Two claims stand out in this week’s reading list:
- being present – whether in person or online – is overvalued and doesn’t support innovation or collaboration as much as we think;
- our world needs some serious shit done if we want to avoid a total collapse of our civilization.
In between the lines, we’re also covering some of the latest news in startup funding, hybrid events and the state of dating in the US.
Politics
The Beginning of the End of Western Civilization
“The problem is that nature is not just competitive. It is profoundly cooperative. It is mutualistic just as much as it is antagonistic, probably even more so.”
Productivity
Why I’m unreachable and maybe you should be too
“My situation seems different because I already have successful companies but maybe it’s not that different from yours, because regardless of that, this applies to you too:
Most things are a distraction, especially in the startup and tech world.
If you get to the core of building companies it’s about creating a great product that gets customers that pay for it.”
Remote Work
Do Chance Meetings at the Office Boost Innovation? There’s No Evidence of It.
“There are risks in allowing some remote work — if some people are in the office, those who aren’t may be penalized. There are also benefits for creativity to seeing colleagues in person; brainstorming ideas and collaborating on projects requires trust, rooted in personal relationships.”
Venture Capital
Titans of Tech: Pandemic Proof
Startup Report 2020/21
Events
Hybrid dilemmas
“It’s tempting but if we’re not prepared to ‘walk the walk’ with hybrid events, do we have the right to ‘talk the talk’?”
Dating
Disintermediating your friends: How Online Dating in the United States displaces other ways of meeting
- web.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Rosenfeld_et_al_Disintermediating_Friends.pdf :: Michael Rosenfeld + Reuben J. Thomas + Sonia Hausen
- + chart: twitter.com/dkthomp/status/1149701645070155776?s=12