the goal is resonance, not scale
building and monetizing soulful businesses + brands where the goal is resonance, not scale
sari and
the goal is resonance, not scale
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
... See moreCommunities are not resources to be optimised and they're not user bases to be migrated. They're the accumulated residue of people choosing, over and over again, to remain in a relationship with each other under specific conditions that will never, ever recur in exactly the same way.
Treating them as fungible is idiotic, and we have been far too... See more
Treating them as fungible is idiotic, and we have been far too... See more
Just a moment...
This a very interesting read on long-lived institutions. A few facts: most of the oldest companies in the world are in Japan. 90% of the companies that are over 200 years old have 300 employees or less, they’re not mega companies
As anything scales too effectively - from fashion to restaurants to music - the market opens for more non-scalable alternatives. Once Starbucks opens on every block, many of us crave the artisanal coffee shop. Once our favorite Italian restaurant becomes a chain of three, we grow tired of it. Why? First, so much of what we buy and do is tied up in... See more
Scott Belsky • Joyspan, Emotional AI Bumpers, Persona Designers, & More Wild Concepts Bound to Become Commonplace Plus Where High-Tech Entertainment Brings Us
Both Bluesky and Lemon8 are designed to be black holes. We are all of us craving something new, places and spaces online that we can go to feel good and have fun and be inspired. These are normal human things to want; people want to be around each other. But it is almost impossible to create or maintain that kind of space if your company's goal is
... See moreKelsey McKinney • The Internet Isn't Meant To Be So Small | Defector
By contrast, consumer software tools that enhance human agency, that serve us when we are most creative and intentional, are often built by hobbyists and used by a handful of nerds. If such a tool ever gets too successful one of the Marl-serving companies, flush with cash from advertising or growth-hungry venture capital, will acquire it and kill... See more
Ivan Vendrov • The Tyranny of the Marginal User
note to self: do not let this happen
A Blog Post Is a Very Long and Complex Search Query to Find Fascinating People and Make Them Route Interesting Stuff to Your Inbox
Henrik Karlssonescapingflatland.substack.com