Chris J Wilson

I disconnected from the electric grid for 8 months—in Manhattan | Ars Technica

On May 22, 2022, I began an experiment. I unplugged everything in my apartment, with the goal of drawing zero power from the electric grid for one month. I had no idea how I would make it past a few days.

Nevertheless, I opened the main circuit, disconnecting my apartment from the grid and committing myself to solving what problems arose as they came. As I type these words in January, I’m in my eighth month. My Con-Ed bills continue to show zero kilowatt-hours.

A really interesting read and it has extra resonance for me since reading The Life We’re Looking For. What if we had fewer constantly on devices, and more instruments we turn on only when we need them? It would certainly be needed for such a lifestyle.

I can still remember my amazing productivity when I first came to Poland and had no regular Internet. Every minute at the library was precious and I’d do more in those 30 minutes than most evenings now.

The Perils of Audience Capture - by Gurwinder - The Prism

In some respects, all his eating paid off; Nikocado Avocado, as Perry is now better known, has amassed over six million subscribers across six channels on YouTube. By satisfying the escalating demands of his audience, he got his wish of blowing up and being big online. But the cost was that he blew up and became big in ways he hadn’t anticipated.

A really fascinating read. Makes you wonder how we’re all being changed by social media.

How Reels Have Impacted Engagement Rates on Instagram - Later

For those who have pivoted to Reels, engagement rates have remained consistent — or, even better, seen positive growth.

So regular posts went down 44% but if you post reels it’s about the same engagement.

The headline I saw this shared with (reels leads to a 44% drop in engagement) made me hope that the new timeline was a disaster, but no doubt meta will see this and think. “🔥this is fine.”

First Look at WordPress’ Upcoming Twenty Twenty-Two Default Theme: “The Most Flexible Default Theme Ever Created for WordPress” – WP Tavern

Reigstad said the theme will be “built for Full Site Editing first,” with as little CSS as possible, and all theme styles configurable through theme.json wherever possible, so users can edit them through Global Styles.

Of course WordPress would have to tempt me with an upcoming default theme! The tie in with 5.9 makes sense with the full site editing push. Still not sure what I make of WordPress’s direction. It’s surprising how page builders still seem prevalent despite the advances in Gutenberg.

“But it isn’t just MacLeod’s sumptuous hot toddy choux buns, Heilan' coo cupcakes or haggis bon bons that have made the soft-spoken chef a viral sensation. By serving his food with a side of Hebridean folklore, Scottish Gaelic tongue twisters and traditional music – as well as the occasional cameo by his wee Westie pup, Seòras – Coinneach’s goal is to bring the best of Hebridean culture to the world”

Scotland’s version of ‘hygge’

A hot toddy choux bun sounds fantastic! Not so sure about the haggis bon bon though.

Best Habits to Track in 2021. Analyzing Habit Tracking Behavior from… | by Coach Tony | Coach.me App | Medium

Every year I go through our data from Coach.me to see what habits people have started tracking and what habits they’ve stopped tracking. The result is a snapshot of what is becoming more popular and what is becoming less popular.

A really interesting list of habits and what are the most popular (see if you can predict the top five).

Why Italian football does not make sense in the English language | Serie A | The Guardian

Italian football is often criticised for being overly dramatic, with players spending too much time feigning injury, encircling the referee or dropping to the grass with their faces in their hands after they have missed opportunities. These criticisms carry weight but, given the language of the game in Italy, it is hard to see how the game could be any other way. An Italian match is more than just that; it is a performance in which the players are fighting not just to win but to win over the audience. I was reminded of this article while watching the match yesterday. The whole piece is really enlightening about the differences between Italian and English football.

🔗 Amazon is using algorithms with little human intervention to fire Flex workers - ArsTechnica

Locked gates, inclement weather, and bad selfies—all reasons drivers report that they were fired by the bots that apparently run human resources for Amazon’s Flex delivery program.

File this one under dystopia future.

🔗 Eric Carle: Very Hungry Caterpillar author dies aged 91 - BBC News

In 2019, he told the BBC why he thought the story endured for five decades. “For many years, my publisher and editor and I did not know the reason for The Very Hungry Caterpillar being so popular,” he said. “But over time, I’ve come to feel that it is a book of hope. And it is this hopeful feeling that has made it a book readers of all ages enjoy and remember.”

I remember reading Eric’s books as a child and it was a joy to introduce my daughter to them. The style of his graphics has stuck with me since then. I’m sure he has just gone into his cocoon now and will emerge again as a beautiful butterfly.

🔗 Netflix Reportedly Hiring Executive For Expansion Into Video Games

In a report released by The Information, we’ve found out that Netflix has approached several veteran game industry executives regarding their want to expand into video games, though we are not yet sure which executives. Despite the lack of specifics, we do know that Netflix is considering offering a bundle of games that would be similar to Apple’s online subscription.

That’s pretty interesting. Netflix expanding into other verticals now to provide a comprehensive package seems like a great business move for them and would be appealing as a consumer. Apple Arcade never really got me.

🔗Apple iOS15: What’s New? Notification, IPad Home Screen Upgrades - Bloomberg

Following a similar feature for the iPhone introduced last year, Apple plans to let users place widgets – miniature apps that can display the weather, upcoming appointments, stock tickers and other data – anywhere on the Home Screen. Users will also be able to replace the entire app grid with only widgets.

This would make me very happy. I can’t believe they didn’t roll out the all widget home screen at the same time as the iPhone so maybe there will be some more significant changes?

🔗 Google Nest 2 home device tracks body activity in bed - BBC

And Privacy is Power author Carissa Véliz asked: “What happens when you have sex?"

Google said the new features had been “built with privacy in mind” - and the data collected would not be used to create personalised advertising.

Of course Google won’t do anything creapy with that personal data. I wonder how many Nest users will suddenly see an increase in vigara adverts?

When I first saw the headline, I didn’t immediately think about sex…but it really didn’t take long to think about this connection. This makes me think of how tone deaf Facebook was over the portal…but maybe I’m wrong and people won’t care.

🔗 Kings of Leon Will Be the First Band to Release an Album as an NFT

The band is actually dropping three types of tokens as part of a series called “NFT Yourself,” people involved in the project tells Rolling Stone. One type is a special album package, while a second type offers live show perks like front-row seats for life, and a third type is just for exclusive audiovisual art.

Really interesting to see what NFT will do to the music industry and arts in general. It’s also very encourging to see that this isn’t DRM 2.0 but offering additional benefits. At the same time, bands have been offering extra add ons to superfans for a while. Perhaps NFT is a bit overblown. Regardless, the person behind KoL marketing should take a bow for the press this will get.

🔗The Management Myth

“. Notwithstanding the ostentatious use of stopwatches, Taylor’s pig iron case was not a description of some aspect of physical reality—how many tons can a worker lift? It was a prescription—how many tons should a worker lift? The real issue at stake in Mayo’s telephone factory was not factual—how can we best establish a sense of teamwork? It was moral—how much of a worker’s sense of identity and well-being does a business have a right to harness for its purposes?”

A really interesting article that has made me think a lot about the various management issues I’m now facing. I really enjoy the application of philosophy.

🔗Asking, Giving And Blogging – Greg Morris

Truth is, I have been trying for a while to make writing and blogging pay like it used to. 6-7 years ago web ads paid ok with a few thousand hits a month and didn’t completely wreck your website and income paid for my hosting and even allowed me to, shock horror, make a little profit.

I can relate to the changes Greg has seen in writing online. I used to run a site that made a nice little amount of money through ads: Enough to pay for hosting and a few tech treats. But things have changed. Google ads want to be invasive. Web design trends have pushed ads out of the way (unless your a big media company and want them all over the place.) The promised patreon /Kofi/content subscription solution hasn’t lived up to its promises.
We shouldn’t be that suprised. The same issues have been in software with the growth of free with in app purchases and the (justified and not) vocal opposition to software subscriptions.

The issue of subscription fatigue is real.

Many of us would love to support more services and creator, but with so many apps, creators and causes to subscribe to, what was once a small drip from our pockets is now a running tap.

Perhaps creators should seek to create things and ask for payments in exchange for access; it’s the pricing model many wish more apps adopted.

This is certainly the model Seth Godin recommends where he talks about creating experiences. It isn’t easy to monetise anything, but we should pay attention to what we do/don’t pay for.

If we wouldn’t be willing to pay for a newsletter subscription, why would someone pay for ours?

🔗 Overthinking? Try this iOS Shortcut.

As usual, I found myself overthinking this week about small details and not getting much done on the big stuff. It’s been happening too often lately, delaying my newsletter and book projects. But this week, I decided to do something about it. I built a kind of break-glass-in-case-of-emergency shortcut for whenever I’m stuck in a rut and overthinking.

I really like this idea from CJ Chilvers. I think I might steal/adapt.

The Big Three - The Accidental Creative

Keeping a shortlist of open creative loops in front of you consistently will help you stay focused on what matters, and prompt your mind to be looking for potentially useful creative stimuli in your environment.

I’m reading (well, listening on Audiobook) The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry and he shared this simple idea above.

I love it.

Creativity insight so often comes by looking at problems from a different perspective or noticing a connection with something else. Keeping a list in front of you with three problems where you need some insight helps invite these connections and perspective shifts.

I’m trying it, and I’ll report back.

The end of secularism is nigh - UnHerd

All of which should serve as a wake-up call to the West that it is not only its financial, economic and military muscle that is currently atrophying. So too is its ability to market its culturally conditioned assumptions as universal. The concept of the secular is not, as many in West like to think, a neutral one. Quite the opposite. As the very word betrays, it derives from the distinctive theology and history of Latin Christendom: for ‘saeculum’, the word given by the Romans to the endless flux of things, was counterpointed by St Augustine and his heirs to the religio, the ‘bond’, that, so Augustine had taught, joined the pilgrim Church on its journey through the centuries to the radiant eternity of the City of God.

I thought of the XKCD standards comic, where people try to unify things by a standard but just add another competitor in the process. I wonder if that’s how the future will see secularism. Admittedly many different religious systems have already passed away (which is different from the standards comic), and I’m sure there are other issues I haven’t thought of.

Posing for selfies - Seth’s Blog

The irony is that the people we’re most likely to want to trust and engage with are the ones who don’t pose. They’re consistent, committed and clear, but they’re not faking it.

Figure out what you want to say, the change you seek to make, the story you want to tell–and then tell it. Wholeheartedly and with intent.

Posing is unnecessary.

🔗 A look inside Paradise Street — Hoxton Mini Press

This week we’re looking inside Paradise Street. This uplifting, irresistibly nostalgic book, the fourth in our Vintage Britain series, celebrates, among other things, the physicality of spending time outdoors.

Enjoy the look back in time.