Slashdot Mirror
Post-It Notes - 25 Years of Hypertext in Paper
RexDart writes "A Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine, The Rake, has a fascinating article revealing the history and development of the humble, ubiquitous Post-It Note. An intriguing tale of a dedicated visionary working the system to bring an innovative product to life in a monolithic, tradition-bound organization." From the article: "Two and a half decades later, as the little yellow notes celebrate their silver anniversary, it's easy to forget what a recent innovation they are. Thanks to their material simplicity, they seem more closely related to workplace antiquities like the stapler and the hole-punch than integrated chips. Instead, they're an exemplary product of their time. Foreshadowing the web, they offered an easy way to link one piece of information to another in a precisely contextual way. Foreshadowing email, they made informal, asynchronous communication with your co-workers a major part of modern office life."
What was the First Post(it)??!?
...the world's first Post-It Note is being auctioned on eBay. It comes complete with certificate of authenticity, written directly on the Post-It itself.......uh.......oops.
I've also seen some creative use for these notes that probably were not part of the original ideas either :-)
see a Text Widget
I grew up in a 3M town and had family that worked for them. I was 10 or 11 when they came out and I remember the big deal made about them. There was a 3M exec who worked with the Junior Achievement groups and I would always be hoping and praying that he would bring some Post-It notes in to school so I could get a pad.
It is interesting to note the products of unintended consequences. Just a few: Post-Its, Microwave Ovens, and Vasoline.Having done so much with so little for so long, I now can do anything with nothing at all.
There have been a number of software products based on the Post-It concept, such as 3M's own app (which includes an ability to transfer notes using XML) and Apple's Stickies.
I'm curious: do fellow Slashdotters find these programs helpful versus other ways of keeping track of snippets of information, such as e-mail?
If it wasn't for the Post-it-note, how on EARTH would users remember their passwords! Got to be the best invention ever for Windows users in businesses everywhere!
"Foreshadowing email, they made informal, asynchronous communication with your co-workers a major part of modern office life."
I hate it when I come back from a lunch break and my monitor shines in yellow with gazillions of post-its from co-workers on it! Sometimes I think people just wait until you leave your desk and then attack you with post-its from behind. Office is so cruel sometimes...
They are bitch to remove from inside the floppy drives.
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Yes, it's all about laziness. My univ still doesn't use post-it, and they don't intent to, until they run out of their supply of blank 80-column cards. Every office has a box (10,000 or so of them) and they are used instead of post-it notes, actually being way more handy because of stiffness and size.
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1980? geez, that means Romy had to be about 9 or 10 years old when she invented them.
Just jot it down and stick it on your monitor.
If you are really security minded, you can simply stick it under the keyboard.
"Kittens give Morbo gas!"
Romy and Michelle invented Post Its
I hate you, Post-it Notes. I hate the person who invented you. And most of all, I hate my uptight, neurotic and textbook case of passive behavior ex-roommate who communicated exclusively through you.
Hi. I'm just writing to inform you that in the English language it is generally considered appropriate to acknowledge the difference between the word "what" and the word "when." They really are quite different.
--
WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
"If you cut me down you will only make me stronger".
"But if you stick post-it glue to my back, I will fall to the floor within 2 minutes."
I've always liked the concept of post-it notes, since my memory for tasks is abysmal (or rather I'm too easily distracted from the tasks I need to complete). I've tried using post-it notes, but the problem is that usually after a few hours, they stop sticking. I've tried using other brands but I can't get any of them to stick for more than an hour or two. Anyone have any experience with a brand that will actually stay stuck on vertical surface (e.g. monitor, fridge, etc) for more than an hour or two?
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
The fella who noticed that wounds didn't get infected if you covered them with vaseline lived into his 90s, and credited his long life to a full-skin vaseline massage given to him by his nurse everyday.
This guy is getting a full-skin vaseline massage from a nurse every day and you think it's "sadly, kind of boring"?!
My God! I wouldn't mind helping that nurse live into her 90s using the same method (though I'd prefer she was in her 20s at the time I was doing it).
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
For the more important. mission-critical issues (e.g. workflow, schematic, tactical plan) may I suggest a table napkin.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.