Information floods the internet. You can’t control it, but it must be controlled for you to absorb it. It is primarily controlled through infinite feeds of content on social media. Because sites control the feed, they control a part of your bubble. Your bubble is the natural and selected sources of information that influence whatContinue reading “Exit Feeds, Enter Community”
Author Archives: ivanagas
How Discord Won
It has been a big year for realizing the limits of technology for interacting with people. Gamers have known this for a long time. Lag, disconnections, and coordination issues were problems in gaming since the start. There is a platform that has gone a long way in solving those problems: Discord. Discord allows people toContinue reading “How Discord Won”
Build Above Ground
Everyone judges construction sites. We say “this is coming along quickly” or “this will never finish.” When judging construction, all we care about is what’s above ground. Only when we peer between the fence and look closely do we care about what’s below ground. Construction can seem endless because of all the time spent workingContinue reading “Build Above Ground”
The Readership Will Take Care of Itself
Nearly every day, I find myself thinking about ways to get people to read my writing. I tell myself to update the design, start a newsletter, tweet more, or optimize SEO. I say to myself, “If only I spent more time on those, then I would be successful.” Maybe I have to wait and getContinue reading “The Readership Will Take Care of Itself”
The Opportunity for Internet Communities
Internet communities, spaces where people with similar identities and interests interact, are a massive opportunity. General internet spaces are becoming hostile. Societal shifts are forcing more people to rethink the communities they are apart of. Big companies in the space have stagnated. Trends are moving in the right direction. Here are some important ones: LackContinue reading “The Opportunity for Internet Communities”
Don’t Forget The Goal
We forget that we forget. People and organizations forget all the time. We trick ourselves into believing we remember more than we do. Do you remember what you had for dinner three days ago? Or who you had a meeting with last Thursday afternoon? What is an important fact of an article you read earlyContinue reading “Don’t Forget The Goal”
TikTok Succeeds by Making Copying Easy
What you notice on social media is that people copy each other a lot. We do this in all aspects of life, but within the constraints of social media, it is especially noticeable. Most social media gives you a format to do what you want with. We naturally copy each other. Social networks want youContinue reading “TikTok Succeeds by Making Copying Easy”
Be Irreplaceable
Do you ever think about what would happen if a team replaced their star player with an average one? The team would obviously be worse off, but how much worse? In baseball, they created a stat for this. It is called WAR, wins above replacement. It measures a player’s contribution to their team in wins.Continue reading “Be Irreplaceable”
How To Fix The Future: Make More Values Legible
This Could Be Our Future is a book about what we value. The author, Yancey Strickler, argues that society values the idea that every action should aim to maximize financial wealth. What he calls financial maximization. Financial considerations dominate the world, and we don’t know what the other options are. Strickler gives many examples ofContinue reading “How To Fix The Future: Make More Values Legible”
Curation and Creation
Life is better when you think of yourself as a curator. You are always curating. You curate your life, experiences, and knowledge. Being conscious of this opens the possibilities of creation and refinement.
Ian Vanagas 