Recommended Reading on The Algorithm, or is it algorithms?
Volume 3 of 3, December 2024
This is the final installment - Volume 3 of 3 - in my long list of catching up on reading open tabs, and sharing my recommended reading and articles with you all. Keeping this brief, in the week that exists outside of space and time that is between Christmas and New Year’s day.
If you read one article in this list, I hope it’s How have social media algorithms changed the way we interact? by Nicholas Barrett. At a friend’s annual Christmas gathering last week, I was speaking about the fact there are no longer any shared cultural points of reference - such as people tuning into the same radio program at the same time each night, or new programs. Of course, there is lots to be said about the limitations of who was given a platform or a voice; but what I keep thinking about is the extreme fragmentation and how every single person is essentially experiencing a different corner of the Internet based on their own niche interests, community - or echo chamber? When discussing whether or not social media platforms can be seen as limiting free speech, this article explains,
“algorithms on social media platforms have fundamentally reshaped the nature of free speech, not necessarily by restricting what can be said, but by determining who gets to see what content”, argue Professors Riemer and Peter, whose research looks at why we need to rethink free speech on social media.
“Rather than ideas competing freely on their merits, algorithms amplify or suppress the reach of messages… introducing an unprecedented form of interference in the free exchange of ideas that is often overlooked.”
Not only can this result in the extreme polarization that we’re seeing, but I think that it has also resulted in the breakdown of much of our ability to communicate with others who have different opinions - to have debates and conversations that are uncomfortable. And to realize that not everyone knows about the things you know about, and there are many things out there that you don’t know about, too.
At any rate - as always, I hope you find a link or two to pique your interest. This month’s Recommended Reading was divided into 3 volumes by general subject category, as a reminder you can read the others here:
Volume 1: Recommended Reading on the Current News Cycle, December 2024 (with links to articles on News/Long-form journalism, Brain/Mind/Health, Film/Other/Personal Interest/Random)
Volume 2: Recommended Reading on Art, Literature, and Surviving Through Fiction (with links to articles on Art/Literature, Fiction/Poetry, and Science/History)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING - Top of Mind
The Contingency Contingent My fake job in Y2K preparedness. Leigh Claire La Berge (Fall 2024) [Entertaining - worth the read - this is a long read, however.]
How have social media algorithms changed the way we interact? Nicholas Barrett (13 Oct. 2024)
Men, Please Stop Talking About Burning Man Cate Twining-Ward (Nov. 2024) [This absolutely made me laugh!]
… followed by: David's Takes: The Burning Man Network State "We're here because we're not all there." David Hoffman (Sept. 2023)
The Taste of Dirt Daisy Alioto has big ambitions for her small media empire. Paul McAdory (11 Aug. 2024)
How Everyone Got Lost in Netflix’s Endless Library Ten years after Silicon Valley remade TV, it’s become clear how the streaming revolution distorted our collective viewing habits — and sense of the culture. Willy Staley (7 Oct. 2024)
BUSINESS / STARTUPS / INVESTING
The Beginning of the End of Big Tech From politicians to VC firms, everyone is falling out of love with the massive, money-oriented, global technology titans. In their place, we have the chance to build something open and trustworthy. Meredith Whittaker (Nov. 2024)
How LinkedIn has quietly become the talk of the content creator community Krystal Scanlon (March 2024)
Growth and productivity aren’t the same. Don’t fall into the trap Brendan Reid (Oct. 2024)
"One key lesson learned in my career is that your success as a leader won’t be defined by the gross productivity of your team – it will be defined by the value you created. Our role as leaders is to build the strongest teams, not the busiest. Let’s focus on impact over output, and build healthier, happier teams in the process."
Venture capital is full of distribution deadbeats Dan Primack (19 Aug. 2024)
The art of being a lucky investor Play the cards you’re dealt and be adaptable. Simon Edelsten (Nov. 2024)
Digital Twins Can Help You Make Better Strategic Decisions Graham Kenny and Ganna Pogrebna (23 Sept. 2024)
Method prevents an AI model from being overconfident about wrong answers More efficient than other approaches, the “Thermometer” technique could help someone know when they should trust a large language model. Adam Zewe (31 July 2024)
Invencion: Strategic brand innovation The revenue / equity cycle. Paul Worthington
As He Realized His Mistake, Elon Musk Begged Twitter Staff to Turn Off the New Feature He'd Pushed For "Turn it off. Turn it off!" Victor Tangermann (26 Aug. 2024)
How a cybersecurity researcher befriended, then doxed, the leader of LockBit ransomware gang Jon DiMaggio used sockpuppet accounts, then his own identity, to infiltrate LockBit and gain the trust of its alleged admin, Dmitry Khoroshev, Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (9 Aug. 2024)
The price of payments How should in-app purchases work in the age of the sovereign creator? Hamish McKenzie (12 Aug. 2024)
Why the Most Successful People Always Solve for the Monkey First Because first things really should be first. Jeff Haden (24 July 2024)
The One Person Who Could Make Your Job Easier Also Doesn’t Want to Be There Burned-out managers are an “industry-agnostic” problem. Julia Carpenter (1 Aug. 2024)
The Last Social Network Venmo has become the best way to see what the people you know are up to. Lora Kelley (30 Aug. 2024)
Millennials Aren’t Falling Behind After All. This Data Reveals the Generation’s Deeper Problem. The once-dubbed unluckiest generation is one of the most economically divided, Barron's found. Reshma Kapadia (Oct. 2024)
"The wealth gap between those in the 80th percentile and 20th percentile, which takes out the extreme outliers among the richest and poorest, is 20% wider among millennials than it was for boomers in 1989, according to number-crunching the St. Louis Fed economists did for Barron’s.
In other words, millennials might be doing better than their predecessors—but they also might be the most economically divided generation that America has ever seen."
CPG Will Reshape Marketing Strategies In 2024 Walter Loeb (March 2024)
‘I could barely breathe’: Easee founder Jonas Helmikstøl on burnout at the brink of insolvency, and his new startup Helmikstøl has recently raised a pre-seed for his new startup Starflow. Mimi Billing (Nov. 2024)
TECH / AI / WEB 3 / CRYPTO
Too dangerous': Why even Google was afraid to release this technology Bobby Allyn (11 Oct. 2023)
Air taxis and other electric-powered aircraft cleared for takeoff with final FAA rules / The agency rules establish criteria for pilot training and operational requirements. Andrew J. Hawkins (Oct. 2024)
How to survive the search results when you’re using AI tools for content Avoid the pitfalls and enjoy the benefits of AI content creation. Adopt a collaborative approach that blends technology and human expertise. Bruce Clay (April 2024)
Repurposing Your Content To Enhance Growth: How 1 Piece Of Content Can Cover 6 Different Marketing Tactics Sydney Squires (April 2024)
Exploring Meridian, Google’s new open-source marketing mix model Dive into Meridian’s capabilities, limitations and how it compares to Meta's Robyn in the evolving MMM landscape. Benjamin Wenner (March 2024)
How Google’s AI Search Will Change Marketing Strategy CMO Weekly Newsletter Megan Poinski (March 2024)
"Clickbait, repetitive content, inauthentic content and items that don’t appeal to users are the biggest reasons why brands are unfollowed or advertisements are hidden from feeds. And consumers, especially Baby Boomers, don’t want brands to post about politics, policy or religion. What they want is to be taught something new, see something that makes them laugh, or be inspired—and they want brands to lean into what they represent and reflect relevant cultural events.
In short, users want more thoughtful, intelligent and fun content from brands. And, Hootsuite found, the payoff is pretty big. Seven in 10 people who follow brands on social media have explicit plans to purchase from them, and nearly six in 10 have already done so. When choosing brands to follow, users want them to have a relatable social presence, with compelling points of view on topics within their areas of expertise. And while this means something different to every user, brands can generally find success if they post about their core area, like brands with sustainability at their core posting about upcyling, or an athletic apparel brand posting about sports. It’s not necessarily more work, it’s being more thoughtful and understanding of a brand’s core fans."
News / Longreads
Can a church exist exclusively on the internet? Inside the emerging virtual-preaching economy in internet-obsessed Kenya. Vincent Owino (31 July 2024)
"Religion can provide solace, but virtual preachers also offer quick fixes in which a person’s chances for improving their condition are tied in part to what they give electronically. The message of their sermons is often that prosperity awaits those who join their movements and support it through donations. Many tell stories of rising from a dire state thanks to the grace of God — and promise the same for their congregants. The so-called “health and wealth gospel” is characteristic of many evangelical churches; one distinction with virtual preachers is that the message comes without the bonds of in-person gatherings. In interviews with Rest of World, virtual preachers said they were working to save souls and reaching people who wouldn’t otherwise come to church."
A Prominent Accessibility Advocate Worked With Studios and Inspired Change. But She Never Actually Existed. In 2019, the games accessibility community mourned the death of Susan Banks. Now, evidence suggests she may have never existed to begin with. Grant Stoner (23 Aug. 2024)
Trolls Used Her Face to Make Fake Porn. There Was Nothing She Could Do. Sabrina Javellana was a rising star in local politics — until deepfakes derailed her life. Coraline Kraft (31 July 2024)
The Power of Supercitizens Lurking among us are anonymous heroes who quietly amplify social cohesion. Here's what we can learn from them. Brian Klaas (Aug. 2024)
Big Banks Watched as Con Men Wiped Out a Widow’s Life Savings Financial frauds are exploding across the country as criminals target the record wealth controlled by elderly Americans. Tom Schoenberg, Ann Choi, Denise Lu, Paige Smith for The Big Take (Aug. 2024)
My day with the trad wife queen and what it taught me An interview published last weekend with internet star Hannah Neeleman at her Utah home, Ballerina Farm, has sparked a global social media debate. Our writer, Megan Agnew, revisits her time with the mother of eight. Megan Agnew (29 July 2024)
Ballerina Farm Influencer Hannah Neeleman Actually Revealed Much More About Her Life In That Profile Neeleman and her husband’s comments prompted such a strong response that there’s now a follow-up story with even more details. Erin Vanderhoof (31 July 2024)
On Losing Subscribers (This newsletter isn't actually about losing subscribers) Leah Koenig March 2024
"I am actually grateful for these unsubscribes—particularly the second one, because that person is correct to suggest that I have recently shied away from sharing much about Israel or Gaza. My quiet is partly rooted in my fear of the vitriol I have received. And it is also rooted in my not quite knowing what to say that will be helpful or further the conversation at this point, rather than simply being performative.
I am an American Jewish food writer who centers my work around curiosity for and love of Jewish food around the world. I do not have particularly deep knowledge about Middle East politics. I certainly do not have answers. And it frustrates me that because I am something of a public Jewish person, I am expected to have answers."
Meet the Granfluencers From funeral fits to dating hacks, elderly TikTokers are slaying online. Nicole Schmidt (8 Aug. 2024)