Media Bag, November

I don’t usually watch shows outside of Survivor or the occasional cooking show like “The Great British Bake-off", but after my friend Patrick recommended it I had to as he’s the go-to film buff, keeping his own records of what he watches with ratings next to them. And being that it was British TV, I actually assumed it would be pretty great, British TV doesn't get the credit they deserve.

So The Bodyguard is a thriller, twisting and turning like you’re in a toboggan racing downhill and it’s really fun but you don’t know if you’re going to get smashed to pieces at the end. Which you sort of are, but not the way you’d expect. And it’s about the tough topics, PTSD, and terrorism, race relations, and relationships, corruption...

"The Bodyguard" on Netflix
https://www.netflix.com/title/80235864

I hadn't heard of her until I saw this video (https://hypebae.com/2018/11/billie-eilish-reflects-on-the-past-year-of-her-rise-to-fame-career-and-style) get passed around (I think from Jake Udell?) and I realize I didn’t know half the people she mentioned. But I started with "When the Party's Over," and found I really enjoyed "Bellyache" and "Wait till you see me in a Crown". Billie is only 16, but her lyrics and attitude are SO REAL. It feels like she’s leading some type of movement, not quite punk, not quite a skater, part nerd culture but also with talent. Which is what many feel like... they don’t quite fit in anywhere! Currently on repeat.

Billie Eilish, Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qqNVTkY8uBg9cP3Jd7DAH?si=CKSf7dVrRMSADvaiZndzxg

I watched the Zuckerberg hearings, and have had a hard time with Facebook since 2012, even though Instagram stuck with me, at least for a while. But after hearing Jack Dorsey speak on the subject of Social media and its downsides, and now Eric Schmidt, what you realize is that the problems that social media creates are incredibly complex and that Zuckerberg appears unable to fully grasp them. Even though Eric Schmidt is no longer googles CEO I found his perspective fascinating. I felt almost relieved to have people like Eric thinking about these big ideas. Zuckerberg seems stuck in a tunnel he can’t see outside of and it is warped...

Oh, and you realize that things don't happen by chance. Eric paid his dues, and was early to the world of the greats, like interning at Xerox park. Plus, his systematic thinking paired with Tyler's line of questioning is fascinating...

Eric Schmidt on Tyler Cowen's podcast
https://medium.com/conversations-with-tyler/eric-schmidt-tyler-cowen-google-ec33aa3e6dae

I know I know, another writing app. But this one blocks everything else out, so as I’m traveling 15 hours on a flight soon it seems appealing. And I appreciate the blank canvas and the sounds options you have for a “click” noise to hear the keys as you type. Sorta makes you think you’re writing on an old typewriter, with more connection from your thoughts to being ink on a page rather than this digital haptic iPhone keyboard.

Omniwriter App
https://ommwriter.com/

Is Vine coming back? Why did it die, because it sold to Twitter? And how did a 6-second constraint build such a huge community? Then again the whole platform became one giant meme. I guess it starts as a useful constraint and then suddenly it’s all sameness. Which is why Instagram continues to adapt, and how twitter added 140 more characters to 280.

And the silent sleeper is YouTube as a Social Network! Google failed at G+, and maybe they’re forever doomed in the social world, and maybe that’s for the better. But now you can share videos with a friend internally within YouTube like you can with Instagram posts, and this is where the eyeballs are...

Anyways, the founder of Vine has a new app launching soon, if you want to see what it’s about here’s the landing page. I'm somewhat skeptical.

Byte App, coming soon
https://byte.co/

Xx David

P.S. have you seen Islands making the rounds? Probably not, as it’s only on college campuses. Islands is Slack, but for your friends, and for fun chat, not getting work done. It’s restricted to colleges, let’s see if it crosses over....

Islands App
https://mashable.com/2017/08/30/islands-college-campus-messaging-app/#GaLGDxQ9faqs