Hello my friends,
This past week I came across an essay on The Dynamics of Network Effects and it got me thinking — how could I evolve this humble newsletter?
Newsletters are having a bit of a moment and while there are some advantages over social media - like audience ownership and no algorithm to compete with - they sacrifice the element of community.
Generally, newsletters abide by Sarnoff’s Law; the value of a network grows in proportion to the number of viewers — Value, being the content I’m sending you, and the motivation you give me to find new sources of creativity and inspiration.
A more powerful version of value creation is Metcalf’s Law which describes the exponential leverage that network effects create.
As an example: 83 of you subscribe to this newsletter which means I send signal to 83 people. Build a community with 83 people, apply Metcalf’s Law, and the potential number of connections increases to 3,321!
To try this out I have created a Twitter account.
Why? Because I believe it’s where the smartest people gather plus it’s not as spammy as LinkedIn or Facebook.
And the benefits for you?
It opens up new opportunities by meeting like minded people.
It keeps the conversation going in between newsletters.
I thought I’d run this as an experiment over the next few weeks so if you’re willing to give it a try click the button below:
Otherwise, continue to expect an e-mail in your inbox every Sunday.
Your belief and trust mean a lot.
Let’s get into it,
Andy
Last Week’s Numbers
Weekly subscribers: +5% (79 —> 83)
Open rate: 56%
Product
Lateral Thinking With Withered Technology is a creation strategy that uses existing, ‘out dated’ technologies to create revolutionary products.
Using a technology called microfluidics, Gatorade Gx sweat patch measures your sweat rate and electrolyte content. Gatorade then recommends what you should drink before, during and after exercise.
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, unless it’s Amazon stealing your design. Peak Design’s response is legendary.
People
Fear of failure can stifle innovation. As a leader you should treat failure and success the same.
$10,000 / hour work is a mental model that focus your mind on high value activities.
Do schools kill creativity? I recently revisited this talk from Sir Ken Robinson.
Methods
Conventional wisdom often gets in the way of innovation. Working from first principles is one way to overcome it.
Steve Jobs’s explanation of the leverage that technology can create is one of the best analogies I’ve heard.
Here’s a cheat code for you: Do you ever find yourself scrambling to take a quick note or take down a phone number? Type doc.new into Google Chrome and it instantly opens a new google doc in your browser.
Out of Office
A fun little tool that tells you how much your Bitcoin investment would be worth had you not spent the money on stupid shit.
Create your profile
Only paid subscribers can comment on this post
Check your email
For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.
Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.