The Elevator: Changes to My Media Diet, and Some Reads
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Happy Thanksgiving to those in the U.S., and hope you’re having a great weekend. I’ve been spending some of the time updating my media diet and choices for the year ahead.
In the supermarket of ideas, we have an infinite choice. Getting more clear on which choices are for us is a good practice to review and refine each year.
Here is a bit more about my current media diet, including consumption and creation.
My Digital Media Diet – Consumption
I don't directly follow any news sources. Although I am interested in getting a few in print. I’ll probably start with the “Financial Times” and see how I like that. News almost always comes in through other means, from friends to followers.
I use Arc Browser and a list of folders to links of the top blogs and sites that I do like to check. Pretty much every one of them is an independent writer or blogger. I keep this on my phone and check this instead of social media.
I then use Pocket which is my preferred method for saving articles. Pocket also allows me to listen to what I consume as a podcast rather than read. I don't organize with any tags, I simply use it as a "latest saved" queue.
ChatGPT is my new buddy for learning. I try and speak with it more when possible to get a general understanding of ideas in topic areas I am not familiar with. As soon as the audio experience improves, I will be speaking with it more over voice rather than text. Apps like Curio interest me for customized learning experiences.
Instagram is on my phone but Twitter is not. I am about 75% off of Twitter at the moment. I find it too difficult to see the posts I like while avoiding the posts I don't. If there were a more open protocol version of Twitter I would use that to customize my experience. I wrote a bit here on "Social Media in it's Machine Era."
I don't scroll any other social media sites. I love Tiktok but have been off it for about 3 months. I may return. I hope to play around more with Farcaster or Airchat.
I'm spending less time on Slack (Including communities), and more time in messaging apps. I'm hoping to start or be a part of more group chats.
Arena, Sublime, and Mymind are where I organize inspiration. My attempt right now is to spend more time here rather than social media, including looking for inspiration but also for collecting and remembering what I've found.
If I have one bad media habit, it's that I am happy to watch low-q TV shows including 90-Day Fiancé which I enjoy. I still love Survivor, although this new season has been my least favorite in years. My goal right now is to watch more Masterclass, Youtube, or documentaries over TV shows.
Some Reading About Media Diets
How to Read: Lots of Inputs and a Strong Filter (Morgan Housel)
The conflict between these two – most books don’t need to be read to the end, but some books can change your life – means you need two things to get a lot out of reading: Lots of inputs and a strong filter.
The Hypnotized Society viaMonomythical
Finally, there are times when I'm zoned out and feel negatively afterwards, and that's when I'm trapped in a doomscrolling cycle. My body is doing something I don't want to be doing. I didn't choose to enter this state, the way I chose to write or listen to music. I kinda just found myself there when I picked up my phone to do…something else, now long forgotten. I want to stop, but I can't. So I keep scrolling, until finally my active brain grabs ahold of the controls again and forces me to close the app, breaking the hypnotic loop.
Making the Internet Work for You: YouTube (Andrew Conner)
My biggest recommendation is Youtube premium. This platform is a vice because you can talk yourself into thinking you’re learning or doing something productive. Premium because it allows you to listen on your iPhone like a Podcast outside of the app.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World – Cal Newport
His progression of Books including Deep Work and what he’s working on right now with his Deep Life podcast is a great series of concepts around developing your info diet.
Creating as a Way of Integrating What you Learn – Writing Process
Committing to creating more is as difficult a process as shifting what we consume.
What I notice is that creating is the way we integrate our learning. If I don’t give myself space without inputs, I’m not able to integrate and synthesize the information I take in. I then keep consuming and information just piles up without ever getting to really work with or use the ideas.
On Friday’s I curate products, services, and ideas for Founders interested in personal/professional growth through my Substack.
On Wednesdays, I publish through this blog with more of my thoughts and ideas.
Daily I take digital notes on my iPhone notes and have thousands stored there in the app.
Some Other Things I Enjoyed Reading Recently
Quit Your Job - Palladium Magazine – Palladium
Interesting piece from the founder about how time off helped him pursue new forms of value outside of what most people are thinking about.
Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era – Wired
A real look into the mindset of someone working the algorithm to launch artist’s careers. And incredible how young the talent are, it makes me both in awe of the possibility and worry for their sustainability.
How I Practice What I Do – Tyler Cowen
I’ve been digging into a bunch of his pieces similar to this, he’s got an endless production function and been consistent for decades. Having a reading practice is a big part of the consistency
I'd love to hear about what you're enjoying most, how you think about you’re media diet or anything you’ve enjoyed recently. either from what you're consuming, or creating!
Here are some scenes from a Thursday morning beach trot.
Have an amazing weekend,
xx David
Many founders today want to build companies for growth that align with their lives. I partner with 15+ CEOs and Founders across Tech, Crypto, E-commerce, and B2B Services to help them bring their vision to life, and recognize their biggest personal and professional growth opportunities.
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