Agalia Tan
@agaaalia
Senior Strategist at We Are Social
RADAR Chapter Lead for Singapore
Agalia Tan
musingsandmore.substack.com
Ad legend Bill Bernbach letter on creativity, written in 1947:
Dear ________:
Our agency is getting big. That’s something to be happy about. But it’s something to worry about, too, and I don’t mind telling you I’m damned worried. I’m worried that we’re going to fall into the trap of bigness, that we’re going to worship techniques instead of substance
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from Information Nutrition by Jean Louis
"Social media doesn’t let us actually absorb the information we consume. We’re blasted with low-context content and given no time to reflect on what we’ve just consumed before the next video starts to play. Functionally, it’s the same as junk food – we absorb the message straight into our psyche without vetting it, contextualizing it or reflecting on what we just consumed.
I recently watched a TikTok summarizing an article that was summarizing a documentary that was summarizing a trial. While there was some insight in there, it’s worth pausing and asking if this information is strategically valuable to me or if it is just interesting. Am I actually educating myself or just entertaining myself? Is this rare information or insight that will help me cultivate a deeper, valuable understanding or is it actually “junk food” for my brain? I didn’t get the chance to ask myself these questions in the moment, I just scrolled to the next video – and therein lies the truth.
What we ought to do instead is chew our food. Take the time to process the information, ideas and concepts on our screens. Would we be better served to consume less but process it more? I think so.
why does this make me a little scared? like i’m desperately hoarding everything that i’ve done within gmail for the last 13 years — as though I’m able to remember everything that was done and believe that there is value in keeping them.
It’s the same thing with my whatsapp message where I keep everything from 8 years ago for that one time i’d choose to scroll back and see my younger self making a fool of herself :”)
What is it with digital artefacts that make it so difficult to let go? Is it because of the fact that it’s there?
“Later that same week, I chatted about this in a coaching session with Kristine Claghorn. I asked her, “Now that I am wiser and I know what happens when I burn out, how do I find joy in my work again?” And she asked me a question that changed my perspective instantly: “What would happen if you took the pressure off? What would work feel like then?”
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