The Byteside Newsletter
Stifling aggregation
Market domination puts the rest of us in cultural hot water while the big players buy and sell the hot tub.
One year on... what do you think?
I started this newsletter one year ago! Well, more than… but this is the 50th issue so I feel confident I’m definitely past the one year datestamp. I just double checked: it was April 26, 2019. I wish I had something poignant or exciting to say. 50 feels like
At the speed of necessity
Progress has just had a very swift kick toward digital transformation.
In the tunnel. Somewhere.
I’m seeing some of my contract workload slow down right now. Some other parts are picking up. And freelance journalism is slooooooow. So overall, it’s not entirely balancing itself out. But I know I’m still far luckier than many. My best guess is that we’re past
Perfect Visibility
8K TV is a joke. But that means it also points to the fact a 4K TV is likely to be the longest lasting television purchase you'll make since the cathode ray era.
Infowars (good and bad)
Information is on every front line in this crisis: in health management, in overcoming isolation, and in the most unnecessary battle of them all – disinformation.
One day at a time
“How are you?” is too expansive and hard to consider clearly. But “today” is contained and easier to respond to.
It's time for 5 minute default meetings
The 30 minute default must die. Cut the defaults to 5 minutes to show the time vampires that enough is enough, especially in the coronavirus crisis.
Cut yourself some slack
It's chaos all the way down. Give yourself a break. It's OK to take a breathe right now.
Tech Has (Some) Answers
A lot will change permanently from here – especially around this tech adoption. Platforms like Zoom will be here to stay.
10 Years of WFH: My Experience
I've worked from home for about 10 out of the past 16 years of work life. There is no template for perfection, but here's some tips for how to find a system that works for you.
The Bright Future Edition
Woah. Like, WOAH. It’s been a rough start to 2020. So it’s time for a special “Look At How Amazing The World Can Be” week. I actually spent more time this week stepping back from social media (because while I’ve mostly-quit Facebook I’m still an avid
The Trouble With Presence
Is there a way to make more active remote presence a possibility beyond the bounds of a viral outbreak?
Such a tool
It’s been 8 years since Douglas Rushkoff wrote Program Or Be Programmed, one of the clearest discussions of the whole question of the good/bad of technology in society today. Or rather, why that’s the wrong binary to consider. Rushkoff instead explores ten ‘commands’ we need to understand
Facing Reality
There's a lot of social and cultural shifts that need to happen to prepare for more remote working activity.
Our Weirdly Mediated Mainstream
While reality TV shows get dissected in microscopic detail, game culture is relegated to the kids table regardless of how big it has become.
Privacy vs permission
In the debate over privacy vs permission, perhaps Creative Commons licenses should be baked into our choice of how we share things freely online - to allow general use but stop commercial exploitation.
What Is Time Worth To Me?
Avoid the false economies where you can by thinking ahead to how long you want a piece of tech to last.
We Can't Do Everything
Give up on trying to fit everything in. It's not going to happen. Embrace what that really means.
Decade-level thinking
Too much tech keeps aiming to solve small problems. We need big solutions for the world and in our homes.
