Jay Rosen:

In pro journalism, American style, the View from Nowhere is a bid for trust that advertises the viewlessness of the news producer. Frequently it places the journalist between polarized extremes, and calls that neither-nor position “impartial.” Second, it’s a means of defense against a style of criticism that is fully anticipated: charges of bias originating in partisan politics and the two-party system. Third: it’s an attempt to secure a kind of universal legitimacy that is implicitly denied to those who stake out positions or betray a point of view. American journalists have almost a lust for the View from Nowhere because they think it has more authority than any other possible stance.

I re-read this at least once a year.

Julianne Tveten, writing for Motherboard:

Much of the online marketing world, however, seeks to change this. Growing numbers of websites, from magazines to clothing stores, have adopted “exit-intent pop-ups,” rectangular modals that blanket a webpage, prompting a user to join a mailing list. Beyond their visual intrusiveness, these ads prey on the uncertain user, foregoing the neutral simplicity of a “yes/no” option in favor of charged, shame-inducing language.

If your website does this you’re an asshole.

Dave Winer, writing on his blog:

In the early years of this blog I wrote a lot about the personal struggles of people who had attained financial independence only to find out that it revealed that money was not what was standing in the way of happiness. That’s contrary to the message of our society, which is this:

• Until you’re rich, you’re miserable.
• Once you’re rich, it’s all great!

Ben Thompson, writing for Stratechery:

I like driving, even if I end up sitting in traffic. I enjoy doing the laundry, and take my time folding shirts just so. I volunteer to wash the dishes. After all, each of these activities is an excuse to listen to more podcasts.

I’ve been listening to podcasts for over a decade now; I don’t remember exactly when I got started but it was around the time that Apple Took Podcasting Mainstream: that’s from the title of the press release announcing iTunes support for podcasts in 2005. Given that most podcasts were listened to on iPods (thus the name) that already synced with iTunes, Apple’s move dramatically simplified the distribution of podcasts: simply click a button in the music management app you already used, hook up the iPod as you already did, and voilà! New podcasts ready to be listened to in the car (via your cassette tape adaptor), while doing laundry, washing the dishes, etc. It was great!

It’s a famed report worth reading if this sort of stuff is in your wheel house.

Still Drinking:

You will walk into any given interview with what you think of as a cornucopia of arcane knowledge all but forcing its way out of your tear ducts to raise property values in a half mile radius. Much of the time, you will walk out of that interview wanting to give up and raise guinea pigs for a living. Every human knows things other humans do not, and most of us will eventually be in a position where another human is determining our future employment based on us knowing things very few humans know.

Curt Clifton, writing on his blog:

After two and a half years of decline, including a couple of emergency room visits, I finally sought treatment for my anxiety this spring.

I know many software developers who stuggle with anxiety. Perhaps software development attracts anxious people. We can mediate social interactions through the safety of a chat window. We spend our days in abstactions, so we can control the virtual environment—the code—in which we work. That sense of control can be comforting.

Pablo S. Torre, writing for ESPN, on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s friendship:

It is the kind that, after 13 long years in this business, encourages them to think about the end. “We always say, ‘One day, we’re gonna stop dribbling this basketball,'” Wade says. “And yeah, while we’re playing against each other, we’re going to compete and we’re going to have fun. But life goes on way beyond this.”

“There is no loyalty in sports,” Union says. “It’s a business. Whatever loyalty exists is what you create outside the game. And when it’s all said and done, all you have is your relationships. A lot of retired guys have nobody. That’s a terrible, terrible feeling.”