deverWe have arrived at our final destination: Friday
Issue #158: That * email from the CEO and the guilty verdict leading
by Harris Sockel
There are three deep dives this weekend.
snorkel level
Drake released the album through the burner Instagram account and the good old website 100gigs.org. Lyrically, it is a response to Kendrick Lamar, but in business terms, as Chris Harihal explains, it is a rebellion against big streaming. Drake has created his own streaming platform to own the data. It now reminds us of a larger trend in media. People are losing trust in old algorithms, so they aregoing indie.
🤿 scuba level
Rosie Hoggmascall documents how Spotify has cluttered its homepage over the past seven years, leaving the roots of Scandinavian minimalism in dust. 52% of Hoggmascall's (and my) Spotify homepage is now podcasts. 48% is algorithm REC. There is hardly any space for discovery or personalization. Kyle Chayka recently covered this in The New Yorker. He finally quit Spotify because he felt trapped inside that algorithm, finally quitting Spotify. Hoggmascall highlighted this quote from her. It feels deep.
mariana mariana trench
Niklas Göke catalogs the 365 most famous quotes of all time, verifying who first said each one. The result? A 22,000-word book of wisdom in the form of moderate posts. Some of Göke's sources, like QuoteAdviction®, are worth exploring in themselves. Many of the quotes attributed to famous people (looking at you, Mark Twain) were first said by famous people or printed anonymously.
What I appreciate most about Göke's resources is how they give you a sense of enduring themes across philosophy, science, poetry, and politics. These are difficult to summarize in a sentence, but I see themes of boldness, fearlessness, and the importance of hearing things over and over again. I am curious about what you make of these quotes.
From the archives: Hey everyone, just make a few changes to the website...
Eight years ago, in the halcyon days of 2016, comedy writer Amanda Rosenberg was published in an email from a CEO that had a few small changes to the website. I am not a designer, but I think it is a cathartic read for someone on the receiving end of whimsical feedback from a boss. In the words of a former product manager at Amex, “This would be funny if it weren’t so true right?.”
The popularity of this ^ post led to a book of comedic takes on living with bipolar disorder, along with other hits from Rosenberg like “an email from a CEO with great branding ideas.” In comedy, Rosenberg said:
All jokes have a kernel of truth to them. The truth, no matter how dark, crude, or shameful, is something we can all relate to. When we laugh at a joke, it’s like saying, “Fuck you to someone else who said what I was thinking.” It’s a relief.
Your daily practical wisdom
Continue to lead with belief and confidence.
Quiz: Review Week
There are three questions related to this week's issue. If you know the answers, email Tips@medium.com. By answering all three correctly first, you will earn a free Medium membership.
- Which part of the U.S. Constitution pertains to the separation of church and state?
- According to engineer Marianne Bellotti, what is the difference between a true tech company and a company that simply claims to be one but isn’t?
- According to Poli-SCI professor Darren Zook, what is the most misguided word in the world?
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Scott Lamb & Carly Rose Gillis edited and produced
Questions, feedback, or story suggestions? Email: tips@medium.com