Tedium | An Offbeat Digital Newsletter

Everything Becomes Growth Hacking

If your platform is being exploited by growth hackers, you need to moderate it, or you threaten its long-term health, reputation, and survival. It’s not easy—because growth hacking always finds a way.

May 16, 2024

“We made a bet on scale—and then watched that bet fail over and over again.”

— From “Scale is a trap,” Ernie’s Nieman Lab prediction for 2024. Check it out!

Dec 13, 2023

Some format shifts: Hey all, just a heads-up that I’m going to move away from the two-long-pieces-per-week approach, in favor of a couple of short pieces and a long piece. This is partly to ease workload and partly to make the format less strict. I’ll bring in some ideas from some of my side projects to these shorter issues. Here’s an explanation as to why.

Dec 13, 2023

Your Phone’s Other Number

Where did the IMEI number come from, why is it so freaking long, and why does your phone need it? If you’ve ever wondered, we’ve got you covered.

Apr 27, 2024

The Protest Song Wakes Up

A buzzy protest song about the definition of war, timed perfectly to public protests against the Israel–Hamas War, shows that there’s room for social media and protest singers to coexist.

Apr 24, 2024

Post-Post

The demise of Post, one of the social networks that emerged from the 2022 Twitter exodus, shows how users have come to understand that vibes aren’t everything with social media.

Apr 22, 2024

More Attention Ploys

Everything Becomes Growth Hacking

If your platform is being exploited by growth hackers, you need to moderate it, or you threaten its long-term health, reputation, and survival. It’s not easy—because growth hacking always finds a way.

The CPU That Will Never Die

Why the Z80 CPU has endured for the last 48 years, and what we're going to do now it starts to finally show hints of retirement.

“We made a bet on scale—and then watched that bet fail over and over again.”

Press, Pause

Beyond misunderstanding its iPad consumer base, Apple’s infamous “Crush” ad deeply misunderstands the role of the hydraulic press in meme culture.

Chaos, Coyotes & Palm Trees

John Mulaney’s pop-up Netflix show Everybody’s In L.A. is my absolute new favorite thing. If you’re not watching, you’re missing out on something special.

When It Rains, It Pours

Umbrella design is an interesting conundrum. Sure, it could be better, but nobody's come up with a successful new design in hundreds of years. Why is that?

Interface Interference

The problem that’s bugging me about the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin dunk-fests: A seeming discouragement of hardware innovation.

Your Phone’s Other Number

Where did the IMEI number come from, why is it so freaking long, and why does your phone need it? If you’ve ever wondered, we’ve got you covered.

The Protest Song Wakes Up

A buzzy protest song about the definition of war, timed perfectly to public protests against the Israel–Hamas War, shows that there’s room for social media and protest singers to coexist.

Post-Post

The demise of Post, one of the social networks that emerged from the 2022 Twitter exodus, shows how users have come to understand that vibes aren’t everything with social media.

More Attention Ploys

Everything Becomes Growth Hacking

If your platform is being exploited by growth hackers, you need to moderate it, or you threaten its long-term health, reputation, and survival. It’s not easy—because growth hacking always finds a way.

The CPU That Will Never Die

Why the Z80 CPU has endured for the last 48 years, and what we're going to do now it starts to finally show hints of retirement.

“We made a bet on scale—and then watched that bet fail over and over again.”

Press, Pause

Beyond misunderstanding its iPad consumer base, Apple’s infamous “Crush” ad deeply misunderstands the role of the hydraulic press in meme culture.

Chaos, Coyotes & Palm Trees

John Mulaney’s pop-up Netflix show Everybody’s In L.A. is my absolute new favorite thing. If you’re not watching, you’re missing out on something special.

When It Rains, It Pours

Umbrella design is an interesting conundrum. Sure, it could be better, but nobody's come up with a successful new design in hundreds of years. Why is that?

Interface Interference

The problem that’s bugging me about the Rabbit R1 and Humane AI Pin dunk-fests: A seeming discouragement of hardware innovation.

Your Phone’s Other Number

Where did the IMEI number come from, why is it so freaking long, and why does your phone need it? If you’ve ever wondered, we’ve got you covered.

The Protest Song Wakes Up

A buzzy protest song about the definition of war, timed perfectly to public protests against the Israel–Hamas War, shows that there’s room for social media and protest singers to coexist.

Post-Post

The demise of Post, one of the social networks that emerged from the 2022 Twitter exodus, shows how users have come to understand that vibes aren’t everything with social media.

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