The Reason You Can't Stand the News
Hello friends! You likely signed up for this after reading one of my essays on Medium. I send this thing every few months, mostly a wrap-up of stuff I'm working on and the best reading from around the web—all ending with a sweet flag. See past issues here. Now, to the newsletter:
Rice farmers work in a field just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. In a labor intensive process, they'll replant each seedling several times before harvesting—so never waste a grain of rice.
Personal Update
I wrote a thing! I’d guess that you, like me, can’t stand the news anymore. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why and I think you can draw a straight line from the bad business models of news to the current state of discourse in America. I’m tired of news outlets playing to our worst instincts and I’m tired that Americans now default to harming one another rather than helping one another. So I did my best to outline how we got here. Warning: long read ahead.
...The piece has been up for a week and the main criticism, especially from folks that work in the media, is that there’s no solution offered. I suppose that was kind of the point, I wanted to point out how systemic these issues were. Especially to people who don’t stare at media/tech landscape every day. But otherwise feedback has been good, and the piece was the number 1 read piece on Medium for parts of last week. So if you shared or commented or emailed me to share your thoughts, thank you!
...But, after seeing reaction, I wish I better hammered home how it all leads to divisiveness. I really really really can’t stand how Americans assume the worst in one another.
_
In other news, I’m currently in the last leg of my five-month travel stint. Next up: Namibia and South Africa. The end of my trip is in sight, and so my quest to return to the working world is getting serious.
The Links
One of the first games to take advantage of the cinematic possibilities of console gaming was Final Fantasy 7. But such an ambitious undertaking didn’t happen easy. Polygon has an oral history of the video game. Which, even if you’ve never heard of the game, is a great look at how complicated creative projects happen (and yet a single staff member wrote most of the game’s translated English text…) Also, shoutout to all my gamers that beat the Ruby and Emerald weapons.
Related: The flip side of an ambitious video game: the colossal flop and redemption of No Man’s Sky.
We like to think that all young people know how to use technology. But, like most things, this depends on your level of education and income. Poor children are more likely to use technology to play games. Wealthy children are more likely to use technology to find “practical information.” Like careers, technology is a case of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” From the piece, “disadvantaged students are less likely to be aware of the opportunities that digital technology offers.”
Something to keep an eye on: Finland is piloting Universal Basic Income by giving 2,000 unemployed people €560 a month.
Most job-seeking advice is wishy-washy stuff like “master your elevator pitch.” So leave it to a computer programmer to keep detailed records on his job search and how he received eight offers ranging from $60-125k in salary. The main takeaway? A good job search requires with connecting with as many people as possible.
Vox profiled Trump supporters at the inauguration and how nice most of them were. I can't believe I just typed that sentence. Hopefully it leads to more pieces that seek out commonality. Hopefully. Maybe.
Speaking of, women's marches took place all over the world yesterday. For the American edition, organizers made clear that pro-life groups were not welcome. Many folks have pointed out that winning elections requires aligning with people you may not always agree with. So how does one balance ideological purity end and inclusion? Especially when including the group would have likely been a smart political move.
Peter Thiel is probably the most interesting man in America. Gawker killer and seemingly the tech world's only Trump supporter. He's either so smart he’s crazy or so crazy he’s smart. This interview in The New York Times is a pretty good litmus test for which side of that equation you fall on. At least read it for this sick burn of Twitter’s role in the election: “I think the crazy thing is,” he says, “at a place like Twitter, they were all working for Trump this whole year even though they thought they were working for Sanders.”
On the internet, all roads lead to “Quit your job and travel the world!” Which is why I enjoyed this candid look at the process from Caterina Kostoula. Inspired by Stephan Sagmeister’s TED talk, she decided to use her savings to move her family to Greece and Thailand for six months. As my own little mini-sabbatical winds down I appreciated the financial realtalk, about how any time off is likely a huge hit to any of your future earnings and there’s no guarantee you come out happier or fulfilled.
Did you know that, since both companies went public in 2004, the stock of Domino's Pizza has outperformed Google?
Official Newsletter Flag (for now)
Rice farmers work in a field just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. In a labor intensive process, they'll replant each seedling several times before harvesting—so never waste a grain of rice. Personal Update
I wrote a thing! I’d guess that you, like me, can’t stand the news anymore. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why and I think you can draw a straight line from the bad business models of news to the current state of discourse in America. I’m tired of news outlets playing to our worst instincts and I’m tired that Americans now default to harming one another rather than helping one another. So I did my best to outline how we got here. Warning: long read ahead.
...The piece has been up for a week and the main criticism, especially from folks that work in the media, is that there’s no solution offered. I suppose that was kind of the point, I wanted to point out how systemic these issues were. Especially to people who don’t stare at media/tech landscape every day. But otherwise feedback has been good, and the piece was the number 1 read piece on Medium for parts of last week. So if you shared or commented or emailed me to share your thoughts, thank you!
...But, after seeing reaction, I wish I better hammered home how it all leads to divisiveness. I really really really can’t stand how Americans assume the worst in one another.
_
In other news, I’m currently in the last leg of my five-month travel stint. Next up: Namibia and South Africa. The end of my trip is in sight, and so my quest to return to the working world is getting serious.
The Links
One of the first games to take advantage of the cinematic possibilities of console gaming was Final Fantasy 7. But such an ambitious undertaking didn’t happen easy. Polygon has an oral history of the video game. Which, even if you’ve never heard of the game, is a great look at how complicated creative projects happen (and yet a single staff member wrote most of the game’s translated English text…) Also, shoutout to all my gamers that beat the Ruby and Emerald weapons.
Related: The flip side of an ambitious video game: the colossal flop and redemption of No Man’s Sky.
We like to think that all young people know how to use technology. But, like most things, this depends on your level of education and income. Poor children are more likely to use technology to play games. Wealthy children are more likely to use technology to find “practical information.” Like careers, technology is a case of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” From the piece, “disadvantaged students are less likely to be aware of the opportunities that digital technology offers.”
Something to keep an eye on: Finland is piloting Universal Basic Income by giving 2,000 unemployed people €560 a month.
Most job-seeking advice is wishy-washy stuff like “master your elevator pitch.” So leave it to a computer programmer to keep detailed records on his job search and how he received eight offers ranging from $60-125k in salary. The main takeaway? A good job search requires with connecting with as many people as possible.
Vox profiled Trump supporters at the inauguration and how nice most of them were. I can't believe I just typed that sentence. Hopefully it leads to more pieces that seek out commonality. Hopefully. Maybe.
Speaking of, women's marches took place all over the world yesterday. For the American edition, organizers made clear that pro-life groups were not welcome. Many folks have pointed out that winning elections requires aligning with people you may not always agree with. So how does one balance ideological purity end and inclusion? Especially when including the group would have likely been a smart political move.
Peter Thiel is probably the most interesting man in America. Gawker killer and seemingly the tech world's only Trump supporter. He's either so smart he’s crazy or so crazy he’s smart. This interview in The New York Times is a pretty good litmus test for which side of that equation you fall on. At least read it for this sick burn of Twitter’s role in the election: “I think the crazy thing is,” he says, “at a place like Twitter, they were all working for Trump this whole year even though they thought they were working for Sanders.”
On the internet, all roads lead to “Quit your job and travel the world!” Which is why I enjoyed this candid look at the process from Caterina Kostoula. Inspired by Stephan Sagmeister’s TED talk, she decided to use her savings to move her family to Greece and Thailand for six months. As my own little mini-sabbatical winds down I appreciated the financial realtalk, about how any time off is likely a huge hit to any of your future earnings and there’s no guarantee you come out happier or fulfilled.
Did you know that, since both companies went public in 2004, the stock of Domino's Pizza has outperformed Google?
Official Newsletter Flag (for now)
Featuring the southern cross constellation, this is the flag of the Australian Eureka rebellion, commonly known as the "eureka" flag. It was flown by multi-ethnic and mostly immigrant gold miners who rebelled against colonial forces during the Victoria gold rush in 1854 over taxes. Easy enough, right? Well, the flag has been co-opted by all kinds of anti-establishment political movements in Australia since, both left- and right-wing. So now it means different things to different people. But in modern Melbourne, the flag can be seen around the city and perhaps the city's most distinct skyscraper is modeled after the flag with a striking red band to mark the blood shed at the rebellion.
Dear reader, I'd model my skyscraper after you. Thanks for making space in your crowded inbox for this ol' thing.
-Sean
Dear reader, I'd model my skyscraper after you. Thanks for making space in your crowded inbox for this ol' thing.
-Sean
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Sean Blanda's Newsletter: