Moral modernism; Music business; Free time
Issue #352
💡Think
Howdy 👋
Has anyone else signed up for approximately 3 thousand social networks in the past few months? Even Substack right here have started their own, with us now being in a position where there are a bunch of Twitter clones all vying for our attention.
The challenge with reinvention is that, in a digital community world, you can never ever ever recreate the feeling of the original.
To me, this means that either we need to accept that Twitter is driving itself off a cliff, or try in some way to revive it. There won’t be another Twitter because the popular voices don’t have the energy to start everything again from scratch on an identical but shallower platform.
Have a great week!
📷 Look
📖 Read
❶ The moral economy of high-tech modernism
Do algorithms have politics? Despite not being anthropomorphic, they are programmed by humans. Which means that the developers, whether realising it or not, place their own biases within the algorithms, from what democracy is to the definition of fair. A short but rich article on the subject right here.
❷ The end of the music business
I promise you we’re not back in 2011 with this article. It takes us through a brief history of music formats (tape, CD etc) – interesting in itself! – and then looks at where we are now with musicians asking fans to buy music through certain platforms “as a moral choice”. Moral choices with music purchases? That truly is a bizarre state.
❸ In pursuit of free time
This article looks into the past to help us frame what work should probably be in the future. To “find freedom without structure”, or in other words not working more when you finish your tasks, but working a hell of a lot less. Not cramming your leisure time into the weekend, because leisure is the everyday. It turns out that this was pretty much the way to live in preindustrial times. I demand a recount.
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Bonus round
The consultancy industry has infantilised government (video, highly recommended)
The art of being alone
🎧 Listen
The subtle art of disagreeing with your boss
It’s a skill for sure, and one that requires patience, confidence, and psychological safety. But disagreeing can not only show that you truly care about the cause, but force a culture of discussion within teams. The person being interviewed on this podcast is one of the most eloquent I’ve heard.
Listen to this podcast (26 minutes)
Spotify – Apply Podcasts
Have a great week,
@disco_lu