Creators; WhatsApp; Writes
Issue #375
š”Think
Itās that time of year where we are probably thinking backwards to assess how we found the previous 12 months. Iām lingering around the idea of (professional) happiness, and specifically what has or does make me happy. The past few months have been turbulent, but as the waves break onto the shore of 2025, itās been a strong year.
I could probably reflect on the history of this newsletter as a way of assessing that question for myself. It started 9 years ago next month, and the past 2 years have been less frequent than the previous 7, where I published every Sunday (unless technically unable) without fail. This may be a failure on a commitment, but inspiration comes from desire and not rules.
Where I find happiness is in scratching itches, and this as well as other projects that I fumble around with on the sofa at night are where I feel free. I often describe mini projects as āmessing aroundā, but they are pretty much the chance where I have creative control, and can operate more on feeling than metrics, briefs, or user requirements.
And you know what? They are done in my personal time, but provide immense happiness into my professional life too. Some may note that this straddles workaholism, but I would call this healthy obsession.
Whatās your happiness?
š· Look
š Read
ā¶ The year creators took over
Remember the attention economy? Well, weāre all paying attention now arenāt we. Information doesnāt come from trusted sources, it arrives in our ears via the manosphere, the Rogan-sphere, and they are Hauk Tuahāing all the way to the bank.
ā· How WhatsApp ate the world
This week, a viral tweet lambasted WhatsApp for having 150 designers. Because, what are they doing? It turns out that we Westerners are clueless. The app powers businesses across the planet to pay for taxis, buy groceries, market to customers, oh and you know message one of the 2 billion users it has.
āø The writes and write-nots
This article argues that the ease at which people can outsource their writing to a large language model threatens the act of writing entirely. We may enter a world where those that can write do, and those that canāt use an external tool to do so, and itāll be obvious, and itāll be mediocre. Although, they say perhaps this isnāt a bad thing.
ā
Bonus round
For those in design or tech, Iāve been writing quite a few articles over on my Read.cv profile
š§ Listen
Elonās Spies
So it turns out that Elon Musk allegedly makes heavy use of private investigators to track people and control narratives across the globe. This podcast series looks into a few cases, from the guy who saved those children from a Thai cave, to Amanda Heard, focusing on how Mr Musk dominated the story with a little help from some extra eyeballs.
Listen to this series
Spotify ā Apple Podcasts
Have a great week,
@disco_lu