Ethan Marcotte

https://follow.ethanmarcotte.com/@beep

Designer. Started that responsive design thing. Writes a bit, or tries to. Spends a normal amount of time thinking about The Locked Tomb series.

*A perfectly normal amount of time.*

My latest book is YOU DESERVE A TECH UNION! (You can purchase it from my bio, or just about anywhere books are sold!)

pronouns: he/him
website: https://ethanmarcotte.com
my latest book: https://youdeserveatechunion.com
portfolio: https://ethanmarcotte.com/work/

Public Key

npub1qggnytqrld8cv730hs6m2ppwnf47nlyn6989adrd2pelgx9z5ums000ptl

NIP-05 Address

beep_at_follow.ethanmarcotte.com@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsqyyfj9splknux0ghmcdd4qshf56lfljfaznj7k3k4qul5rz32wdcpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsrvp5w3

Publishing to

offchain.pub

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1qggnytqrld8cv730hs6m2ppwnf47nlyn6989adrd2pelgx9z5ums000ptl

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Last Notes

2025-09-10 14:14:58 UTC

Oh my goodness: my old friend Rob Weychert’s just redesigned his website, and turned it into a *tremendous* personal archive for (nearly) everything he’s ever written.
It is also: PRETTY AS HELL. The layout! The typography! The colors! The site architecture! Rob’s been working on this redesign for literal years, and it really, really shows. https://v7.robweychert.com/blog/2025/09/v7-launch-day/
yay websites yay friends
just: yay

2025-08-16 16:22:41 UTC

a client project just wrapped, so i’m downgrading some software we’d been using down to a free account
confidential notice to All Product Companies: warning me i’ll lose access to “AI Features” is not the deterrent you think it is

2025-07-30 14:22:32 UTC

billions of dollars poured into data centers doing unspeakable things to our planet, and all modern recommendation algorithms still basically amount to
> YOU ENGAGED WITH PICTURE OF: CAT
> HERE IS FOUR MILLION MORE PICTURE OF: CAT

2025-07-10 20:20:52 UTC

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omg karolina YES, also boy do i have thoughts on how the last decade’s tooling has impacted our design practices

2025-07-10 16:56:46 UTC

percentage-based figma variables for line height when

2025-06-11 19:01:44 UTC

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an overton window makes such a distinct sound when it shifts

2025-05-21 13:00:48 UTC

hello!
if you use a static site generator for your blog, like #Eleventy or #jekyll, AND
if your blog has a links section,
could you share how you’ve structured your link posts? i’m adding bookmarks to my website, and i think i could use a little inspiration

2025-05-01 13:30:59 UTC

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As usual, @npub16sj…va89 has it right: much like the “return to office” push that preceded them, these “AI-first” corporate policies are performances for investors, and for other tech CEOs. A more sensible policy would empower workers to explore a technology’s benefits, not simply mandate usage. https://www.anildash.com//2025/04/19/ai-first-is-the-new-return-to-office/

2025-04-29 17:52:56 UTC

okay, yes, this entire approach to “ai” in the workforce is yet another instance of a tech CEO beclowning himself
at the same time: when a leader says human workers are a source of “bottlenecks”, and that automation is the source of “solutions”, pay very, very, very close attention
(and if you haven’t already, start getting organized with your coworkers)
https://www.theverge.com/news/657594/duolingo-ai-first-replace-contract-workers

2025-04-16 14:37:48 UTC

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Hi Eric, how’s it going?

2025-03-29 01:03:09 UTC

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Ordered a hoodie back in January. It just showed up today.
💜
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/114/243/022/840/049/637/original/527300b3a3db6314.jpeg

2025-03-13 20:39:40 UTC

openai: we believe we will eventually create a system capable of solving human-level problems
also openai: let us turbo-photocopy All Copyrighted Materials or something something china something nationalism https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/03/openai-urges-trump-either-settle-ai-copyright-debate-or-lose-ai-race-to-china/

2025-03-09 20:42:00 UTC

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Oh these are stunning, Gretchen

2025-02-28 17:40:32 UTC

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Thanks, Thomas! I’m slow as heck, but running along the river is one of my very favorite things to do <3

2025-02-28 15:32:03 UTC

Said hello to a river today. 💜
#running #BostonMA
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/114/082/231/975/265/229/original/94859850660b062d.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/114/082/232/150/009/153/original/9026e01e668d063f.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/114/082/232/373/116/056/original/0dacfa630609ffc6.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/114/082/232/528/409/968/original/a44e4dda7e2af286.jpeg

2025-02-18 18:19:09 UTC

🦊
Friday was my last day working at 18F. It was a wonderful place to work, filled with extraordinary people, but a few things happened that made me realize I had to leave.
Everything happens so much these days, so I thought I’d write down for myself what happened, and how I made my decision:
https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/leaving-18f/
(FYI, this post gets into recent #uspol events. If that’s a stressor, or not interesting to you, I’d suggest skipping.)

2025-01-28 21:44:58 UTC

Hey, Apple users: if you install the latest iOS, iPadOS, or macOS updates, you’ll be automatically opted into “Apple Intelligence”. If you don’t want that running on your computer, you’ll need to go into Settings to disable it.
(this is far from the most pressing thing happening today, but just a heads-up)

2025-01-18 17:38:58 UTC

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Well, that’d probably be what gets me to ditch the whole atheism thing

2025-01-10 22:51:29 UTC

if you haven’t read [@kissane](https://mas.to/@kissane )’s latest, this is an especially good time to do so https://www.wrecka.ge/bad-shape/

2024-12-28 13:45:21 UTC

my “our slot machine for stolen text and images is going to be massively profitable soon, honest” t-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/27/openai-needs-more-capital-than-wed-imagined-moves-to-for-profit.html

2024-12-24 20:34:46 UTC

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Loved this post, Chris — had no idea about Paul’s service!
(Apologies if you already know about this, but Feedbin has an “extract full article content” jobby that’s worked really well for me on excerpt feeds. Love love love it.)
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/113/709/710/375/857/350/original/13674e36351fce2e.jpeg

2024-12-17 22:28:45 UTC

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I miss HomeSite and a physical disc to install Photoshop, I do
(also your thesis could kick my thesis’s ass, hot damn)

2024-12-01 03:44:53 UTC

“…okay it’s possible i didn’t think this through”
#Caturday #CatsOfMastodon
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/113/575/506/013/906/579/original/66e82fb7d58c49fd.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/followethanmarcottecom/media_attachments/files/113/575/506/169/326/532/original/3cf83cbe871e8ec7.jpeg

2024-11-25 21:17:14 UTC

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I got a chance to speak to some honest-to-goodness AI enthusiasts a few months back, it was
well, let’s say “instructive”
also “bracing”

2024-11-25 21:00:35 UTC

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Someone once gushed to me about the remarkable new careers these technologies will create. I responded by saying “AI” has created a tremendous number of jobs over the last decade, and that “remarkable” is the last fucking word I’d use to describe them.

2024-11-25 17:08:16 UTC

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oh i love these frames! and the COLORS 🤩

2024-11-04 15:14:24 UTC

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🦊
A few quick thoughts on the New York Times Tech Guild strike, why it matters, and what it means for the rest of us:
https://ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/times-to-strike/
#unions #TechUnions #1u #blogging