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SubsetNon-zero friction
For consumers, this means every touchpoint in the user journey should be slick and smooth and never, ever invoke end user thought. For creators, the friction that must be minimised is the friction that is demonstrably non-value-generating, which equates to the majority of creator workflows and proce
SubsetAnti-audience
To be anti-audience is to deny that audiences are a first principle of digital culture at all. To be anti-audience is to refute the idea that the monopolisation of the many's attention by the few is a precondition of "winning". It is to acknowledge an organic upper bound on one's reach and influence
SubsetThe unreasonable effectiveness of email digests
Like math, recurrent neural networks, big data and protocols, email digests are unreasonably effective. There's a massive asymmetry between the time, energy and expense required to produce them, and the value added for the producer, the recipients and the cultural landscape at large. And that was be
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SubsetNon-zero friction
For consumers, this means every touchpoint in the user journey should be slick and smooth and never, ever invoke end user thought. For creators, the friction that must be minimised is the friction that is demonstrably non-value-generating, which equates to the majority of creator workflows and proce
SubsetAnti-audience
To be anti-audience is to deny that audiences are a first principle of digital culture at all. To be anti-audience is to refute the idea that the monopolisation of the many's attention by the few is a precondition of "winning". It is to acknowledge an organic upper bound on one's reach and influence
SubsetThe unreasonable effectiveness of email digests
Like math, recurrent neural networks, big data and protocols, email digests are unreasonably effective. There's a massive asymmetry between the time, energy and expense required to produce them, and the value added for the producer, the recipients and the cultural landscape at large. And that was be
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Share Dialog
Share Dialog
Curation can take many forms, from the simple to the sophisticated. But the most basic and achievable form is the humble log.
At its core, a log is a collection of records of events. It's a sequence of statements saying X happened. It typically includes minimal metadata for each event: a datetime, a category, a person involved with the logged event. That's it, really.
In essence, a log reflects the unfolding of a reality. Because of this simplicity, it demands minimal changes to existing behaviour. Change is hard, and a log requires just a bit of extra attention at the time of the event, plus a small effort to capture context afterward. Its marginal cost is not much more than zero.
You're already engaging with different media—books, films, TV, music, podcasts. You're already taking photos. You're already going places and doing nice things with different people. You're already eating and drinking. You're already using technology. A log simply transforms this existing engagement into an artefact of curation.
So, if like many others, you don't quite fit a lifestyle of pure consumption or aren't drawn to being a creator, consider turning to curation. And if that's daunting, start simple. Start by doing what you're already doing and add a little more attention to it. Start with a log.
Curation can take many forms, from the simple to the sophisticated. But the most basic and achievable form is the humble log.
At its core, a log is a collection of records of events. It's a sequence of statements saying X happened. It typically includes minimal metadata for each event: a datetime, a category, a person involved with the logged event. That's it, really.
In essence, a log reflects the unfolding of a reality. Because of this simplicity, it demands minimal changes to existing behaviour. Change is hard, and a log requires just a bit of extra attention at the time of the event, plus a small effort to capture context afterward. Its marginal cost is not much more than zero.
You're already engaging with different media—books, films, TV, music, podcasts. You're already taking photos. You're already going places and doing nice things with different people. You're already eating and drinking. You're already using technology. A log simply transforms this existing engagement into an artefact of curation.
So, if like many others, you don't quite fit a lifestyle of pure consumption or aren't drawn to being a creator, consider turning to curation. And if that's daunting, start simple. Start by doing what you're already doing and add a little more attention to it. Start with a log.
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
Matthew McDowell-Sweet
1 comment
"In essence, a log reflects the unfolding of a reality. Because of this simplicity, it demands minimal changes to existing behaviour. Change is hard, and a log requires just a bit of extra attention at the time of the event, plus a small effort to capture context afterward. Its marginal cost is not much more than zero." https://paragraph.xyz/@subset/start-with-a-log