Editing is easier than writing

"Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all the way through as fast as I can, the first day, if possible, putting in crap jokes and pattern dialogue—“Homer, I don’t want you to do that.” “Then I won’t do it.” Then the next day, when I get up, the script’s been written. It’s lousy, but it’s a script. The hard part is done. It’s like a crappy little elf has snuck into my office and badly done all my work for me, and then left with a tip of his crappy hat. All I have to do from that point on is fix it. So I’ve taken a very hard job, writing, and turned it into an easy one, rewriting, overnight. I advise all writers to do their scripts and other writing this way. And be sure to send me a small royalty every time you do it." John Swartzwelder, via the New Yorker I quote this all the time (paraphrased). I thought I should look it up again.

Well this is really nice

Baby seagulls in Brighton

This is a post about looking after baby seagulls in need. You're from Brighton, you'll like it.

"I am, I think, a little unusual in liking to feel insignificant, not so important. To be only one small decibel in the great chorus of beings is to recognize how much we are part of all existence. None of us is the whole orchestra. Yet what happiness, to be part of that music." https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/dear-jane-hirshfield-michael

So, Lazarus...

I know everyone hates the AI video for ToysRUs but is no one going to comment on the fact it's AI and it's a simple way for ToysRUs founder Lazarus to come back from the dead?

This is helpful.

Notion AI

I'd like AI to read all the emails from Notion about AI and tell me if I should read them too.

going going

A book apart - winding down. (Carefully worded posts on LinkedIn from authors about not being paid)

IxDA

Two things on jumping in / raging

Just keep going / true talent level

"One of the stultifying but ultimately true maxims of the analytics movement in sports says that most narratives around player performance are lies. Each player has a “true talent level” based on their abilities, but the actual results are mostly up to variance and luck. If a player has, say, the true talent to hit thirty-one home runs in a season, the timing of those home runs is mostly random. If someone hits a third of those in April, that doesn’t really mean he’s a “hot starter” who is “building off a great spring”—it just means that if you take thirty-one home runs and toss them up in the air to land randomly on a time line, sometimes ten of them float over to April. What does matter, the analytics guys say, are plate appearances: you have to clock in enough opportunities to realize your true talent level. <snip> "I started to understand why so many great writers are obsessed with the repetition of a consistent work schedule: they are all trying to hit a number of words a day that may or may not contain something interesting in them. Songwriters work in a similar way—the best ones churn out hundreds of songs a year, and then one of them randomly becomes a hit. We’re all just trying to up our plate appearances."

Via the New Yorker.

I didn't know this was here. It's very good.

Saved to read later

Someone saying nice things about my work

Before I slip into complete obscurity, heres a video (and the audio as a podcast) where Dan talks about the origins of Farewill and the continued process of building a product in the death industry. He says nice things about my writing, which is very kind (because I do not enjoy saying it myself.)

For all that, and for all the discussions about building digital products in any industry, it's often still the human interactions that really make brands shine in people's minds. I'm not talking about 'yeah my Nikes are cool, I love this brand' - I'm talking about 'I can't thank you enough for everything you've done'. And that's often the feedback I hear from Farewill customers when they've spoken to our team. Because there are some points where only a human will do. (It was the same at MOO too).

Maybe in the future your personal AI tool will call up a business AI tool and say 'someone's died here can you get the body?' and the other AI tool will say 'Sure ok'. And perhaps that will be a brilliant service because you won't need to speak to a person at a time when you are feeling distraught and you just can't face it. But that's not how it works yet, and the human interactions I see going on with the team here are extraordinary, thoughtful, helpful, and kind - it's one of the reasons I like working here.

People often forget the brand isn't just what stuff looks like or what the button does next, it's also how your team deals with people. So take care with your customer facing teams and give them the support they need to do their job as well as they can (writing training, for example), and also, credit where it's due.

(Not that credit isn't given in this chat, but you know.)

Saved to watch later

Saved to read later.

This is great. Pass it on to your kids. If you feel so inclined.