Tech is good; Existential hope; Blue checkmarks
Issue #352
💡Think
Hey everyone 👋
Something I’ve noticed bubbling up recently is that people are generally more hungry for software / products that aren’t made by the big players.
Whether it’s the browser you use, the social media platform you’re logging into, or the software you’re using for to-do lists, people are opting out of Google, Microsoft, or Apple.
This is interesting. The past few months of startup banking meltdown as well as mega-corp layoffs have taught us that there’s a sense of distrust in the air, and to me that means a horizon of disruption.
The market is definitely ready for new.
Have a great week!
📷 Look
📖 Read
❶ Technology is good, actually
This article is framed from an American perspective, but is still global in its application. It puts forward the idea that it’s easy to make fun of venture capital and whacky startup founders, but it’s very hard to innovate unless you step outside of how society is traditionally run – slowly. In the UK, it’s hard to get a quick appointment at your doctor’s right now, but there are startups providing rapid appointments on your phone. What would you prefer?
❷ Existential hope
That reads like an oxymoron, and intentionally so. It’s an article arguing that, despite people generally predicting that the world is basically running itself into extinction, there is something we can do to end up in a state they coin “deep civilisation” – where businesses strive for long-term ethical growth, and journalists search out truth rather than headlines. It all sounds a bit…unrealistic, but who knows.
❸ Blue checkmarks were always shameless
I remember working at a news company in 2014 when my journalist colleagues received Twitter blue checks. My 50 follower account yearned for that kind of recognition. A journalist writing 300 word articles about Kim Kardashian requiring validation is still not lost on me, but that hunger for public authority sustained Twitter’s check program for a long time. Until now. They are only offering them to people who pay now, which is pretty scary if you think about how imitation works online.
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Bonus round
[Video – 8 mins] The friendship recession. People are making less friends, and it’s a problem
🎧 Listen
The Sound: The mystery of Havana syndrome
I’ve been really enjoying this podcast series. It’s not about tech per se, but a recent phenomenon – Havana syndrome. It started in 2016, where American ambassadors working in Cuba reported a (very) loud noise. Sounds trivial, but it resulted in serious medical effects and no one knows how or why. I’ve described this poorly, but it’s a fascinating story.
Listen to this podcast series
Spotify – Apple Podcasts
Have a great week,
@disco_lu