Hi friend,
I missed writing to you. But I also know that a lot of memories and important progress were made in the time since we last talked.
I’m sure you’ve probably had a lot of ups and downs. Maybe you’ve also taken an unintended break from the timeline.
Maybe, like me, you feel like you need to justify your absence or apologize for the missed moments or stage a big reset.
But maybe none of that is necessary.
We can live our lives however makes sense for us the most in those moments. We can pop in and out of different areas, with no apologies needed.
We can pick up where we left off without any fanfare. I can continue writing to you (mostly) weekly and you can continue reading as it works for you.
We can embrace what we need right now and know that it’s okay if (or when) that changes.
Right now, I just needed to say hi, friend. Hope you’re having a wonderful, boundless summer.
with warmth + love,
N
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📚 The Click Throughs
Long-form reads for the marketing geek + content creator
The New Yorker: The Age of Algorithmic Anxiety
Trends like #TikTokMadeMeBuyThis or haul videos are fun and exciting, but they’ve made it clear how deeply our buying habits have been changed due to our curated social feeds. This piece really struck me + specifically this quote: “I don’t know if I like what I like or what an algorithm wants me to like.”
The Atlantic: No, I Will Not BeReal
I’ll be honest, I downloaded BeReal 2 weeks ago after finally giving into FOMO and since then all I’ve gotten is glitches. Coming off the tails of my failed experience, I connected with this article on the “authenticity” the app tries to push and the general rise of the network.
Adweek: Instagram Really Said ‘Change Is The Only Constant’
This piece from my friend + queen Chi Thukral hits on all the frustrations users and content creators have been feeling with the recent turbulent Instagram changes.
Meridian: The glamorous lives of TechTok
If you’re at the intersection of tech and startups on your FYP, you may have seen many videos recently popping up detailing lives of young people working in tech. The videos make tech jobs look like the most perfect jobs, but they fail to show the struggles and systemic challenges that these jobs often entail.
Banknotes: What Instagram therapists want content creators to know
Full transparency, I’m biased because I wrote this piece. But I’m super excited about this one for two reasons: 1. It’s my debut piece for #paid’s Banknotes publication and 2. I got to talk to some of my favorite therapists and mental health professionals like Therapy Jeff and Dr. Emily Anhalt for this piece. Let me know what you think!
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🧘🏼♀️ Mindful Moment
One actionable thing to get you through this week
I really want to reflect on July’s joys! Reply, comment, or DM me with one joyful thing that happened to you last month + I might share it in an upcoming issue! 🤗
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🔗 Link(s) in Bio
Things I’ve been loving that have absolutely nothing to do with marketing or business
Vice: People Are Begging for Jobs at a Virtual Kmart But They’re Not Hiring - I am simultaneously fascinated and horrified at this. The title says everything you need to know.
Mashable: TikTok’s pink sauce is taking over the internet. What’s going on? - Okay, I know this is a social media article BUT I’d argue it’s more for amusement than anything else. Like wtf is happening.
Vox: How to fall back in love with reading - I absolutely love reading. Love books. Love bookstores. Always have. But sometimes life gets in the way + this article is a good reminder of how to get back at it.
Refinery29: Why “Anti-Goals” Might Be The Best Approach To Future Planning - The concept of identifying what you don’t want out of life is much more appealing to me. The opportunities are endless for what I could do, but I’m pretty confident what I don’t want.
The Cut: ‘Should I Feel Guilty About Having So Much Downtime at Work?’ - If you’re someone who finishes work quickly and feels guilty about it, this one’s for you. The question really boils down to: Are we really all working 8 hours a day? Or only on the clock for those hours?
Vox: The case for caring less - It’s not so much that you don’t care, it’s that you can protect your mental energy by giving your cares to only the important, vital things. I definitely need this.
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💭 Content Calendar
Ideas for you to take into your week ahead as a content creator
Anytime I’m hit by writers block or simply an inability to focus, I feel stuck. I feel lazy. I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. I feel like an imposter.
But deep down, I know none of those things are true (well, the being stuck part might be true).
I know that nothing in life is truly perfect.
Perfect doesn’t exist.
So, if you’re like me with impossibly high standards for yourself and feel like you can never quite reach a perfect end state, let me remind you:
Good enough is good enough.
Send the piece onto someone else for feedback. Get your brain out of the rut. Send it forward and make it better later. Done is better than perfect.
Whichever mantra helps you the most, follow that and don’t stress yourself out for not being able to make the most perfect thing. Perfect doesn’t exist.
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👋 The (ring) Light at the End of the Tunnel
Welcome back.