What an intense experience the Oslo Freedom Forum was. Last year, I came as attendee. This year, I supported user interviews and usability tests with Mo and the Dana Wallet and White Noise crews. Planning had started months earlier, the teams did a great job getting their apps in place, and the whole thing worked out really well (big thanks to HRF). Now we’re evaluating the information we gathered, and working on a presentation for the dev/hack/day at BTC Prague. And that will turn into a proper report afterwards that we’ll publish.
I’ve done lots of user testing before, but speaking with activists is something different. When their tools don’t work properly or leak sensitive data, they or their collaborators may end with serious problems, like ending up in prison. Just watch some of the recorded talks to get a sense. The technology exists to help them, but that is not enough. They need to be comfortable with it and know how to use it, and it needs to get out of their way so they can just do what they need to do. Good design can help with that, and I hope we can all push things forward a bit.
Outside of that, the conference was packed with interesting people. It was basically non-stop conversations for four days. Feels very special to be part of that mix. I think it also comes with a responsibility to then go out and make things happen. At least that’s how I take it.
Speaking of BTC Prague, the second big thing I am focusing on is the Bitcoin Core App. As previously mentioned, we’ll present the basic wallet features at a design and a dev talk. The dev crew is making super fast progress and the UI is coming together nicely. It’s almost daily PR reviews and merging this week. Feels a bit like the construction of a house. Getting the foundation ready takes a long time and despite all the work it might feel like nothing is happening. But then it comes together very quickly. I am really looking forward to the next few days and then the presentation and meeting everyone in person in Prague. This should really give us a sense of where we are in the project and then adjust our next steps.
Beyond that, lots of the usual day-to-day, like newsletter editing, wrapping up the Designathon, conversations with people interested in foundation grants, making a new favicon for Saving Satoshi, guide PR reviews and maintenance, etc. Plenty of bigger projects that need to be done, but those will all have to wait until after Prague. And that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
Major shout-out to all the amazing people I get to interact with in this ecosystem. It’s a pleasure.
✌️🇺🇦