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American University in Cairo Library / Tahrir Square

Nov 2020


https://twitter.com/aucpress

Home - The American University in Cairo Press
Reading the Middle East

Saqqara / Egypt

Jan 2021

Hanoi

March 2019

The Annoying Web

- I'm searching the web…

- Landed on Quora

- Nice content. Thank you.

- One more related content…

- Oh, sorry, you need to create an account to read other people content

- Okay, I created an account to read people's content

- Later, lots of content emails

- I don't want more emails

- Unsubscribed

- Later, more content emails

- Unsubscribed

- Later, more content emails

- Unsubscribed

- No way, I need to remove that account

- Oh, wait, you need to provide a password. You signed up with Google

- Okay, how to do that?

- Click here to create an account password. Go to your email, click the link to create a new password

- I'm creating a new password…

- Oh, sorry, your password must contain one char, blah blah

- I'm confused. DuckDuck… please, I need a password generator

- Your password looks good to me

+-+ Thank you for wasting my time/attention!


I believe that social media content should be accessible for everyone. Signup should not be required to read or see it. No walls. People make it and offer it for free, and the platform should respect that.

A platform should not force people to create an account to read other people's free content. People are the content owner, not the platform.

It is respectful to ask people first if they would like to receive emails more than spamming them with lots of and confuse them later with tons of subscription options.

On Pop-Ups

Website pop-ups are very confusing and interrupt the browsing experience especially on mobile where the screen is limited. Please consider before adding them to your website.

On mobile, sometimes, I don't even see the content, and I leave, just leave. Sometimes, I can't close the pop-up, whether the `x` is not clickable or no `x` to close it at all.

On Replying to Emails

I used to write in Normal Size/Sans Serif while replying to emails. It works fine for me. But recently, I started to adapt my font/size based on the sender email style. If someone is using a Serif font, I reply in Serif. If the font size is large, I increase the size.

I think there is a reason people prefer one font/size over another. For example, someone might write in large size because it is more readable. So, if he sent an email with a large font size and replied with a small one, he might find my reply hard to read.

Someone might prefer Serif over Sans Serif. So, it could be a different taste. By adapting my writing, I think I'm adding more harmony to the email, so we are writing with a similar style—no switching between reading and writing in different fonts or sizes.

Being Mortal

I have been thinking about this topic for a while. What matters most in life, aging, death, and how a human body is weak in the face of diseases.

Found the Being Mortal book today in the lib, read some great reviews, and hope it will make a diff.

On Upwork As a Freelancer and As a Client

I used Upwork as a freelancer and as a client. I want to share a few things:

For Freelancers

  • Please read the job description and read it well. Send a proposal tailored to that job. Answer any questions if they exist.
  • Try to explain how you can help and give an example.
  • Please don't send a general proposal. It will be much easier to get notified with these simple things; I have been on the client-side, and most are non-related and generic. Few are the ones who send a specific letter to what I have posted.
  • When a client sets an hourly rate of $40, don't bid for ten or $5.
  • Don't work for free.
  • Save money as you go to have a backup for the dark days. It's not always okay, and being stressful is too bad for work and creativity.
  • And, of course, investing part of that money is the next step to grow it.

For Clients

  1. Please pay well and pay on time and don't ask for free work. If you can't afford it now, wait for some time till you can.
  2. I ask the people I work with to charge me for the chat/communication time. If the job exceeds the agreed time in hourly work, I will pay for these extra few hours. They will be happy to work and deliver well. They feel appreciated.
  3. Please don't capitalize your words (YOU, MUST, NOW). It makes people nervous. I once fired a client because of this. Be nice.
  4. Try to be specific and know what you want, and if you don't, please ask for suggestions, and people will be happy to help. But please don't start every day with new changes and requirements that are entirely different.

Of course, these are not exclusive to Upwork but with any channel between an independent and a client.