Highlights

 

The Web Librarian 📚

04/06/2021 • #30

One of the web’s earliest creators can teach us what we need to know about building a better future.

Hey all, Ernie here, and this time out I’m handing the editorial reins to Jay Hoffmann, the editor of The History of The Web _and a fellow traveler in the newsletter space. We’re doing a bit of a… Read More

04/05/2021

Miss Cleo and Me 🔮 : 

A fundraising scandal involving the former president’s aggressive approach to recurring donations reminds me a lot of something that a famous TV psychic did to my credit card 20 years ago.

#29

04/01/2021

My Words, Your Voice 🎤 : 

What an open letter that emerged from the music industry says about the art of creativity in mainstream culture.

#28

03/30/2021

The Lone Coder 💿 : 

A letter of appreciation to the guy who spent years developing one of the few modern web browsers for vintage Macs.

#27

03/29/2021

Chaos For Good 😈 : 

Why Lil Nas X, in all his Satan-sneaker glory, represents a positive form of chaos in modern internet culture.

#26

03/25/2021

Lock Up Your Phone 🔐 : 

Why a marketing scheme by an obvious search-bait website actually has me sort of impressed by the brilliance of its growth hackery.

#25

03/23/2021

Maybe All I Need Is a Shot in the Arm 💉 : 

On fighting with pharmacy websites in an effort to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

#24

03/22/2021

I Hate Facebook Groups 🤬 : 

Explaining why Facebook Groups are built so terribly that even The New York Times couldn’t wait to get rid of their incredibly popular group.

#23

03/18/2021

A Culture of Overstimulation 😕 : 

With basically every culture option under the sun served on a platter, it can be tough to find novelty in any of it anymore. Perhaps a change in perception is the solution to that.

#22

03/16/2021

Background Competition 📺 : 

I cannot write in the same room where a television is airing, because it destroys my concentration, and I have no clue why. I’m writing this for my own understanding.

#21

03/15/2021

Sequestered In Memphis 🔐 : 

Discussing one of the most entertaining Twitter bugs in quite some time. Sometimes it doesn’t need to make sense for it to be hilarious.

#20

03/11/2021

Values Were Lost 🤑 : 

Can you imagine the same internet that was once sold as a noncommercial utopia produced something as crassly commercial as the non-fungible token? Neither can I.

#19

03/09/2021

Low Tides 🌊 : 

Why did Tidal, a service that tried to do right by both users and artists, become a third-tier music service? Maybe mass audiences don’t really care about quality.

#18

03/08/2021

Lessons From a Cleaning 🪥 : 

For no particular reason, I decided to spend a couple hours of my day cleaning my keyboard, inside and out. I actually found the process quite enlightening.

#17

03/04/2021

Theodor Wasn’t Perfect 📚 : 

Explaining the difference between proper historic contextualization and cancellation, Dr. Seuss style.

#16

03/02/2021

Be A Digital Omnivore ⌨️ : 

It’s easy to stick with one phone or one interface, but by trying out other operating systems, browsers, or even types of smartphones, you get a better understanding of your exact needs.

#15

03/01/2021

Big Red Annoyance 🎶 : 

How a recent Tedium piece added an incredibly awful annoyance to my life: The Big Red jingle. Please, something else fill my head.

#14

02/25/2021

Comeback Story 💾 : 

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the lamented mobile operating system webOS expands into new markets in its modern-day home—on television sets the world over.

#13

02/23/2021

Resource Hog No More? 🐽 : 

Amid the latest flare-up of the Chrome RAM consumption debate, let’s wonder aloud if ARM processors could end this debate once and for all. (I think they can.)

#12

02/22/2021

Framing Is Everything 🖼 : 

Thoughts on storytelling and historical framing from a pair of recent docuseries, one significantly better at its mission than the other.

#11