Creating “zero click” content
Creating “zero click” content As I mentioned a few weeks ago, a growing problem with Google is the number of “zero click” searches on there — searches that don’t lead to another click, because Google answered the question for you. It’s generally a good thing for users, but it’s a bad thing for companies wanting to get more website traffic. In the case of Google, there’s not much you can do. In other cases, though, it might be best to just lean into this trend. Most social media sites quietly ...
Grateful in the macro and the micro
Grateful in the macro and the micro When you ask someone what they’re grateful for, you often get the same kinds of things – health, family, friends, etc. Those are all wonderful things, and we should all be grateful for them, but being grateful for smaller things can sometimes have a bigger impact. In a recent episode of “My First Million”, the hosts (Sam Parr and Shaan Puri) interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk and it was a fascinating conversation. I encourage you to listen/watch the entire thing w...
Shortform for long books
Shortform for long books I’ve been using Blinkist for some book summaries for a few years now, and it’s great! However, I’m noticing a growing problem in the gap between long books and Blinkist, in that the “Blinks” just aren’t long enough to really share the heart of the book. Blinkist and most related platforms are proud of the fact that they give you “15 minute summaries”. Those are a fantastic way to get an overview of a book, but then they leave a bit gap between that 15 minute summary a...
Creating “zero click” content
Creating “zero click” content As I mentioned a few weeks ago, a growing problem with Google is the number of “zero click” searches on there — searches that don’t lead to another click, because Google answered the question for you. It’s generally a good thing for users, but it’s a bad thing for companies wanting to get more website traffic. In the case of Google, there’s not much you can do. In other cases, though, it might be best to just lean into this trend. Most social media sites quietly ...
Grateful in the macro and the micro
Grateful in the macro and the micro When you ask someone what they’re grateful for, you often get the same kinds of things – health, family, friends, etc. Those are all wonderful things, and we should all be grateful for them, but being grateful for smaller things can sometimes have a bigger impact. In a recent episode of “My First Million”, the hosts (Sam Parr and Shaan Puri) interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk and it was a fascinating conversation. I encourage you to listen/watch the entire thing w...
Shortform for long books
Shortform for long books I’ve been using Blinkist for some book summaries for a few years now, and it’s great! However, I’m noticing a growing problem in the gap between long books and Blinkist, in that the “Blinks” just aren’t long enough to really share the heart of the book. Blinkist and most related platforms are proud of the fact that they give you “15 minute summaries”. Those are a fantastic way to get an overview of a book, but then they leave a bit gap between that 15 minute summary a...
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The algorithm can make social media really weird
While it seems the digital world is becoming more real-time, traditional social media is becoming more algorithm-driven and can lead to some weird posts. For example, here is a post from a friend that I saw earlier this year. The post appeared for me a few days after it was posted, and I have literally no idea what it was referring to.
More recently was this one from another friend. It feels Olympics-related, but it was from a few days prior to the games so I have no idea what it was about. There weren’t any comments or anything to add the necessary context.
Ultimately, it’s kind of sad. While I can appreciate why companies are shifting to a more algorithm-focused approach, it’d be nice to still be able to see the content from your friends in straight reverse-chronological order.
If anything, things are heading the other way where your list of friends or followers matters less and less every day. Maybe that’s an opening for a new social media platform that focuses just on those you follow? I tend to doubt it, as people are clearly more engaged with the algorithm versus the traditional feed.
At the end of the day it’s simply a little sad, and it’s a good reminder to add proper context to your posts because you never know when the social network might decide is a good time to show your post to others.
The algorithm can make social media really weird
While it seems the digital world is becoming more real-time, traditional social media is becoming more algorithm-driven and can lead to some weird posts. For example, here is a post from a friend that I saw earlier this year. The post appeared for me a few days after it was posted, and I have literally no idea what it was referring to.
More recently was this one from another friend. It feels Olympics-related, but it was from a few days prior to the games so I have no idea what it was about. There weren’t any comments or anything to add the necessary context.
Ultimately, it’s kind of sad. While I can appreciate why companies are shifting to a more algorithm-focused approach, it’d be nice to still be able to see the content from your friends in straight reverse-chronological order.
If anything, things are heading the other way where your list of friends or followers matters less and less every day. Maybe that’s an opening for a new social media platform that focuses just on those you follow? I tend to doubt it, as people are clearly more engaged with the algorithm versus the traditional feed.
At the end of the day it’s simply a little sad, and it’s a good reminder to add proper context to your posts because you never know when the social network might decide is a good time to show your post to others.
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