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Commonplace Reading - Issue #22

In one way or another I’ve been writing about tech for about two decades now, starting with “ebusines
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Commonplace Reading - Issue #22
By Adam Tinworth • Issue #22 • View online
In one way or another I’ve been writing about tech for about two decades now, starting with “ebusiness” (remember that?) pages in Estates Gazette, and eventually moving into my blog, as well as places as diverse as Computer Weekly and the NEXT conference blog.
Never have I wanted to write about consumer tech as little as I do right now. Wherever you turn, there’s another negative article about the impact it is having on our lives. Some of that backlash is deserved. Most of it is over-kill, a neoluddite urge finding form in a conservative media who feel under threat and under siege.
All of which means: I’ve tried to avoid too many tech-related links below. There are much more interesting things to spend time thinking about. 
Enjoy!

If you read nothing else…
Take your time: the seven pillars of a Slow Thought manifesto
Take your time: the seven pillars of a Slow Thought manifesto
When all tech seems to be pushing us towards the real-time, maybe we need to put way more concentrated effort into valuing the slow, and the in-depth. 
aeon.co  •  Share
Journalism at work
Using Drones to Shoot War Zones
Using Drones to Shoot War Zones
Drone journalism passed through the peak of the hype cycle really quickly, and is already hitting the plateau of productivity. But nobody’s really talking about it. 
petapixel.com  •  Share
This is a piece of work by a Newspaper MA journalism student at City, and it blew the traffic doors off last week. I wonder why? 🤔
Joking aside, it’s a fascinating read about how the advent of the internet changed the world of sexy media…
islingtonnow.co.uk  •  Share
Why Jordan Peterson Thinks ‘Frozen’ Is Propaganda
Why Jordan Peterson Thinks ‘Frozen’ Is Propaganda
This interview does what the infamous Cathy Newman interview failed to do. It shows that, at heart, Peterson is a bit of a dick.
time.com  •  Share
I’m the Daughter of an NRA Member — and a Journalist
I’m the Daughter of an NRA Member — and a Journalist
I  blogged about this, but it is an interesting look at the heart of a culture that’s inexplicable to many of us. 
medium.com  •  Share
Haunted by my past…
Adam Tinworth
I’m shocked by this. I’ve never seen clear evidence of EngLit students actually reading the book they’re discussing before. https://t.co/3JP57ZqHrZ
10:45 AM - 7 Mar 2018
Sue Smith
@adders As someone who was on the same degree course as you at Queen Mary’s, Adam, that’s made me chuckle!
10:51 AM - 7 Mar 2018
Busted. 
Work & Workplaces
Why It’s so Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices · The Walrus
This is a nice dissection of the cult of the hustle that seems to surround some of the new shared office spaces. I feel tired just reading about it. 
thewalrus.ca  •  Share
Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself
Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself
This is a great example of how formalised HR processes can become counter-productive really quickly. A lesson for any growing business. 
mtlynch.io  •  Share
Shedworking: Underground studio in the woods
Shedworking: Underground studio in the woods
I need a wealthy patron to fund one of these for my blogging and newsletter writing. Pleas provide one straight away, kthxbai.
www.shedworking.co.uk  •  Share
How Self-Aware Are People, Really, According to Science?
How Self-Aware Are People, Really, According to Science?
Basically, your coworkers are better at rating some parts of your personality than you are.
www.theatlantic.com  •  Share
Life and living
It’s okay for you to be boring
It’s okay for you to be boring
I’ve struggle with this in the past - the sense that if I wasn’t doing something EXCITING and EPIC and EXTREME at all times, I was wasting my precious time on this planet. But quiet times are precious, too. 
medium.com  •  Share
What I Was Doing While You Were Reading ‘Eat, Pray, Love’
What I Was Doing While You Were Reading ‘Eat, Pray, Love’
I found this a compelling read about a life experience very far removed from my own — young women on travel-based explorations of self-discovery — that punctures the more commercial view of it.
electricliterature.com  •  Share
Two from me
The LittleThings lesson publishers should be learning
Don’t get blinded by easy traffic, or friendly folks from publisher partnership teams - you need to own your traffic, not merely rent it. 
www.onemanandhisblog.com  •  Share
And finally…
Disco’s glory days were a kaleidoscope of "yes"
Because bacon may be killing us, but Disco is already dead. But boy, did it leave a good-looking corpse. 
timeline.com  •  Share
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