Commonplace Reading - Issue #23
Hello, again. Yes, it's been a while. I've been lucky enough to have had a gangbusters few months work wise. I've travelled to Maastricht, Abu Dhabi, Atlanta and… Milton Keynes. Busy times.
Too busy for newsletter compiling!
There are some great newsletters that track day-t0-day changes in the digital world. Casey Newton's Interface is a great example of that, linking the most salient stories about the interaction of digital and politics right now. (It's on a summer break, but I recommend signing up anyway.) And it lands pretty much every evening.
Wow.
This is *never* going to be one of those newsletters. So instead, I'll just continue sliding into your inbox when time and volume of links allows… Enjoy this little insight into the kind of things I'm thinking and reading about right now. I think they're worth your time.
“I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets
Must read of the week. Great piece on centralisation as the fundamental problem that is distorting the web.
Media
Vice Media Was Built on a Bluff
This is a fascinating - if somewhat opinionated - take on the rise and rise of "millennial" media brand Vice.
Reporter’s Notebook: The Tale Of Theranos And The Mysterious Fire Alarm
Just a great story of journalism, PR and the moment when it emerges that maybe there's something very, very wrong with the company.
The Lily: iterating a visual and editorial voice (News Impact Summit, Paris)
This was a fascinating talk from News Impact Summit Paris about how The Lilly used design and interaction to refine itself.
Toxic communities
I've been professionally involved with online communities for 13 years, and personally for around 20. It was always evident that there were really positive online communities - and really native ones. The only thing that's changed in recent years is the scale.
Here's a few articles on the subject that have caught my eye recently.
The Deadly Incel Movement’s Absurd Pop Culture Roots
The Incel culture didn't spring up from nowhere. There's a history of men with problematic relationships with women coming together, and the media may have to take some blame for not taking their toxicity seriously enough.
Chris Hardwick and Why Geek Culture Can’t Shake Its Misogyny
As geek culture goes more mainstream, there's a real tension in the community between certain elements of it, and the new parts. And the old school does not come out well.
'Unfuckable' Women Don't Go on Killing Sprees
The missing part of the more sympathetic discussion about the worst end of incel culture.
Digitally-infused culture
YouTubers Killed Attempting to Rescue Girlfriend From Canadian Waterfall
Attention economies reward attention-seeking stunts. But there are serious consequences, and no safeguards. This will continue.
Psychologists have looked into why “phubbing” is so harmful to our social lives
No big surprises, but good to see some research backing up the serious harm "phone snubbing" your friends and family does.
Why Doesn't Anyone Answer the Phone Anymore?
The increasingly inaccurately-named mobile phone is actually killing off the communications culture of the last 50 years. And it's probably a good thing.
In Memoriam
for all the freaks and weirdoes
I didn't know Anthony Bourdain, but my friend Graham did. Here's a very personal goodbye to the great man.
Visual
Photos: The urban facelift of Paris was calculated and devastating
A powerful story told in photos.
1980s Teenagers and Their Bedroom Walls - Flashbak
I need to find and scan my own 80s bedroom. I did have a TV in there - but hooked up to a ZX Spectrum.
Listening
Stringhenge – Richard Durrant
Local (to me) guitar virtuoso and friend Richard Durrant has dropped digital pre-release copies of his new album. Great writing and working music.
Photo Coda
Thanks for reading - I hope you found this interesting.
If you know anyone who you think will enjoy the newsletter, please pass it on. I'm only one short of the magic 100 subscribers. It might even incentivise me to send it out more often… 😉
Until next time - whenever that is…
