The web; Dead internet; Rejecting ideas
Issue #365
💡Think
Hey everyone!
I’ve been chatting with peers recently a lot about the idea of obsession.
There seems to be a circling acerbic discussion on this here internet about whether jobs are just jobs, or jobs are something you need to dedicate your entire world to.
Where I think both fail is that we don’t really ask anyone about their preference. Someone who is happy to leave work at arm’s length is great, but not in an early-stage environment where you may fail in the next 3 months.
And vice versa, a hustle-bro stands out like a sore thumb everywhere, but mostly in environments where safety and security is the primary objective.
I believe that because we spend so much time in front of our computers, we can often do ourselves a disservice by not being truly interested in what it is we’re doing.
I call this obsession, you may call this something else, but without that feeling of “I’m trying my best here”, it feels really hard to see anything as worth our time.
Teams fail with a lack of interest. This is where great minds decay.
Have a great week,
Luis
📷 Look
📖 Read
❶ Marking the Web’s 35th Birthday: An Open Letter
This post was written by the “founder” of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee. He wrote one 5 years ago, and this one seems to be a deepening set of concerns. He clearly sets out that there’s an issue with power concentration on the internet, “which contradicts the decentralised spirit I originally envisioned”. He also calls out the challenges of polarising content, particularly in such an important election year. Have a read, feel inspired (or concerned 🤣)!
❷ Are we watching the internet die?
Hmm, this seems related to the previous one. It’s a great long read about Reddit’s planned IPO and the decline of user generate content. This IPO is where a few investors will walk away with tens of millions of dollars despite Reddit never actually turning a profit (isn’t this insane?). This statement says it all, really: “We're at the end of a vast, multi-faceted con of internet users, where ultra-rich technologists tricked their customers into building their companies for free”
❸ Why we reject new ideas
Back when computers were introduced, people developed “computerphobia”, rejecting the notion of this shiny new thing. I personally have AIphobia, but that’s a story for another time. There’s some really nice framing in this article/interview, where they suggest that new ideas are contextual. What’s old to you may be new to me, so how does that impact how we talk about it?
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Bonus round
Irony 🚨 – Mastering the art of small talk
🎧 Listen
Nick Cave: Loss, Yearning, Transcendence
This is a really honest and deep discussion (and a little sad!) with musician Nick Cave, where he talks about how has tried to handle the loss of his sons, what that has meant for his spiritual beliefs, and how life is different now. He talks about how grief and empathy are deeply connected, and his lens on the world has changed significantly. “I didn’t plan to be on this podcast” felt like quite a powerful statement for me.
Listen to this podcast (63 minutes)
Spotify – Apple
Have a great week,
@disco_lu