The power of the button (Changelog Interviews #623)

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Rachel Plotnick joins us for the first show of 2025 to discuss her book “Power Button” and the research she did, and why we love/hate buttons so much. We also discuss her upcoming book “License to Spill” as well as the research she’s doing on energy drinks.

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Sponsors:

• Sentry – Use the code CHANGELOG when you sign up to get $100 off the team plan.
• Notion – Notion is a place where any team can write, plan, organize, and rediscover the joy of play. It’s a workspace designed not just for making progress, but getting inspired. Notion is for everyone — whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or freelance designer, starting a new startup or a student juggling classes and clubs.
• DeleteMe – Text CHANGELOG to 64000 to join DeleteMe. They make it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online.

Featuring:

• Rachel Plotnick – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky
• Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
• Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

• RachelPlotnick.com
• Touchscreens Are Out, and Tactile Controls Are Back.
• Power Button
• License To Spill

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!

Chapter

1. This week on The Changelog (00:00:00)

2. Sponsor: Sentry (00:01:12)

https://sentry.io/events/launch-week/

3. Start the show! (00:03:23)

4. It's Rachel Plotnick (00:03:39)

5. Buttons aren't cool (00:10:42)

6. Beginning her button research (00:12:30)

7. Push a button for my shower please (00:15:29)

8. Good for nothing button! (00:21:48)

9. Buttons are not dead (00:22:06)

10. Sponsor: Notion (00:23:45)

http://notion.com/changelog

11. The underlying problem (00:26:00)

12. Re-button-ifying (00:35:11)

13. Placebo buttons (00:36:46)

14. When should it be a button? (00:42:06)

15. License to spill (00:47:00)

16. Sponsor: DeleteMe (00:50:22)

https://joindeleteme.com

17. Reminded of The Truman Show (00:52:50)

18. Who is this book for? (00:53:48)

19. How do YOU eat Cheetos while coding? (00:56:45)

20. What is obsolescence culture? (00:58:21)

21. Rachel's research on energy drinks (01:01:18)

22. H2 Hummer crab walk (01:07:54)

23. Rachel on the internet (01:09:24)

24. Closing thoughts and stuff (01:10:19)