#2 Is the full stop passive aggressive?
Week 11 April 2022
Hello and welcome to #2.
I wanted to say thanks to all of you who subscribed, I didn’t expect too much but was really nice to hear people found #1 interesting, it’s nice. Do let me know what you’d like to see more or less of. I am doing the whole Substack thing because I enjoy sharing and also like talking about what’s going on, so do chip in any time. This week as we go into the Easter break there seems to be a bumper amount to read, I’ve been travelling a lot for work recently, so was nice to be in a slightly more ‘routine’ weekend with my family. I did manage to do a lot of reading, which is quite useful if you want to keep a Substack going.
As it’s only edition #2 I’m going to just re-share why I am writing this newsletter one last time for any newbies. Welcome.
Now, on to the #content.
1. The internet is changing our language in real time, algospeak is here. 🔗
I really love Taylor Lorenz’s journalism. She has a great Instagram of memes too, but her work at the NY Times and now WashPost is always a must-read on internet culture. This piece seemed really timely to me.
tldr: Algospeak refers to code words or turns of phrase users have adopted in an effort to create a brand-safe lexicon that will avoid getting their posts removed or down-ranked by content moderation systems
Language is absolutely changing - I’ve always loved and found solace in the flair that words can give you ever since school, as I get older I like shorter sentences that either land (or perhaps jar) but the words we use and how we use them is fundamentally being influenced and changed by the internet, no doubt. Embrace change is mostly my philosophy. This piece made me think of two things:
And two, an experience I had in a pitch last week.
We were talking about a Gen Z audience and one of the team said ‘Cause you know, Gen Z find the full-stop passive aggressive’ - it made me smile and think, well, is it? So I put a poll on IG and Twitter, turns out almost 40% agree (very few Gen Z-ers in my followers too). So, is it? Let me know your thoughts.
2. What happens when there are too many meetings. 🔗
“People have 250% more meetings every day than they did before the pandemic”.
A terrifying thought but one we can all relate to. I am fascinated by work culture, I think there is going to be a lot more demand for new ideas and solutions to what it means to work in the next 18 months in particular. This article and the research from Microsoft is very interesting and worth a read in full. At the heart of it though, we’re trying to ‘do’ work like we always did but in a world with new rules. We actually need to rethink how and what working is, it’s not the same cadence as it was, so we need new processes.
“At a deep level, meeting inflation is about the outdated expectation that all office work ought to be synchronous” - isn’t it just. We need new tools and thinking, this piece from HBR is worth reading for some actionable ideas for moving to an asynchronous work world.
Look at that just before bed bump…almost as much work being done at 10pm as 8am 😬 👇🏼
3. How TikTok heartthrob William White’s thirsty fandom turned toxic 🔗
This is a hell of a story. It unpicks how fandoms can get out of control but also how being a creator is far from straightforward. It gives an interesting portrait of what a creator’s power can be, with nostalgia a potent cocktail. Also debunks the thought that TikTok/creators are all for young people (it’s not, nor is it just dancing). A wild ride of a piece.
There is something quite sad at the heart of this piece, it made me feel odd. I wonder how much of this will happen/s in the future too and what/how should manage it.
3 and a half quick game things.
Lego and Epic announce a pretty cool partnership. Going to be interesting what they do together. We all trust Lego, it feels smart for everyone, excited to see what it means. On Monday it got deeper, with Sony & KIRKBi (the family-owned holding and investment company behind The LEGO Group) also said they’re investing in Epic too, alongside Sony, at a $1b each. One to watch.
Chinese regulators have approved new online games for the first time in nine months. Good news for Tencent and lots more.
More consolidation, interesting moves from the Swedish group, Embracer, who have made 62 acquisitions since 2020. Short version. Long version ($) Games are a big deal folks. I’ve been saying it for awhile…
3 quick web3 things.
I had a chat with a friend the other day and I said I was short term skeptical but broadly long term positive on web3. I like change but change comes with pain points and pivots before anything becomes, well, mainstream, if at all. So feels fine to me to be open minded, after all, most of our careers didn’t exist 20 years ago, would be foolish to think things won’t change in the next 20.
This story was bubbling up a few weeks ago and now someone has done a good amount of digging. It feels a little murky to say the least.
tldr: Biebs bought an NFT from someone with that someone else’s money & most sales are between the same small group👇🏼
2. This could have gone in games but it’s NFT so stays here. Formula 1 closed down (it’s actually ahead of its time) NFT game, meaning tokens are worthless.
3. And finally, I don’t agree with all of this at all, but it’s an interesting article from someone very pro web3, so for balance as this week has not been a good web3 news week (I didn’t even put the quite odd sounding Bitcoin Miami Conf…). 👇🏼
Odds and ends, basic links. Little commentary, just pure linkage, in wine terms, low intervention links.
Elon isn’t joining the Twitter board. The smart quick analysis here , here and a longer fun read, here. Well, that was fun while it lasted. He will say it’s because he couldn’t be free to say what he likes, but actually, probably pretty difficult spot for him. Though it probably would have been very interesting to watch. Serious analysis (*MUST READ*) 👉 here and here.
Snap is much more effective than people think. Here’s a deep dive on their audience in the US.
This is part of a Lore series from the always interesting RibbonFarm Studio. It delves into different lores and how they are crafted with a few of how businesses are using them to build culture.
I might need a work section soon, think it’s a driver but one of many and wasn’t this a signal before to quit? How toxic culture is driving the ‘great resignation’
Big fan of this Substack - How to Stop Procrastinating gives some actionable tips to be more focused which are actually achievable.
Some interesting tips here on managing people. Not all I agree with and very start-up focused but some actionable ideas. Like with anything like this, take what you like, leave what you don’t.
SkyNews has 1m TikTok fans. This Press Gazzette piece also shows some of the other UK news outlets, 1m is a good number, the 11.4m likes is also very strong and more of a powerful metric than likes are on other platforms too. TikTok isn’t just dancing. Just remember that, it’s a big, big deal.
Nicholas Cage did an AMA and it was fun.
Adieu.
Thanks for reading. It’s Easter next week so imagine it will be a shorter version, I’m off to the seaside all being well. I hope you didn’t find the full stops too aggressive. If you did I’m sorry
Bonus.
WeCrashed (and AppleTV generally) is absolutely fantastic TV and one of my favs on TV right now. I’ve always found the story so insane and Leto (who I am no fan of) and Hathaway are brilliantly bonkers. See also; The Dropout with an amazing performance from Amanda Seyfried.