Substack’s Ideology, Following the White-Hot Fire and More

Happy Sunday! 

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Now on to everything we published this week!

Substack's Ideology

Nathan Baschez / Divinations

If you want to understand Substack's recent moves—like its new mobile reader—you have to understand Substack's ideology. Nathan Baschez was Substack's employee #1, and this essay unpacks his personal experience inside the company early on, explains what its real mission is, and what that means for its future. 

Read.

Following the White-Hot Fire Inside of You

Kieran O'Hare / Superorganizers

The painter Brian Rutenberg has churned out some of the most well-regarded pieces in the modern art world with shocking reliability. Because his output is so consistent, you'd think his creative process would be clean and meticulous.

When we walked into his studio to interview him we saw something entirely different: greasy mounds of discarded paint piled high, garbage in every corner, and paintbrushes snapped in half and left for dead. In short: a hellhole.

How does Brian thrive in the midst of this kind of chaos? Learn the routine and process behind this legend of modern art in the latest Superorganizers.

Read.

What Does It Mean to "Own" Crypto

Cindy Kuang

If someone exploits a bug in a smart contract and takes all of your crypto is that theft? In the world of fiat currency and centralized governments it would be.

But when decision-making is distributed, and no one person is in charge the idea of "theft", and how to prevent agains it gets much more complicated.

Coinbase engineer Cindy Kuang examines what it means to own, protect, and trade digital property in a totally decentralized world.

Read.

From PFPs to VIDs

Nat Eliason / Almanack

NFT mania has begun to die down. And many who get swept up in it are left asking: what happens now? Sure, you can use your NFT as a hexagonal profile picture on Twitter...but what else is there to support its value.

For many projects the answer is: nothing. But the best projects are finding ways to add additional value for NFT holders. In this article Nat examines the future of NFTs as digital proof of identity, and one project in particular that is building on this idea in an interesting way.

Read.

🎧 For Your Ears 🎧

• The Rise of Fashion NFTs / Li Jin & Nathan Baschez interview Dani Loftus / Means of Creation
• Thinking Beyond the Token Launch / Sari Azout & Joey DeBruin interview Tom Tirman / Tokens, But How?

What We're Reading

• The Gummy Bear Industrial Complex / Ryan Broderick
• Reciprocity as a Business Model / Richard Pickering

That's all for this week! As always, if you loved something or hated it feel free to hit reply—or leave us some feedback.

See you next Sunday.