Five Things — October 2020
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Dear friends,
I hope this letter finds you well and safe.
Thank you to everyone who sent feedback. Although I use Mailchimp, which allows me to understand the articles receiving more clicks, your direct feedback is the best way to keep sharing relevant content. And it has been a great way to get in touch with people I haven’t talked in a while.
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Thank you for your time,
Alex
#1 How does a board meeting with Steve Jobs feels like
If you have read about Steve Jobs, you should know about his creative genius but also about his rants and bullish personality.
In this video, Andy Miller, who would become the VP for Mobile Advertising at Apple and is the current owner of the NBA Sacramento Kings, tells the story of the meeting where he was selling his company to Apple. You can feel the intensity on Andy’s description. And bear in mind this episode was during the late stage of Steve Jobs’ life, where he was battling cancer.
This is a must-see video.
Video (Youtube, 12 min)
#2 Check your spelling on Mondays
Another study by Boomerang, one of the most popular Gmail extensions, where they analyzed over 350,000 email threads, has found that Monday is by far the day with more spelling errors.
And how much does it impact the effectiveness of emails? Well, Boomerang also found that emails without any subject line errors received a reply 34% of the time, while those with an error had response rates of 29%.
There is only one key takeaway: triple check your emails on Mondays.
Check your spelling on Mondays (Boomerang Blog, 4 min)
#3 Super Mario: how to design a game
Have you ever played Super Mario Bros. in the original Nintendo (NES)? I still remember the first time I played on Christmas Eve when I was 6 or 7. I was completely immersed and started playing right away (no instruction required). These emotions did not happen by chance — the first level of the game is a design masterpiece and all elements serve a purpose.
In this video, Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary video game designer, and Nintendo’s executive, explains how the game was created and his design philosophy. Check this video — it is more about design and creativity than videogames.
Video (Youtube, 6 min)
#4 How Steve Bannon sees the world
Steve Bannon was one of the masterminds behind Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign but has fallen from grace, and was charged in August 2020 with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering (in connection to the Build The Wall campaign).
You might know Steve Bannon as Trump’s initial Chief Strategist or as the founder of Breitbart. But you might not know he is also a US Navy lieutenant, an ex-investment banker in the M&A division of Goldman Sachs, and a Hollywood producer (including owning rights to Seinfield). And you might also not know he believes the West is at war with Islam.
I wanted to share this video for a while, specifically since late 2019, when Steve Bannon did a trip around Europe promoting his ideologies to several right-wing movements. The recent murders in France made me think if he (or his ideas) might come back to Europe.
Video (Youtube, 7 min)
#5 The Best Portuguese Auction Houses
Have you ever wanted to own an original Vhils? Or Paula Rego pastel painting? Do you even know how much they cost? Auction houses are by far the most affordable way to acquire art, furniture, or jewelry.
Below, you can find my top 3 Auction Houses in Portugal. My recommendation is: go to each link and subscribe to their newsletter — you will not be disappointed. Every time there is a new auction, you will receive an email with Catalogue (in PDF):
- Cabral Moncada Leilões — https://www.cml.pt/
- Palacio Correio Velho — https://www.pcv.pt/
- VERITAS Art — https://veritas.art/
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, please recommend it to a friend who might also like it. Just send her/him this website www.alexnewsletter.com
