Music as Challenge, One-Person Collectives & Safety Nets
Little curiosities to make you think
You’re lovely and wonderful. That’s my experience.
Joining Substack has been a nice and gentle journey. I wrote a few pieces to learn the design and get used to the platform. I spent time talking with peeps in Notes. I joined so many great publications.
The whole process has been enjoyable. Yay!
My slow moves help me work fast. This quiet and hidden build-up lets me gather speed in a way that suits me. Momentum builds and I feel the flow.
See what you think of a selection of four "little curiosities" below. A diary of discovery, a journal of joys, a toolbox of tidbits! I’d like to publish lots of these.
Many of you post links to Substack gems and other sites further afield. I like to call these roundups and recommendations "Curated Thankfulness", so that's another feature I'd like to make happen…Maybe for weekends?
Let me know what you think, because a massive part of making this work is you, the lovely and wonderful! ❤️
Manifesto to Listen
Among the daft amount of eclectic music I enjoy, I've been listening to Book Club Radio. Here's the set of Tinzo playing "a mix of jazzy and cozy house tracks".
Book Club Radio has a Librarian's Manifesto which says:
Come for the music.
Be open to unfamiliar music and sounds. [my emphasis]
Respect one another.
Face each other instead of the DJ.
No phones allowed on the dance floor.
Dress to express yourself.
Dance your heart out.
I like that they want us to be open to new music. The aim isn't to listen to what you already know, what's safe and accepted in your range. You're tasked with being ready for surprise, maybe even to be challenged by something different.
It's fun to explore new things in art. Music, poetry, painting...All of it, ready to bring us familiarity and joy, and just as ready to bring us disruption and provocation!
This is true in the everyday stuff we do too. Just walking outside and looking around at what's going on. Even with mindfulness, every breath is unique. Be open to each present moment, familiar and unfamiliar.
I'm thankful for Book Club Radio, both for having a manifesto, and because it proudly includes curiosity.
Some more sets featured in this short piece: https://edmidentity.com/2023/12/25/book-club-radio-dancefloor-isnt-dead/
Bold Moves, Hard Choices
A new media company called Zeteo will be on Substack. Hosted by Mehdi Hasan, but "isn't a one-man band", having the platform on Substack is an interesting move.
I'm new to publishing on Substack, but I've been drawn to the ability to publish in a number of ways with ease, covering a lot of ground I'm looking for.
Substack's co-founder, Hamish McKenzie, said that building a media business through the platform is a smart move, akin to moving to a house in a city with all the facilities ready to use.
Someone else argued that smart people also build their own properties so they don't get lots of unexpected changes to terms and standards. McKenzie said that was also a smart move and that both choices were good.
My choice was an easy one, because I wanted everything in place without thinking about it. And I can see why for others, the opposite choice would be the easy option.
We have to make choices in life, and we can't always know what might have happened if we chose differently. We don't always move forward in a straight line. Sometimes we go backwards, side to side, or even do star jumps.
Maybe Zeteo will be a brand bigger than Mehdi Hasan. Maybe your brand will always and forever be a one-person enterprise. Whatever the case, we're building our media companies.
Build with confidence and curiosity. There are loads of choices to be made. All that choice can be tough, especially in uncertain times.
And for all of us in "one-person" mode, there are still incredible opportunities to work together and grow. Lots of enthusiastic individuals can be a joyous collective at the same time.
I guess it's like "Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno", one for all and all for one!
Net Worth
Speaking of individuals and collectives, it's not all easy from either direction.
Anna Burgess Yang points out that traditional work and gig work are both showing signs of weakness, suggesting that people need a "better social safety net".
Work-life flexibility is difficult with a lack of security and with fewer guarantees.
If both individual and collective networks are suffering, what happens next? I wonder:
Is there increasing scope to explore Universal Basic Income more seriously than ever?
With gig working and multiple income streams becoming more mainstream, can working rights feasibly evolve/adapt with the changes?
What responsibilities are there on governmental, corporate, collective, individual, local, national, and international levels?
Has the idea of technology helping progress only been true for an incredibly nuanced version of progress?
Will community and bonding improve again, or are relationships doomed to strain further under the weight of this?
Anna Burgess Yang is "less starry-eyed" but still hopeful. I'm thankful for that. As Good Old War sing in Better Weather: "Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring / That's why we rely on hope."
Hot Takes & Halves
I saw Bloomberg Live appear in my YouTube feed yesterday and I took a quick look. Four people were talking about the American markets as they were closing for the day.
One mentioned that Bitcoin had been going up recently and they didn't know why.
Now, I don't follow crypto stuff, but I did read that an event called the 'halving' was happening soon. The reward for mining Bitcoin will be half of what it currently is, so I'm guessing there's a bunch of last-minute mining and speculation around the reward being halved imminently.
The four commentators didn't mention this. One said that Bitcoin doesn't need a reason to be going up or down. It just does because it's crypto, and that's what crypto does.
And they simply moved on.
Does my awareness make any difference? Does their lack of awareness make any difference? I’m sure they’re aware of all sorts I don’t have a clue about.
My hot take isn't a big deal. Just because I saw something pass me by about this 'halving' event doesn't even mean I'm right, or that the extra information is helpful.
Do we need commentators? Do we need hot takes? Does anything matter?
Whatever the case, we have things to share. Some pass by and that's okay. Some form hot takes. Some are little curiosities like this. And other nuggets become boulders of brilliance.
We can't really predict any of it to be honest.
Y'know, a bit like crypto...
Listening to what I don’t know in music- my son was giving me a ride and the music in his car was unfamiliar to me. I kept noticing how I expected the notes to follow and when they didn’t, it was jarring. This expectation of how things should be runs through so much in life.