Amy Hoy
About: I used to excuse myself from bios by saying "I hate writing these things," but now I'm just lazy.
Here's the last bio I used professionally:
Amy Hoy is a user interface nerd-designer-writer-educator-programmer-photographer-hyphenator extraordinaire. As half of Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Hyphenated People, she gets to help cool companies kick ass every day and thinks that's just the best job ever. She also likes to think of herself as an infamous author of humorous treatises about design and programming, but this might not actually be true. Her web site can be found at http://www.slash7.com.
I'm also a weird mixture of a serious, "deep" philosophical thinker and a big, dorky goofball with a dirty mind and a penchant for showing off my ability to guzzle jagerbombs and pints of Guinness (if you ask nicely).
Those things just don't usually fit well in "bio" boxes, but whaddaya gonna do.
Photos:
Blog Posts
Puritanism & engineerism: not new, but alive and well
--Pissing me off is one of the best ways to convince me to write something. Take, for example, the following. The setup We humans have a tendency ...
Arrogance and humility
--Two perspectives. Clay Shirky, writing on A Brief Message: Design is arrogance. The designer says, “I know what you want better than you. He...
Success at failcamp
--Alex and I ran failcamp fast & loose and it worked. (Alex's writeup is here.) Our guiding idea was to discuss failure, in all its guises. We ...
Feeling the current, or being swept away?
--A good in-depth article on information hoarding: Linder argues that as we become squeezed for consumption time, we’ll consume more expensive ...
Karl Duncker on Problem Solving
--Karl Duncker was a brilliant psychological researcher in the early 20th century, and one of the important figures in Gestalt Theory movement. His s...
Karl Duncker on Problem Solving
--Karl Duncker was a brilliant psychological researcher in the early 20th century, and one of the important figures in Gestalt Theory movement. His s...
Creative Scrape: An Inspiration Utility
--I hate feed readers. The idea for creativescrape was midwifed by that hate (a fiery, passionate hate it is). Like email, feed readers are almost ...
Creative Scrape: An Inspiration Utility
--I hate feed readers. The idea for creativescrape was midwifed by that hate (a fiery, passionate hate it is). Like email, feed readers are almost ...
Hyphenated People's Usability Prix Fixe
--Hello, friends. We're your usability consultants. Is your web app tired? Run down? Listless? Does it poop out at diggings? Is it unpopular on del....
Hyphenated People's Usability Prix Fixe
--Hello, friends. We're your usability consultants. Is your web app tired? Run down? Listless? Does it poop out at diggings? Is it unpopular on del....
We can't help humanizing anything and everything.
--Having just torn through two "brain vacation" novels (Maxx Barry, if you must know), I'm back at it. I just can't stay away from non-fiction long e...
We can't help humanizing anything and everything.
--Having just torn through two "brain vacation" novels (Maxx Barry, if you must know), I'm back at it. I just can't stay away from non-fiction long e...
How I Got Started Programming
--I got passed the baton by Giles Bowkett. In my flattery, I've decided to return the favor by aping his style. He also pinged a bunch of people...
How I Got Started Programming
--I got passed the baton by Giles Bowkett. In my flattery, I've decided to return the favor by aping his style. He also pinged a bunch of people...
Software is political, just like everything else
--I came on to keep a system alive and rewrote it from the ground up, learning OO along the way. The system solved an office politics problem; t...
Software is political, just like everything else
--I came on to keep a system alive and rewrote it from the ground up, learning OO along the way. The system solved an office politics problem; t...
Bill Gates finds Windows unusable.
--Big surprise? Here's an internal Microsoft email written by Bill Gates, which allegedly came to public view due to a lawsuit. From this Seattle PI...
Bill Gates finds Windows unusable.
--Big surprise? Here's an internal Microsoft email written by Bill Gates, which allegedly came to public view due to a lawsuit. From this Seattle PI...
Informational Hygiene
--A couple weeks ago, at RailsConf, I tweeted that I was skipping Joel Spolsky's keynote and why. <img src='http://img.skitch.com/20080612-n697d...
Informational Hygiene
--A couple weeks ago, at RailsConf, I tweeted that I was skipping Joel Spolsky's keynote and why. Judging by the few responses I got, most people...
Technique or skill?
--I've been thinking a lot lately about the following: Writing headlines that get dugg vs Writing headlines that get remembered Mastery of video ga...
Technique or skill?
--I've been thinking a lot lately about the following: Writing headlines that get dugg vs Writing headlines that get remembered Mastery of video ga...
Me ranting about "excellence" at RailsConf 08
--Greg Pollack, of the incredibly awesome RailsEnvy (you have to watch these funny videos), cornered me briefly in the speaker's lounge at RailsConf ...
Me ranting about "excellence" at RailsConf 08
--Greg Pollack, of the incredibly awesome RailsEnvy (you have to watch these funny videos), cornered me briefly in the speaker's lounge at RailsConf ...
On being meta.
--Be meta. Try to become a meta designer, or meta whatever area you are in. What being meta means is to look not just at the details of what you...
On being meta.
--Be meta. Try to become a meta designer, or meta whatever area you are in. What being meta means is to look not just at the details of what you...
On being meta.
--Be meta. Try to become a meta designer, or meta whatever area you are in. What being meta means is to look not just at the details of what you...
What I'm reading...
--I'm still on the quest to make this blog more like a blog—I think the articles are eventually going to be treated differently. I am a huge ...
What I'm reading...
--I'm still on the quest to make this blog more like a blog???I think the articles are eventually going to be treated differently. I am a hug...
What I'm reading...
--I'm still on the quest to make this blog more like a blog—I think the articles are eventually going to be treated differently. I am a huge ...
In case you don't get enough of me already
--Tobie Langel interviewed me for the revived Prototype.js blog. He's working on a series of interviews, of which I am the second, and Sergio Pereira...
In case you don't get enough of me already
--Tobie Langel interviewed me for the revived Prototype.js blog. He's working on a series of interviews, of which I am the second, and Sergio Pereira...
Fair use is incredibly profitable
--Amazon just sold me on a $75 book based on a single diagram (above), seen in the online preview for the book. The title is The Semantic Turn: A N...
Fair use is incredibly profitable
--Amazon just sold me on a $75 book based on a single diagram (above), seen in the online preview for the book. The title is The Semantic Turn: A N...
Design is not about solving problems.
--There is an inherent problem with the definition of design as "solving problems": There isn’t a problem to solve. There is only the assumption t...
Design is not about solving problems.
--There is an inherent problem with the definition of design as "solving problems": There isn???t a problem to solve. There is only the assumption...
Twistori's Numbers
--Twistori, as implemented, was a whim—I woke up that morning with the desire to ship something. I picked something I'd been thinking about a while, ...
Twistori's Numbers
--Twistori, as implemented, was a whim???I woke up that morning with the desire to ship something. I picked something I'd been thinking about a while...
love & hate: from knuckle tattoos to the internet's emotional pulse with Twistori
--This is one side of the story of twistori. I will tell the other later. Anyone who knows me knows about my rants. I like to rant. I rant about a...
love & hate: from knuckle tattoos to the internet's emotional pulse with Twistori
--This is one side of the story of twistori. I will tell the other later. Anyone who knows me knows about my rants. I like to rant. I rant about a...
Interested in git?
--I—like so many others in the Rails-o-sphere—am getting interested in git (a new-fangled source control system). I'm a late adopter in this case, ...
Interested in git?
--I???like so many others in the Rails-o-sphere???am getting interested in git (a new-fangled source control system). I'm a late adopter in this ca...
Designing for Humans
--The below article should appear in the July issue of the UK internet mag, .net (unrelated to the Microsoft framework, ewww). Since I know few ...
Designing for Humans
--The below article should appear in the July issue of the UK internet mag, .net (unrelated to the Microsoft framework, ewww). Since I know few ...
Just ship. Seriously.
--Participating in ColorWars has been a really cool experience. It's taught me a lot. But the #1 thing I would say is it's taught me to JUST SHIP, ...
Just ship. Seriously.
--Participating in ColorWars has been a really cool experience. It's taught me a lot. But the #1 thing I would say is it's taught me to JUST SHIP, ...
Introducing ColorWars
--You've probably heard of Ze Frank (if not, shame on you!). If you're on Twitter, you've probably heard of ColorWars, a sort of Twitter-based prank-...
Introducing ColorWars
--You've probably heard of Ze Frank (if not, shame on you!). If you're on Twitter, you've probably heard of ColorWars, a sort of Twitter-based prank-...
F4T in the educational system
--Somewhere on planet earth, a dude named Shimon Schocken teaches a pretty revolutionary university class called From Nand to Tetris in 12 Steps. The...
F4T in the educational system
--Somewhere on planet earth, a dude named Shimon Schocken teaches a pretty revolutionary university class called From Nand to Tetris in 12 Steps. The...
Slash7 Interviews: Ryan Norbauer
--It's taken a longass time, but Slash7 Interviews are soooo totally back. My first willing victi—I mean, guest—is Ryan Norbauer. Ryan's...
Slash7 Interviews: Ryan Norbauer
--It's taken a longass time, but Slash7 Interviews are soooo totally back. My first willing victi—I mean, guest—is Ryan Norbauer. Ryan's...
Alex Hillman is better than me.
--I met Alex last year at SXSW, almost by accident. My friend Gary Vaynerchuk wanted me to meet a friend of his, Tara Hunt. Alex was there with Tara ...
Alex Hillman is better than me.
--I met Alex last year at SXSW, almost by accident. My friend Gary Vaynerchuk wanted me to meet a friend of his, Tara Hunt. Alex was there with Tara ...
Random self-righteous quoting
--Self-righteous quoting. That is: I'm being self-righteous, not the person I'm quoting. "I think the most challenging aspect," she says, of be...
Random self-righteous quoting
--Self-righteous quoting. That is: I'm being self-righteous, not the person I'm quoting. "I think the most challenging aspect," she says, of be...
Random self-righteous quoting
--Self-righteous quoting. That is: I'm being self-righteous, not the person I'm quoting. "I think the most challenging aspect," she says, of be...
Back from the road
--Tomorrow I'll find myself at home again—for almost the first time in the past 6 weeks. Thomas and I spent all of February in New Zealand, and 3 day...
Back from the road
--Tomorrow I'll find myself at home again???for almost the first time in the past 6 weeks. Thomas and I spent all of February in New Zealand, and 3 d...
The Ape and the Donut Eater
--To (very) long-term readers, this might look familiar. It's from 2 and a half years ago, originally. It had 1 non-spam comment and even I had ...
Food for thought
--Links for the past week or so (including older stuff that's resurfaced in my del.icio.us or consciousness for whatever reason): Interaction Design...
Speaking of doing things differently...
--Thomas Fuchs, of Script.aculo.us fame, has gone out on his own again as a consultant. If you need some of the world's best JavaScript expertise, he...
Don't complain about the game. Change the game you're playing.
--In the annals of self-help and fluffy business books, this idea is nothing new. But it seems to bear repeating, anyway: So if you wanted to c...
Bored? Befuddle.
--In a whirlwind of part-time activity, my buddy and long-term partner-in-crime Erik Kastner and I have launched a little toy we call Befuddlr. The p...
I love you but you make me so angry!
--Instead of 1,000 words, let me just give you a picture to introduce this article: Thanks, eBay. Caution: probably outdated screenshot. Thi...
Vitamin A (for Amy)
--I've got an article up now at ThinkVitamin, the very awesome web developer / designer / entrepreneur weekly run by the lovely people at Carsonified...
This portends of interesting things.
--A couple days ago, my friend Courtenay was able to accurately utter the lovely clichéd phrase "you heard it here first" in a certain online communi...
Bookmarks:
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Lisa Price (mutual) fan, want-to-meet |
Comments
i just read your article "I Don't Like Articles about Women in Technology". i loved it and saved it to my bookmarks. i completely agree with you on taking responsibility for your own life. i tell people, that being honest with yourself is going to be tough. we have so many defense mechanisms, we are just too prone to use. but it is necessary. anyway, before i ramble on, just wanted to say "excellent work!"
Hi. I've picked up a few useful rails nuggets from your blog. :-)
Hi Amy,
love your writing. I still haven't sat down to take a proper look at ruby/rails yet though...