Writing on tech, AI & building things right.

My AI Bill Just Went Way Up

The subsidies that make AI feel cheap could hollow out our teams and expertise before the real bill arrives.

Forget UFOs: You Might Be Talking to an Alien Already

Maybe we didn’t create life in the biological sense — but maybe we created something stranger: an alien form of intelligence.

Is Everyone an Introvert Now?

The Productivity Question AI Forces Us to Ask

Build with AI without losing the plot.

A Billion-Dollar Paradox: Why Are Men Building the Apps for an Industry Led by Women?

The state of meditation platforms reveals something much larger about who gets funded — and who profits.

Your Job Isn’t Disappearing — It’s Shapeshifting

The question is whether you’ll shapeshift with it. Panic doesn’t have a strategy.

Why It Matters Who Builds AI

I Build AI for a Living — I’m Not Sure We’re Ready for What It’s Becoming

AGI is probably already here. Engaging with it is still a choice. How long does that last?

Our Best Ideas Never Come From AI

Got AI FOMO? 3 AI Categories to Implement

The gap that exists today isn’t technical — it’s imaginative.

Don’t Be an LLM-ing

AI Romance Is Not a Bug

It’s Big Tech’s most dangerous feature.

Inside the New AI Education Task Force

A presidential directive promises to bring AI to the classroom. Let’s look at how that might play out, and what schools should be wary of.

The Human Element in the AI Age

What do we do when the voice of our own intuition and the voice of technological metrics find themselves at odds?

3 Steps to Vetting Your Idea

How do you know your idea is worth pursuing? How do you know you should be the one to pursue it? These questions can point the way.

Breaking Down Google’s Antitrust Case

An antitrust victory against Google shows that Big Tech monopolies can be fought. I hope this is just the beginning.

In Pursuit of Work, Don’t Forget Joy

Being happy and being productive aren’t opposite forces. When you can channel both, you can reach new heights.

Why I’m Thankful for an Unethical Study

An unethical study shows the manipulative power of AI, and points out glaring dangers in the broader online ecosystem.

To Go Far, Go Easy

To run far — fast — perfect your form and relax within it. As always, better wins over more.

Work Harder or Work Around?

Sometimes creatively working around a problem, instead of barreling through it, can wind up better than you imagined.

The Art of Taking Feedback

Feedback — we all need it, fear it, yet hardly ever know what to do with it.

The Broken Social Scene

When was the last time social media felt good, healthy, or fulfilling? I can’t remember, either.

3 Tech Advancements to Be Nervous About

I love tech, but some of these new innovations are giving me pause.

How Much is Privacy Worth?

However the digital world evolves, identity will sit at the center. What implications does that hold?

Why RedNote is a Bad Idea

American Big Tech is awful, but believe it or not, China’s is worse.

How Traceability Could Solve AI’s Copyright Concerns

LLMs are a problematic black box. Shining a light into it would solve much of AI’s problems.

Will AI Devices Kill UX?

AI-powered hardware is emerging all the time. How will this evolution affect UX?

Finding The Merciful Middle Of Social Media

I am the mother of two young children, and I don’t like being the bad guy.

What’s the Point of All This?

By bypassing the friction of being social, of being a person, tech and social media helps cause our biological muscles to atrophy.

The Importance of Smallness

When it comes to social media platforms and product design in general, less really is more.

4 Tips for Spotting AI Videos

AI videos are getting harder to recognize. Let’s talk about what to look for, so you can know what you’re looking at.

What It Means To Be Social

When was the last time social media felt social? By understanding what it means to be social, we can envision a better social media landscape.

How Did Social Media Become So Toxic?

It’s time for a come-to-Jesus talk about social media — how we got here and what better social media could look like.

Thinking About AI and Your Product

Many founders and business leaders feel deeply that they should be using AI in their products and workflows… but they don’t know how or where.

Build With AI Right Now

AI can set your app apart, but how? Let’s look at a few ways you can inject AI into a new or existing product.

How AI Learns

Learning is what makes AI so powerful — and so dangerous. When we understand how AI learns, we can train it more effectively.

The Building Blocks Behind AI

When considering your AI app, it’s best to have a grasp on the technology that makes it possible. So let’s pop the hood on AI.

Going All-In On AI

The OpenAI marketplace is open for business — So are we.

The Case For Radical Simplicity

If your app does eight things, you should be making eight apps. I’m telling you, embrace radical simplicity.

“Just Fix It” — Development Doesn’t Work Like That

“Just fixing it” is hardly ever as simple as it sounds. Bad code from a cheap team = starting over.

Mud at the Finish Line: The Reddest Flag of All

Your product shouldn’t limp across the line to launch. It should feel absolutely bulletproof.

Leave Your Fingerprints on the Product

Best practices are helpful, but they’re not set in stone. Between the boundaries there’s plenty of room to be creative and weird.

Going Viral — The Right Way

Let’s talk about going viral — what it is, what it should be, and how it all comes down to the user experience.

Dodging the Technical Debt Trap

When you choose to build your app fast over building it right, technical debt is the price you pay — and it’ll come back to haunt you.

QA: The All-Stars of the Software Assembly Line

Good Quality Assurance can be a life-saver for your project, but if you’re a non-technical person, you may have never heard of QA.

QA: What It Is & Why You Need It

QA teams are the unsung heroes of the development cycle — and an absolute must when choosing an app development partner.

Do you really need that data?

Apps ask for so much information before users even see what they’re getting. The data you request must make sense in context.

What is Web3, and does it matter?

Now that the NFT fad is mostly over, can we talk about Web3 for real?

Rethinking the Paywall

The market is not used to paying for apps. The possibilities of paywalls, and how to build an app worth buying in the first place.

The Consequences of Low Code Quality

Code quality determines how smoothly your app runs, how far it can go, and how good that process feels.

Your MVP & the Founder’s Flaw

Beware the Founder’s Flaw: where every detail seems all-important, skewing your sense of priority and proportion.

Don’t look down.

2022 was a rough year following a few rough years. A lot of things shifted, chief among them my worldview.

“It Didn’t Go Well”

My five-year-old son is at summer camp on the beach. On the first week, the kids took swim tests.

Clean Architecture: The Secret to Cutting Costs and Scaling Smart

When it comes to the code under the surface of your app, simplicity scales.

Using AI to Ensure High Code Quality

Can AI help produce higher-quality code? Like almost everything AI, the answer is Yes*.

WLCM Featured on the front page of Inc.com

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Lindsey knew she had to act fast. Here, she shares what happened in the months that followed.

WLCM Named to Inc.’s 2022 Best in Business List

3rd annual list recognizes 241 private companies putting purpose ahead of profit.

We’re thinking about growth differently

WLCM was named #50 on the Fast 100, the SF Business Times’ list of the fastest growing private companies in SF.

WLCM A Most Reviewed Global Software Provider

We are one of the most reviewed global application management firms on The Manifest.

Brella Top Finalist on Fast Company’s Best Experience Design of 2022 Awards

Brella is reimagining childcare in every dimension: from its gorgeous physical spaces to its fully-flexible booking process.

Google’s #WeArePlay Campaign Showcases Pumpspotting

Amy and pumpspotting were featured in Google’s #WeArePlay campaign.

Our Story in Inc. Magazine

For more than 10 years, WLCM has grown at a rapid clip. Then, business came to a sudden halt.

You made this possible

Each story of generosity is proof that we can make a difference in a world that feels largely outside of our control.

WLCM No.55 on the Inc. Regionals Pacific list

With a growth rate of 259%, WLCM App Studio is No. 55 on the third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list.

The Campaign for Ukrainian Families

On Feb 24th, after a sleepless night following Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, I created a campaign to raise funds to support this team.

Brella’s Software Re-Launch & Expansion

WLCM is a team of parents, so we know well the challenge of finding high-quality, flexible and reliable child care.

The spirit of the word

Last month, the WLCM team was all together.

Shift Meditations: Minimal Design for Maximum Transformation

When it came to working with Lacy Young for her Shift Meditations app, it was a resounding and easy yes.

Bringing web to mobile with Orgain

Keith and Brian came to us with a desire to bring their web experience for Orgain Healthcare Ambassadors to mobile.

How much does it cost to build an app?

Some basic categories that can help you plan and understand what level of investment your project will require.

Brella: Translating High-Design Brick and Mortar into a Beautiful App Experience

Designing apps is about more than functionality. It’s about capturing the spirit and aesthetics of a company as well.

New York Times Profiles MyFlo Founder Alisa Vitti

Alisa Vitti is helping women change the way they look at their periods through empowering them to better know and nurture their bodies.

Interesting. Issue 005. Dec 2019. It’s so dark.

I’ve got three for you.

Forbes Magazine Recognizes Pumpspotting for Disrupting Business-As-Usual

Amy Van Haren, CEO and Founder of Pumpspotting, talks about how important it is to be able to travel and pump as a working mom.

Interesting. Issue 004. Sept 2019. Revolution and Rotting Money

This issue is a hats off to two freedom fighters and one odd bird.

Interesting. Issue 003. Aug 2019. It didn’t happen like I thought it did.

This week brings histories I thought I knew — revised.

Interesting. Issue 002. August 2019. The birds are watching.

After you read it, you won’t look at the birds in your life the same way again.

Interesting. Issue 001. July 2019. Everything is different.

We’re now WLCM (pronounced “Welcome”), a rearrangement of the original initials with an additional “m”.

Why you get your best ideas in the shower

My mom used to save all the bread bags for me because I liked to fill them with rocks.

What Apps Do That Books Can’t

When was the last time you read a really compelling book about changing some aspect of your life — and then actually did the work?

Design Rules Are Meant to Be Broken

As a designer I love understanding what’s happening in my field.

How to make your app go viral: 5 actionable ideas from Mada Seghete

Notes from a webinar by Mada Seghete at Branch, with insights a lot of my clients could use.

Fast Company Magazine Honors Pumpspotting’s “World-Changing Idea”

Lovingly called Barb, the Breast Express is a hub for connection and community-building.

Women’s Health Magazine Dubs MyFLO the Best of the Best

Women’s Health named MyFLO one of the top period tracking apps in the FemTech awards, for both its function and innovation.

Pumpspotting Named a Top 26 Startup by MassChallenge Boston and Wins PepsiCo Award

Pumpspotting was selected from over 1,600 applicants to participate in the 2018 MassChallenge program.

Vogue Magazine Spotlights Pumpspotting

The app that coined #putaboobonit is garnering more national attention.

pumpspotting Wins Big With Apple and iTunes

Apple and iTunes named pumpspotting “best in class”, and among the top five apps for motherhood.

Fayr Welcomes Gwyneth Paltrow as Lead Advisor

The Fayr co-parenting app celebrated an impressive win this week appearing on the reality television show Planet of the Apps.