10/9/2020 Recommended Issues: Godfather of Podcasting, sticky phrases, music discovery
Good day!
Each week we handpick newsletter issues by independent writers you may have missed that provide new or unique perspectives.
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Here's what's worth reading this week...enjoy!
THE GODFATHER OF MODERN PODCASTING
Why Ira Glass is the godfather of modern podcasting in Simon Owens’s Tech and Media Newsletter on October 7, 2020
This issue does a fascinating deep dive into why Ira Glass is considered the “godfather of modern podcasting” and the impact he’s had on the entire podcast industry. Many people are aware of Ira Glass as a famous storyteller (think “This American Life”), but less known is how he influenced almost every aspect of the podcasting ecosystem (well beyond storytelling!)... from revenue generation to talent development to distribution and more. This is worth reading to better understand not only the interesting history of podcasting, but also how one person has been able to create such an incredible impact that we ALL benefit from. (2331 words; 8.5 minutes) Read it…
WHAT ARE *YOUR* ZOOM PHRASES?
The cheat sheet in Understandably by Bill Murphy Jr on October 6
In this issue, Bill talks about sticky notes with positive phrases that he wrote and placed around his laptop to “remember” when he was on zoom calls. He’d initially created them, somewhat as a joke for himself, but actually found himself using them. He walks you through his phrases, all of which are intended to evoke positive reactions/feelings from the other person on the call, like: “allow me to be upfront”, “tell me more”. “how can I help?”, etc. As a reader, this is thought-provoking in its own right, but it also may inspire you to take the introspective opportunity to ponder what your “post-its” (theoretical or not) could say. What do you wish you were saying more often? What would make your conversations more authentic and positive? It’s a thought-exercise with only upside… ( 1238 words; 4.5 minutes) Read it...
MUSIC NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHT: FLOW STATE
Now this is a little different than your “normal” newsletter-- if there even is a “normal” anymore. Each weekday, Flow State curates two hours of music from one to two artists that they believe is “perfect for working”. You may ask, “Can’t I just go to Pandora or Spotify?” -- and sure, of course you could. But Flow State actually provides you with information about the musicians, giving you context to the people and the pieces. The experience is more than just “music”; it’s educational and exploratory. It’s a cool (and remarkably easy) way to discover new artists and their music. Worth a shot? Read/listen now…
A few random facts I learned this week from reading newsletters:
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There are new studies that show you can actually refreeze thawed breastmilk without degradation or harmful bacterial growth-- and that you can leave it out longer than the short two-hour window commonly cited. This ought to be a huge anxiety and stress reducer for moms/dads/care-givers dealing with breastmilk in the freezer or bottles. (ParentData 10/8)
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Starbucks claimed $155million in "breakage" (money from lost gift cards) in 2018, which is around 10% of stored gift card balances. Umm, that’s A LOT of money they get for free. Public service announcement: don't lose your gift cards or companies happily (and easily) profit from it :/…(Why is this Interesting 10/8)
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When you're doing a google search, if you want to limit the results to pdfs, xls or ppt documents, you can just add “filetype:pdf”, “filetype:xls”, and “filetype:ppt”... who knew? I imagine this is most useful when you're doing research and may want data and presentations returned... (Out of Pocket 10/7)
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In the first half of 2020, vinyl album revenues were greater than CD revenues for the first time since the 80s (!)... retro is apparently having a comeback! (Tedium 10/2)
- Grandparents who take help care of their young grandchildren (but who aren’t the primary caregivers or substitute parents) live an average of five years longer than their peers who don’t. You can pull that stat out the next time you need a date night or break from your kids :) (Understandably 10/6)
I hope you found the above intriguing and thought-provoking! You can always subscribe to any of the newsletters (or discover others!) on narrowSCALE.
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Thanks and all the best,
~Jessica