Joan Westenberg’s post on going viral has this little gem that could be considered a mantra for those who want a more sustainable path to building something.
Build for the minimum viable audience. Create work that matters for people who care. Focus on depth over distribution. Let your ideas spread through trust networks instead of trending algorithms.
I love that Bookshop.org still supports local bookstores with their new ebook sales. However, why can you only read these ebooks with the Bookshop.org Ebooks app? I would have liked the option to read my purchased ebooks in other ebook readers. Still, I’ll be checking it out.
My now page is updated. Projects haven’t moved much since the start of the month, but I am glad to have finished two books.
I finished reading Shift by Hugh Howey. It’s not the way I thought the series was going to go. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 📚
I’m beginning to wonder if people should talk more—face-to-face, in Teams, on WhatsApp, or really anything that promotes a discussion rather than back-and-forth over the interwebs. Just a thought.
Cracked my laptop cover so put the replacement cover I have on.
On the downside I lose all the stickers I had on the old one. On the upside I get to sticker up the new one!
I’m turning on my Amazon Prime subscription for a couple of months so that me and my family can watch a few things over February and March. As soon as everyone in the family has watched everything, I’ll turn it back off again. I’m looking forward to catching up with The Rings of Power.
Index cards and leadership
I love this. I’m not a big Chiefs fan, but Andy Reid is a fantastic coach. I also love that this story starts from just a single index card.
Reid was a young coach, and he was always jotting down ideas, a lesson from Bill Walsh or Winston Churchill that would find its way onto a 3 x 5 card. Some of those cards went to McNabb. Others to coaches. But one card in particular ended up behind Reid’s desk. It featured just two words, and two decades later, it still offers the simplest understanding of Reid’s leadership.
“Don’t Judge.”
— Why a simple 3 x 5 notecard with two words explains Andy Reid’s leadership style
More open protocols please
This post at the MIT Technology Review emphasises what most of us already know. Still, it’s always worth reiterating the importance of having an open web with open protocols.
If we get this right, so much is possible. Not too long ago, the internet was full of builders and people working together: the open web. Email. Podcasts. Wikipedia is one of the best examples — a collaborative project to create one of the web’s best free, public resources. And the reason we still have it today is the infrastructure built up around it: the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation protects the project and insulates it from the pressures of capitalism. When’s the last time we collectively built anything as good?
It is still early days for Bluesky’s AT Protocol. Still, I’m hopeful that such a protocol will herald a more open web with more collaborative projects not dictated by ads and capitalism in the future.
Good post on ditching the algorithms of social media for RSS feeds.
I had no idea that Reddit allowed parameters in its RSS feeds so that you can filter the feed.
It was a disappointing end to the season for my Packers, but I’m hopeful that we’ll come back better next year. Still, there’s enough playoff football to keep me entertained over the next few weeks. 🏈
I’m going to start building out my photo collections into pages. I’ve started with photos after the ice storm in Toronto in 2013. I’ll also gradually build a collections index, but this is a good start.
I finished reading Wool by Hugh Howey last night. The first book finished for this year’s reading goal and the first time in a while that I’d finished a book in just under a week.
It is not a million miles from the television series but a bit faster-paced. 📚
I’ve managed to walk during my lunch hour three days in a row.
I have a meeting tomorrow at lunchtime though, so I may need to reschedule my walk for the morning instead.
This is going to be amazing. I love the games and the soundtracks, and the first season of the television series was great. An absolute must-watch.
Walking the local trails with Jennifer this afternoon. Even on this grey and cold day, it’s still a great place to walk.
First Paragraph - Wool
The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do. While they thundered about frantically above, Holston took his time, each step methodical and ponderous, as he wound his way around and around the spiral staircase, old boots ringing out on metal treads.
— Wool by Hugh Howey
My track record of reading books has been woeful over the last few years. I thought I would try something different this year. I’ll be posting the first paragraph of each book I’m starting, and I’m using Micro.blog’s Epilogue app to track what I’m reading through the year.
I enjoyed the first season of Apple TV’s Silo, and I’ve just started watching the second season. It seemed like a good fit to start reading something I was familiar with.
It’s been a pain having to work past the good sunsets this week, so today, I finished early and captured some of the blue hour tonight.
It’s not quite as blue as I hoped. If the skies are clear, I might try again over the next few days.
