iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 02/10/2026

Messaging for America.gov Product Hunt listing is a little clunky Tagline is missing a specifier "plain language" instead of "natural language" smells like they wrote "plain English" first and then remembered the app also works in French, Spanish "AI" here and "SI" on the live site

Tagline: What you need from government, start here.
America.gov is the simplest, fastest way to get information from the U.S. government. Instead of hunting across agency websites, just ask a question in plain language and get a clear answer. Built by the National Design Studio with the General Services Administration, it brings every federal agency together in one place. Available in English, French, and Spanish. Coming next: apply, enroll, and track progress right in chat.

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 02/10/2026

I hate it but also yay for good docs

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

oof. gut punch! But this blog post is worth a read and a think

Secondly, and more… interestingly, a lot of people are making their applications accessible because if a human cannot navigate a website, an agent might not be able to either.

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

After 15 minutes of “Cannot load this video. Try again later” errors I shut the laptop and went outside Will give it another college try tomorrow, perhaps with the native app next time

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

Y'all, I'm trying to get with it and learn to use CapCut but their first user experience on Desktop web app is a NIGHTMARE Feature pop-up Feature pop-up Free trial 60% off Free credits Feature pop-up Tool-tip wizard This app is a MESS

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

Happy new quarter everybody www.melaniecrissey.com/blog/q3-2026/

melaniecrissey.com

Q3 2026 update

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

I don’t think the song was The Staves but I don’t regret listening through all of their albums as part of this musical scavenger hunt

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

Our handyman was skeptical when I handed him the color sample but I think we won him over 💥

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 01/10/2026

Significantly better My sofa is still buried under summer dresses that need to rotate into overflow storage but we’re getting somewhere

After photo closet with rattan baskets, shirts hanging, shoes tucked under a shelf. Hodor door stop.

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

I suppose I could reach out to her through Facebook or Instagram but I don’t want to cross work-personal social media boundaries I could ask her in-person next week but it’ll be an excruciating wait until then!

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

I tried singing / humming the tune of the chorus into Sam Altman’s ChatGPT but it only complimented the sound of my voice and couldn’t match the tune a la Shazam

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

the rest of the playlist was noah kahan, sufjan stevens, etc. so I'm guessing it's a relatively contemporary song/artist

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

music nerds of the internet help trying to identify mystery track from yoga teacher's modern folk playlist - start of chorus notes similar to "I've been afraid of changin" part of landslide - sustained female vocals with layered bell-like harmonies - lazy melancholy lyrics rhyme with say, way ??

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

...yea, some designers will only take orders and are afraid to step over snap lines in the creative process It's always less fun when that happens

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

+1 this is Good. As the person who usually "owns" messaging, the work is always better when design gets more involved Start content-first, align on strategy, CTAs, hierarchy, but copy should adapt and play off of art, layout and interactions That's what makes it sing!

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

Favorite task this morning was going back under the shelf to paint the baseboard, laying on my belly like a beached fish Many people would skip this part (nobody’s gonna sit on the floor in front of your closet!) but I’ve got the sort of brain that would lose sleep knowing the work was undone

A ripped Hefty bag as a makeshift drop cloth on a closet floor

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 30/09/2026

Decided to leave the electrical box door unpainted because I’m sort of into the colors on this ripped sticker

A white metal electrical box door with a ripped sticker that says Danger

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 29/09/2026

I don't want an AI tamagotchi for the same reasons I never bought an Alexa 1) I want personal data and work data separated. The AI agent I use to book dinner reservations shouldn't be always on listening or watching keystrokes on my work machine 2) Reading, typing, tapping > listening & yapping

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 29/09/2026

I don't love to hang out on that app but I do need to use it for research and posting on behalf of clients (lots of AI folks and devs still over there) and it's just so continuously obnoxious when the basic bits don't work

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 29/09/2026

Got a suspicious login attempt on the other microbloggin' app Logged in to reset my password "Something went wrong, please try again!" Trying again renders blank modal 😑 WE USED TO HAVE NICE THINGS 😤

X says Choose a new password but Something went wrong, please try again!

Attempt to try again renders completely blank screen

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 27/09/2026

Kitschy app updates: * Add household members to your account profile * Add multiple meal plan cards and indicate whether a meal is for multiple household members or just one * Improved UI for table actions with options to update more fields on inventory items (location, purchase date, tags, etc.)

Kitschy meal planning calendar shows dot system on each meal plan card

Inventory table with multiple items selected and field to change location

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 27/09/2026

Pre-made platters of crudités are more expensive than making your own but worth it if you eat the veg because you can see it, don't have to wash and prep Nothing wrong with a lasagna, burrito or chicken pot pie from the frozen section, either

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 27/09/2026

In the one pan / barely cooking category: * Canned or jarred tomato soup + grilled cheese * Gochujang peanut noodles * Two basted eggs + turmeric yogurt + toasted pita * Boxed mac-n-cheese + green peas + chili crisp * Egg noodles + parmesan + butter + Maggi

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 27/09/2026

Light prep, minimal cleanup: * Babybel cheese + one piece of fruit + one small cucumber * PB+J or pimento cheese sandwich + vinegar chips * Cottage cheese or avocado + smoked salmon on rice cake * Pre-cut cantaloupe with prosciutto, pre-cut watermelon with feta

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 24/09/2026

"you need to read this important article because journalism" but the article is on substack

Gavin the meme kid has the most concerned eye-watering fake smile and is also staring off into the distance like he's seen a disaster that's about to happen

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 23/09/2026

hehe well… maybe more minor hiccups in the behind-the-scenes slightly more secret unpublished version of the same retro But genuinely such a good time all around!

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 23/09/2026

This past weekend we ran a hackathon at Atlanta Tech Village! Here's how it went: www.melaniecrissey.com/blog/we-ran-...

melaniecrissey.com

We ran a hackathon

The backstory and the retro

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 22/09/2026

time to break into one of the 20 hot dog stands in that airport if you have to be stranded without your luggage, you should at least get Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 22/09/2026

This is why I prefer to use a tool that lets me flip between different models, so I can pick the cheapest ones for certain jobs And I try to slow down and think about whether it makes sense to use AI or do something by hand

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 22/09/2026

Carpet in the upstairs bathroom! 🤢

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 22/09/2026

Once again I'm asking the universe to wire me one million dollars so I can save a historic home in my neighborhood Flipping through these photos, I want to reach through the screen and rip out the carpet in every room! www.harrynorman.com/realestate/d...

harrynorman.com

201 Whitlock Avenue SW, Marietta, GA 30064 | 7838281 | Harry Norman REALTORS

For Sale: 5 beds, 3 baths, 4482 SqFt, 201 Whitlock Avenue SW, Marietta, GA 30064 is a Single Family Residence home listed at $1,100,000, MLS #7838281

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 22/09/2026

6/10 Genius in that we didn’t waste the figs but probably wouldn’t add to the dinner rotation 😉

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 22/09/2026

Genius or big mistake throwing balsamic-roasted figs on top of the mushroom risotto…? 🍽️

White bowl filled with risotto and mushrooms and figs and thyme

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 21/09/2026

Businesses in Atlanta do their seasonal marketing like “Happy Fall! Cooler temps are on the way!” when it’s 84 degrees outside instead of in the 90s

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 20/09/2026

yessss this is the correct combo

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 18/09/2026

Today is one of those days where I'm SO grateful to have a home away from home at Atlanta Tech Village We're having a new roof put on our house, removing 15+ year old shingles that were stapled ON TOP of the original cedar ones Cherishing the warm silence of a felt-covered phone booth

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 18/09/2026

Pasta puttanesca 🍽️ Not traditional to include the handful of parmesan… but I’m not a purist about the cheese | anchovies partition

Bowl of pasta puttanesca with a heaping pile of parmesan and parsley

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 17/09/2026

Just hit send on an email to over 100 people who signed up for this little hackathon we're hosting in Atlanta this weekend Getting pretty dang hyped to see what everybody decides to build at Hack ITP!

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 17/09/2026

One of my marketing messaging pet peeves is the term "pixel-perfect" Marketing copywriters love to write headlines like "for developers who obsess over every pixel" Unless you are literally creating pixel art, I hope you're obsessing over something more important

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 16/09/2026

Being a "writing is thinking" person means sometimes you spend the afternoon working on 1400 words you have nowhere to publish Not a total loss if it leaves your mind a bit clearer Maybe one day when I have a little less to lose I'll pick that piece back up and let it loose

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 16/09/2026

Haven’t tried it but that’s good somebody built a solution! Whenever I try to add a local credit union or institution it seems to work initially but then the credentials time out and it’s too annoying to constantly reconnect 🫠

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 16/09/2026

Fair. The thing about YNAB is the product is pretty ugly and slow and clunky but I find it so endearing…? Like, yes I reconcile my balances daily because all the bank connections fail But that’s MY funky little spending bar chart and I’d totally rep the normcore organic cotton crewneck sweatshirt

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 16/09/2026

Google Calendar should be smart enough to alert on a saved meeting where you forget to add the participant, esp. if there are clearly two human names like Mel <> Friend in the event title I need the “you said attachment but didn’t attach anything” feature for events

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 16/09/2026

Confession: I let ChatGPT plan this weeknight meal 🍽️ Well, sort of. I fed chat a list of my kitchen inventory and it suggested black beans and quinoa Human creativity realized I had ingredients for chipotle crema But AI reminded me I had a cup of pseudocereal available in the back of the cupboard

Bowl of black beans, quinoa, cilantro, sweet potatoes with cotija and chipotle crema

Screenshot of Kitschy planner with dinner recipe for Tuesday today

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 15/09/2026

noooo 😭 Is it really lost lost? Or did you just stick it somewhere safe because it's important? I'd be double-checking every secret nook and cranny in my luggage

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 15/09/2026

YNAB opened a shop and all the products are so cute! I'd buy something but I'm afraid the checkout flow is going to reach out of my laptop to slap my hands, like "Are you sure? Have you looked at your Income vs. Expense report for this month?" shop.ynab.com/collections/...

shop.ynab.com

Classic Collection | YNAB Shop

Shop the Classic Collection Collection on the YNAB Shop.

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Melanie Crissey @melaniecrissey.com · 14/09/2026

Dog brings in stick, tears it to mulch on sofa cushion Puppy door closed Dog barks at human until puppy door is opened Dog brings in acorns, leaves bits on the sofa cushion Puppy door closed Dog barks at human until puppy door is opened 🔁

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