Friday Finds

The week’s best links from A Color Bright’s #general channel

One day, someone will hopefully investigate how making the #general Slack channel mandatory has impacted office communication around the globe. In the meantime, here’s what has been going on in our #general lately.

1. A short documentary on jumping off the ten meter tower
   The New York Times and the Sundance Institute made an “op-doc” on people on the ten meter tower — “Would you jump? Or would you chicken out?” Sounds silly, but, more than amateur watersports, this is about capturing human fear and investigating peer pressure. Reminded me of that one time the German singer Andreas Bourani told me that, to overcome writer’s block, he would expose himself to extreme situations — such as climbing on the ten meter tower and looking down. I must honestly say that I sneered at him for this example at the time. But go up and you’ll see that ten meters are actually pretty high. Also interesting to observe how you’ll react to that height, regardless of how often you’ve done that as a kid.
2. A world without Wi-Fi
   More and more mobile carriers are now offering unlimited data. That means that “consumers don’t need to log on to a Wi-Fi network to avoid costly overage charges anymore. That’s a critical change that threatens to render Wi-Fi obsolete. And with new competitive technologies crowding in, the future looks even dimmer.”
3. Pop’s biggest songwriter
   The Swedish newspaper DI managed to nab an interview with Max Martin who (a) wrote just about every pop song you’ve ever heard on Top 40 radio, and (b) usually never talks. I have been fascinated with the music industry’s formulas and factories for making hit records ever since I first heard Ace of Base’s ‘All That She Wants’ and found out that it was the brainchild of an eccentric, long-haired, chain-smoking DJ from Sweden called Denniz Pop. I soak up every piece of information available on the subject matter, John Seabrook’s book The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory being the most insightful I could find so far. To anyone who’s read it this interview isn’t a revelation after all, but it still has a few bits and pieces. Also: “I Kissed a Girl”.
4. A conversation with David Letterman
   We all know that pointed, smart commentary from the bicoastal liberal elite will do exactly nothing to stop the rise of the new far right. With that being said, it can be fun to read, watch and listen to — like in the case of this Vulture interview with the retired late night host. (S/o Sarah Lincoln for the heads up.)
5. Google’s AMP and the web
   AMP is what all the publishers do to have their articles featured as a “top story” on Google’s search results: the powers that be using their de facto monopoly to force creators into feeding their content into the Menlo Park machine… Well, that’s one narrative, and definitely a valid way of looking at things. But how about thinking about AMP as an interesting piece of technology and not just as a business move? This is a good summary of a recent panel discussion on the subject matter, hosted by the AMP itself but featuring some critical voices.

Bonus: This Austrian insult. One for the German-speaking crew only but too good to not share. Josef Hader is one of the true greats of our time. Go watch his movie if you can.

In any case, happy weekend!