Tag: commentary
Rest is the most underappreciated productivity tool
Science shows rest makes you more productive (but that's not why you should rest).
Google is strip mining the web. Publishers might leave.
USA Today may pull their articles from search results to avoid feeding the AI machine. Other publications could follow.
Zork and the social impact of design choices
A bad game from 1993 taught me that humanity isn't necessarily doomed.
I built a WisprFlow alternative in five minutes
I call it WisprFree and you can download it if you want (you shouldn't)
I turned my website into a personal social network that connects to Bluesky and the Fediverse—here’s how.
I'm tired of posting on so many different social networks, so I built my own. All it took was a WordPress website, two plugins, and a lot of fiddling.
How to use AI without stagnating
Are you metaphorically driving a car while pretending to run a marathon?
Our devices are exhausting us
I'm no longer working with Lifehacker, which is disappointing. But I'm grateful I got to spend two years doing one of my favorite things: finding great indie and open source tools and sharing them with readers. I couldn't be happier that Current, a different sort of RSS reader, is the last app I wrote about...
Pips and the art of feeling good about being wrong
In the short term, being confidently wrong about something feels just as good as actually being correct.
The peace that’s available
We're told we live in unprecedented times, and there's truth to that. It's worth remembering, though, that it's all a little less unprecedented than it feels. The last track on Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is a little strange. For one thing it's a Christmas song on an album without...
What’s worth saying right now?
Lately I've been wanting to write a newsletter and realizing that, for the most part, I don't feel like I have much to say. I sometimes wonder if it's depression, but I'm not sure it is. My life is pretty good. I have a great wife, the best cat, and fantastic friends. I'm secure. I...
The only way I’ve managed to catch my own typos
Anyone who has ever edited me will tell you I have a few...quirks. My worst habit is leaving unfinished sentences it the end of my ...paragraphs. Like that. I regularly do this without noticing, even after I re-read an article multiple times. You could argue that I'm an idiot, and I do argue that to...
Mark Zuckerberg Is A Digital Narcotics Dealer
In a recent newsletter I referred to Mark Zuckerberg as a digital narcotics dealer, which readers seemed to enjoy. I briefly wondered if I was overstating the matter until I read about how schools are worried students will skip meals in order to use their phones. Some context: Oregon, like many states, is prohibiting students...
Saying Exactly What You Mean
On trying to thread the needle of an honest statement during trying times full of chaos. As a creative person, how do you navigate it? (As always, Jesse Welles makes it look easy.)
Did Twitter’s design inevitably led us to Brexit and Trump?
Last week we talked about how mediums—like film and novels—have their own built-in rules, and how those rules necessarily shape the way you can tell stories and express ideas. We made this point, naturally, by talking about Tom Bombadil. This week we're going to see how the same principles apply online. A social media network...
The Tom Bombadil theory of media literacy
One of the most profound lessons you can learn about media literacy is that it isn't enough to talk about the content—you need to talk about the medium. People far smarter than me have written books and dissertations about this, but let's start with an example that's easy to grasp: the differences between the Lord...
YouTube and the end of “internet culture”
Last week YouTube officially announced that the trending page is going away, to be replaced with separate trending pages just for music, podcasts, and movie trailers. It's the end of "internet culture". Let's back up. In the early days of YouTube—two decades ago—the homepage had a "Featured Videos" box that was curated by YouTube staff....
Do it anyway.
I hate running. I used to believe that, over time, this would change. I thought, over time, that I would grow to love running out of sheer repetition. This has not happened. I used to think that if I could write for a living I'd never have to work—my hobby would be my job. This...
How to bring democracy to America
Imagine that you, as a philanthropist or activist who wants to help spread democracy across the world, read about a country described as a "flawed democracy.” The report describes the problems that country is facing in this way: low levels of trust in political institutions and the media; institutional gridlock; excessive influence of lobbyists, interest...
The hardest thing I do every week (and how I do it)
I write a lot. I've finished just shy of 150 articles so far this year between Lifehacker, PopSci, WIRED, and PCMag, an average of 25 articles a month. I love it. The best part of being a freelancer, to me, is that I don't have to do anything but write. Yes, there is a little...
Tech is making things easier—just not for you
"Technology makes everything more complicated," an elderly relative said to me. It's hard to argue with. In this specific situation she had paid to reserve a parking spot that, it turned out, she didn't need. She tried to get a refund only to find out that's not possible—all you can do is try to sell...
Mark Zuckerberg sees loneliness as a market opportunity
The internet used to be exciting—its potential to make the world better seemed endless. In the early 2010s it felt inevitable that innovation would make us happier, more productive, more connected, and all-around improve our lives. It doesn’t feel that way anymore. Some technologists blame the media for this. I’ve worked in the media too...