Alex Wright (@alexgrantwright) header
Alex Wright (@alexgrantwright) profile picture

Alex Wright

@alexgrantwright

Author of Empire of Ink (Basic Books, 2026). Writer + designer exploring the deep history of the attention economy.

 Brooklyn, NY
agwright.com
Joined October 2010
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3Media
Photo by Alex Wright (@alexgrantwright)Photo by Alex Wright (@alexgrantwright)Photo by Alex Wright (@alexgrantwright)
I’m no longer active on X. You can follow my work here: Substack: substack.com/@alexwright LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alex-wright-… Instagram: instagram.com/alexgrantwrigh…
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America’s earliest newspapers had more in common with today’s media than you might think. 💭 In Quill, Sam Stall explores @alexgrantwright’s “Empire of Ink” & the printers, publishers & entrepreneurs who shaped the country’s early news ecosystem. 📚 bit.ly/4xNhQdj
Image from Society of Professional Journalists (@spj_tweets)
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Alex Wright retweeted
Basic Books (@BasicBooks) profile picture
Basic Books
@BasicBooksJun 16
🗞️ Happy publication day to EMPIRE OF INK! @alexgrantwright tells the story of America’s first media revolution—the rise of the newspaper—and the transformation of a fledgling republic into the world’s first information superpower. Learn more: hachettebookgroup.com/titles…
Image from Basic Books (@BasicBooks)
Image from Basic Books (@BasicBooks)
Image from Basic Books (@BasicBooks)
Image from Basic Books (@BasicBooks)
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Alex Wright retweeted
Aeon Magazine (@aeonmag) profile picture
Aeon Magazine
@aeonmag5 Jun 2023
The 1970s librarians who revolutionised the challenge of search bit.ly/43odgCX
Image from Aeon Magazine (@aeonmag)
Image from Aeon Magazine (@aeonmag)
Image from Aeon Magazine (@aeonmag)
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Today's "information explosion" may seem like a modern phenomenon, but we are not the first generation—or even the first species—to wrestle with the problem of #InformationOverload. INFORMATICA by @alexgrantwright is available now: ow.ly/akYu50OE3OY
Cropped thumbnail of the book cover for Informatica: Mastering Information through the Ages by Alex Wright

ALT Cropped thumbnail of the book cover for Informatica: Mastering Information through the Ages by Alex Wright

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Reflections on UX practice, “inner capitalism,” and the problem of professional ennui link.medium.com/5sQiWuNiCzb
Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia

n. 1) happiness; well-being. 2) Happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason — Webster’s

link.medium.com
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Feeling the FOMO for Interaction 23 in Zurich this week, but grateful to the organizers for giving my virtual self a chance to share an overview of my doctoral research on Friday. Here's a preview of some of what I'm planning to talk about: link.medium.com/n5pBfhUPOxb #interaction23
Regenerative UX

Regenerative UX

“Nothing is easier than to formulate high ideals, but few things are more difficult than to discover the means whereby those ideals can be…

link.medium.com
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Many IxD practitioners feel that the horizons of digital design work are shrinking, feeling disillusioned, burned out, and helpless. Join @alexgrantwright in his talk about Regenerative UX, and how it can incorporate sustainable, long-term perspectives in our work. #IxD23

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Enjoyed the chance to nerd out on library history with WNYC's @mollyfication for this piece on Alexandria and the dream of the universal library. wnycstudios.org/story/enduri…
The Enduring Allure of the Library of Alexandria | On the Media | WNYC Studios

The Enduring Allure of the Library of Alexandria | On the Media | WNYC Studios

How an ancient library continues to inspire utopian projects.

wnycstudios.org
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All doctored up. Big thanks to my committee @iamjchapman @maximolly @futuryst for guiding me on this journey, and congrats to fellow @cmudesign PhDs @sboschg @pure_live_love and Hajira Qazi.
Image from Alex Wright (@alexgrantwright)
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Thoroughly enjoyed this piece by @mikekuniavsky on the future of computational design, and the challenges of moving beyond the Modernist mindset that undergirds so much of contemporary design practice. link.medium.com/TonAlQzsEnb
Computational Design in the shadow of Modernism

Computational Design in the shadow of Modernism

Design — whether you call it styling, architecture, or engineering, and whether the end product is a shoe, an app, or a lawnmower blade —…

link.medium.com
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Fantastic piece by @fturner on the politics of Facebook's corporate arts programming: fredturner.stanford.edu/wp-c…
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Applications now open for our PhD in Transition Design at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design. Join our community of brilliant PhD Researchers leveraging design as a tool for positive change in the world.   #phd #transiti…lnkd.in/gR6DJvA9 lnkd.in/eHWvqPn

PhD in Transition Design | Jonathan Chapman

Applications now open for our PhD in Transition Design at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design. Join our community of brilliant PhD Researchers leveraging design as a tool for positive...

linkedin.com
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I wrote an Op-Ed for @Guardian highlighting a few ideas from my new book, Meaningful Stuff: Design that Lasts ⁦@MITPress⁩ mitpress.mit.edu/books/meani… #design #circulareconomy #systemschange #materials #obsolescence #waste theguardian.com/commentisfre…
Meaningful Stuff

Meaningful Stuff

Never have we wanted, owned, and wasted so much stuff. Our consumptive path through modern life leaves a wake of social and ecological destruction—sneakers...

mitpress.mit.edu
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Alex Wright retweeted
Stuart Candy (@futuryst) profile picture
Stuart Candy@futuryst31 Mar 2021
Last week I helped to launch the United Nations Development Programme @UNDP’s annual innovation event #IID2021, using an #ExperientialFutures process and format created for the occasion. 🧵
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Congrats to @greggcorp on his new book Research Practice (where I’m honored to have a small cameo). Looking forward to digging in!
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Today on the Knight Lab site: @richgor wraps up our series with six reasons news media need to take product thinking seriously knightlab.northwestern.edu/2…

Yes, Product Thinking Can Save Journalism. Six Reasons Why News Media Need Product Thinkers.

Knight Lab’s series on product thinking in media started with a question: “Journalism Has Been Disrupted. Can Product Thinking Save It?”  After more than 25 ...

knightlab.northwestern.edu
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Four steps to arguing intelligently, courtesy of philosopher Daniel Dennett j.mp/1yMH4ra
Image from The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) (@brainpickings)
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The Long Now Foundation has published a few excerpts from a fascinating discussion on the pandemic and long-term thinking, with @stewartbrand, @kevin2kelly, @dannyhillis, @edyson, @zander, @psaffo et al.: bit.ly/2X55FcO
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