Link stolen from my company's Slack and used in another newsletter I help publish. Description also stolen from said newsletter. Everyone say hi to JD! - Calvin
I run an agency and several SaaS businesses, so I know there’s a big difference in how different types of companies make money. In the agency world, it’s deal-driven and you hope for recurring revenue in the form of a retainer. In the SaaS model, it’s based on recurring revenue and you might or might not offer professional services and customizations. But this link is about Netflix, which is a video streaming company…or are they a media company? Whatever. Their recurring revenue model confuses me, because they will eventually run out of new people who can sign up for their services and will see their revenue flatten. They can’t grow forever, right? And their expenses will continue to climb because they have to keep creating new content. So, how does that work? Is it a bad model? Is it brilliant? Is it just an experiment? That’s what this video aims to answer. Super interesting. -JD
Opinion | Social Media Is Making Us Dumber. Here’s Exhibit A.
And now there's two of them..... -Brian
Nostalgia Glasses by Seth Morris
Yesterday was my youngest brother's birthday, so I wanted to share a post he wrote this week. Way 2 Go, Bro! This one is about old video games and how we often remember them as being better than they were (but some old games do age well). - Calvin
Elle’s #Poonique Story – Elle Beau, the Anti-Blogger
you're gonna have to explain this one to me in person dawg -calvin
dude I thought this was your weirdo link... I have no idea what it is -brian
oh well... just include it anyway, maybe someone out there has some idea -calvin & brian
Dispatched By Bourdain - Roads & Kingdoms
Because we can't stop bawling over Bourdain let's continue the streak of great tidbits and eulogies for someone both of us loved. -Brian & Calvin
How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People
This reads like a short biography so I'm putting it in here. So weird! - Calvin
Harry Potter and the Portrait of What Looked Like a Large Pile of Ash
This is a chapter generated by a bot based on the analysis of all seven Harry Potter books. It's amazingly bad and extra funny if you read it aloud. The bot also generated the book title, which is very mysterious-sounding and totally unmarketable. Thanks to my Dad for sending me this. – Calvin
The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History David Hackett Fischer
Every now and then you read a book that either is total tosh or absolutely explains the world around you to a level that is scary. This is one of those books. Thanks to archaeology, the prices people paid for certain commodities are known going back thousands of years. We also have some idea of the population of the earth during that same timeframe. This book makes a compelling argument about the relation between those two data sets that has enormous implications for our future. If you figure out if this actually makes sense please let me know. – Brian
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson was recommended to me by Brian as someone I should read as I prepare to attempt my own book next year. I picked this particular book because I've been to the UK, so I thought I might find this one more entertaining than the Australian one (though Brian would likely challenge that assumption).
To be honest, I haven't actually read this; I listened to it on Audible. If you choose to go the audiobook route, you should grab the one narrated by the author himself. Usually that's a risky move but he's got a good voice for it. – Calvin
Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta
Dis one's from my momma. She has good taste, and I'm excited to read this book.
Side note: reading for fun is hard when you're super tired at 8:45pm and your baby falls asleep and you're listening to relaxing music and there's a sound machine and the lights are low and it's warm in here and pillows are soft and so are beds and
Summary from Amazon:
Dispatches from Pluto is a book as unique as the Delta itself. It’s lively, entertaining, and funny, containing a travel writer’s flair for in-depth reporting alongside insightful reflections on poverty, community, and race. It’s also a love story, as the nomadic Grant learns to settle down. He falls not just for his girlfriend but for the beguiling place they now call home. Mississippi, Grant concludes, is the best-kept secret in America.