One of those days where you copy yourself in on an “Important!” email, and then panic slightly when you see an email saying “Important!” land in your inbox. Sigh.
It is no longer possible to separate the Message from the Medium – content is too highly coupled to interface, with its interpretations and entire social contract of a shared experience. Explaining to someone that their view differs to yours drives a stake into the heart of convenience. Protocols are dead, and we are left with the spectre of centralisation.
Or maybe it has always been so. Maybe just those on the edge feel more crowded out now, aware of their own fragility?
Related note to self: Separate zone 1 RSS feeds into a separate reader/app/device, not just a different folder. It’s fine to feel different emotional engagement on purpose.
Sarah O’Conor picks up on Tanya Reilly’s old blog post about glue work, applying it to the age of AI agents everywhere. It’s a timely piece as I find myself working independently yet within a distributed team – I find myself questioning (or reflecting on) the value I bring, or that I should bring. Is it better to let others make mistakes and focus on my own, clear tasks? Or should I spend time and energy trying to get others to align better, for the greater good and the longer term?
It’s not an easy answer. I think it’s fine to just adopt long-term thinking for myself – how long do I want to work with a client for? How much do I believe in them aside from the people involved? What skills do I want to practice and hone apart from the obvious ones?
Still, I find myself drawn to positive articles like this these days that explore the role of humans. It’s encouraging that I have some confidence and scope outside of purely “technical” learning (i.e. beyond just understanding and adopting technology for innovation’s sake.)
Related: https://www.ft.com/content/72c20f77-e85d-49cb-84ef-4b676244d1c5?syn-25a6b1a6=1
“In industries where accuracy, accountability and regulation matter, trust is emerging as the critical faultline.” (emphasis mine)
Farage forgets which country he aims to govern is notionally about Farage’s relationship with Trump, but descends very well into Britain’s relationship with itself.
Cancerous cells, Christmas lists and client work have stifled creative projects for the last few months. Brushing off half-completed projects is too easy, and it can take a lake of strength to push forward on these things. We think of energy as a reservoir or as a lake, but in the day-to-day of it, it is a river, directing itself over and around hillocks, following the gravity of pressures and needs.
The move to fragmented blog posts is not a coincidence, but an evolution of where I’ve been – a more entrepreneurial approach to creativity. DRPFD was a stab at small opportunities and stolen moments, like all good photography is. (Photography is always theft. Of the soul. Of privacy. Of the past, the present, the here and the now.)
So the challenge is how to micromanage “pockets” of creativity. To generate micro-progress. To believe enough to drive things even though life discourages you.
I may not be prolific, but I do have places ready and waiting. Is it easier or harder that way?
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