Jason Fried
@jasonfried • 5,297,192 subscribers
Started & runs 37signals (makers of Basecamp, HEY, and ONCE). Non-serial entrepreneur, serial author. DM or email me at [email protected].
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Videos
For years, maybe a decade, I've wanted to build a writing tool that just did a few things I couldn't find anywhere else. A system that mimicked how I think when I write. A system that provided clear affordances, features, and places to do the things I wanted to do. A way to play with my writing as I'm writing it. A way to settle into just the right way to say something. It never made sense to make it a 37signals product because it's not commercially viable, nor would it be worth pulling people off their other work to hack on this. Plus, it would have taken months the old way. So this weekend I just made it myself, with Claude's help. It's called Write_On and the short video walks you through it. Essentially it's "alternative control" at the word, sentence, and paragraph level, plus a way to dim stuff back, and stash stuff near by. Not version control, but alternative control. You'll see what I mean when you watch the video below. So here it is. Write_On.
Jason Fried532,571 views • 19 days ago
We just launched a feature we began exploring a decade+ ago, but never released it. It was originally destined for Campfire, our chat tool. The feature is called Bonfire. Now that Campfire is built into Basecamp, Bonfire belongs there. And today it's live for all Basecamp 5 customers. What's Bonfire? I put together a short video to show you what it is and how it works:
Jason Fried194,767 views • 18 days ago
A really lovely GRID VIEW is coming to Basecamp 5 shortly. We had a grid view in 4, but it wasn't any good and I didn't want to drag it into 5. Had we done that, we'd have called it done and never revisited. By intentionally leaving it out, we allowed pressure to build to bring it back. And with no legacy to battle or revamp, we were able to return to the drawing board and make something so much better, from scratch. Coming to a Basecamp near you. Soon.
Jason Fried270,471 views • 1 month ago
Just shipped a new convenience feature in Basecamp 5. Now you can drag images/files directly onto a docs & files tool on your project page to upload them directly to the project. Before you had to click through then upload. Now you can just drop them right where you want them on the project page. Small details add up.
Jason Fried124,346 views • 28 days ago
One of my favorite features in HEY is that I also get my own blog... And to post, I just send an email! Couldn't be easier. Check the video below to see just how easy it is. So yeah, HEY isn't just email. It's also a calendar. And a journal. And a habit tracker. And a time tracker. And a personal blog! More on how the email-to-blog works at HEY World:
Jason Fried178,602 views • 1 month ago
This morning we launched an updated My Bar in Basecamp 5. Now everything's instantly within reach no matter where you are, full-size, full screen. We also added "My Activity" so you can quickly see what you've been up to, easily get back to something you did recently, jump back to a thread you've been involved with, or review your work whenever someone asks "What have you been working on lately?". Super nice, super fast, super efficient. Have at it!
Jason Fried201,159 views • 2 months ago
The best way to say NO in HEY is in this very special SHIFT-F way...
Jason Fried191,364 views • 2 months ago
We just spent a morning in Chicago with a bunch of our customers. Woodworkers, music biz folks, publishers, educators, logistics pros, product designers, painters, medical device makers... Some who've been using Basecamp for more than a decade (and even one who's first day on Basecamp was THAT DAY!). Such a broad collection of folks! Here's a fun, one minute video recap. 😍
Jason Fried128,706 views • 1 month ago
Just shipped a new feature called Spotlights that makes it easy to bring stuff that's deep inside a project right to the surface. Important PDFs people access frequently, key dates or events that are coming up, a specific task, an announcement, whatever. Here's how it works.
Jason Fried122,858 views • 1 month ago
Another Basecamp update today! Now activity is condensed at the top of a project, and fully expanded at the bottom. Such a great way to just know what's been happening, daily, all the way back to day one. Simply scroll. Not on Basecamp yet? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Dumping Mac OS for Omarchy? Keep up the momentum... Dump that pile of "the usual" work tools and replace them with Basecamp. Revolution's in the air my friends.
Jason Fried105,854 views • 1 month ago
Here’s a video of the app in action for those who can’t get it or haven’t seen it.
Jason Fried147,280 views • 2 months ago
INTRODUCING FIZZY Have you noticed that every issue and idea tracking tool you loved slowly morphed into boring, sluggish, corporate bloatware? Trello put on 40 pounds of cruft. Jira started charging by the migraine. Asana tried to become everything to everyone. GitHub Issues slipped into a steady state of decline. The whole category is a 20 car pileup of complexity. Time to route around that mess. Today we’re introducing Fizzy. Kanban as it should be, not as it has been. Fizzy is a fresh take on cards and columns, with a few twists, human-nature inspired defaults, and a vibrant interface that’s the opposite of the bland and boring software the industry has been flinging at you for years. Kanban has been around since the 1940s, and Trello brought it into the mainstream in 2011. Since then, some version of column-based kanban-style organization has found its way into any collaboration tool worth its salt. But most have over salted the dish. What was simple is now complicated. What was clear is now cluttered. What just worked now takes work. Fizzy presses reset, reconsiders what really matters, and presents a refreshing way to kanban that just feels right. It’s friendly, colorful, straightforward, and fast as hell. We still use Basecamp for our big, intensive projects, but lately we’ve been reaching for Fizzy to run the smaller ones. It’s perfect for tracking bugs, issues, and ideas, and it shines for lighter, self-contained workflows like podcasts or video production. We didn’t expect it, but Fizzy’s so good it might even cannibalize Basecamp on the lighter side of project management. We’d be thrilled. How much is it? It’s not much for so much. Everyone gets 1000 cards for free. Beyond that, we’ll host your account for just $20/month for unlimited cards and unlimited users. One price for all and everything. No tiers, no “contact us.” No pricing chart at all — just a price tag, like on a pair of jeans. And here’s a surprise... Fizzy is open source! If you’d prefer not to pay us, or you want to customize Fizzy for your own use, you can run it yourself for free forever. Have a great idea? Submit a PR to contribute to the code base and improve the product for everyone. It’s the best of all worlds. No excuses. Every idea comes back around. It’s time for take two on kanban. Fizzy’s our hat in the ring. Let’s make this platform insanely great, together. Come on in! Visit
Jason Fried562,370 views • 10 months ago
Here's a peek at continual improvement in Basecamp 5. We're redesigning the way the My Bar works at the bottom. Easier to see what you want, getting the stuff that doesn't matter out of the way. More functionality where it belongs, fewer round trips to other places. Plus we're putting your activity front and center so it's super easy to get back to something you did recently. Less digging, less wandering — it's just right there. In some ways a subtle improvement on something that already exists, in other ways a huge leap forward that feels brand new. Exactly the combination we're always aiming for. Coming shortly!
Jason Fried103,237 views • 2 months ago
