, and businesses.
New York City
Joined June 2009
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THE LOYAL PIN WORSHIP
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アフター
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An SEO expert walks into a bar, bars, pub, tavern, public house, Irish pub, drinks, beer, alcohol
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Figma was eating Adobe's lunch.
The only way Adobe could stop Figma was by offering a purchase price so high that Figma's founders and board couldn't say no.
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Hey PMs, please stop referring to the designers and engineers on your team as "my designer" and "my engineers." You don't own them. They're your partners.
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How does the CEO of Shopify make clear to everyone working at the company that they should sweat the details? He tweets this.
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If designers cared about generating business value as much as they care about dark mode, I'm pretty sure design would always have a seat at the table.
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Seems like FigJam should be a type of page within standard Figma files as opposed to a completely separate type of document.
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Today was my first day as a Director of Product Design at
@Instagram
, where I'll be supporting the talented teams working on Reels, Feed Sharing and Live 🙌
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The haptics that accompany these animations in Robinhood are so damn inspiring. Any product person who hasn't experienced this should take a moment to check it out.
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Ten days ago, my dad died unexpectedly.
I've been stuck in a state of shock and disbelief since it happened. He was only 72. He was supposed to be around for a lot longer.
It's really difficult to accept that I'm never going to see or talk to him again.
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Visual design matters because it shapes perception and evokes emotion.
Perception and emotion drive behavior.
Behavior drives the business.
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Design leader interview tip:
Nothing impresses non-designers more than casually mentioning "design thinking" and showing them a photo of a wall covered in different colored sticky notes.
It doesn't even have to be your photo. Here, use this one.
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If you're a product designer and would be interested in joining Meta (including Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Reality Labs, Gen AI, etc.), here's your chance 👇
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"Data-driven" is that thing where a bunch of otherwise-smart people turn off their brains and—without acknowledging the limitations of quantitative data—let numbers overrule their judgment.
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When a product team's goal is to ensure that engineers are always building *something*, designers slow their team down.
When a product team's goal is to ensure that engineers are building the *right* thing, designers make their team go faster.
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We're embarking on an exciting design transformation at
@slice
and, to show how serious we are about this, moving forward we'll be equipping all of our in-office product designers with Apple's Pro Display XDR.
(Yes, we're hiring.)
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I'm hiring at
@Instagram
and am on the lookout for a designer who meets the following criteria:
• 10+ years of experience
• Very strong at product thinking, craft, and prototyping
• Based in NYC or SF (or open to relocation)
If this is you or you know someone, drop me a DM.
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻-𝗹𝗲𝗱:
“Design, in some ways, is fragile. Because companies are organized around the scientific method and the creative process is something that requires nerve. And over the years, I started losing my nerve. I brought
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I know a lot of people are scared that this will lead to changes to Figma that detract from its greatness, but keep in mind that we don't *know* that.
And even if you don't understand the decision, Figma definitely shouldn't be faulted for selling at this price.
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@PETROS_USA
@brianportnoy
I've seen a lot of silly takes on Twitter over the years, but your assertion that a 16-year-old kid should have used her leverage to renegotiate a babysitting rate with two adults that caught her off guard by "changing the scope of work" is definitely among silliest.
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This is spot on.
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Open offer to all product designers ⬇️
Let's set up 30 minutes to chat about what we're up to at
@slice
. My bet is that you'll be intrigued by what you learn and want to consider one of our open roles.
If I'm wrong, I'll send you a free pizza for your time. My treat.
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Common misconception about
@Slice
: "This can't possibly be a big business."
Let me let ya'll in on a secret.
🦄 Valued over $1B
🌎 1,000 employees in 5 offices (and remote) across 3 countries
🍕🚀 Growing faster than you can imagine
...and we're just getting started.
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If you think number of clicks is a measure of good design, you may not know as much about design as you believe you do. 🙂
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If you're a junior designer and you're not working alongside great designers, the most impactful thing you can do for your career is seek out great designers, convince them that you're worth their time, and get them to rip apart your work.
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Any designers out there interested in picking up some freelance projects on the side? I know a couple early-stage companies looking for help.
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𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀:
“The designers are equal to the product managers. Actually, we got rid of the classic product management function. Apple didn’t have it either. We combined product management with product marketing and we said that you can’t develop
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I also know of a few things in the works at Figma right now that are going to make designers verrry happy when they're released. It won't be long before today's detractors are once again singing Figma's praises.
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@anothercohen
I went to Penn State and half the time people think I went to Penn, so make it 11.
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The best part of being a designer is that you can wear black t-shirts every single day and nobody will think twice about it.
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Flight attendant: Is there a doctor on this flight?
Dad: *nudging me* that should've been you
Me: Well if the flight attendant had started with a problem instead of a solution, I might have been able to help out...
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To those proclaiming that Adobe will ruin Figma:
a) While not perfect, Adobe has a solid track record of improving products post-acquisition.
b) Adobe named
@scottbelsky
CPO in 2017. He's one of the best product leaders out there and anything that happened before him is moot.
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𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗻:
“I had forgotten about the magic of the design renaissance that Steve Jobs had [at Apple]. And [Jony Ive and Hiroki Asai] described this company to me and the way of running a company with design at the center. It was a
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𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗯𝗻𝗯:
“We [decided] to focus, number one, on shipping things that you’re proud of. If you don’t want to put your name on it, you don’t ship it.” —
@bchesky
“The artist in you should first and foremost make something
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𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗯𝗻𝗯’𝘀 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀:
“I asked every leader ‘Show me your roadmap.’ They couldn’t even figure out their roadmaps because everyone had a sub-roadmap on sub-teams, and those teams had roadmaps. And so I said ‘There’s a simple
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Every once in a while, you meet a young designer and immediately recognize that, despite their age, they're already a superstar.
Elvin is one of those designers. Congrats, bud! 🎉
Excited to share that I will be joining Google Chrome as an interaction designer in 2020! Thanks to everyone who's helped me along the way, and especially
@alexainslie
for the trust in me! 🙌
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@shreyas
In my experience, PMs tend to be evaluated based on their team's ability to hit aggressive timelines and drive short-term metrics vs. the quality of execution and whether the team is doing what's in the business' best long-term interest.
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@johnhfio
Such a law would significantly exacerbate shelter overpopulation and necessitate euthenasia of millions of dogs who could've otherwise had a great home.
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲:
“Lawyers never have to justify their job. A CFO doesn’t have to justify why you need a CFO. There’s very few functions where people feel like they have to constantly justify their
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𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁:
“We can’t do new things unless we have permission. And we don’t have permission to work on new things until people love our core service. If they’re complaining on social media and they’re calling customer service, they
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@nikitabier
I thought people were seeing through the goggles to the user's eyes. Are these actually just eyes on a screen to create that appearance?
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻:
“If people love our products, they’re going to want to buy more of them.” —
@bchesky
“When I joined Y Combination, Paul Graham said ‘Make something people want.’ Well, who knows what people want as well as designers? Not many other people.
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One of the most fun challenges we've been working on at
@slice
is reimagining our visual language to capture the vibes of old school, authentic pizzerias within a more modern aesthetic.
Here's a sneak peek of what we've been cooking up...
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If you view Twitter as a place to learn, I'd recommend following these people (in no particular order).
1)
@shreyas
2)
@johncutlefish
3)
@joulee
4)
@jaffoneh
5)
@peterme
6)
@hpdailyrant
7)
@drgurner
8)
@AdamMGrant
9)
@gokulr
10)
@ryanrumsey
11)
@scottbelsky
12)
@mollyfmielke
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𝗔 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀:
“I love design language systems, but the problem with design language systems is that you should design whatever you want and then you put it in the design language system. If you can only pull from this system, you’re never
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Three truths:
1. Some tech companies have been making decisions that are detrimental to society.
2. The design community needs advocates for ethical behavior.
3. Judging and attacking designers affiliated with companies you disapprove of hurts much more than it helps.
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@RSASHE_The_Don
The United States isn't a private residence. It's a country founded on principles of equal rights/treatment and inclusion.
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Time for some career news…
Today, I joined
@Stash
as Director of Product Design to help support their talented design team!
👇 mini-thread
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
“A lot of products fail because they’re not well-marketed. If you ship a feature and no-one knows, did it really matter? So a lot of times people give up on features too soon. They ship something, the data says
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I disagree with this.
Your resume is an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of information design, type and layout, aesthetic taste, etc.
as a designer who has interviewed dozens of designers, who is responsible for hiring and managing designers, i just wanna say: please stop designing your CVs. you don’t need to do the extra work. just lash something in a google doc, edit it to fuck, and lash it in an application.
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If you're a designer who feels unable to do your best work because of your work environment, DM me. I'd like to hear what's going on and see if I can help.
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This week I joined
@Meta
as a design director supporting the teams working on the consumer-facing avatar experiences across Meta's current and future platforms.
Looking forward to helping define the next evolution of how people conceptualize and represent their identity online!
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Try one of these instead:
• "My design partner(s)" or "my engineering partners"
• "Our team's designer(s)" or "our team's engineers"
And, if you really want to go above and beyond, throw in the person's name 😎
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The most marketable design skills are visual and motion design.
The most valuable design skill is behavior design.
When you deeply understand why people do what they do, you have the ability to change their behavior. And that is, ultimately, how designers create business value.
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This, so, so much.
Every time I hear someone justify a predictably bad decision with "It's a two-way door" while ignoring the realities of how incredibly difficult it will be to walk back through that door (often for psychological and/or political reasons), I want to scream.
Quoting Bezos on 1-way doors & 2-way doors requires no real skill. Almost any literate person can do that.
The real skill is in accurately discerning what is a 1-way door, what is a 2-way door, and what is really a 1-way door masquerading as a 2-way door. Few have this skill.
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@alex__presa
Free advice: don't apologize and then immediately like all the replies from other white guys telling you that you shouldn't be apologizing.
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"Design quality" is simply the degree to which a designed solution has achieved the objective(s) that it was intended to achieve within the constraints that governed it.
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I'm really impressed by how well Cash App, Honk, and Any Distance have created the simplest possible version of every screen in their product.
What other mobile apps do this really well?
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It's worth watching the entire conversation if you haven't already. You can find it here:
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I was incredibly lucky to have him as my dad.
He made it to every game and graduation, supported me whenever I needed his help, taught me strong values that have guided me through life, and loved me unconditionally.
He was my rock, and now he's gone.
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You can learn a lot about a designer by how they perceive this.
A designer I know told me his PM writes jira tickets that just say "make onboarding easier" or even "increase retention" 😂
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I saw that
@meodai
made an Arc Boost to put the Twitter logo back on web, so I added it to a larger Arc Boost I had created to clean up and improve various aspects of Twitter.
You can get it here:
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@jsngr
I hear this often from strong visual designers. Their feel for layout is strong enough that they don't need a grid.
Within larger design teams, though, I think it's smart for everyone to use a shared grid system to create cohesiveness across designers with varying skillsets.
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The two biggest reasons to use
@linear
:
1) It helps to set a high bar for product quality by reminding the team every day what "great" looks like.
2) It sends a signal to prospective team members that you value craftsmanship (and all the little things that contribute to it).
we're currently trying to convince the team
@veedstudio
to move away from shortcut to
@linear
this was my take on it
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@KasturiKhanke
Lots of good answers here. Some things that haven't yet been said...
• Stronger understanding of how design decisions will influence behavior and drive intended outcomes
• Better understanding of the business' mechanics and how their work fits into and supports it
(cont'd...)
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Just over a month ago, my best friend lost the use of his back legs. As I write this, he's getting spine surgery to try to fix the problem.
Please send him all the good (boy) vibes you can!
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Stop it with the "I'm never deleting this app" comments in reference to
@elonmusk
's public mistreatment of
@iamharaldur
.
There's nothing entertaining about Elon being a massive jerk to an amazing person like Halli. It's just sad and pathetic.
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Most designers believe their job is to create the best possible user experience.
The best designers have realized their job is actually to influence human behavior.
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@GabrielMahound
@RSASHE_The_Don
Islam is a peaceful religion with bad eggs just as America is a kind and inclusive country with bad eggs.
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Today marked the end of my first month at
@Slice
and I gotta say... joining this company was a GREAT decision.
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@joulee
This tweet.
"Design quality" is simply the degree to which a designed solution has achieved the objective(s) that it was intended to achieve within the constraints that governed it.
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Anyone out there looking to pick up some contract product design work? DM me if you're interested.
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𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀:
“I started reviewing all the work. I reviewed the work every week, every two weeks, every four weeks. Before, people thought that was meddling. And I said ‘You know what, screw
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About 2/3 of the designers who answered this said that they wouldn't be willing to join a company if it meant having to use Sketch. 👀
Designers who used to use Sketch but now use Figma... would you be willing to join a company if you knew you'd have to go back to using Sketch?
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I believe strongly in investing in systems, processes, and culture that empower designers to do their best work and create value at scale. To that end, the first role I've opened at
@Slice
is a Director, Design Ops to lead us in this area.
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Most people don't know how to give effective design feedback, but it's an easy skill to learn.
Below, I've threaded 10 tips for anyone looking to improve in this area. Please pass this along or RT if you think others might find it useful!
⬇️⬇️⬇️
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Adobe's CPO,
@scottbelsky
, founded
@Behance
and sold it to Adobe.
Here's what followed:
remembering the deluge of doubts in 2012 when we shared
@Behance
's acquisition, 10yrs later, platform grew 30x, product stronger than ever, brand intact, still free, high growth, and continued pipeline of goodness. but it takes work + principles. like all bold moves, show > tell.
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@eeismann
FB has definitely harmed society in many ways, but I always find it interesting how everyone avoids acknowledging all of the good FB has done for society.
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Lots of companies want "design transformation," but few make it actually happen.
At
@slice
, we're one of the few. Everything is changing.
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@shreyas
I think you'd be better off sticking with multi-tweet threads instead of the long post format.
Reasons:
1) Chunking tweets reduces friction of digesting info.
2) Allows replying to individual pieces of info.
3) Allows sharing of individual pieces of info.
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Pretty interesting to see how many non-product people (i.e., designers, engineers, PMs) have been liking, RTing, and responding to this thread today.
I didn't realize that Figma was so well-known outside of product orgs.
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@iamharaldur
You'll find lots of impressive women in product design leadership on this Twitter list:
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𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:
“If you’re in an organization, you to have to use their language and explain why it benefits them.” —
@bchesky
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