Around knowledge and its serendipious ways

To me, online content consumption seems to exist on a pendulum of sorts: we love content to the extreme — Unbundle!! Give us more! — until we are overwhelmed with choice and analysis — It’s too much!! Bundle it back up again! — and swing to the opposite side. In the end, we always end up somewhere in the middle… but it’s a lot of swinging back and ... See more

Technology treats the process of consuming and the process of creating as distinctly different, when the reality is that for our brains, the process of absorbing a book is not all too different from the process of producing one. We are always seeking new connections, combining and recombining old ideas to produce new ones. So why is it that we cons... See more

spending too much time in the big algorithmic feeds winds up being a form of intellectual monocropping. It’s not terribly diverse or surprising. It’s not that the stuff in your feeds is all bad; some of it’s great! But it’s got a deadening sameness to it.

In the 2020s, consumers will embrace algorithmic forms of consumption that leverage personal data to automatically deliver exactly what they want: that means much reduced need to scroll, choose, or click. Millions are already happy to let Spotify take charge of their music experience. Now, expect that mindset to spread to products and services, too... See more

Synthesis is where taste develops.

Most people stop at consumption. This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case forever and ever, Amen. This makes sense, as it requires the least amount of effort. But the evolution of algorithmic and hyperpersonal content makes moving beyond consumption even more challenging. If I already enjoy the content I’m being served, why w... See more

We have the agency to demand better, and by doing so can begin to form a real sense of taste. Not just in a performative “I’m better than others” sense, but because crafting it can bring you personal fulfillment not defined by others, or marketing teams, or trends. By consuming more consciously and with intention , by prioritizing quality over quan... See more