Thoughts on building in public
or how we share our work with the internet
Hi! Welcome to another edition of the Internet in a Telegram, a newsletter about mediums and messages by Nevoazul magazine. This is our way of sharing with you what we discover when we are online. Thank you for subscribing!
In this newsletter, we write about:
Looking for fun in uncertain times
How 10 people accidentally became a meme
Audio as a platform
…and much more!
A normal day on the Internet | Building in public
"Become a documentarian of what you do,” wrote Austin Kleon, author of the book Show your Work. This reminded me of a tweet I read, some time ago, under the #buildinpublic hashtag. The author of the tweet was developing a platform on online learning, but he was not doing it alone or, rather, he was not doing it privately. On the first day, he announced that he was going to share his progress on Twitter, justifying that it could be interesting. On the eighteenth day, he showed that he was working in the FAQ section of the website, warning us about the still unfinished appearance, "it's ugly, I know, but there will be time for details."
Showing your work process - the good, the bad and the ugly is an exercise in humility. Instead of presenting ourselves for the polished results of our battles, we are lifting the veil to prototypes, thoughts, shortcuts and failures. Along the way, we met allies - strangers who have already taken a similar journey and are not afraid to share their ups and downs.
In an article published in Ness Labs about the work we do in public, Anne-Laure Le Cunff wrote about the link between metacognition, feedback and creativity.
“Sharing your work in public will allow you to reflect and plan your next steps. Instead of just plowing through work, sharing it with people who lack the context you have will force you to think about your approach, strategies, and progress in a deeper way“.
If we overcome the fear of stolen ideas and imposter syndrome, we can find company when we need it most, in the long invisible hours of an unfinished project.
Two weeks in three links
In an article written under the dismay of a worldwide pandemic, Rachel Sugar wonders about a changing concept: the meaning of fun.
“Online, there are lectures and performances and readings and concerts; on television, there are live sports. In real life, several different people I know have gotten haircuts. Is a haircut fun?”
On the Internet, it is easy to assume that the characters we see in GIFs and memes are a digital construct. We got used to seeing memes as illustrations of feelings and moods, but rarely as people. Is Bad Lucky Brian real? And what about Hide the Pain Harnold? In a youtube series, BuzzFeed introduces us to the humans who accidentally turned into memes.
Clubhouse is still in beta mode (and with a lot to learn on content moderation), but it can change the role of audio in digital communities. In chat rooms, we can hear people from all over the world, discussing matters by sending sound files - almost as a hybrid between a streaming service and a podcast.
There is a conversation going on in the comment section. Today we're talking about:
The work we share online
Join the discussion and share with us links, thoughts, podcasts, or articles relevant to this topic. Let's turn this newsletter’s section into a safe place for curious minds.
…and also, we would love to know who is behind this screen :)
Até já!
Inês 🌿
Re: Building in Public. My first connection was Tom Critchlow's Thinking in Public https://tomcritchlow.com/2020/07/23/thinking-in-public/. I'm sure it will resonate with you.