One of my long-time readers Matt (and I believe he goes back to the early daze of The Hot Iron) recently asked me how I write this weekly column of what I learned. It’s pretty straightforward; as I get an “aha” on something I paste it into my notes system which I can access by mobile or notebook computer. At the end of the week (or beginning of the next) I copy them into Word and provide some (hopefully) unique context around them. And here goes this past week’s batch.

Text This Ten Times Fast – I heard the term smishing for the first time this week. This is when you receive a spam SMS (or text) message on your phone with a link the sender hopes you’ll click on and enter personal information so eventually some account of yours can be hacked. Hat tip to Paul Ferron of LibertyID who was on Josh Dukelow’s Fresh Take for the term.

Bad Bad Browsers – Two stories past my eyes this week that reinforced trends in the wrong direction with regards to Web browsers. First was where the recently new Microsoft Edge, the replacement for Internet Explorer, is making changes which may break ad blockers. Also, a “bug” was found in Google Chrome where when you clear your browsing history it doesn’t clear it for Google search or YouTube, also owned by Google. I long for the days when a Web browser was just a Web browser, but sadly I would need to go into the wayback machine to the 1990’s.

Please Test – When testing mobile apps or mobile Web sites, make sure you take into consideration accessibility features being enabled like text size and zooming in on the screen.

Helping You Helping Others – My good colleague Thej offers these great tips of tools to use for effective documentation. Granted some of these are for the more technically inclined, but even if your Web site or app works well functionally, often people need help on how to use it.

Good Grief? – People were in a tizzy this week as it was announced the Peanuts holiday specials, starting with “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will no longer be appearing on broadcast television but exclusive on Apple TV+. For me this was no big deal, as 1) I don’t watch over-the-air or cable TV and 2) I bought them on DVD at a Walgreens drug store for about $10 for all of them years ago. Guessing the discs are a little more expensive now.

But You Can Watch This For Free – This commercial for the Kyro Distillery in Finland was shared to me by colleagues in the Scandinavian country. But only watch it if you appreciate quirky Nordic humor.

But Will It Make A Difference? – The United Kingdom has a Minister of Loneliness.

HugTrain Reimagined – My friend Arie Moyal is changing his long-standing annual tradition of HugTrain, where he traversed the US and Canada offering hugs in the name of better mental health, into The Small Change Institute. More to come on this endeavour.

Closer To An Accessibility Law? – Web and mobile accessibility has always been a gray area when it comes to the law. The Americans with Disability Act in the US does not specify digital technology, namely as it wasn’t around when the law was passed. But that hasn’t stopped lawsuits claiming ADA violations. A new bill has been introduced in the US House on Accessibility. I am torn as on this as it really doesn’t address all scenarios, such old dormant Web sites that are still live, let alone relevant content on any Web site. I will be following it closely, and so will your lawyers.

Final Call For Paper Box Tops – The fundraiser Box Tops for Education started moving to a digital format a few years back, and the last of the paper “clip tops” are being collected now. As most schools are virtual, you are now able to send Box Tops in yourself on behalf of your school. Where this video shows you how, you still need an online account to get the submission forms. Personally, I think this is the end of the Box Tops program. Originally Box Tops were easy and fun to clip and collect. Now that it has gone digital, you scan shopping receipts with an app to “collect” now, and as a result you are sharing everything you buy and part of your credit card number. And not surprisingly, money collected by this is way down from past years.

Whoops – Depending on when you read last week’s What I Learned, the link to the presentation on Scrum and high performing teams may have been broken. Here’s the link again, which is not.

My absentee ballot has been received, according to the tracking Web site managed by the state of Wisconsin. Other than Seth Reid for Winnebago County Register of Deeds, I am not saying who I voted for.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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