The newsletter
The motivations behind the newsletter and the news
Hypothesis 1:
By writing and sending the letters I am improving the odds of spending better time together with my friends and understanding each other better = more joy.
Basically establishing an asynchronous way of communicating with my friends, because:
- we don’t see each other enough anymore,
- fragmented chat-room snippets if we’re lucky,
- and the feeling that everything can end so quickly
- (everything ends so quickly).
So when we do meet, I want to use the time well.
Hypothesis 2:
By writing and sending the letters I am improving the odds of better tips and feedback: I’m sure you know something I should read, watch, or listen to, regarding the topic I am writing about — so this will help you share more targeted recommendations.
I know how wonderfully clever and different you are, and I want to build a higher-bandwidth channel, if possible.
So please hit that "Reply to author" button at the bottom of each news and write back. Thank you so much*
Exploring self-publishing
Hypothesis 3
I think building in public leads to better work than building in private.
I want to publish because I believe in this law of human nature: the more people see what I’m creating, the higher the quality will be.
Also: when you consume content and then create something with it, you get so much more out of it:
- You’ll develop your own ideas about the subject.
- You’ll make new connections with people.
- You’ll feel more confident about what you know.
A dissatisfaction with existing models
By building Mirage Mir I am revisiting my new-media dreams and ideals, because I’m dissatisfied with existing models of the internet, social media and communication.
Designing and testing a prototype that facilitate alternative visions rather than merely defining them.
Exploring new forms of bottom-up democracy, even?
. . .
Any topic I write about in my newsletters is reflected somewhere in the text of the book.