Medley 203: Charts, Ads, Cookies, Authority, Brains, Super, WFH, About Me, Classes...
This is the Monday Medley, a newsletter that goes out, you guessed it, every Monday. I republish it here for sharing and referencing, but if you'd like to sign up you can do so right here:
Happy Monday!
First up, I published a new article on the Growth Machine blog last week about the "Critical Authority Threshold" in SEO, and why it makes patience such an important part of the puzzle.
I also added my notes on "Red Notice" to The Brain. It is a PHENOMENAL biography / history. It almost reads like a business thriller, but it's real. Strong recommend.
And I have an announcement I'm really excited about: I'll be giving a big guest lecture in the next cohort of Building a Second Brain! If you haven't heard me talk about BASB before, it is by far the best online course I've ever taken, and I still use lessons from it daily three years later. The course primarily focuses on Evernote, but I'll be giving a long talk on applying the concepts in Roam. If you enjoy this newsletter, BASB is a big part of what inspired me to make it into what it is today.
The World of Sponsorship
🍪 This week's Medley is brought to you by Perfect Keto... and I'm super excited to get to help announce their newest product, Keto Cookies! I got a couple early sample boxes of their cookies a couple weeks ago, and I think it's their best product yet. They're delicious, chewy, and quite literally guilt free considering how clean their ingredients are. I've been having a sleeve of two most evenings after dinner when I want a dessert. They're giving y'all free shipping and 15% off if you want to get a box, or 20% off 2 boxes or 30% off 3 boxes. Just use this link to get them.
The World of Black Swan Charts
😨 The unemployment claims from last week almost don't register on charts for unemployment over time. We've never seen a spike quite like this:
I'll be very curious to see what that chart looks like for the next few months.
🤸♂️ Speaking of brutal charts, this one shows the decrease in ClassPass bookings over the last month as COVID-19 has spread (source):
It's really rough seeing a company that so many people love using get hit this hard.
The World of Advertising
🤔 I've heard a lot of good arguments against the frustrating ethics of having to bid for your brand terms on Google Ads, but Allen Walton shared a great stat that reframed it:
⚡️ And speaking of ads, the Tesla Model Y is finally shipping and their release video looks beautiful. I can't wait to see one in the wild... once we can go out in the wild again.
The World of Food
👨🌾 As you're buying groceries, remember that many smaller local places are still stocking food too, and typically have much shorter lines and better inventory than the big guys. They're also at much more risk of going under than CostCo, Whole Foods, etc. We've been getting all of our fresh food from a couple local butcher shops instead of normal grocery stores. Now, more than other, how you spend your money will determine what businesses are still here in a few months time.
👩🍳 On that note, one of my ~3 absolute favorite restaurants in Austin is doing remote cooking classes! This is such a fun idea: you pick items on their menu you want to learn to cook, they send you the ingredients list (or you can pick it up from them if you live in Austin), then they do a video call with you to teach you how to make it. Again, I love seeing how creative places are getting with new revenue streams.
🧂 And last week I mentioned making a "COVID Cocktail" with turmeric, ginger, ACV, lemon, and sparkling water. Medley reader Robertas pointed out that Curcumin is poorly absorbed without being properly paired, typically with Piperine (black pepper) or lipids. Good to know!
The World of Productivity
🦸♀️ After much delay, I finally signed up to try out Superhuman. It really is pretty great. Big things that stand out are the Quick Action bar for when you don't know a hotkey, snippets, and the really easy unsubscribe link.
👩💻 For everyone new to working at home, my friend Cat at Best Self put on a virtual "how to work from home" summit collecting tips and interviews from a bunch of really productive people who've been working at home for a while. So if you feel like you're output has gone down a lot since being stuck at home, definitely check it out!
The World of Just For Fun
🤹♀️ I love this About Me page by Josh Lee. We all have different selves, and capturing them in different tabs like this is a fun way to show those different sides of his personality.
🤷♂️ And this is a pretty crazy collection of charts asking the question: WTF happened in 1971? H/t to David Perell for sharing this.
End Note
As always, if you're enjoying the Medley, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. You can send them here to sign up. I try to make it one of the best emails you get each week, and I hope you're enjoying it.
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And should you come across anything interesting this week, send it my way! I love finding new things to read through members of this newsletter.
Have a great week,
Nat
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