Reading the last sentence of this newsletter helped me understand your passion behind Startupy:
"Why is the process of consuming so passive, while producing so active? Curation is so deeply under-explored on the Internet in my opinion. It sits right in between consumption and creation and is the perfect bridge between the two, allowing us to actively engage with what we consume to then produce work from this saved knowledge."
yes! i debates going for months - it was far, expensive, and I felt guilty leaving the kids. But I came back feeling more alive, more connected, more me!!
Within the UX space, there’s been a long-running debate about user vs customer. Customer frames people within a commercial frame, which is limiting and inappropriate for many types of experience (government, public sector, community, NGO). It also misses that many people who use commercial services may not be customers of that business (I may have to sign into a bank’s software to validate that I’m on the board of a trust but I don’t personally use that bank).
"My mood was uneasy, even a little defensive as I was watching the keynote, I think because I am scared the world is moving too quickly? So maybe this is just a sign that everyone in tech should take a big sacred breath and a few years off."
this! the goggles petrified me. I envisioned a lonely future where too many people have a barrier in front of their eyes, not really living.
also, I dig this format and the many thoughts you share. I feel encouraged and more excited. You're really walking the walk!
Great article. Two points that really stood out for me:
- Self-doubt kills more early stage companies than competition or lack of funding ever will. We talk about companies needing financial capital, but rarely about the importance of emotional capital.
- It's so frustrating when you have good taste, but your taste exceeds your abilities. I’ve been feeling this so much the past year. If you find yourself in the midst of the mud, I urge you to let the gap between where you are and where you want to be inspire you instead of be an excuse to beat yourself up.
the taste thing you said reminded me of that ira glass quote...
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Reading the last sentence of this newsletter helped me understand your passion behind Startupy:
"Why is the process of consuming so passive, while producing so active? Curation is so deeply under-explored on the Internet in my opinion. It sits right in between consumption and creation and is the perfect bridge between the two, allowing us to actively engage with what we consume to then produce work from this saved knowledge."
yes that’s it! I feel understood!!
the 'flow' might be the most powerful, yet underrated, state one can hope for.
I loved this post so much, Sari. So many nuggets of wisdom. Nothing like a trip to Italy with good food, wine and people to inspire and ignite :)
yes! i debates going for months - it was far, expensive, and I felt guilty leaving the kids. But I came back feeling more alive, more connected, more me!!
Within the UX space, there’s been a long-running debate about user vs customer. Customer frames people within a commercial frame, which is limiting and inappropriate for many types of experience (government, public sector, community, NGO). It also misses that many people who use commercial services may not be customers of that business (I may have to sign into a bank’s software to validate that I’m on the board of a trust but I don’t personally use that bank).
this is right and probably explains why users continues to be the default in software. still wish there was a better term!
reading this made me feel easy and hopeful. thank you tons for that
this makes me happy !
love to read this!
Fun read! I like this format
glad you do! may experiment with it a bit more
"My mood was uneasy, even a little defensive as I was watching the keynote, I think because I am scared the world is moving too quickly? So maybe this is just a sign that everyone in tech should take a big sacred breath and a few years off."
this! the goggles petrified me. I envisioned a lonely future where too many people have a barrier in front of their eyes, not really living.
also, I dig this format and the many thoughts you share. I feel encouraged and more excited. You're really walking the walk!
yes in a way we're already doing it intermediately with our phones, so now it feels like a more complete barrier. I feel afraid too!
glad to find another afraid person haha 🙃
Great article. Two points that really stood out for me:
- Self-doubt kills more early stage companies than competition or lack of funding ever will. We talk about companies needing financial capital, but rarely about the importance of emotional capital.
- It's so frustrating when you have good taste, but your taste exceeds your abilities. I’ve been feeling this so much the past year. If you find yourself in the midst of the mud, I urge you to let the gap between where you are and where you want to be inspire you instead of be an excuse to beat yourself up.
I have so many new favorite quotes from this post. thank you!
This makes me happy molly!!
the taste thing you said reminded me of that ira glass quote...
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
― Ira Glass
I highlighted nearly the entire article ;)
Do you have any recommendations? Id love to learn more about this
“The people I find most interesting on social media are using it as a sort of diary/note to self, not broadcasting to an audience”