Latest / The Feed & The Thread / The Feed & The Thread - June 12, 2026

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The Feed & The Thread - June 12, 2026 · The Feed & The Thread

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  We stopped clicking. AI is now the internet. So the open web is
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  actually dying? It's transforming into a closed loop
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  where you never see the source, just the answer. We need to talk
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  about that.
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  Welcome to The Feed and The Thread, brought to you by
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  Chicago Camps. Leadership By Design is on Thursday and
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  Friday, September 17 and 18 and tickets are available now! And
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  while you're at it, get caught up on UX fundamentals with five
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  minute UX at five em UX dot com. The Feed & The Thread is
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  available online at feed and thread dot com to submit your
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  feeds, or download our app for all the feeds and threads
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  delivered right to your pocket.
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  The interface is shifting from a place we explore to a service
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  that acts for us. This change strips away the friction that
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  once built trust, replacing it with speed that often feels
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  hollow. Patrizia Bertini at UX Design.cc makes the case in "We
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  stopped clicking, and AI became the Internet" that we've stopped
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  clicking, and AI has effectively become the internet. She argues
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  this transformation is dangerous because it replaces open
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  discovery with algorithmic curation designed to capture
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  attention rather than inform us. When humans stop clicking, we
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  remove the economic foundation for independent creators and
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  break the handshake between reader and writer. We risk
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  losing serendipitous discovery to systems that prioritize
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  monetization over genuine understanding. Dawn Perrott
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  writes about this at Intercom in "How to make the case for giving
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  your AI Agent system access", arguing that AI agents fail
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  without direct access to backend systems. Without integration
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  into CRMs or billing platforms, these agents remain passive and
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  force human teams to handle tasks that could be automated.
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  The data shows a significant performance gap, with some
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  workflows seeing over seventy percent improvement in
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  resolution rates when agents can take real action. Support
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  leaders must secure engineering buy-in to close this gap and
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  move beyond simple scripted responses. Robert Pavlinić
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  details the creation of an interactive digital stamp
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  collection in "Building an Interactive Digital Stamp
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  Collection with Shaders, Postcards, and Playful
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  Inspection" at Codrops. He uses draggable stamps and shader-
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  based loupes to transform a static archive into a tactile
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  web experience that encourages playful inspection. By focusing
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  on the physical sensation of handling collectibles, the
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  design shows how advanced technologies can serve human-
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  centered goals rather than just visual spectacle. It reminds us
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  that technical complexity should always support emotional
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  resonance. Other articles today from UX Design.cc on gesture
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  design, token scarcity, and designing for pain points.
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  There's a quiet erosion happening in how we build trust.
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  We used to rely on friction as a signal of care, but now we're
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  trading that depth for speed. The interface is becoming a
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  service that acts for us, and that efficiency often feels
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  hollow. Over on r/UXDesign, designers are dissecting
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  Ryanair's summer pricing strategies as a case study in
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  ethical decay. The patterns are familiar, hiding fees behind
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  confusing navigation to manipulate behavior. It's not
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  just about bad UI, it's about a business model that views user
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  confusion as a feature. This matters because when we optimize
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  for conversion above all else, we strip away the transparency
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  that builds long-term loyalty. In r/UI_Design, a developer is
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  wrestling with the visual weight of large filter sets. The
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  current layout takes up half the screen, which is functional but
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  aesthetically heavy. The challenge is balancing space
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  efficiency with usability without making the interface
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  feel cramped. This reveals a tension in modern design, where
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  we want clean, minimal screens but users need complex controls
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  to find what they want. Also in r/UI_Design, someone is trying
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  to reverse-engineer Spotify's dynamic color extraction using
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  bash scripts. They found that simple dominant color algorithms
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  fail because they pick up noise from album art. Replicating that
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  smooth, branded feel requires understanding the logic behind
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  the aesthetic, not just the code. It's a reminder that good
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  UI often hides complex calculations behind a simple
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  visual result. Over on r/UXDesign, a new open-source
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  library aims to recreate Apple's signature scroll-through
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  effects. It lowers the barrier for high-fidelity interactions,
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  but it also raises a question about homogenization. When
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  everyone uses the same motion libraries, does our design
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  language lose its distinct voice? We need to be careful
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  that speed of implementation doesn't replace thoughtful
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  interaction design. Finally, in r/UXDesign, a designer is asking
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  for advice on building apps for users over fifty. They need
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  guidance on readability, navigation, and credibility for
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  an audience often ignored by mainstream trends. This gap in
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  market research is significant, as it forces us to reconsider
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  what accessibility really means beyond compliance. Designing for
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  older users isn't a niche task, it's a test of our fundamental
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  clarity. We're seeing a divide between the desire for seamless
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  automation and the need for human-centered friction.
• 4:53
  Chicago Camps is hosting Leadership By Design on Thursday
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  & Friday, September 17 & 18. It's an online event, so you can
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  join from anywhere in the world! Tickets are free, thanks to the
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  generosity of the community! If it's within your budget, you can
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  purchase a general admission ticket for only twenty six
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  dollars - with limited early bird tickets at only fifteen
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  dollars. Get tickets now at Chicago Camps dot org.
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  The shift from clicking to acting changes the economic
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  model of the web entirely. When AI agents handle backend tasks
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  directly, we lose the serendipitous discovery that
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  kept independent creators alive. That's a valid concern, but look
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  at the resolution rates. Seventy percent improvement when agents
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  can actually execute tasks. Speed isn't just efficiency.
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  It's a new form of trust. But that trust feels hollow without
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  the friction of choice. We're trading depth for velocity. The
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  interface becomes a service rather than a place to explore.
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  I'd argue the friction was often just poor design. If the user
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  over fifty can't navigate the filters, that's a clarity
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  problem, not a value problem. We need to solve for accessibility,
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  not nostalgia. So the metric for success shifts from
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  engagement time to task completion accuracy. Exactly.
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  We stop measuring how long they linger and start measuring how
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  well they leave. The interface is no longer a destination. It's
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  a conduit. And our job is to make sure the water flows clear.
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  That's The Feed and The Thread for today. We'll catch you next
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  time!