The week I read a lot
Stories I’ve loved on Medium this week — 18.12.16
I read a lot. So, each Saturday (or Sunday), I share the Stories I’ve loved from around Medium over the last seven days. This week has been one of particularly heavy reading, so I have seven highly recommended reads.
Enjoy.
Medium doesn’t want me to be Medium’s resident cheerleader anymore. I’m sorry. — SF Ali
I’m writing this because I feel like I’m letting down the folks who look forward to my recommending their work, my responses to their stories, and my readership of their writing. To all of you: I’m sorry, but my hands are tied.
There was a big discussion this week on Medium surrounding the use of the recommend button. Why do we click it? When is the right time to click it? And what effect does clicking it have on us and other users?
That discussion was kicked off by power user SF Ali, who wrote a story about Medium asking him to stop recommending and responding to so many stories because they were suspicious that he was using automation software.
He wasn’t, and all of SF Ali’s recommends and responses were — and are — genuine. After all, he’s a power user. That’s what power users tend to be. They embody a platform through their pure enjoyment of it.
But such a message from Medium clearly upset SF Ali – enough to write a story which became one of the most recommended this week. He didn’t want to stop being as active on the platform as he has been for so long.
Luckily, Medium staff responded in a timely and professional manner, apologising for the fiasco and essentially admitting that the platform they are building is still under construction, to such an extent that one user almost broke it.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d take that as a compliment.
Keep on spreading the love.
What Does a “Recommend” Really Mean? — Mike Sturm
To me, a recommend means something like the following: I read this story, and I believe that it is interesting enough or I agree with it strongly enough that I recommend that others invest the time to read it.
So, while we’re on the subject: what does a recommend really mean?
Do you view it as a tool to acknowledge an author’s work, regardless of if you agree with the post or found it interesting? Is a recommend from you easy to receive? Or does a story have to tick a lot of boxes before you click that green heart?
Well, Mike whipped up a great piece looking at the three reasons he thinks people recommend stories: to literally recommend, to help out a friend, and to serve it out as a currency (or a thanks, similar to a like for acknowledgement).
Personally, I’ll recommend when I want to show appreciation for an interesting bit of content, appreciation for effort put in to the content even if it’s not incredibly interesting. I know how difficult writing can be at times, so I enjoy showing others that I’m acknowledging their work.
I’ll also have to admit to — probably too often — using the recommend as a social currency. And, as Mike addresses, who knows how throwing out loads of recommends screws with the algorithm?
6 simple questions to set 2017 intentions — Jessica Semaan
4) What are 1–3 ways I want to show care and love to myself in 2017
My answer:
- Saying no to activities and people when it does not feel right in my body
- Regular daily meditation
- Allowing sensuality into my life
Right, we’re at the end of the year. It’s the perfect time for reflection and soon there’ll be a chance to start afresh in 2017. 2016 has just plain sucked, right? Right.
I’ve read a few posts over the last few weeks which reflect on the previous 12 months and propose how to start 2017 right. The best — by far — have been this piece from Jessica Semaan, 30 Questions I’ve Asked Myself Every Year For The Last 7 Years by Abby Norman and the next story below by Mitchell Harper.
So much so that all three stories have inspired me to do some reflecting of my own. Next week I’ll be releasing a post called The December Questions, a Q&A written by me and for me as a way of forcing myself to be publicly honest about my feelings towards 2016.
Jessica, Abby and Mitchell: thank you.
Keep/Stop/Replace — Mitchell Harper
Look at everything you do in the various areas of your life (business, investing, family, friends, health, contribution, etc) and for each habit, you have 3 simple options
You know, we all bang on about what we’re going to start doing in 2017 and how we’re going to do this specific thing to achieve this specific goal. But rarely do we look at all of the things we’re doing right now and think: wait, should I keep, stop or replace this habit?
Because why waste time on forming new habits when your current ones aren’t as effective as they could be?
The Secret Behind Mastery Might Lie In This Small Tokyo Sushi Shop — Ian Chew
Some might call Jiro a workaholic. Japanese people know him as 職人 (shokunin), which means master craftsman.
I know a lot about three Michelin starred chef Jiro Ono and his sushi restaurant having watched the fantastic documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, so this Ian Chew piece didn’t add too much to my own knowledge. But I wanted to share it regardless, because it’s spot on.
Give the story a read and then scoot on over to Netflix and watch the documentary. It’s inspiring, it’s motivational, and it certainly does give a fascinating insight in to the world of mastering a craft.
Choice Minimalism: Why Mark Zuckerberg Wears the Same Thing Every Day — Charles Chu
Making pointless decisions cripples performance.
Man, minimalism seems to be creeping up from all angles nowadays.
I’ve read a fair bit in the past on Steve Jobs’ choice of wardrobe as he got older and wiser, wearing his turtleneck and jeans combo every day. And it’s clear that President Barack Obama enjoys limited choice, too, consistently going for a grey or blue suit with a blue-ish tie.
Now, like many successful people before him, Mark Zuckerberg has settled in to life with a minimalist wardrobe.
Does it seem odd? Maybe. Wearing the same thing every day, to most people, would likely get boring or cause them to receive some strange looks from colleagues and friends. But when you’re performing at the top level and living a life that requires you to be as productive as possible, limiting yourself to one outfit actually has a massively positive effect on willpower.
And willpower is super, super important. Read Charles’ piece to find out why.
What It’s Like To Love A Sexsomniac — Paige Moomey
But when groping fingers woke me a second time (and a third, and a fourth), it started to take a toll on both of us. Each night followed the same emotional cycle: Wake scared, become angry and end feeling guilty. I’d hold his face and look into his eyes:
“ARE YOU AWAKE!? TELL ME IF YOU’RE AWAKE.”
Now for this week’s most outstanding piece: What it’s like to love a sexsomaniac.
I wasn’t going to tap at first. I was scrolling down my reading roulette, seeing what stood out, and then this story did. I gave the image a look. Studied the title. Ehhh, I dunno.
Wait. What the hell is a sexsomaniac? Tap
And damn was I glad I took the time to read. I don’t even want to spoil anything here in my mini-commentary because you seriously need to give this a read for yourselves. That bit I’ve quoted at the top should be more than enough to pull you in.
Thanks for reading Chapter 217!
