Designing technology for ageing boomers
We have no shortage of interest here at Made by Many about the role and potential that technology offers to the current ageing population, and this story about Barbara Breskind particularly caught our eye. She is a 90-year-old designer based in youth-obsessed San Francisco that helps IDEO think about older generations.

Make / Test / Learn
Our friends at Undercurrent recently released the 20 most responsive companies of 2014; we’re totally on board with their mission.

Learning through failure
Amazon is pulling out of their 6+ month exploration into Amazon wallet, and Google is shuttering Google Glass after a couple of hard-fought years. Deciding when to quit is tough, but it shows that you're learning. We found Chris Poole’s (aka moot) lessons and approach to both spinning down his startup DrawQuest and handing over the reins of 4Chan to be exceptionally considered and poignant.

Speaking of starting over, this take on Satya Nadella’s Microsoft reboot is excellent.

Integrate the customer
Tom Goodwin of the Guardian has an incredibly on-point take on myopic, technology-first businesses that forget about the customer because they’re too distracted by the shiny and new. Maybe we need to just start putting mannequins in meeting rooms to stand-in for the customer.

What happens to employees in an age of acquisition?
Last week we spoke of Teehan and Lax acquisition by Facebook. It seems as though there’s a whole team that's been left behind in the process. We’ve been reading the story that Teehan and Lax isn’t telling (apparently).

Is Tinder sustainable?
Our own designer, Owen, articulated his experiences using the platform over on our blog.

Shanley Kane, women in tech, and an online voice
There was avid and extensive discussion in the #diversity slack this week around the harassment of Shanley Kane, a co-founder of one of our favorite blogs (Model View Culture). While we do agree that she is a divisive figure, it does not negate the need for a solution to harrassment and doxing culture in general. We’re interested to see how Zoë Quinn accomplishes this with Crash Override, her new anti-harrassment support network.

While speaking on women and credit, Bjork’s latest interview with Pitchfork shows us how journalists tend to attach credit to men rather than women.

Is Sim City Homelessness a feature or a bug?
This one question spawned a 600 page solution, and I don’t think we're any closer to resolving our own philosophical stance on the issue.

On the big screen
The #movies channel is abuzz with the latest list of Oscar nominees. New York is interested in American Sniper (fake babies included), and has praise for cinematography nominee Ida. On a personal level I can’t give Whiplash enough praise, and there’s a general consensus in the London office that Foxcatcher is a definite ‘wait for the DVD’.

In television
We’re torn between Amazon's latest release of The Man in the High Castle and “possibly the worst show in the history of Television” -- The Royals.

In the West End
We’re loving the theatre’s take on dystopian futures in both New Atlantis (Waterworld meets a high-technology world) and The Nether (think: Caprica’s take on virtual worlds, and all of those implications). If you’re looking for something less nebulous and more immersive and participatory, we’re quite taken by the Gruff Theatre’s Instructionally Invited.

In Music
We’re so thrilled at Spotify’s ‘Touch Preview’ — their new mobile music discovery tool. I’m sure this will result in many more tracks shared on the #music Slack.

Also, Sleater Kinney is back, and they’re oh so good.

This week was an eventful set of after-hours activities for the London office. First, on Tuesday night we hosted a lively board game night. Once a month the team gathers over markers, cards, characters, and beer (of course) to overcome impossible odds and conquer Tokyo, dominate the universe, save a doomed village from ghosts, and successfully overthrow the government.

Our fierce game night captured by @carlmw, @rachelmercer, and @scandaloust.

Thursday, we hosted our third Small Talks (an event that shines the spotlight on things that go unnoticed but are integral to the way we live) at the Diespeker studio, which boasted a full house. This month’s event explored play and discovery in cities, with an awesome lineup of speakers. If you want to see what people were saying, check out #SmallTalks on Twitter.

Some Small Talks studio shots from @owenbookthomas, @nikajaneckova, and @karatmuk.

If reading this makes you think that we’re supremely fun people that you’d want to hang out with, you can! It’s worth noting that we’re hiring a Design Intern and an Interaction Designer for our New York office, and here in London there’s several positions open for our in-house incubator.

TTFN.