Web – Duncan Stephen

Article — 26 September 2025 — 1,247 words

Autonomy, independence, federation, WordPress and concrete

I have had to make some behind-the-scenes changes to this website. In the process, I am planning to make it more interoperable with the fediverse and indieweb standards — and I am sticking with WordPress.

Article — 11 August 2025 — 1,745 words

Life beyond the folder system

Digital — Information architecture — Technology — Web

The folder metaphor is so intuitive to generations of computer users that they can struggle to think of any other way of using a computer. Yet for younger generations, the idea is completely alien.

Article — 25 February 2025 — 1,679 words

Object-oriented approaches in action

Information architecture — User experience — Web — Work

There are several benefits of building a content model in an object-oriented way. This post walks through those benefits, and demonstrates a real-life example of how this approach works on a well-known website.

Article — 4 February 2025 — 1,406 words

There’s no such thing as a technology problem

Business — Social science — Society — Technology — Web

Information has become the forgotten half in “information technology”. Tech companies are struggling because they aren’t focusing on the human problems they need to solve.

Article — 30 September 2024 — 583 words

Another fresh start

Personal — Web

I have decided to refresh my approach to blogging (yet again). There are a couple of main drivers for this.

Article — 2 January 2024 — 1,225 words

Busi-ness and blogging in 2024

Personal — Technology — Web

A busier life, and recent events on the internet, mean a new direction for my blog.

Article — 30 December 2022 — 1,261 words

20 years of blogging

Personal — Technology — Web

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my first blog post. Blogging is important to me, but it has seen many changes. The online publishing ecosystem is having a moment right now. So what’s next?

Article — 6 November 2022 — 1,179 words

One twit can make a service a dodo

Digital — Politics — Web

I have complicated feelings about the apparent imminent demise of Twitter in the hands of a reckless owner.

Article — 22 August 2022 — 1,698 words

12 years in higher education web and user experience management

User experience — Web — Work

Today I have started a new job. But while I’m looking forward, I have also been reflecting, as this moment marks my first real move away from higher education. Despite the differing natures of the three organisations I worked for, there were many parallels across them.

Article — 10 February 2022 — 341 words

Could you be our nudge intern?

Economics — Social science — User experience — Web — Work

We have a fascinating opportunity for a University of Edinburgh undergraduate student to join our team as an intern this summer. The job has a cool title: nudge intern.

Article — 12 March 2019 — 754 words

30 years of the world wide web

Current affairs — Web

Today the world marks the 30th birthday of the web. I could have said ‘celebrates’ instead of ‘marks’. But despite — or perhaps because of — the fact that it’s the most revolutionary advance in communications of our lifetime, the mood seems reflective rather than celebratory.

Article — 1 January 2019 — 938 words

A year of blogging daily

Personal — Web

Last year I began a routine of publishing shorter posts on an almost-daily basis. Today marks a full year of blogging on a daily basis. It’s also the day I’ll stop posting each day.