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  • Blog Post Brain

    Habib writing about their version of social media brain

    Instead of scanning my surroundings for something relatable to turn into a social media post, I pay attention to blog posts and articles I read on the web. I’m constantly looking for anything of relevance that triggers and sparks my thinking into jotting down whatever thoughts I may have to add to the conversation.

    I know exactly what Habib is writing about here. I no longer break my world down into 280 characters sized bites as I did when I used Twitter — but I do often squeeze it into blog posts.

    The great thing is, blog posts can be anything from a few words to thousands of them. Which gives me much of freedom to think about the things I want to say rather than attempting to paint a vivid picture of the complex work in a bite side chunk.

    Thinking is one of my very favourite things to do, and if it is accompanied by a notebook or a blank Apple Note, then I enjoy it even more. What you see on my blog is the output of thinking and as Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Having a blog and thinking about the world in which to publish to it is something everyone should have.

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    Essay Link
    28 Aug 2024
  • Hobbies & Hustles

    Manuel Moreale thinking about the differences between hobbies and side projects:

    A hobby is something one does for themselves. This blog is a hobby. I write on it because I find it enjoyable and the primary user is myself. And since it’s a hobby, money is not taken into consideration because I’m expected to pay for my hobbies.

    Agree with this completely, I don’t expect to get anything back from writing, and I do it for myself much more than I do it for other people. Sure, I love people reading and responding to the things I publish, but it’s my hobby, so I’m not focused on it. Like running or cycling is to some people, they may progress into races and competitions, it’s still something you enjoy doing for free.

    Where most people start to worry is when it creeps towards the territory of marking money. They start to worry about losing that money, and the pressure of publishing starts to build. Been there, done that, and it almost ruined my hobby.

    A side project is a bit different. The way I see it, the users of a side project don’t necessarily overlap with the creator. That’s for example the case of People and Blogs. P&B is not a hobby but a side project. The goal is to make something not for myself, but for others.

    I tend to pick up and put down side projects, most of which revolve around my blog. Due to not achieving what I set my goals to be, and this is often the difference between the two things for me.

    For instance, I view my podcast, YouTube, and the now folded newsletter very much as side projects. They didn’t achieve the traction I wanted, so I have no problem stopping doing them (although my podcast will return soon).

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    Essay Link
    28 Aug 2024
  • For What End

    This post pulls on a similar thread to the one where I discussed posting slop. Both point to my ultimate frustration with social media: its addictive nature and the cultural impact it has on society, all for very little gain. Prompted by conversations I’ve had with social media managers, I felt the need to express my thoughts in a written post. These conversations have been immensely frustrating, but I wonder if that’s because I’ve moved past caring about the things that seem to preoccupy others.
    Read Post
    Essay
    23 Aug 2024
  • Writers & Non-Writers

    Seth Godin writing about the need to be clear in concise in your writing, even if you don’t consider yourself a writer: Nobody asks you to design a bridge, write a sonnet or do open heart surgery. We leave these essential tasks to trained professionals. But many job descriptions carry the unstated addendum, “and write.” Write memos, proposals, and even instruction manuals. One of the overriding things that I experience in my everyday life is the idea that everyone can write, or no one can write.
    Read Post
    Essay
    20 Aug 2024
  • Opening Your Wallet

    Matt Birchler is an expert on payments, so when he writes about them, you listen:

    I can’t see the future, and I don’t work directly in card issuance, but this is my very strong instinct. They want to win the payment volume game, and you don’t do that by restricting where your card can be used, you win that by being able to tell your customers, “you can use our card ANYWHERE!”

    I quoted Matt’s post last time he wrote about opening Apple Wallet up to other payment providers and I still stand by my comments. I think the frustration will be when every reward or membership offering wants you inside their app.

    Matt’s comment also reminds me of the frustrations I have every time I try to use an Android phone. I bank with Barclays, and whilst they now support Apple Pay, their card is not available everywhere. To use my card on a Samsung phone I must change the default to Google Wallet, which is a frustrating mess that only half works. In fact, it took them an absolute age to even do that, instead choosing to develop their own app with a permanent notification on the Lock Screen!

    I’m hoping the times are gone, but not all banks seem to be made the same in my experience of ones outside the US. I’m hoping that most are so used to using Wallet now they just stick with that, as Matt points out the fees are negligible.

    Read Post
    Essay Link
    20 Aug 2024
  • The Best Computer Is The One You Have With You

    Cole blogging about writing on their iPhone: Using my iPhone to write blog posts feels more casual and personable. It’s like drafting a note to a friend or texting them about the latest happenings. I am often down on smartphones. If I had a real choice, I wouldn’t have one, yet it is by far the best computer I have. Like Cole above, I use mine for writing the majority of my blog posts, and catching up on my favourite things on the web.
    Read Post
    Essay
    19 Aug 2024
  • When It’s Time To Leave The 'Cult'?

    Matt Birchler writing about his feeling from incident the Apple “cult”: I do wonder if the Apple enthusiast crowd as we know is in permanent decline. You don’t need Daring Fireball, Panic, ATP, Birchtree, or anyone else like us to be massively financially successful (just look at Microsoft and Samsung), but I do find it a bit sad to see Apple stroll down the road to being a totally heartless mega corp like the rest
    Read Post
    Essay
    16 Aug 2024
  • Who Pays For This?

    Of all the questions I have around the new AI on the block, Friend, I must admit that this one is the least of my worries. Like the rabbit that went before it, this gadget promises to address problems that are of a questionable existence. I understand that’s marketing 101 — overstate a concern and sell people a fix. However, they intend to do this by faking a conversation with a ‘friend’ and with it burn through resources that don’t fit their income stream.
    Read Post
    Essay
    13 Aug 2024
  • Asynchronous Is The Future

    MGX posting on their blog about the benefits of work that fits into your time frame: An asynchronous work model, for example, empowers individuals to tackle complex problems on their own schedules based on critical thinking rather than constantly reacting to requests in real time. If you are a knowledge or creative worker, and perhaps if you’re not, you will know the struggle of fitting your work into deadlines based on a regular 9-5 job.
    Read Post
    Essay
    12 Aug 2024
  • What Is An App?

    Vidit Bhargave, developer of Look Up, writing about what is expected of a modern app: Not only is the iPhone app not the center of a user’s interaction on the phone. It’s increasingly becoming one of the many parts of an ecosystem where apps are expected to scale both in terms of interface and functionality starting from something as small as an Apple Watch and going all the way up to an unbounded experience like Vision Pro.
    Read Post
    Essay
    11 Aug 2024
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