Modern metaverse; Big tech, small tech; Death of languages
Milk, No Sugar #305
💡Think
I spend a significant amount of time trying to optimise for the future. Whether it’s churning out design resources, scheduling my Slack messages, or prepping this here newsletter way ahead of when I bring it together on a Sunday.
The thing is though that nothing can really replace the “now” effect of communication. At work, a lot of resources I make are repeated in the moment, because people like nothing more than hearing your actual voice talk through your solutions to problems, as opposed to reading something you prepared earlier.
It’s one of those things that I struggle with – our natural drive to be inefficient, even though we know there’s a better and faster way. And you know what? Maybe it’s not that big a deal.
📷 Look
📖 Read
❶ The metaverse sucked then, and it’ll suck now
This article is written by a guy who “invented” a similar concept to the metaverse 27 years ago, and actually somehow invented the popup advert (feel free to hate him) as well. They explain that due to the sheer implausibility of it being a slick experience for the user, there’s just no way it can succeed now; even if we do have 5G technology and a hunger for the digital world.
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❷ When big tech buys small tech
Remember when Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars and it was considered outrageous? It kinda was, seeing as they were pre-profit and just 11 people, but it’s also wild because it definitely wouldn’t pass anti-monopoly guidance. So what does the modern day big-buys-small look like, how does it pass, and what does it mean for conglomerates basically eating the entire world (and soon space)?
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❸ The death of languages
It is never not surprising when you visit a country and everyone speaks English. It’s both amazing and a little bit embarrassing, but what lingers is the thought that maybe the native language is being pushed aside. That’s what’s happened to so many languages, that we’re homogenising into a small set, killing off culture along its way. Why? It’s all about expression, and being able to “feel” what you want to say in your mother tongue, rather than translating it into another.
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Bonus points
Habits versus projects, what’s the best approach?
A beginner’s guide to social tokens. No, me neither
🎧 Listen
The “when I finally” mindset
I really loved this podcast. It opens with an uppercut of a question – “what about if your biggest flaw never went away?” It extends to discuss how we’re always trying to optimise our time but at the same time put off what we really want to do for some arbitrary time in the future when we will have more time.
Listen to this podcast (58 minutes)
Apple Podcasts – Spotify
🙌 Share
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🙏 Thanks
Have a great week,
Luis Ouriach
@disco_lu
Founding member special shoutouts:
Kevin Fernandez (@kvnfz)
Karl Barker
George Sumpster