I appreciate you

Thanks for being a reader, it means the world you invite my thinking into your inbox

Together, we’ll put out better vibes in the world

Hello Hot Takes readers, dare I say blogging is back. Some of you have been reading my thoughts online since 2005 on my first personal blog, then for a decade on The Future Buzz (now deprecated) and now here, hopefully our final move.

Substack is the most fun I’ve ever had writing, but sadly one thing that’s different today is linking: as I’ve shared previously every social network has throttled hyperlink reach to near 0, meaning it’s never been easier to publish and simultaneously never more difficult to actually reach people. Except through email. Perhaps our last stand as the only place left algos are not in full control.

So today’s post is both a thank you for being a reader here for four years and a very small ask: mind sharing this ongoing project with a friend? Below is a list of 10 favorite recent stories. I’ve kept all posts free and open even if you aren’t on a paid-tier. So perhaps you could pick one and link it to a friend or colleague in a note and encourage them to join us. Subscribing is free and simple here.

If you’re a new reader, just consider this post an intro to my writing (I generally publish one new idea per week) and hopefully in the future you’ll share ideas you like with friends similarly. Hard to ask new readers to do anything like this, as it takes time to build trust, which is the real currency of the internet and in my mind earns any of us permission to ask such things.

10 recent stories that might be worth an intro (and a read, if you missed any):

1. The subprime attention bubble

2. The plague of over-optimization

3. The rise of AI nihilism

4. Your life should be on an accelerated learning curve

5. On status in modernity

6. Amateurs obsess over tools, pros over mastery

7. If you can write words, you can (probably) now also write music

8. The Internet is the real world

9. Fighting AI and remix culture is a losing battle

10. Remote work won, don't let anyone gaslight you to believe otherwise

[Full open archive is here for more]

For any writer you like, simply forwarding emails greatly helps grow their audiences. In short: anyone reading has the power to get more of what they want in the world merely by copy-pasting stories or subscription landing pages to friends. This tiny act for sure encourages people to keep going. Email is the last place to do this in a way that actually reaches everyone you send to. Posts will no longer go viral in social.

I’ve never asked this community for anything, but was flying this week and thought it might be a fun test to see what happens. I’m getting more comfortable in life asking for help and no longer see this as a sign of weakness: perhaps we only get what we ask for. Especially since the world of inbound marketing is dying, meaning large platforms are not coming to save us. They took the traffic of the internet and subsequently pulled the ladder up, which is ironic given we independent bloggers are the ones who linked to and helped build these mega-corporations in the first place, for free. There’s a lesson in here.

Your emails are always respected and never shared, sold or spammed.

I appreciate all of you, and if you ever need anything from me, just reply to any post and ask.