. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keeping with the spirit of constant change and evolution I’ve made a couple adjustments to this week’s Link Drop. I’m changing the name of it back to just Link Drop from Link Drop Contextd, and shortened the date info. I’ve also included a quick theme overview of the twenty five sites that I thought were worth taking a closer look. Within the format of checking out what interested me, it’s not a huge surprise that technology played a part in a lot of the sites, but so did paper and even tactile quality. There were also a lot of pairs which usually trigger something for me.

—m
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_____________________

New Math
A smart combination of words to create formulas on stuff that people are thinking about.

Data Store: Facts you can use
The Guardian has organized content in such a way that you don’t have to be an engineer to grab data. By making those figures accessible people can think more about the question they want answered as opposed to being snowballed by visuals that don’t really move a story forward

blprnt:blpg
I like the fact that I can read about the why and the how of his process.

Deep dive
This diagram jolted me more than lot of other stat diagrams. But is it perfect as it could be?

Music CD Labeling System
Cool idea visualized.

Spy Box
Wouldn’t be interesting to see a camera on most products (and food) that we interact on a daily basis?

Jorge Colombo | iSketches
Everyday there seems to be someone doing something unbelievable on an iPhone. There’s a couple movies of the paintings being created—really fascinating.

Instapaper (analogue edition)
Such a simple idea made perfect. Kinkos would be wise to do this kind of thing too.

Are Blogs Losing Their Authority To The Statusphere?
Maybe?

The Rise of the Creative Technologists
I’m not a huge fan of this kind of title but it’s something worth keeping an eye on.

Study Finds Compensation Ticks Upward for Designers and Architects
I’m not sure I believe the results of this study and its also going to be interesting to see how 2009 compares. My suspiscions is that it’s going to be ugly.

Tactile Maps
I think this is a great idea, I’ve only seen a couple examples like this before.

swiss miss creative mornings: matthew waldman
Unfortunately I had to miss this friend talk, but it was saved for prosperity’s sake it was filmed. Great question—what’s your motivation to design?

Have Smartphone, Can Travel
It’s amazing what’s being done with iPhones (didn’t I already say that?). It’s a great time to see tech being pushed in a semi open environment.

Duking It Out for iPhone Dominance
I wonder if reading on an iPhone is a fad or will stick. Another interesting question to check back on in a year.

Market Publique
One of the people that created this site told me about it quite some time ago. Happy to see it go live.

MyFonts Blog
Looking forward to see what new content can be brought to type intensive blogs.

Building Up Brands on the Web
Silly idea?

Justin David Cox
Very cool posters, interested to see what else he does in the not so distant future.

8 bit Hip-Hop
One of the most popular things I posted on twitter this week. I didn’t realize there were other fans of 8 bit music.

‘cartoon particles’ by markus hofko
There’s something philosophical about this, I just need to think about it a bit more.

From the fevered mind of Bruce Sterling and his alter-ego, Bruno Argento, a consideration of things ahead.
Great time to be alive?

Chalkboard
There’s at least one person in NYC that still has hand skills.

Jonah Bloom Of AdAge Talks To PSFK About Skipping The Issue
One more sobering story about the end of print.

The new iPod shuffle, explained.
How did this ux get approved?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .