Jason Fried talks about designing an alternative to Basecamp's Applause feature that is subtle yet expressive, and distinct from the kinds of reactions and feedback mechanisms used on social media platforms. (If you missed our previous episode on the debate over the Applause feature, go back and listen!)

At Basecamp, we're in the midst of a debate over an Applause feature that was designed to improve communication but might be stoking unwanted anxiety. In this episode, CTO David Heinemeier Hansson and iOS designer Tara Mann present different sides of the Applause debate and explore the ways behavior patterns in social media are trickling into the workplace. We also look at how world-famous pianist Glenn Gould challenged norms around performance, audiences, and applause.

Dan Miller of Mulberrys Garment Care talks outsourcing, bootstrapping, and growing slowly in some leftover bits we couldn't quite fit into episode 14.

You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll gnash your teeth in recognition as you hear the stories of horrible meetings we collected for this episode. Meetings are one of the worst kinds of workplace interruptions. They're held too frequently, run too long, and involve more people than necessary. Also in this episode: A Basecamp programmer gives advice on rethinking the culture of meetings and the story of one very cringeworthy meeting with a surprising outcome.

Hey, are you busy? Can you listen to this real quick? It's an episode about interruptions in the workplace. You'll hear from academic researchers, Basecamp's head data wrangler, and the CEO of a remote company about how they've tackled not just the disruptions themselves, but also the workplace culture that allows those intrusions to flourish.

Special bonus episode where Jason Fried discusses some of the thinking that goes into making a very small change to the to-do feature in Basecamp.

Hey, are you crushing it? It seems like everyone is constantly crushing it in the business world. But maybe it would be better if we were honest about our flaws, talked like ourselves, and aimed to be genuine instead of super polished. In this episode: A Basecamp customer support representative shares tips on writing emails like a real human being; an inherently artificial industry gets a dose of reality; and two startup founders try an experiment in radical transparency to save their business.

For more details, read his blog post about it: https://www.fredperrotta.com/i-fucked-up/

New year, new you! If you started 2018 with an idea for a product, business, or creative pursuit, now is the time to start making something. In this episode: A tabletop game designer finds that sometimes, all you need to get going is a pack of index cards and a pencil; a skincare blogger tries her hand at DIY and ends up with a cult hit; and a travel backpack company's first attempt at making something goes comically awry.

If you'd like your questions answered on a future mailbag episode leave a message at 708.628.7850.