Ben's List

During lockdown, with zoomitis and an insane amount of online events leading to meme overdoses - what does IRL even mean anymore?

Back in 2015, I was putting together a new event for Silencio Club in Paris. Invite-only, with artists, technologists and activists sharing the stage. One of our guests was building the Museum of Internet, a popular database of memes.

He wanted to launch his own event concept and we thought URL IRL was a clever concept, a brand that would showcase the best (and worst) of the internet culture. A bit like the successful IAM Internet (that was launched around that time).

Now we're in 2021, the roaring 20s v2.

I'm thrilled to share a great book about that question within this week's reading list, alongside some of the topics that occupy space in my brain rent-free: events, newsletters, marketing, no-code, creativity and Clubhouse alternatives.

Book

IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives

broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506463513/ :: Chris Stedman

Innovation

Computers and Creativity

A thesis that claims that "Interoperable, moldable, efficient, and community-driven digital creative tools hold immeasurable potential as co-creators with human beings. Tools of this type would lower the barrier to entry and make all users toolmakers and owners in an expanded definition of technological innovation."

mollymielke.com/cc :: Molly Mielke

No code

Zapier: The $7B Netflix of Productivity

"Zapier doesn’t care what tools you use just as Netflix doesn’t care what you watch—they care about what they can learn from how you use the platform."