The Sunday Digest

What We Published

6 articles, 2 podcasts, & a live conversation

Twitter's Longform Strategy

by Nathan Baschez in Divinations (6-minute read)

The subscriber-creator relationships that laid the foundation for the newsletter boom originated in large part on Twitter—so why, amidst that phenomenon, has it been passed by? And what is Twitter going to do about it? Here, Nathan dives into their response: a slick utilization of recent newsletter acquisition Revue, allowing writers who use it to set upt a two-click subscribe function in their bio. Of course, there's a deeper question at play: why compete with newsletter giants to begin with? Nathan's got an answer for that, too—and plenty of new questions in its wake.

The Traveling Kind

by Rachel Jepsen in The Long Conversation (7-minute read)

Rachel's back from a long trip—but as she relates here, motion didn't keep her from writing. How'd she do it? That's the focus of this latest TLC, from finding your on-the-road writing spots to doing the work itself to coming back home. Plus, there's a transcript of a Rachel-Dan writing chat that's as good as anything you'll read this week.

How a Climate Tech Startup Closed 5+ Enterprise Deals Before Even Launching

by Evan Armstrong in Napkin Math (12-minute read)

Evan's launching another series, this time focusing on startup breakdowns—namely, what enables them to build great things. In the inaugural installment, he takes a look at Remora, Carbon, a 3-employee startup based out of Detroit and run by a 24-year-old, whose specialty is a carbon-capture device built to reduce truck emissions. Oh yeah, and they also closed over 5 enterprise deals in almost as many months. How? Evan's got answers at each stage, from brainstorming to demos, and we'll bet you'll want to read them.

Could the Creator Economy Work for Fiction Authors?

by Elle Griffin in Means of Creation (8-minute read)

You can't really measure how many books people read, but you can certainly count how many they buy. Those numbers—not encouraging ones, for the literary-minded—led Elle Griffin of The Novelleist to wonder if the subscription boom might extend itself to fiction. It's a provocative question, one that might provide a measure of optimism if you're less than happy that we read less than we used to. Can fiction adapt—and will it lose anything if it does?

The Summer (Prediction) Games

by Andre Plaut in The Prediction Game (4-minute read)

Everything's up and down, from COVID cases to crypto to political offices. And well over halfway through 2021, The Prediction Game is a great way to chart all of that wildness. Andre runs through some highlights, toasts the winners, and provides an update on the standing of the game's prize.

Why Crypto’s First Killer Apps are So Powerful

by Nat Eliason in Almanack (5-minute read)

This DeFi Friday's focus rests on Decentralized Exchanges, the lean, mean alternatives to giants like coinbase, which allow you to create tokens of your own for yourself and others, sans gatekeepers. How does it all work? Nat can tell you better than we can.

Building a Driver-Owned Alternative to Uber and Lyft

Means of Creation with Nathan Baschez & Li Jin (57-minute watch)

You may have heard of The Drivers Cooperative when it made a splash in the New York Times a few months ago as a worker-owned alternative to rideshare giants. Li and Nathan spoke to Jason Prado, the Cooperative's head of product, about leaving Silicon Valley for organizing, how the enterprise is structured financially and strategically, and how they plan to compete with Uber and Lyft.

Ted Lasso Episode Recap: S2 Episodes 2 & 3

Handling your colleagues' emotions

Talk Therapy with Dan Shipper & Nathan Baschez

Dan and Nathan were once again joined by Rachel Jepsen to continue chatting through the sophomore season of Ted Lasso. After a shaky premiere, there was still much to discuss, especially as they digested two episodes at once. Later in the week, Dan and Nathan connected to chat about a very recent gap in emotional experiences they had as collaborators.

Community Calendar

What's going down in our Discord this week.

Monday August 23rd, 10am ET/7am PT: Focused Work Pomodoros with Dan Shipper

Thursday August 26th, 11am-1pm ET/8am – 10am PT: Community Working Session with Rachel Jepsen

In this weekly two-hour event, our cameras are on, our tunes are flowing, and we're getting things done together! Executive editor Rachel will open each session with a ten-minute writing exercise to get us all in a creative flow. Then, participants can share in the #fireside-chat channel what they're hoping to accomplish during the session. Finishing an essay? Getting started on a new project? Tell us what you're working on!

Want to be looped in on upcoming community events? Check out our Discord server!

Join Our Discord

What’s Going On

News you might have caught or missed.

• Uber and Lyft's Proposition 22 is unconstitutional, judge rules
• Sex workers fear OnlyFans decision to ban explicit content will push them further into the shadows
• How the Taliban turned social media into a tool for control

What We’re Reading

Our favorite writing from beyond Every.

• The Spine Collector (Vulture)
• Home Spun (Real Life)
• The Remote Work-Fertility Connection (The Atlantic)