Yes, we're all exhausted

+ a beginner's guide to Mastodon + the stress of buying concert tickets

Hi friend,

Wow, what a week (she says after spending 48 hours battling Ticketmaster in the Taylor Swift tour presale).

For those of us in the US, next week is Thanksgiving.

Which means this week and the early days of next week may feel like a sprint to the finish.

We’re all exhausted. We’re all stressed. We’re all drained.

That’s just to say, remember this when you’re talking to others during this chaotic season.

Remember that many people are feeling fragile, emotional, and tired.

Remember that many people have things going on beyond what we can see.

Remember and be kind.

(Unless it’s a concert ticket selling monopoly corporation, in which case we revolt at midnight*)

with warmth + love,

N

*For legal reasons, this is a joke.

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📚 The Click Throughs
Long-form reads for the marketing geek + content creator

TechCrunch: A beginner’s guide to Mastodon, the open source Twitter alternative
I haven’t joined Mastodon yet, but as creators and social media managers, we’re often asked about the most recent social networks. This is one of the new networks Twitter users are fleeing to in the demise of the bird app and this piece was a helpful overview of what it truly is.

BBC Worklife: The young workers flocking to ‘career influencers’
This isn’t your grandpa’s career advice. If you’re a millennial like me or Gen Z, you’ve probably encountered many videos of “career influencers” discussing modern workplace themes like holding boundaries and standing up for your value. This piece interviews + examines a few of these influencers.

Wired: TikTok’s Greatest Asset Isn’t Its Algorithm—It’s Your Phone
The TikTok For You Page algorithm is impressive, that’s for sure. Like how it knows when you’ve been having a tough week or spending hours in line to try to get tickets for a concert. But this piece digs into the psychology behind why TikTok’s real magic is your phone itself.

BBC News: ‘It’s so liberating’: The people quitting social media
This newsletter started and will always be for people who make a living out of social media but want to prioritize mental health. What better way to do that than romanticizing quitting it all? This piece interviews those who have quit social media and how it feels on the other side.

Semafor: A running list of companies pausing Twitter ads
Many companies have been pausing ads, some deciding to pause organic posting altogether after the wild turns on Twitter. This is a helpful, continuously updated list of all the companies pausing spend on the site.

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🧘🏼‍♀️ Mindful Moment
One actionable thing to get you through this week

This week’s mindful moment brought to you by my cardiologist with the revolutionary cure for everything: Drink more water 🙃

Here’s a list of apps to track it or you could grab one of these trendy bottles. But really, grab some water right now and take a sip! Now take another!!

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🔗 Link(s) in Bio
Things I’ve been loving that have absolutely nothing to do with marketing or business

Allure: Jennifer Aniston Has Nothing to Hide – I loved everything about this cover interview with Jennifer Aniston. Would love to go into my 50s with this much grace.

Harvard Business Review: How Much Time and Energy Do We Waste Toggling Between Applications? – Feels like a lot to me… and the science adds up. What do you think the answer is??

Slate: My PR Day of Yes – This journalist accepted every publicist pitch they got for a full day, which makes me incredibly anxious as a writer but wildly entertained as a reader.

Defector: It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Buy Concert Tickets – I know I’ve talked about the Taylor Swift presale a lot in this issue, but this piece actually hits upon the frustrations for all us concert goers. Why is it so hard to get tickets at face value these days?

Inverse: Do Covid-19 tests expire? Here’s the truth about home kits – If you’re like me and have piles of “expired” tests, you might want to read this one before you toss them.

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💭 Content Calendar
Ideas for you to take into your week ahead as a content creator

As I mentioned, for those of us in the US, next week is Thanksgiving.

I repeat, next week is Thanksgiving. As in, a week from today.

A week from tomorrow is Black Friday. Then Small Business Saturday. Then Cyber Monday. Then Giving Tuesday.

I say this because I, personally, have forgotten what day it was multiple times this week and have been shocked about the holidays already starting next week.

Plan your content accordingly, folks.

Good luck 🦃

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👋 The (ring) Light at the End of the Tunnel

If you don’t want to listen to me, listen to this cute kitty. Get some rest, friend. (credit: @ChiBirdArt on IG)