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A few days ago I was looking for a new saddle for my bicycle and stumbled upon the website for Brooks England. The way their reviews are structured really stood out. Instead of grouping reviews together they are broken out into two groups: Unsolicited Testimonials & Unfiltered Criticisms.

It got me thinking, how much valuable feedback do they receive from customers because they open themselves up to criticism? Probably a lot. The dissatisfied customer now has a direct (and public) place to speak their mind.

Also, it gives the company a way to publicly address real problems from real customers. Not only do they now have an opportunity to turn dissatisfaction into satisfaction, the discussion is open to potential customers. A potential customer can not only read about the problems, but also see the resolution (or lack of).

What if we as developers were more open to criticism? For one, we would receive valuable feedback to help improve our code, development processes, and ultimately our products. But perhaps more importantly it would help absolve our fear of shipping. Opening the door to criticism shifts the focus from being afraid of what others think to welcoming the feedback, even if the feedback is negative.

What do you think?

The first thing you need to understand is that the purpose of refinements in Ruby 2.0 is to make monkey-patching safer. Specifically, the goal is to make it possible to extend core classes, but to limit the effect of those extensions to a particular area of code.

I ran across an article by Derek Sivers where he addresses how we perceive our own ideas. In it he makes several great points. Here's one:

We're clearly a bad judge of our own creations. We should just put it out and let the world decide.

Definitely worth a read and some thoughtful consideration. Read the entire article here: Obvious to you. Amazing to others.

Sometimes a complicated problem requires a complicated solution. The solution can be perceived as simple or complicated depending on how it is presented. To make the solution appear simple, present it with clarity.

Great short-form profile on Neil Youngberg, a 3rd generation craftsman who owns a metal fabrication shop. Two of my favorite quotes:

I'm still learning, and I always will be. That's just how it is. That's what makes you good at what you do. You want to learn more. How to be better at it or quicker. When you don't learn, you got a problem. That's when you're through.

In retrospect, mistakes are what teach you, that's your education. So, you learn from your mistakes. At least that's my experience.

From advanced selectors to generated content to the triumphant return of web fonts, and from gradients, shadows, and rounded corners to full-blown animations, CSS3 is a universe of creative possibilities. No one can better guide you through these galaxies than world-renowned designer, author, and CSS superstar Dan Cederholm.

The first book published by A Book Apart (HTML5 For Web Designers) was both informative and entertaining. I ordered Dan Cederholm's new book this morning and can't wait to dive in.

Today I was reminded of a quote by Yvon Chouinard, founder of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia:

There are no three-star French restaurants with fifty tables.

It's pretty simple. A chef who serves five customers (instead of fifty) can spend more time on each meal, so the results are tastier and the customer's experience is more personal.

The same is true for software. Five features with perfect implementation is more useful than fifty features with poor implementation. Sometimes the customer gets more when the software does less.

A month ago MB passed it's three year mark. The company that began as a college experiment has turned into something great. So great, there hasn't been time to update the website in over two years.

This blog is a place for myself and other members of the MB team to share our thoughts with you, the developers, designers, business people, and end-users that make up this community. It's long overdue and we're excited.

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