Building a Personal Dashboard

A personal dashboard is a useful middle ground between a portfolio and a profile. It can show the work, but also the person who keeps making it.

The trick is restraint. A dashboard can become noisy quickly if every widget asks for attention.

Widgets Need Jobs

Each widget should answer one small question:

• where am I?
• what am I listening to?
• what have I shipped lately?
• where can someone reach me?

If the widget cannot answer a question, it is probably decoration.

That does not mean it cannot be playful. It just means playfulness should serve the feeling of presence, not distract from it.