How to write better web copy and build better products

By Chelsea

From using “The 5 F’s” of web copy to creating ethical and accessible experiences…the Spark is here to kickstart your week. Brought to you by Brendan, Chelsea, Kate, Natania, and Rebecca.

(1) Algorithms are everywhere — let’s make sure they’re ethical.

Data systems and algorithms affect humans at a massive scale. So they should be human-centered in their design, right? Here’s some practical advice to follow around ethical tech, whether or not you’re building an algorithm. [IDEO Stories]

(2) If you write web copy, you should know The Five F’s.

Friendly. Feeling. Function. Flow. Format. The folks at Invision explain. [Invision]

(3) A moral argument for accessible websites and apps.

Even though accessibility is a hot topic these days, not everyone agrees on its importance. Here’s a great, simple argument for why accessibility is important, and not just from a liability or UX perspective, but from a moral one too. [Go Make Things]

(4) Who are period-tracking apps really built for?

Did you know that period-tracking apps are the fourth most popular health app among adults and second most popular among adolescent women? These apps should be designed by women and for women, not by men, marketers, and medical companies. Which way do you think they go currently? [Vox]

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(5) Making the money argument for digital marketing.

Many progressive organizations falsely believe that they don’t need to invest in digital marketing or strategy. So many platforms are free on the surface, or you can just Google it right? Wrong… [Platypus Digital]

(6) Louisville, Kentucky—one of only 19 cities to get Google Fiber since its launch in 2010—is now the first to lose it.

Terrestrial ISPs keep promising to deliver increased bandwidth to underserved regions of the US. But as Google Fiber’s failure and withdrawal in Louisville, Kentucky, demonstrates, that promise utterly depends on the skill and savvy of tech giants, and can mean that municipalities are vulnerable to being left with nothing but the garbage tech leaves behind. [Gizmodo]

(7) Could 5G be next in line to fail?

Meanwhile, cellular ISPs are promising that 5G will be the future of data for everyone, but in reality, without a federal fiber plan, less than 10% of the U.S. will have access to it by 2022. And the U.S. is the only advanced economy in the world without one. [Electronic Frontier Foundation]