Look, Listen and Learn

Should Twitter Have an Edit Button? #

This week on Function, we answer one of the most requested questions in tech: should Twitter have an edit button? We talk with Leslie Miley, former engineering manager at Twitter, about the behind-the-scenes technical and ethical considerations that need to take place to carry out this feature from a product level.

We also talk to Andy Carvin, author, professor, and former social media editor at NPR. Andy knows firsthand how one misinformed tweet can have a dangerous ripple effect, and talks about how the possibility of editing that tweet may have caused even more damage.

Listen to the episode below, and subscribe to Function on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite shows.

The Sound of Art #

Pioneering computer artist Vera Molnár's work is characterized by bold, geometric themes and shapes. Molnár used Fortran and BASIC in her work, which seems like a lifetime ago when you think about the speed at which technology and computer graphics have changed.

Software Engineer and Glitch user Monica Dinculsescu (@notwaldorf) builds on Molnár's creations by transforming one of her earliest works, "Un Deux Trois," into a mysterious 8-bit song. As the music goes on, the painting comes to life. Keep refreshing the app to hear different instruments and melodies.

Bringing Hands-Free Web Functionality to Everyone #

Portland-based digital creator Oz Ramos (@LabOfOz) is doing some really awesome work using Handsfree.js, a library he created that adds hands-free functionality to any website or web service. As a School of AI Fellow, Oz has a goal to connect one million people to the web using Handsfree.js.

Oz has made his work available on Glitch as a helpful starter kit, so anyone can begin using Handsfree.js in their own projects. Remix the app and show us what you create!

Adding 3D and AR Content with Polymer #

At this year's Chrome Dev Summit, Google talked about the next great platform for the immersive web: your web browser. A lot of this is made possible by the Polymer project, a set of libraries, tools, and standards to help build a better web.

Sounds pretty cool, right? If this piques your interest, then take a look at model-viewer. This app by Glitch user Christopher Joel (@cdata) uses LitElement, a simple base class for creating fast, lightweight web components. Remix the app and give it a try!

Getting Started with Material Design #

The Material Design framework gives you an expansive set of guidelines and tools to create user interfaces, apps, and websites. But it can be difficult to figure out where or how to start using it.

Design advocate Yasmine Evjen (@yasmineevjen) and software engineers Matt Goo (@moog16), Bonnie Zhou (@bonniezhou), and Lynn Jepsen (@lynnmercier) — have created a useful app that serves as a primer to Material Components and Theming. Even better, it features a bunch of great photos of dogs to help you learn. Remix the app and follow the well-documented README for more information.

Striking a Chord #

To the average person, math may just seem like a bunch of numbers and equations, but there's a lot of elegance and beauty if you peek just under the surface. Fractals, tesselations, the golden ratio...math is all around us in many ways.

This chord machine app from technologist and Glitch user Andrew Rodgers (@acedrew) is a great example of this kind of mathematical beauty. As chords are drawn around a circle, a cardioid pattern is revealed; adjust the line color, multiplicand, and scale to generate different drawings. You can also record the animation and save it as a video. Experiment with the settings and see what you can create.

Featured Illustrator of the Week: Bill Rebholz #

We are so honored this week to feature the work of New York-based illustrator Bill Rebholz. His bold style, thick lines, and chunky graphics are charmingly retro, yet very much modern and fresh. Is it possible for a drawing to have charisma? I think so!

Check more of Bill's amazing work at his website, and take a look at his illustrations for this week's slate of featured apps.

As we head into the long holiday weekend, we can't help but feel thankful for the tremendous community and the outpouring of creativity and innovation on Glitch. What are you thankful for this year?