2024 year in review
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This year, my work focused on expanding Blocks Edit functionality beyond email, and pushing out some initial Indie Aisle features. And I did a solid amount of content writing and blogging.
Blocks Edit
The big Blocks Edit effort in 2024 was towards expanding the visual editor from building branded emails, to also being able to build landing pages, using the same core technology we’ve been refining for over five years. And we’ve updated our pricing to offer a more affordable way for smaller teams to get started.
With the new landing pages upgrade came a lot of new informational content as the promo website got an overhaul. I also finished my email types series of blog posts I started the year before.
Indie Aisle
A few years ago, I had an idea for a new version of Indie Aisle. Throughout 2023, I posted a handful of blog posts on the concepts behind the relaunch as I worked on fleshing the redesign. This past year I dedicated my weekends to launch the first of its features: simple web stats, form spam blocking, and a couple of templates.
On the content side, I wrote five short best practices guides for creators: setting up a website, working with a web designer, using creator platforms, and social media, and maintaining an email list.
Blog posts
I continued posting to the Distinctive Quality blog. Here are some of my favorite web design techniques: how I organize my CSS, my layout setup, figuring out the best page container width, and modern email for web designers. Along with a couple of ideas I’ve started implementing on my sites: a follow button, and a links page of what you follow. And on the tech side: my experience trying out Apple’s Vision Pro, and some thoughts on all the AI hype.
Articles and videos
- Universal truth of problem solving - "The definition-solving process is circular not linear. You can't fully define a problem without starting to solve the problem."
- Is free will an illusion? - the idea of how our particles blindly follow the laws of physics, with every outcome already predetermined.
- Deepfakes are too real to tell anymore - so how can we figure out if they're fake when we can no longer tell from looking at them? The only way is by deciding whether we trust their sources.
- A talk about a McDonald's artist - by Cabel Sasser from Panic. You're better off going into it without trying to learn too much about it beforehand.
- Even Apple can't figure out good use cases for AI - a good take on Apple's initial AI features and how they seem to be for "the stupid ones."
Movies
- The Banshees of Inisherin - dark comedy in a similar vain as In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, and probably my favorite movie of the year!
- Inside Out 2 - great sequel to a classic!
- Oppenheimer - damn good, interesting all the way through, and well-crafted in the way it tells its nuanced story.
- Casa Bonita Mi Amor - documentary on the pretty crazy story behind how the creators of South Park bought and renovated a themed restaurant in their hometown of Denver, Colorado.
- Deep Web - documentary about the online drug market Silk Road, and the controversial arrest of its creator, Ross Ulbricht.
- Hundreds of Beavers - a fun, unique indie movie!
- Wicked, Part 1 - I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and am looking forward to Part 2!
- Pitch Black - my new favorite Vin Diesel movie!
Series
- Obliterated - one of the most fun series I've seen this year!
- Slow Horses - a fun cast of characters that do a good job playing the underdogs.
- The Curse - the best way to describe this series is uncomfortable and unsettling.
- The Gentlemen - a great cast of characters with funny, dry, comedic dialogue that Guy Richie is known for.
- X-Men ’97 - I was hesitant about this follow up to X-Men: The Animated Series, but it turned out to be so good!
- Baby Reindeer - how complicated people can be, told with nuance and care.
- Barry - somehow at the end of each season, things make sense, no matter how chaotic they get along the way!
- The Penguin - kind of surprising for its subject, but great all the way through!
Other
- Boxes: Lost Fragments - a nice weekend puzzle game with a simple concept, but executed with care and attention to detail.
- Riven, 2024 remake - being able to fully move around in a game that was originally essentially a slide show is pretty awesome, as are the changes made to it which add more depth to the game.
- Face It - I listened to the audio book, read by Debbie Harry herself.
This is my tenth year in review! For all previous years, check out the blog archive. And for more recommendations, take a look at my faves section.