Work – Page 18 – HELLO, I'M SETH WERKHEISER

The new 16″ MacBook Pro

My current MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017) does the job. Even with just a 128GB HD, I’ve made it work. Right now, today, I have no need for this new 16″ machine.

But in talking with a fellow Mac nerd today about this new 16″ MacBook Pro, who also is in the same boat, we sort of just agreed that this machine isn’t for us… today.

Back in 2003, when I got my first iBook – that machine blew me away, because it was fresh, and new. A whole new world, since I was coming over from the PC world.

It’s like… I haven’t needed a favorite band for awhile. When I was 10 or so, Guns N Roses released Appetite for Destruction, and that did the job. Not too many bands can have that effect over 40+ years.

So this new machine – it’s outstanding, priced right, looks amazing… someday.

Do It Yourself

The suits saw blogs as a cheap and easy means to display ads. Every site started looking the same, to keep things cheap, and the writing had to get quicker, because ad rates kept falling.

All that to say – do it yourself.

Buy a domain name, start a site on WordPress.com, and now you’ve got a site. The site is the same as any Deadspin or Gawker or any other beloved site you used to enjoy but was destroyed by the dudes in sport coats. It’s the same in that there’s a URL that anyone on the planet can access using a browser, and there’s words on a screen for them to read.

Sure, the economics have changed, but the demand has not gone away. The trick is to make something that people are willing to support with their dollars. That means “same old same old” won’t cut it.

Niche the fuck down and find an audience that lusts for what you do. Find other creative people who crave the same thing and ask them to write for your site.

HOW WILL IT MAKE MONEY is putting the cart before the horse. Make something today, when no one is looking, when you only get 35 visits a day. Do it over and over again, for a year, or two. Build a brand, gain trust.

The reason we’re in this mess is because the entire publishing platform was built on display ads that people ignore (or blog), and inflated job titles like VP OF SECONDARY DESIGN METRICS.

Remove the garbage ads (be nice to your readers), and the dead weight, and suddenly a website doesn’t need to make $45,000/minute to keep the checks from bouncing.

Build it yourself, on an independent platform (like WordPress), and own your work.

Are Websites Even Relevant Anymore?

You buy your concert tickets through a website, and just about every article you read via social media lives on a website, so yes. Yes you do.

Don’t let the lack of LIKES or COMMENTS or even traffic sway you.

“Facebook, Twitter and other companies use methods similar to the gambling industry to keep users on their sites,” said Natasha Schüll, the author of Addiction by Design, which reported how slot machines and other systems are designed to lock users into a cycle of addiction. “In the online economy, revenue is a function of continuous consumer attention – which is measured in clicks and time spent.”
Social media copies gambling methods ‘to create psychological cravings’

We have been conditioned since we abandoned our blogs that ENGAGEMENT is key. That public, viewable metrics are king!

Fuck that.

Like any good practice, it takes time to see results. If you’re running, taking photos, anything – it might take years. Even a decade.

Sure, you can get the quick jolt by writing something witty on social media and it gets 35 likes. Or, head down, write, create, craft on your own space (like this website), and five years later you have a giant body of work on display.

Name Your Thing

One thing that worked for me over the years was jamming two words together; Buzz Grinder, Noise Creep, Skull Toaster, Close Mondays.

Any name you dream up is void of a brand, it’s up to you to fill it with every ounce of creativity and awesomeness. Not just the logo and the site design, but how you reply to emails, and handle yourself around other people.

Rattle It Out

A few friends inspired me to start running. Years later, I hired a nutritionist. Soon that person will probably be my strength coach.

I’ve been a freelancer since 2006. Years later, it’s just me. But that’s changing, too. Since signing up for Seth Godin’s Freelancer Course, a flood of changes have come in, washing away a lot of my old thinking.

Sometimes no matter how many books we read, or inspiring articles, or watching amazing videos, sometimes it’s the conversations with other people that we don’t even know that rattle out the breakthroughs.

The new macOS is here; Catalina.

I didn’t know this, but “Catalina is the end of the road for all 32-bit applications and frameworks on the Mac.”

Take the advice of 512 Pixels:

Stop reading this and go download Go64, a free app that will show you how many 32-bit apps are on your system. If you’re like me, you’ll be surprised how many may be hanging out in your Applications folder.

I downloaded Go64 and I’m safe, but you should check it our for yourself. I’m going to wait until the weekend to upgrade, just in case anything breaks. Can’t have my work-flow messed up on a TUESDAY.

Downtime

I spent about a week traveling, the first real deal road trip since I bought my car in December. The freedom to roam, along with my ability to work remotely for a handful of clients, is a double edged sword. I need to work, to be available, but I also need to drive… five hours to my next stop?

It’s somewhat maddening, and it’s the reason I cut my journey short. Maybe a few years ago I would have jumped at the chance for such an adventure, but lately I’m just not feeling that excitement. In part I loved it because I got to run in some new locations, but I also dreaded it because I chose to keep working. I mean, that’s the American thing to do, I guess, as a freelancer, to keep working, keep up the expectation that I’m just “always online” (even though I drove through some pretty remote areas with no cell coverage).

Then I think how I haven’t really gone fully offline in, well, forever. I think back to maybe 2007, when I went to Italy, when my only online responsibility was to my music blog at the time. Or when I left AOL Music back in 2011, and that following Monday I rode my bike to a mountain for a hike.

I’m damn grateful for the work, for sure. But I’m finding that I need to get away from work for longer stretches of time.

The Pause

Found a great podcast from my pal Jocelyn, Reboot, and didn’t really know where to jump in, but something led me to this interview with Alex Rethore, “Reboot Your Definition of Success.” This quote really jumped out at me:

“What if it’s not a pause? What if it’s the new way? What if being present is what the new opportunity is?”
Jerry Colonna

For a decade I ran music outlets. Most of that time was a passion project, which led to a “real” jobby job.

I remember the Monday after I left. No urgent emails, no frantic calls, no… pressure. And I kept thinking that I needed to get back to that pressure. Like it was my default. I had done that work for a decade, so that’s what I need to return to. “It’s what I know,” I would tell myself.

Until I had so many moments of pause (see the quote above), that it became who I am. It was my guide post. I knew the negative signposts; the things I didn’t want in a new job or gig, but I finally discovered what I really want, and it’s the pause. That’s the default.

The pause is time to make coffee. Or an actual lunch, from scratch. A morning walk. An early start to the gym.

The pause is now built in, and has become the default.