Jon Ronson | Substack
substack.com
Jon Ronson | Substack
Large parasocial platforms transformed the internet into a hostile and impersonal place. They feed our FOMO to keep us clicking. They exaggerate our differences for "engagement". They create engines for stardom to keep us creeping. They bait us into nutritionless and sensationalist content. Humanity cannot subsist on hype alone.
Small and sincere co... See more
Small and sincere co... See more
andrea and added
Molly Simpson added
Instead, we might see stories as:
“living entities that emerge from and move things in the world. Some of these stories are meant to exist for a long time, others expire early. Some stories are meant to remain as and where they are and to work only with a very select group of people; other stories are meant to travel the world, and to transform and to be transformed by other world-entities … Sometimes [these stories] will hide somewhere in your body, perhaps close to a song that already lives there, and wait for the right time to dance with you.”
book is an attention unit. A fact is interesting, an idea is important, but only a story, a good argument, a well-crafted narrative is amazing, never to be forgotten. As Muriel Rukeyser said, “The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”
Kevin Kelly • The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
Good stories are explorations of the human condition; thrilling voyages into foreign minds.
Will Storr • The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better
By using some of these collected phenomena bubbling in your head, you will have a book that has your stamp on it and is unlike any other. When I’m working with clients, I tell them to temporarily put aside considerations of others and of worldly success, and I ask that they make a list. What kind of list? It’s an inventory of everything that fascin
... See moreMark Levy • Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content
if you want to find emerging and under-rated ideas, stop using algorithms.
These ideas are hidden and obscure. They’re the opposite of viral. Instead of relying on algorithms to find them, identify your favorite people and follow the people who influenced them.
David Perell • Algorithmic Blindspots - David Perell
sari added
Ideas are fascinators that sparkle and dangle in front of the creator, distracting an eager audience from the person behind the curtain. Submitting to the tyranny of ideas gives us the freedom to explore who we are apart from our public reputations. If ideas are living entities that exist separately from our selves, what remains of us?
Nadia Asparouhova • The tyranny of ideas
Emilie Kormienko added
People read nonfiction to learn and to feel. My framework for ensuring a blog post accomplishes both is to start with a first draft that focuses on "novel" ideas.
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
A novel idea is one that's not just new to the reader, but also significant and not easily intuited. Think of it as new and worthwhile . I've identified five categories:
- Counter-intuitive —
What to Write About
Vince DeSantis and added