issue # 23
issue # 23
software we're obsessed with, organic tech, dee hock
Welcome to the startupy newsletter, a laid back column about very serious ideas. Every week, we curate the hottest links from our universe and share them with you here.
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MOOD
🪐 COOL THINGS CURATED IN OUR UNIVERSE
1. We have thought jobs, but no time to think
So true, and makes me think of Paul Graham's Maker. vs Manager essay:
I find one meeting can sometimes affect a whole day. A meeting commonly blows at least half a day, by breaking up a morning or afternoon. But in addition there's sometimes a cascading effect. If I know the afternoon is going to be broken up, I'm slightly less likely to start something ambitious in the morning.
This is a relatively new phenomenon, as the number of jobs that involve strategy, analysis, creativity, or really anything outside of repetitive tasks has risen. As Morgan Housel writes:
The biggest employment change of the last century is the number of careers that shifted from physically exhausting to mentally exhausting. From doing stuff with your arms to doing stuff with your head.
2. On the things we do just because everyone else does
On the flip side, many of us in tech would be wise to heed the words of Jordan Peterson: It took untold generations to get you where you are. A little gratitude might be in order. If you're going to insist on bending the world to your way, you better have your reasons.
3. New(ish) software we're obsessed with
Mem.AI (I've been using it personally and really loving it - especially the calendar integration) Linear (this is the project management tool we use at startupy)
Arc by The Browser Company (I haven't made it my default browser but I appreciate the immense attention to detail - I'm rooting for them.)
Speaking of Linear, this page they shipped is the most elegant, storytelling "we're hiring" page in existence. It's indexed on startupy under organic tech, where you'll find lots more content on why we need to bring back the fun and magic of software.
4. For your weekly dose of inspiration
We added a bunch of great highlights and snippets from our fave podcasts and essays to our featured highlights page. Dig in!
5. A corner of the Internet worth exploring
The founder of Visa, Dee Hock, passed away earlier this month. His personal site is one of the most underrated and wisdom-rich corners of the Internet. Some of my fave essays are indexed and highlighted on startupy here.
✨ CURATOR SPOTLIGHT
chasing computing utopias, going down the organic tech 🐇 🕳️
Why is organic tech interesting?
Organic tech questions what computers can be — it’s an exploration of the possibilities, the fringes, and the utopias of the medium that we haven’t explored. It’s a deeply optimistic perspective, driven by thinkers and builders.
Organic tech is such a fuzzy concept — it’s more of a feeling, a longing for a utopia, a means of way-finding. A sliver of the infinite possible futures:
Computers that can be cozy, magical, humane, vibrant, agentic, symbiotic, playful, hopeful, calm, compassionate, speculative, remixed, home-grown, mindful, trusty, free-range, (hand)crafted, dynamic, durable, deliberate, balanced, glossy, invisible, effortless, leisurely, dreamy, kind, communal, interdependent, cheeky, curious, modular, intertwined, open, and intimate.
Computers that are better.
A podcast worth listening to?
Metamuse: in this podcast, the Muse team has nuanced and thoughtful conversations with a fascinating cast of guests. These wide-ranging discussions spotlight ideas across technology, product design, the creative process, and more, with a healthy dose of computing history. (This podcast is quintessential organic tech and is pure gold — and it’s also one of the reasons I look forward to my runs!)
Things worth reading and watching?
“When our software optimizes for numbers alone — no matter the number — it appears doomed to lack a certain spirit, and a certain humanity.”
My website is a shifting house next to a river of knowledge. What could yours be?
“What kind of room is a website? Or is a website more like a house? A boat? A cloud? A garden? A puddle?”
An app can be a home cooked meal
A vision for a world where technology is incredibly accessible and a lot more personal (hot off the press — a thread of delicious home-cooked projects) A few related rabbit holes worth exploring are the Future of Text and the Future of User Interfaces.
Projects worth following?
Oh, so many! It’s hard to do justice to them all, but here are some of the most interesting projects in the space:
tiny internets is making the internet a cozy place to reside in. It’s “an inquiry into how we create more human, natural, and homey spaces to shape, live in, and form bonds in”.
(Not Boring) Software Inc. and The Browser Company
These projects are turning user-interface design into an art — crafting intuitive and highly-polished experiences.
iorama studio: looom is a next-gen flip book for animation inspired by music creation tools; chantlings is a charming little interactive choir.
Reboot and New Public are advocating for a brighter future, brought about by more thoughtful and humane technology.
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