If you’ve been hearing about Bitcoin and want to get involved, but don’t know how to start, use this easy guide to take your first steps into the cryptoverse.

Step 1: Understand what you’re getting into

First, know that I’m not a financial advisor and that the cryptocurrency market is very volatile. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose – especially while you’re learning the basics. I believe blockchain technology is poised to revolutionize our modern society, but it’s still in its infancy. Proceed with confident caution.

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Where’ve you been, EightyJane?
If you follow me on LinkedIn, you may know that I’ve defected from entrepreneurial life to take a position at Google. Having never (ever, ever) considered myself the “corporate type,” this move was made with some trepidation: Can I retain any sense of autonomy? Will I feel inspired by purpose or get caught in the money trap? Will my creative talents go dull?

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Life at Google
I’m only half a year in, but I’m happy to report that culture at Google lives up to the hype and if I become a corporate drone, I’ll have only myself to blame. I was hired to be a leader of UX content strategy for SMB (small-to-medium business) audiences because of my entrepreneurial spirit, not in spite of it. Accordingly, I still have plenty of room to exercise, learn new skills, attend tech talks, and be otherwise dynamically productive during my 9ish to 5ish day.

Eye on I/O
The Google brand is been about being open and accessible so that the willing can have the resources to make the world anew. And that’s what I/O is about. It’s about sharing what’s new with the world and engaging a community of makers as partners in evolving the world of digital technology. That community isn’t just in Silicon Valley; it isn’t just in the Bay Area; and it certainly isn’t limited to the United States. It is worldwide.

So wherever you are, and whether you’re a developer, a designer, a content creator, a wannabe, or just a lover of all things tech – watch the I/O keynote live online, here on eightyjane.com, and be informed. Better yet, be inspired!

Netflix has spoiled me. The video streaming pioneer is a sophisticated platform that makes browsing a huge catalog feel as comfortable and familiar as scanning the media shelves in my living room. That is, if my living room shelves could magically refresh themselves with new items while remaining perfectly curated to my current tastes, while being (mostly) clutter-free. The 18-year-old company has made me expect savvy streaming experiences – especially when viewing premium content.

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So imagine my horror when I signed up for HBO NOW and discovered the user interface looking like a free WP magazine-style theme template! There doesn’t seem to be any account personalization outside of the very basic watchlist, which allows you to save items to watch later. That leaves the front page to fall back on the curation efforts that appeal to the largest common denominator… and we know what happens with that approach. Or, if you didn’t know, here it is.

[Pictured, from HBO NOW desktop app: A collection of movie stills that all feature white males, with a few decorative guns and women in the mix. The guns outnumber the women.]

If I didn’t already know that HBO does actually have great programming, a page like this would send me directly to the subscription cancellation page in my Google Play account. Yet the network can bank on it’s huge and hugely popular catalogue of critically acclaimed shows and documentaries to make viewers like me slog through what looks like someone’s copy+paste-from-the-CMS-backend job.

HBO has finally bent to the inevitable tide of online entertainment consumption that is ringing the death knell of traditional cable services. They must have finally understood that folks like me (and I’m among a growing majority) would sooner forego the pleasure of a timely viewing of Curb Your Enthusiasm, VEEP, Getting On and so so many movies than submit to the tyranny that is a traditional cable subscription. However, they are a long way from serving on-demanding consumers who expect smart information architecture and customized content.

In the longrun – after a number of series binges – the poor navigation and lack of dynamic discovery in the app will make the offering much less attractive to me. Especially at it’s premium $14.99 per month price. Further, Netflix is quickly catching up in the original programming game. To remain competitive HBO will really have to push to develop it’s applications to the golden user experience standard customers now expect.