Jens Oliver Meiert

“2024” (2)

3 Good Reasons for Vegan and Vegetarian “Substitute” Products

On acknowledging forms, maintaining connection, and making it easier to live empathically and sustainably.

#30 ·

The Essence of Veganism

On not having anyone suffer or die for us.

#29 ·

Know the “search” Element

Let’s talk about element #112.

#28 ·

The Price of a Dream

A look at what it costs to travel the world, a decade later.

#27 ·

Website Optimization Measures, Part XXIV

On AVIF tests, book prices, AI experiments, Eleventy performance, IE scripts and styles, domain registrations, site headers, and (old) document functionality that can better be handled by native HTML elements than by handmade scripts.

#26 · · ,

Death by Experience

It’s possible to hire too much experience, and it costs diversity and culture.

#25 ·

Website Optimization Measures, Part XXIII

Affiliate marketing and ads and Brave Rewards. HTML elements and dotenv and Git. Spellings and designs and stuff.

#24 · · ,

We Need to Talk More About Conformance, if We Want to Stop Fantasy HTML

Conformant and valid HTML is the exception on websites and in apps, even though valid output is a sign of professional web development. Given how rarely the topic is being discussed these days, we benefit from raising more awareness for HTML conformance and validation.

#23 · · ,

The Great Tech and People Hypocrisy

When we value people so much that we “rif” them even with cash in the bank, maybe we don’t value them as much as we say we do. On a two-faced industry that needs firing standards as much as it needs hiring standards.

#22 ·

Upgrade Your HTML V.

Now Available: Upgrade Your HTML V!

The newest part of the ebook series for HTML craftspeople and minimalists, touching on past, present, and future of the greatest document language ever specified.

#21 · · , ,

Critical Feedback: Four Approaches and One Twist

Feedback is important so that we can learn and improve. Critical feedback is important to expose, validate, and address areas of growth and development. I believe that fundamentally, there are four approaches to critical feedback.

#20 · · ,

April 24 Is JS Naked Day

Every year on April 9 we, a part of our field, do without CSS; from this year on, on April 24, there’s an opportunity to temporarily swear off JavaScript.

#19 ·

Declining 1:1 Meetings Without a Message Is Rude

It happens everywhere, but it sets a bad example.

#18 ·

Highlights From “On Liberty” (John Stuart Mill)

“The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is no longer doubtful, is the cause of half their errors. A contemporary author has well spoken of “the deep slumber of a decided opinion.‘”

#17 ·

Highlights From “The Psychology of Revolution” (Gustave Le Bon)

“Men judge with their intelligence, and are guided by their characters. To understand a man fully one must separate these two elements.”

#16 ·

Sustainability Trap

On the need to take and at the same time reassign responsibility for consumption and pollution.

#15 ·

Exploitation

What and who is easiest to take advantage of and exploit, how is that being justified, and what can be done about it? On one piece of the puzzle what the fewest things are that need changing, to change everything.

#14 · · ,

Julia and Sybil

The early manuscript of a novel I started in 2015, and that will still take a few years to be finished.

#13 · · ,

On the Gift of OKR for Company Culture

“OKR,” short for aspiration, candor, and accountability.

#12 ·

Building Websites and Building Websites Well

On exercises, orthogonality, and—choice.

#11 ·

The Next Adventure

On leaving Germany again, and the next big chapter of my life.

#10 · · ,

How to Counter Provocation and Rumor

Are there effective responses to being provoked, picked on, blamed, attacked? Absolutely—but they’re not all being taught or shared a lot. A few quotes that I’ve found useful.

#9 ·

“Web Design as a Process” in Charts: Maintenance, Decay, Tech Debt, and Big Bang Launching

Web design is a process. This process relates to the quality and completeness of a given website, as observed over time. We can chart and understand different types of this process.

#8 · · ,

Why I Like Scrumban

Over the past years, I’ve become a fan of Scrumban, a mix of Scrum and Kanban. But what is Scrumban here, and what is there to like about Scrumban?

#7 ·

Website Optimization Measures, Part XXII

Web design is a process, running our own websites is awesome, and together it means there’s always something to tweak and improve and optimize. Select things I’ve done over the last few months.

#6 · · ,

On the Well Astonishing Verdicts on Social Media

We may speak anything from 470,000,000 to 860,000,000 words in our lifetime. The tiniest fraction may be too much.

#5 ·

Performance and Stay Questions in 1:1s

On a set of questions that are useful to ask every few weeks, for close alignment and connection, as well as well-being.

#4 ·

My Web Development Wishlist 2024

Respect, UX before DX, quality output that starts with conformance, running one’s own website, and adding as much as necessary, but as little as possible to web standards—five wishes to benefit our field, our users, and us as professionals.

#3 · · ,

Stop Closing Void Elements

Some developers believe in closing all HTML elements. Some have to close all HTML elements. Others don’t believe in doing so, or aren’t forced either way. In Upgrade Your HTML IV, I wrote a little about closing void elements.

#2 ·

2023

My professional and personal highlights from the last year. (Happy 2024!)

#1 ·