Sitting at the airport yesterday, I remembered how important format can be to differentiate yourself online. I switched things up this week. Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy it. — Daniel Hunter
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Your reading list for the week of September 22nd, 2024.
TL;DR
S: Your data is a viral time bomb (here's how to detonate it)
T: Writers Are Massively Leaving Medium For Substack. Here’s Why
W: The Arbitrary Acceptance of Alcohol
F: I Don't Trust People Who Have Never Failed
Sunday
Your data is a viral time bomb (here's how to detonate it)
innovation · marketing · social-media
Tom shares a powerful marketing strategy called 'Data Bomb Marketing' - leveraging your internal data to create viral marketing campaigns. He provides compelling examples from companies like Gong, Spotify, Okta, Wiz, Carta, and Asana. These 'data bombs' reveal surprising insights packaged into shareable content, driving credibility, brand awareness, and traffic. From counterintuitive sales tips to personalized listening stats to insider looks at app growth, these data-driven campaigns tap into the inherent shareability of unique, valuable information. Tom encourages readers to dig into their data for captivating patterns, then share those 'bombs' via reports, visuals, or thought leadership pieces to explode their reach.
Monday
artificial-intelligence · innovation · science
Ethan Mollick explores the driving force behind recent AI advancements: the pursuit of scale. Larger models, trained on more data with greater computing power, exhibit increased capabilities. This 'scaling law' has propelled AI into successive generational leaps, from ChatGPT's Gen1 to GPT-4's Gen2. Mollick outlines the five frontier Gen2 models (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, Grok 2, Llama) and their relative strengths. However, a newly discovered 'thinking' scaling law, demonstrated by OpenAI's o1 models, suggests AI can continue improving by allocating more compute to reasoning -- even if training scale hits limits. This dual-scaling approach virtually guarantees accelerated AI progress, bringing indie AI agents and complex problem-solving closer to reality.
Tuesday
Writers Are Massively Leaving Medium For Substack. Here’s Why
writing · marketing · side-hustles
Matt Giaro dives into the mass exodus of writers from Medium to Substack. Despite Medium's partner program paying writers based on readership, recent algorithm changes like the 'Boost program' have throttled reach for certain topics. Matt argues Substack treats writers better by notifying followers of new posts and allowing full ownership of subscriber emails. With Substack's current wide-open reach, it presents a prime opportunity for audience growth over the next year before potential throttling occurs, mirroring the cycle on other platforms. Although grateful for Medium's role in his journey, Matt sees Substack as a superior option for now.
Wednesday
The Arbitrary Acceptance of Alcohol
culture · neuroscience · psychology
Ben Ulansey delves into the paradoxical acceptance of alcohol as a widely embraced drug despite its devastating impacts. He contrasts society's nonchalant attitude towards alcohol with the harsh stigma surrounding other psychoactive substances like marijuana and psilocybin. The essay exposes the cognitive dissonance of revelers who deny alcohol's drug classification yet succumb to incoherence, vomiting, and loss of self-control — behaviors often excused or celebrated in drinking cultures worldwide. Ben questions why this toxic, mind-numbing drug remains so arbitrarily embraced while safer psychedelics face intense scrutiny. He challenges readers to reexamine alcohol's normalization and advocate for moderation.
Thursday
entrepreneurship · personal-development · productivity
Anna reflects on the remarkable growth of her Substack newsletter over the past year - from writing into the void to amassing over 3,300 subscribers through consistent effort, leveraging various platforms, and finding her niche in exploring 'portfolio careers'. She shares insights on developing a loyal audience: start with the medium before defining your message, adopt a messy-then-strategic approach, prioritize consistent inputs over virality, and persistently create through resistance. Ultimately, Anna embraces her journey, focused on sharing valuable ideas rather than chasing fame. For creators and writers, the work itself is the true stage.
Friday
I Don't Trust People Who Have Never Failed
entrepreneurship · personal-development · psychology
Tim Denning explores the importance of failure as a catalyst for growth, personal wisdom, and compelling narratives. He argues that people who avoid failure at all costs become stuck in perfectionism, ultimately leading to stagnation. Embracing failure allows for iterative learning, overcoming fears, and uncovering life's hidden shortcuts. The true 'criminals' are those unwilling to fail and risk their egos. Tim encourages readers to reframe their perspectives, actively seek failure as a gift, and persist through setbacks - for it is only through failure that comebacks and transformative stories emerge.
Saturday
culture · nature · personal-development
Max shares his weekend ritual of being one of the first customers at Trader Joe's every Sunday morning. It's a chance to beat the crowds, catch up with familiar faces, carefully select fresh flowers for his partner Celeste, and find new treats before they sell out. But beyond the practical benefits, this ritual fills a void for Max, who works from home. Trader Joe's has become his 'third place' - a community hub where he can socialize, reflect, and add structure to his weekly routine. What began as simply running errands evolved into recording 'Sunday Thoughts' videos and appreciating the simple joys of this Sunday morning tradition.