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- The Connection Newsletter #82 - Life Changes, Snakehead, CollegeHumor
The Connection Newsletter #82 - Life Changes, Snakehead, CollegeHumor
The Connection Newsletter #82 - What went wrong at CollegeHumor? Marketing Compounds. Tipping in America. Ali Wong.
Hello!
This is edition #82 of
The Connection, the weekly email I send family, friends, and future friends (hello!) I’m glad you’re here. We are 13% of the way through 2020(!). Hope you’re having a great year so far.
I published a new article:
. These are changes I made in the last six months, and they’ve influenced every part of my life.
These are the kind of changes close friends and family lovingly suggest 100 times and you casually ignore… until that 101st time, there’s an aha moment. The clouds part. You finally get it.
If you’ve been struggling with your energy or productivity, I hope this will get you closer to your aha moment.
A few more things from me:
I published my notes on The Snakehead, about the world of illegal immigration in New York City’s Chinatown. Strong recommend. (You can also read the New Yorker article it’s based on here.)
Published a new pickleball article this week: The Ultimate Guide to Pickleball Equipment. Choosing the right paddle, balls, and gear can be confusing—especially if you’re new to pickleball. Here's exactly what you do (and don't) need to buy.
We’re halfway through the Reforge application period. One more week to apply for one of our career development programs for technology professionals. More about these programs here.
Let’s jump into the articles this week:
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On Movies and Television
CollegeHumor was one of the first movers in meme culture and funny online videos. After 20 years in business, it recently laid off 100 employees and has rolled back into a shell of its former self. A tale of another media company biting the dust, unable to compete with tech behemoths YouTube and Facebook.
Favorite quote:
“How the hell can you plan for the future when the platforms where your money comes from are completely opaque? That’s not exclusive to comedy or video. It applies to all online media.”
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. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shared her take on this year’s Oscar contenders. Refreshingly honest and hilarious. A bit nationalistic at times.
Facts:
If you missed the Oscars… you weren’t the only one. TV ratings for the award shows fell to an all-time low of 23.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen. However, not included is the number of asynchronous “highlight views” on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
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. The Fast 9 trailer is out. Naturally, I can’t wait to watch the movie. If you need help understanding why
The Fast and The Furious
franchise is amazing, Patrick Explains is your resource. H/T Rick S.
On Business
.
The Information
is the source for technology news. A look at how founder and EIC Jessica Lessin built the company and successfully charges $400/year in a world where “information wants to be free.”
Jessica Lessin’s take:
In her weekly newsletter, Lessin shared her opinion on the profile, which was a meta-look at the profile process. “
Overall, I think Ed and his editors [at NYT] handled it well. He referred to the fact that I went to college with people who went on to be execs at Google and Facebook and said my connections continue to raise eyebrows.
He did not include the fact, which I told him, that I did not know these tech executives in college, but alas. It’s fair to raise questions about my relationships, and I’ll continue to point to our tough coverage every time someone does.
But one attempt to raise some doubts seemed forced. He noted that I once quoted someone who had been on the same trip I had been on, two years after the trip, in a trend piece. Personally, I think it would be more unusual if a journalist never quoted anyone he or she had met outside of a PR department.”
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. Ryan has a great take on how success is the result of all the little things we do, compounded over time. He talks specifically about marketing, but I think it’s true for your health, relationships, career… just about everything in life.
---
. Great rules to keep in mind here. My favorites:
(1) Cunningham’s law: The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question. It’s to post the wrong answer.
(2) Parkinson’s law of triviality: The amount of attention a problem gets is the inverse of its importance.
(3) Benford’s law of controversy: Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available.
Favorite quote:
From former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale: “If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.”
On Restaurants and Food
. I read everything about tipping in my never-ending emotional grappling with the practice of gratuity. I survived on tips for 10 years as a waiter, but only tip baristas when I’m with friends and they swivel the iPad of shame towards me. H/T Brendan M.
Takeaways:
When it comes to tipping Ubers, most tips have little to do with the driver. It’s mostly about the rider. Men tip 23 percent more than women. Tips tend to be higher for airport and business trips. Trips in small cities get higher tips.
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. Good take from NYT restaurant critic Pete Wells: “The restaurant outsources its first encounter with potential customers to a company that's only tangentially in the hospitality business."
Takeaway:
In every business, think through your first touch with the customer. Is it a good one?
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. Grubhub/Seamless fell into some hot water over their practice of adding restaurants to their platform without the restaurant's permission. Not only is this annoying and creates an operational headache, but it’s a pain to get your restaurant removed from their platform.
Solution:
Delivery services have been doing this for a while. It happened to us in 2018.
.
On Fun Things
. I loved every page. A fast read. Strong recommend.
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We do an icebreaker before every team meeting. Here are some unconventional favorites:
Do you have an inner monologue? What does it say?
Do you tip your barista? Why or why not?
For $3 million dollars would you take a pill that makes it so you never feel hungry again?
Ask:
I’m always on the hunt for new, unconventional icebreaker questions. Do you know any?
Thanks for reading!
Last thing: Is there anything I can help you with?
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