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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · 1d

We can finally see in the data how hiring for junior roles has dropped since the arrival of #ChatGPT.

The first chart shows demand for juniors.
The second shows demand for seniors.

The data is from the U.S. @economist.com

What’s your experience?

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · 11d

#SaaS tools probably won’t die.

But building your own data analysis interface inside them no longer makes sense.

Just look at Toggl for example…

Great app, but when it comes to working with data? Mostly inadequate.

When #AI can deliver an analysis in seconds, it’s simply redundant.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · 24d

Interesting: #AI vs. #ProductManagement 👇

AI generates ideas cheaply and quickly.

But true reasoning is social: it emerges from debate and conflicting perspectives.

Possible direction for AI? Systems that can actually disagree with each other and bring diverse views.

lukew.com/ff/entry.asp...

LukeW | Future Product Days: Future of Product Creators

In his talk The Future of Product Creators at Future Product Days in Copenhagen, Tobias Ahlin argued that divergent opinions and debate, not just raw capability...

lukew.com

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Sep 14

Luke Wroblewski makes a good point:

AI models aren’t stealing our content.

They behave just like people — reading, watching, learning, synthesizing.

lukew.com/ff/entry.asp...

LukeW | Letting the Machines Learn

Every time I present on AI product design, I'm asked about AI and intellectual property. Specifically: aren't you worried about AI models

lukew.com

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Sep 11

Radiohead are touring Europe after 7 years.

In Berlin alone, they’ll play 4 shows in a row.

Tickets are sold in phases — each time you have to prove you’re not a scalper, and then it’s a lottery.

Crazy.

(And I didn’t get picked. 😭)

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Aug 25

Why is it hard to predict the pace of #AI progress?

Take airplanes, for example, their speed.

From the Wright brothers’ plane to the first Boeing 7 series in the 1960s — half a century of huge progress.

And then half a century of stagnation.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Aug 18

Writing text:
– before AI: 1h
– with AI: 15 min

Meme search:
– before AI: 15 min
– with AI: 1h

Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Aug 4

#WebPerf audits from #SEO agencies…

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Jul 30

We’ve just added case studies to our company's website.

The results of our #WebPerformance work are pretty good. :)

For example, we sped up sites like SIKO and Footshop by more than 2.5×.

You’ll even find a few technical insights in there: pagespeed.cz/en/reference

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Jul 24

This guy wants to work at 37signals — so he built a landing page and a pitch deck just for them. Brilliant.

By the way, we hired our newest team member at out company thanks to a similar approach.

Landing your dream job might be easier than you think.

37signals.kawaicheung.io

37signals.kawaicheung.io

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Jul 23

A real eye-opener for prioritizing #WebPerformance?

Show your client their website on a low-end mobile device.

infrequently.org/2024/01/perf...

The Performance Inequality Gap, 2024 - Infrequently Noted

How much HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can we afford? More than in years past, but much less than frontend developers are burdening users with.

infrequently.org

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Jul 18

What do you think the rise of AI — like AI Overviews in Google — means for the web?

Extinction?
Transformation?
Opportunity?

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Jun 2

Most people think optimizing #PageSpeed means:
> “Let’s remove stuff. Delete as much as we can.”

What it’s really about:
> “Keep what you need. Just build it the right way.”

This applies to everything: images, GTM, tracking tools, WordPress…

As #WebPerf people we do #optimization, not #deletion.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · May 30

My #WebExpo2025: AI, WebPerf & People

— @tej.as – Web as food for AI, UI revolution
— Tomáš Čupr – CEOs, AI, FOMO
— @tammyeverts.com – Slow websites still hurt after users leave
— @tkadlec.bsky.social – Core Web Vitals are just the start

Thanks to Šárka and the @webexpo.bsky.social team!

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · May 25

Today marks 15 years since @ethanmarcotte.com introduced “responsive web design.”

We decent web folks build for all devices now and don't think about it.

But in a time when websites are fighting for relevance, it’s worth looking back at those 15 years.
alistapart.com/article/resp...

Responsive Web Design

Designers have coveted print for its precision layouts, lamenting the varying user contexts on the web that compromise their designs. Ethan Marcotte advocates we shift our design thinking to approp…

alistapart.com

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · May 20

You don’t say “I used a computer” to write something.

So why say “I used AI”?

It’s just a tool. Everyone’s using it.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Apr 11

I’ve got a team of assistants.

While I’m writing an email to a client, images for an article are being generated, data analysis is running, and a newsletter summary is being prepared.

#AI is turning all of us into managers.

Success will belong to those who delegate and prioritize well.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Apr 2

Yes, for devs/content/creative is AI huge, but it doesn't mean all of them will be replaced by AI tools.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Apr 2

They say 80% of programming will be done by #AI.

…say those who’ve mostly never written a line of code.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Apr 1

We all use low-end devices way too little. 📱

I think that’s one of the big issues of #WebDevelopment.

Today I browsed a few sites on an older mid-range Android, and it was a nightmare. 🙈

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Mar 21

More context:
These are INP metric values from a Czech e-shop.
People also visit the site while traveling.

INP = the worse the device, the worse the metric.

The map shows where wealthier users vacation (green)
and where the larger crowds go (orange) — often with lower-end Androids.

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Mar 21

#WebPerformance:

What hypotheses come to mind when you see a chart like this showing the geographic distribution of the INP metric?

Graph is is for Central European E-commerce site.

(I do have a strong hypothesis, but I’ll keep it to myself for now.)

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Mar 21

Somebody told me MS Word has this feature too. Just copy Markdown and paste into document. Much better, but I don't use Word. 😅

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Mar 21

OMG, how did I live without Dark Reader…!

This is a Chrome extension for darkening sites without dark mode. Google Docs, Gmail, whatever…

Everything is dark by default.

My eyes love it at the night. ✨

darkreader.org

Dark Reader — dark theme for every website

Dark mode for every website. Take care of your eyes, use dark theme for night and daily browsing. For Chrome and Firefox, Edge and Safari.

darkreader.org

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Martin Michalek @machal.bsky.social · Mar 20

In the interfaces of #SaaS apps, small performance or UX annoyances often cumulate over time.

Individually they’re not a big deal. The problem arises when they start to cumulate.

The challenge? Users will never report this in their feedback. They just get a “weird feeling”.

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