10.2.22 Tabs

Where is the podcast industry going? Is the internet just going to be recycled TikTok material? How to write a goodbye email when you leave a job. This and so much more!

I’ve been MIA because of a friend’s wedding travel and then I got a cold from said travel (it’s been three years since I’ve had a cold…?) but I am BACK with some of the interesting things I’ve found on the internet recently! Take a look, open these tabs, share, comment, let me know what you think about them. Hope you enjoy! (be warned: this is a TikTok-conversation-heavy newsletter LOL)

Tabs from the past 2 weeks (this might be longer than usual because this stuff is SO GOOD):

1. 📰 This is a suuuuuper interesting article/thought-starter that I haven’t stopped thinking about: an article from Vulture examining whether podcasting is just radio now? Here’s a long, but worth it quote:
   ”The blockbuster podcast — a subgenre or prestige tier essential to the medium’s rise as an artistic force — is in a serious funk. Your phone is full of podcasts, I’m sure, and maybe you’ve convinced a friend to add one of your darlings to their queue. But when was the last time a single title was being dissected by everyone you know? For some in the business, the medium’s diminishing ability to drive such moments poses an existential problem. What does it mean for podcasting as an art form if it rarely inspires widespread critical discussion? “Let me put it this way: The Bear was a hit,” said Fowlkes (now a podcast talent agent with the Gernert Company), referring to the summer’s breakout TV show. “It was in the conversation. Nothing in podcasting right now feels like it ripples outside of the bounds of people who already listen to podcasts.”
   
   I feel like this is something I could talk about foreverrrrr. Something my friend Arielle, founder of Earbuds Podcast Collective (a GREAT podcast recommendation newsletter) says is: why does everyone always say there are ‘too many podcasts?’ There are so many books that get published every day/month/year, but no one says there are too many books, right?
   
   What do you think? Comment below if you like where podcasting is these days, or if you feel like it’s stale/just like radio/not doing anything unique etc.

2. 📰

   

   Another piece that has given me a ton to think about (literally, it feels like fuel for my brain, I LOVE IT) is this piece about whether the internet is quickly just becoming… TikTok. Is TikTok going to become the main source of internet culture and everything else will just be referencing TikTok chatter?

3. 👩‍💻 Speaking of TikTok, really liked this TikTok about how one of the positives of the internet is that we get to see moms being full people with hobbies, talents, interests, who also happen to be moms (instead of fully mom content with an occasional hobby sprinkled in). The creator’s point is about how seeing content from creators and then realizing eventually that they also have children can help many of us unlearn things we’ve been taught that women lose their full selves when they have children. I 100000000% feel this way, and think it’s been incredibly useful for me to see this kind of content, and see the way that mothers in particular, but parents more broadly, integrate kids naturally into their hobbies, how they are able to sustain a full, independent, and colorful life while also having children (which I think is something I fear deeply about having children, that I would lose that).

4. 📰 Apparently, reaching out to friends just to say hi or that we’re thinking of them can have exponentially positive results for them (and us). Sometimes I want to reach out to friends when something reminds me of them but I’m worried about how long it’s been since we last talked, or I get awkward because I never responded to their last text, but reading this reminds me that for the most part, doing this random reach out will only benefit us and is worth it, and doesn’t require an intense, long conversation or catch up. The small reach-outs matter!

5. 📰 Ok I’m sorry I’m sorry, another article about TikTok: apparently there is a whole natural birth control movement on TikTok where influencers are urging people to get off their birth controls because of the hormones. This is basically a misinformation campaign and is super dangerous.

6. 📰 How to write a goodbye email at work without burning the whole thing down (even if you’re tempted to) from Harvard Business Review. I really liked the advice they gave, especially the part about how you should remind others of your specific contribution and acknowledge people where appropriate. Like on your way out, let em know what you did just one more time so they don’t forget! I am VERY BAD at doing this (in the moment, and after the fact) so that’s a good reminder.

7. A friend sent me this IG post about the Grey Rock method, as a strategy for dealing with difficult relationships. Basically, you don’t disengage entirely, but you just don’t actively engage. Be boring, neutral, talk about the weather. Really really interesting

   

Here’s my podcast playlist from the last two weeks if you want to listen to any/all of the episodes I listened to: