I wrote some thoughts about margins, potentially moving back to Italy, living on the edge(s), togetherness + a few other delirious epiphanies after spending one week with a group of wonderfully insane and astoundingly bright humans in the middle of the Appennine Mountains.

Here is to Dwelling in the Margins

#blog #post #blogPost #margins #margin #edge #livingOnTheEdge #Aerosmith #Italy #Italia #Marche #SOS #LaScuolaOpenSource #XYZ

“Bosses betting on #AI to slash #headcount and boost #margins are discovering an uncomfortable truth: the #strategy isn't working.

New research from #Gartner lays out the problem in stark terms. The analyst firm surveyed 350 global businesses - all with annual revenues above $1 billion, all piloting or deploying #IntelligentAutomation - and found that around 80 percent had cut #staff as a result.

The returns? Elusive. Companies that reduced their workforces were just as likely to see negative outcomes or marginal gains as they were to generate any meaningful return on #investment”

PHB’s need to be schooled in critical thinking. Was there ever the case for Engineer replacement instead of AI as just another tool?

#ZeroHourWork / #WhiteCollar / #ROE <https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/05/06/ai-layoffs-backfire-as-cutting-staff-doesnt-cut-it-firms-warned/5230631>

As I wait for my next book to wend and wind through the printing bureaucracy, I share some insights for independent publishers.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/03/14/new-book-pricing/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#publishing #printing #books #writing #author #business #pricing #choices #decisions #philosophy #psychology #inventory #logistics #margins #blog #podcast

I can't help it, I love beautiful, modern, minimal designs. Most user interfaces just don't appeal to me. Book apps, in particular, often feel old-fashioned. There's nothing wrong with old things though; retro tech from the 80s and 90s has its own charm, and people really knew how to make beautiful things back then.

But bad UI is a different story, it's clumsy, built with off-the-shelf frameworks without much thought, and often lacks proper design guidelines, plan or structure. That's why I can't use Bookwyrm, for example.

I read a lot and have mostly been using https://getbookshelf.com on iOS along with a CSV file since leaving Goodreads. Right now, I'm checking out alternatives. Even StoryGraph doesn't quite do it for me. https://margins.app looks promising, and Bookcover is okay but missing some features.

So, if in another world I decided to make my own fork and app, contribute to Bookwyrm, and completely refresh its UI like I did for Mastodon with the Mastodon Bird UI - what would you think of that?

#Books #BookApps #Margins #BookWyrm #UI #UIDesign #FrontEnd #BookTrackers #OwnYourData #SelfHost