Hobbyist Academia #37
The Engage and Interact section is my favorite one to write. I don’t have content for it every newsletter, but I love sharing projects and companies and ideas that demand multisensory, active consumption. This section goes beyond something to read, watch, attend, or listen to- it’s something a little extra that’s sometimes difficult to define.
These are things to contribute to, participate in, download, interact with, use as a guide, connect over, directly implement in your world. They’re things that don’t always fit neatly in a category.
And, by and large, they come back to how to be a connector. This section is about people and ideas and projects that are trying to solve the problem of people feeling increasingly isolated and disconnected from each other. Sometimes they’re solving for this problem specifically and explicitly, and sometimes it’s a holistic layer to how they approach something else entirely.
Read
The Resurgence of Text Media is a report on the state of text-based projects, including print media. Do readers have the attention span for such things? Will text succeed as part of a movement toward slower and less visually overwhelming media as we try to escape the endless scroll? Writer and creator Viktoriia Vasileva joined forces with an impressive list of thinkers and writers to collaborate on this project.
A recent edition of Group Hug! does a deep dive into the rise of heavily branded social experiences, whether or not this (notably homogenous) branding has anything to do with how enjoyable a social experience might be, and what we lose when we package community experiences into frictionless Instagrammable templates.
David Spinks, community designer extraordinaire, shared a personal essay about his journey to finding work that gives him life. In my House of Beautiful Business research group exploring the ingredients of a beautiful work life, “aliveness” was the most energizing ingredient. David slowly realized that in all of nature, “it’s only humans who do work that doesn’t give them life.”
Renée Lertzman writes a newsletter about how to more effectively bring people together. In a recent edition, she explores how to incorporate pauses and bring reflection into fast-paced corporate settings. These moments are the oxygen we need.
Engage and Interact
New_Public has released a collection of resources for people who run hyperlocal digital spaces like a neighborhood Facebook group. These are the types of spaces that, when run well, have the power to remind us that at the end of the day we are still each other’s neighbors.
The US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wants to foster community and connection through food. Rituals and traditions around shared meals are a common thread in many cultures. Recipes for Connection is a guide for how to reach out, host a gathering, and grow your social circle around the anchor of food.
Imagine an app with a goal of getting you out of your screen and into the world, specifically to places and events where you'll be the most likely to make new friends. Founder Andy Dunn is working on a new venture called Pie. It’s been called a “startup for the soul”.
The Offline Club just released a card game of questions and challenges to spark deeper conversations offline about human connection, attention, and the digital layer of it all. (It’s currently only available to ship within the EU.)
Downtime by Alisha Ramos is launching a digital community space for paid subscribers. You may remember Alisha from her time as the founder of Girls’ Night In, Downtime’s precursor newsletter turned community brand. This new offering reminds me of some of the old programming- and it’s no surprise the current Downtime readers have been asking for ways to connect with each other online and IRL for local gatherings.
Watch
This Big Think video will teach you the six key abilities of being a strategic thinker. They’re foundational, interdisciplinary, and fully learnable.
Save This for Later
These additions to the To Read list skew toward business with a dash of creativity and an underlying lens of the future of work.
Live for a Living: How to Create Your Career Journey to Work Happier, Not Harder by Paula Caligiuri and Andy Palmer
The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde
The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking: Leading Your Organization Into the Future by Michael D. Watkins
For more, check out The Collection on my website for curated media recommendations at the intersection of digital sociology, design, business, and personal development.
[I will receive a small commission should you purchase a book using the Bookshop links included in the newsletter. Bookshop is an Amazon-alternative online bookseller that supports independent bookstores in your local community.]