#7 Is TikTok Boring Now? No, obviously.
Week 16 May 2022
Hello and welcome to #7. A bit later than usual today, I’m seeing if this time works better but also I’m still on holiday and having a productive few days off at home. As any parents who read this may know, going on holiday with a toddler isn’t always the most relaxing, so having a day or two off after is my pro tip for actually having a holiday.
If you missed it, I put something together on the EA x FIFA news last week, which was a big story here. Love to hear your views.
Now, on to the #content.
🔗 👉1. Meeting free days can transform work
I’ve been off work, living a meeting free life. This piece came and spoke to me. I have been time blocking this year and keeping 4 hours free on a Friday to actually do work, it seems to help. Here are some more tips. Let’s all try to do it.
🔗 👉 2. You can't always blame algorithms
Preach. A big piece, important and must-read. Flag as this piece talks about the horrific events in Buffalo.
🔗 👉 3. Inside TikTok’s Explosive Growth
Does what it says on the tin, fascinating insight into how it’s grown.
🔗 👉 4. Is TikTok Boring Now?
Classic bait and switch. The answer is obviously no, but there is something in when you get to the point of growth and size, can you still be cool? YouTube has navigated it well perhaps. Some food for thought after Boris Johnson the Prime Minister of the UK joined and made some really basic mistakes. Related question - does anyone know of a community that has ever scaled to the tens of millions and scaled well? Not sure I do.
3 Web3 things
🔗 👉 1. Teather off it’s peg
I keep saying it’s been a bad week for all things Web3. You have probably heard of the Tether issues, if not here are two good pieces on it.
Here and a thread here.
🔗 👉 2. Why Socios will fail
Quite a deep piece from the excellent Martin Calladine on Socios a football fan token. He is very anti the movement so there is that caveat, but he makes very clear points.
🔗 👉 3. An interesting use of NFTs 😮
NFTs have such a negative connotation it’s hard to see the word actually existing in the future. But here is an interesting use of a digital asset, the Chainsmokers are tying up future royalties in an NFT. Ultimately digital assets will exist, will they be on the blockchain, not so sure. But this feels like at least an interesting use.
Odds and ends, basic links. Little commentary, just pure linkage, in wine terms, low intervention links.
A few insights into a new Creator Economy report worth a read
Why do we overgeneralise? I find this one of the biggest things we as leaders/humans need to navigate in the current climate of the world.
I’ve been trying to be positive and less cynical. It’s been working. This piece is on the psychology of negative thinking.
I’m sick of Musk trying to negotiate like Trump. He’s obviously a genius, sure. But he’s also using a Trumpian style way of trying to cut the price and I don’t even think he knows some of the basic functionality of the platform. Boring but we all need to know.
Duolingo are opening a taco place to help people learn Spanish, smart.
Taking time out from social media makes you happier and less anxious. Hard to get away from this for some time. I remember saying to a friend in 2008 that we will go on digital breaks and a fortune will be made on digital cleanse holidays. This time next year Rodney…(a joke for UK readers).
Adieu.
Thanks as ever for reading. 7 editions plus a bonus in and I’m enjoying the consistency I get from writing this. Thanks for reading, do let me know what you think, just reply to this email if you like. Or Tweet me.
Bonus.
I Saw Dr Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. As ever Reddit is the place to go to read about all the things you miss.
All the spelling and grammatical mistakes in this Substack are on purpose to test you, actually. Well done. You got them all. No, I don’t need to know about then, you have that kudos.