A little break
Hey!
It's July and it's finally (really, finally) sunny here in Belgium. I will probably be back in August after taking a break from the newsletter.
In the meantime, I am sending out some of my older texts. Most of the posts I selected are on my list of "top posts". I also chose some that I wrote a long time ago that I think are still worth reading.
Now is as good opportunity as ever. Maybe you have just subscribed and haven't read them yet, or maybe they just flew under your radar in your overflowing inbox.
Anyway, enjoy!
Can immigrants be the main characters on European series?
I woke up last week to find #SwedenGate trending on Twitter. If there's something you can always count on Twitter for, is an anecdotal fact being blown out of proportion. It all started with a viral tweet with a Reddit PrintScreen saying that Swedens don't invite you to eat while you're already at their home.
Bookclubs and neighborhood parties
A printed flyer came through our mail. It was written in Dutch, but I understood the gist of it. We were invited to a little Sunday morning apéritif with our neighbors. We only had to bring whatever we had in our house. An open bottle of wine or crackers would do, the flyer said. I thought it was an excellent id…
Don't obsess over a true calling
When my partner was 8 and asked what he wanted to be as a grown-up, he wishfully answered "Red Power Ranger". Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, I already knew at the same young age what I would spend the next 20 years striving to be: "a marine biologist".
To be content by making content
The term 'content' is a buzzword. Ultimately, it means nothing since it also means everything. My dad makes content when he posts a photo of a flower in his garden on Facebook. I'm making content by writing here on Substack, and Kurzgesagt is creating content when they upload a 20 min video on YouTube; even if this video…
Monetization is a carrot on a stick
I know there are many similar discussions out there, but I wanted to summarize why I feel that the possibility of earning money on current platforms makes us focus on the wrong things, and changes how everyone uses them. Also, I propose some suggestions for possible solutions.
Wishing you a great summer! Or if you are in the southern hemisphere, a great winter break! :)