Seriously, though, what if the Other Side REALLY IS dumb?
Hello friends! If my numbers are true, you likely you signed up for this newsletter after reading something I wrote on Medium. I send this thing every few months, mostly a wrap-up of stuff I'm working on and the best reading from around the web—all ending with a sweet flag. See past issues here. Now, to the newsletter:
Over the New Year I was lucky enough to visit Japan. Here is Sagiike Pond in Nara Park, home to the world famous bowing dear and giant Buddha statue. Interested in the history of Japan? This 9-minute totally bizarre YouTube video is pretty great.
Personal Updates:
According to Medium, one million people (!) have read my piece "The Other Side is Not Dumb" which is about respecting the other side. I received two main criticisms: "What if the Other Side REALLY IS dumb?" and "Sometimes the Other Side wants to take away your rights." Both reasonable responses and both, ironically, made by all sides of the political spectrum. Quick response: This is really about where is "the line" where we can stop taking the Other Side seriously. I reason that the "line" should be further off than most people think (i.e. "I can't take him seriously because he's voting for Hillary!" is laziness).
Recommended: Someone sent me /r/NeutralPolitics/ and I've found it a great subreddit for tracking and understanding current events. A good first read is here: each person's view really breaks down to a series of smaller beliefs that must be addressed first.
My latest for 99U: One person can lay you off, fire you, or downsize your job. But no one person can take your audience. The best job insurance for anyone in creative / knowledge worker fields is to build a group of people who are familiar with your process and thinking. AKA, an audience.
Did you graduate school and realize you weren't truly prepared for the "real world"? I'd love to hear what you think in this 4-minute survey I put together for a future project I'm working on.
My big work project: we announced the 99U Conference speakers. I'm super proud of this lineup. More to come.
To the links!
It seems like everyone is starting an email newsletter or a podcast (says the guy with an email newsletter that aspires to start a podcast). Seems like a good business to be in, but does it actually pay? Want to join me down the email newsletter rabbit hole? Paul Jarvis, freelancer and 99U contributor, breaks down the numbers and work behind his Sunday Dispatches. Stratechery and Above Avalon have some of the only (from what I can tell) successful paid email subscriptions. Otherwise the internet seems to be a graveyard of paid email newsletters with good intentions. However, building an email mailing list is the best way to eventually sell another product. That product, can't be the newsletter itself. The next time you hear from me, I'll show you the new 99U.com we've been working on where we're banking heavily on driving newsletter signups.
When everyone has an outlet, we have more content than we have readers. A book publisher once told me "everyone wants to write a book, no one wants to read one." It's the age of abundance, where the curator influencer is king. My prediction, we'll see a rise of small highly targeted outlets that offer helpful content to a specific audience while curating other tangental content. Example: My Little Paris.
Related: I recently discovered Asymmetrical Publishing, a book publisher for this age of abundance.
Editorial nerd alert: The Toast went deep into the workflows and decision making behind its new redesign. 2,000 words on taxonomy? Sign me up!
Ever look at an old electoral map and get confused? "What, Democrats used to control the south? What happened?!" Turns out the U.S. has been through several "party systems"—where the coillitions of the parties have completely shifted. Any some think that, after New Hampshire's primary, we're entering a "Sixth Party System."
Confession time: do you really know what it means to be "neo-liberal"? I sure didn't fully understand, but this is the best explainer. Also: The ideological range of U.S. national politics is actually quite narrow. Check the great charts.
Those who deny the science of climate change are often maligned, but liberals have their fair share of science denial. Related: the case for gender NOT as spectrum.
Scandinavian politics corner pt. II: A pet issue of mine is pointing out that life in Scandinavia isn't all sunshine and roses. The case for Scandinavia is made in this essay from The Nation: "After I Lived in Norway, America Felt Backward. Here’s Why." Choice quote, "I returned to the United States. It felt quite a lot like stepping back into that other violent, impoverished world." Yeesh, this is infuriating. Violent crime is at an all-time low. Medium household income is pretty close to those "ideal" countries. To say nothing of the fact that the United States is a diverse, pluralistic nation with many races, religions, and belief systems all coexisting as one, while Scandinavia is has the same population as Minnesota and is racially homogeneous. To its credit, Norway is getting more diverse via immigration ... which is leading to the rise of the anti-immigration political parties. But sure, whatever. Move to Norway. .
There are more talks and essays than ever about creativity and innovation. So why isn't there more creativity and innovation?
The fallout from the pickup artist culture is real. Take the example of Jared Rutledge, whose online postings about women cost him nearly everything. Neil Strauss, the author that popularized the culture in his book "The Game" ended up entering rehab for sex addiction and is now happily married.
A paradox: when white people profess to having white privilege, is that as self-serving as the privilege itself?
Official Newsletter Flag (for now)
Above is the flag of Russia, but it wasn't always so simple. Apparently, the modern day Russian flag was actually the brainchild of Peter the Great who wanted Russia's flag to have a bit more of a European flavor to it. Funny how times change! This flag was in use from 1700 – 1918 and then again after the fall of the Soviet Union and is often mistaken for the Dutch flag.
Flag side note, which flag has the cooler eagle, Mexico or Poland? My vote is Poland, but I can't deny the cool factor of our southern neighbors.
—
Dear reader, your cool factor is off the charts. Thanks to allowing some space for this newsletter in your crowded inbox.
--Sean
Over the New Year I was lucky enough to visit Japan. Here is Sagiike Pond in Nara Park, home to the world famous bowing dear and giant Buddha statue. Interested in the history of Japan? This 9-minute totally bizarre YouTube video is pretty great.Personal Updates:
According to Medium, one million people (!) have read my piece "The Other Side is Not Dumb" which is about respecting the other side. I received two main criticisms: "What if the Other Side REALLY IS dumb?" and "Sometimes the Other Side wants to take away your rights." Both reasonable responses and both, ironically, made by all sides of the political spectrum. Quick response: This is really about where is "the line" where we can stop taking the Other Side seriously. I reason that the "line" should be further off than most people think (i.e. "I can't take him seriously because he's voting for Hillary!" is laziness).
Recommended: Someone sent me /r/NeutralPolitics/ and I've found it a great subreddit for tracking and understanding current events. A good first read is here: each person's view really breaks down to a series of smaller beliefs that must be addressed first.
My latest for 99U: One person can lay you off, fire you, or downsize your job. But no one person can take your audience. The best job insurance for anyone in creative / knowledge worker fields is to build a group of people who are familiar with your process and thinking. AKA, an audience.
Did you graduate school and realize you weren't truly prepared for the "real world"? I'd love to hear what you think in this 4-minute survey I put together for a future project I'm working on.
My big work project: we announced the 99U Conference speakers. I'm super proud of this lineup. More to come.
To the links!
It seems like everyone is starting an email newsletter or a podcast (says the guy with an email newsletter that aspires to start a podcast). Seems like a good business to be in, but does it actually pay? Want to join me down the email newsletter rabbit hole? Paul Jarvis, freelancer and 99U contributor, breaks down the numbers and work behind his Sunday Dispatches. Stratechery and Above Avalon have some of the only (from what I can tell) successful paid email subscriptions. Otherwise the internet seems to be a graveyard of paid email newsletters with good intentions. However, building an email mailing list is the best way to eventually sell another product. That product, can't be the newsletter itself. The next time you hear from me, I'll show you the new 99U.com we've been working on where we're banking heavily on driving newsletter signups.
When everyone has an outlet, we have more content than we have readers. A book publisher once told me "everyone wants to write a book, no one wants to read one." It's the age of abundance, where the curator influencer is king. My prediction, we'll see a rise of small highly targeted outlets that offer helpful content to a specific audience while curating other tangental content. Example: My Little Paris.
Related: I recently discovered Asymmetrical Publishing, a book publisher for this age of abundance.
Editorial nerd alert: The Toast went deep into the workflows and decision making behind its new redesign. 2,000 words on taxonomy? Sign me up!
Ever look at an old electoral map and get confused? "What, Democrats used to control the south? What happened?!" Turns out the U.S. has been through several "party systems"—where the coillitions of the parties have completely shifted. Any some think that, after New Hampshire's primary, we're entering a "Sixth Party System."
Confession time: do you really know what it means to be "neo-liberal"? I sure didn't fully understand, but this is the best explainer. Also: The ideological range of U.S. national politics is actually quite narrow. Check the great charts.
Those who deny the science of climate change are often maligned, but liberals have their fair share of science denial. Related: the case for gender NOT as spectrum.
Scandinavian politics corner pt. II: A pet issue of mine is pointing out that life in Scandinavia isn't all sunshine and roses. The case for Scandinavia is made in this essay from The Nation: "After I Lived in Norway, America Felt Backward. Here’s Why." Choice quote, "I returned to the United States. It felt quite a lot like stepping back into that other violent, impoverished world." Yeesh, this is infuriating. Violent crime is at an all-time low. Medium household income is pretty close to those "ideal" countries. To say nothing of the fact that the United States is a diverse, pluralistic nation with many races, religions, and belief systems all coexisting as one, while Scandinavia is has the same population as Minnesota and is racially homogeneous. To its credit, Norway is getting more diverse via immigration ... which is leading to the rise of the anti-immigration political parties. But sure, whatever. Move to Norway. .
There are more talks and essays than ever about creativity and innovation. So why isn't there more creativity and innovation?
The fallout from the pickup artist culture is real. Take the example of Jared Rutledge, whose online postings about women cost him nearly everything. Neil Strauss, the author that popularized the culture in his book "The Game" ended up entering rehab for sex addiction and is now happily married.
A paradox: when white people profess to having white privilege, is that as self-serving as the privilege itself?
Official Newsletter Flag (for now)
Above is the flag of Russia, but it wasn't always so simple. Apparently, the modern day Russian flag was actually the brainchild of Peter the Great who wanted Russia's flag to have a bit more of a European flavor to it. Funny how times change! This flag was in use from 1700 – 1918 and then again after the fall of the Soviet Union and is often mistaken for the Dutch flag.
Flag side note, which flag has the cooler eagle, Mexico or Poland? My vote is Poland, but I can't deny the cool factor of our southern neighbors.
—
Dear reader, your cool factor is off the charts. Thanks to allowing some space for this newsletter in your crowded inbox.
--Sean
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