Cool Things I Found 7/29 to 8/4

Here are the best pieces of content I found over the last seven days (with my favorite take away from each)...

1. Eric Jorgenson - Creator Economics (talk I gave at Money 20/20)

I like creating and building. That’s why I wrote a novel, created content on LinkedIn, and built two blogs.

So, I’ll gladly read an article about creators. Luckily I found a good one…

This article breaks down how the creator economy has evolved to be where it is today. People trust creators. So, many companies are incorporating content creators and influencers for their marketing/media campaigns. Cool stuff.

Two ideas I like from it:

• Social media is the new tv. People used to spend hours on the couch watching tv. That still happens sometimes, but far more people spend hours scrolling social media instead. So, more eyes see social media ads than tv commercials nowadays.
• This quote: “Become a creator, partner with a creator, or you compete with a creator.” Creators are the secret weapons businesses will take advantage of in the future. So you either accept or compete with that.

2. Derek Sivers - 232 sand dollars

You’re about to see a lot of content from Derek Sivers here…

I go down deep rabbit holes when I discover people whose ideas resonate with me. I spend a few days exploring all of their ideas. It happened last week with Sam Corcos and Alex Banayan. And a few weeks ago it happened with Jesse Itzler.

There’s no profound or super meaningful lesson from this blog post.

But the story’s simple yet moving.

There’s a warm “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” message at the end.

I enjoyed this one.

3. Derek Sivers - Shortest date, and ketchup

This post is quirky.

I noticed two things after reading it. One is that I laughed. Two is that I felt slightly more educated about ketchup.

Comedy and Education—a combo I wasn’t expecting.

Again, there’s no life-changing, profound lesson here.

It’s just a fun, insightful read that brightens your day and makes you think about what “ketchup” really means.

4. Derek Sivers - Hell Yeah or No

Okay, one more thing from Derek Sivers…

I actually don’t remember how my Derek Sivers rabbit hole began. Surely I listened to a podcast of him or heard someone else mention his name. But I don’t know.

What I do know however is that after exploring his website I listened to the audio version of his book Hell Yeah or No.

It’s about decision making and some frameworks/mindsets to guide your decisions.

Most books nowadays are too long. Authors use five stories to explain a concept when one would do. My attention span is short, so long, boring books lose my interest.

But this book is concise, powerful, and entertaining.

The perfect trifecta.

5. Derek Sivers on the Tim Ferris Show

I lied. I have yet another thing about Derek Sivers. But I promise this is actually the last one.

Derek Sivers recorded the Hell Yeah or No audiobook himself. And his voice seemed odd. It felt as if I were listening to a calm, chill nighttime radio host. And he spoke over a faint melody that sounded like a scene transition jingle from an 80s sitcom.

I didn’t pay too much attention to his voice, however. I focused on the stories.

But watching Derek on the Tim Ferris show stunned me. His looks and mannerisms matched the nighttime radio host I listened to. His voice felt soft and smooth, yet powerful and influential. This guy is a character. One with impeccable storytelling skills, too.

A lot happens in this episode, and the opening story about scuba diving is a must-listen-to.

Every word captivated me.

6. 20 Things I’ve Learned in my 20 Years as a Software Engineer

Finally another non-Derek Sivers piece of content. However, Derek’s a massive programming geek, so he would probably have interesting things to say about this piece. But it’s not about him anymore. So let’s move on…

As the title says, this piece is about the biggest lessons a software engineer has learned after 20 years in the industry.

Of all the ideas, point 13 is my favorite: Your data is the most important part of your system.

This isn’t a biased opinion since I’m a data analyst. But being a data analyst does make me appreciate this idea.

My team at work helps develop internal software.

So, much of the database work I do contributes to the information shown in our systems and websites. Every week I see coworkers coming to the data and development teams with software issues. About half the time, the problems relate to bad data.

There’s a saying, “garbage in, garbage out.”

It doesn’t matter how good software engineers and developers are. Bad data makes software and systems irrelevant.