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The Shift

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The Shift: Issue #23

Frazzled CafĆ©: itā€™s ok, to not be ok; Creating community; Support for creative workers; Career development tips; #NaNoWriMo.

Feeling frazzled? I am. Here we go again with #lockdown2 which all feels a bit pointless as itā€™s not working. Iā€™ve had my mother ranting down the phone this week. ā€œYou canā€™t stop a virus spreading! Weā€™re just kicking the tin can down the road. They should sack the Sage lot! Iā€™m listening to the other scientistsā€¦ā€

The Great Barrington Declaration is back on Google ā€“ big tech has no place censoring debate. It takes a holistic approach – we canā€™t focus on one virus at the expense of everything else – the economy, our mental health. Partial protection seems like the sensible option ā€“ protect the elderly and vulnerable and let the rest of us get on with it. There has to be a better way than full lockdown. We should at least have more public debate on this.

Iā€™ve signed up to join the Frazzled CafĆ©, a charity providing a safe space to share your stories. ā€œA place to connect with others to help us cope with the overwhelming stresses of modern life. A place where itā€™s ok, to not be ok,ā€ i.e. to vent your frustrations!!! See more.

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The Shift: Issue #22

Photo by Pavel Nekoranec on Unsplash

RSA: Making Remote Work Good Work; Hiring a Community Manager; WFH in Tuscany: Live local, think global; Send someone a virtual hug šŸ¤—

I took part in an RSA event this week on how to Make Remote Work Good Work with Bruce Daisley and Alexa Clay.

How are we doing seven months on from the first lockdown? Our mass experiment in remote working ā€“ the results are in! 

The data is largely positiveā€”a swift and widespread adaptation to new working practices, cultures & techniques. Every age group is happier WFH. A recent survey shows over Ā¾ of UK CEOs say WFH is here to stay. Greater flexibility, digital transformation, and less office space look set to be permanent features. Read more.

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The Shift: Issue #21

#CopyCon20

#CopyCon2020ā€”Top tips for being a successful copywriter; Death to perfectionism; Blogging for business; UX jobsā€”design systems are the new frontier.

“8 hours of copywriting gold” ā€“ 10 speakers, 8 training days, satellite sessions, poetry, illustration, networking, catsā€¦šŸ± ProCopywriters’ 7th annual conference and 100% online for the first time.

It’s my first one, so I had nothing to compare it to, but it was a fantastic eventā€”inspiring talks (9 female speakers) and seamless tech. I’m still using the app (Attendify) to replay videos and download docs. If there’s one good thing to come out of all this madness, it’s being able to do global conferences that I wouldn’t have been able to afford. No travel costs and you can listen in while you work or on the go. I can’t sit at a desk all day, so I did a walking Zoom to break it up. See more.

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The Shift: Issue #20

Big Tech: The House antitrust committee report; Instagram at 10; No Filter; The rise of the Meta Me; Microcopy + UX writing.

This week, the House Antitrust Subcommittee released itsĀ long-awaited reportĀ into online markets ā€“ how Big Tech (Google, Amazon, Apple & Facebook) have developed monopoly and are abusing their power to stifle the competition. Itā€™s a brick at 400+ pages (+ 2,540 footnotes) and evidence-based ā€“ conversations with previous and current employees, users & sellers ā€“ a greatest hits of bad behaviour. Amazon has been described as ā€œa data company that just happens to sell things.ā€ An inside look at the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook – here are theĀ most revealing bits. Thereā€™s more focus on Google than the other three with some notable omissions: Microsoft, TikTok and Spotify. TikTok is Chinese owned and a baby, so doesnā€™t yet have the size and breadthā€¦ Read more.

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The Shift: #Issue 19

The rise of the creator economy; the ‘unbundling of work’; paid newsletters; the Second Renaissance is coming…

Over the past 10 years, weā€™ve seen enormous growth in the Creator Economyā€”independent creators making money from online content. Itā€™s down to the rise of the gig economy, better techā€”5G, faster internet, and new social networks & products. COVID-19 is speeding things up – weā€™re at home and online more.

Thereā€™s also been a shift in consciousness towards caring more about being happy in our jobs, having control over our time, and being our own boss. We want to make a living doing work weā€™re passionate about that creates change. Gen Zā€™ers grew up with the internet and social media and place a high value on self-expression. I can see how my daughter and her friends interact online.

According to Li Jin, weā€™re in the process of theĀ ā€˜unbundling of workā€™Ā i.e. moving from companies to independent solo businesses.

A new report fromĀ Signalfire takes a deeper view of the ecosystem to give us some context, a history of the creator economy and trends to watch. Itā€™s a fascinating readā€”useful for investors looking for opportunities and creators needing help… Read more.