How to be more insightful
And other advice from the internet
I promise this newsletter will not turn into life coaching.
HOWEVER, in today’s newsletter I wanted to share some advice I’ve come across lately that’s really stuck with me:
On Being More Insightful
On Keeping Herbs Fresher Longer
On Using AI-Generated Images in Marketing
On Not Taking Internet Gossip Personally
Take it or leave it!
ON BEING MORE INSIGHTFUL
As a strategy generalist by profession, I wonder why I feel like an idiot most of the time. This reason actually made sense:
Interview with Joe Weisenthal on Emily Sundberg’s Feed Me newsletter:
“If you’re in media (but also I think in many other keyboard jobs), there’s no substitute for knowing lots of facts in your head. Dates, places, times, names, numbers. Memorize them. Just do it. A consistent pattern I’ve learned from interviewing people over the years is that the smartest thinkers (as in people who have the most insightful things to say) also tend to be the most assiduous about knowing details. Part of our job in media is to draw analogies “This inflation is like the 1970s” or “This inflation isn’t like the 1970s”, but to actually have something to say on this question, not only did you have to know about the 1970s in the first place, but you actually need to know the guts of that inflation, to say something useful about similarities or dissimilarities.”
Next time you’re in a meeting or listening to a podcast, see who talks in generalities and see who uses specifics. Some of the sharpest online personalities are people who pull the most niche references (e.g. Hunter Harris has both an encyclopedic brain and laptop folder filled with Tree Paine and Club Chalamet tweets, comments, and take downs, along with dates and context that she can whip out at a moment’s notice).
ON USING AI-GENERATED IMAGES IN MARKETING
From Rachel Karten’s Link In Bio newsletter:
“Brands that use AI images or videos on social—whether perceivable or not—are making a statement to the consumer about craft.
…We’ll see a rise in what I am calling “proof of reality” posts—videos, images, and captions that clarify how specific creative was made.
…These “proof of reality” posts will be used by brands to signal to consumers that they care.”
While showcasing behind-the-scenes context isn’t new for product craftsmanship (think cars, fashion houses, Phantom Thread), it’s less common for marketing BTS to be consumer facing (nobody outside the ad industry cares about sizzle reels and case studio videos). This is a trend I can get behind!
Of course, you don’t have to completely avoid AI all together. After speaking to several experts, Rachel suggests using AI image generators to help brainstorm and create mock ups to speed along selling through an idea.
I’m also curious if we’ll continue to see the rise in imperfection as proof of reality or proof of human. Authenticity takes on a new meaning (hey, at least poseurs are real people). See if you can spot my mistake in the next photo… Maybe the lazy ones will finish last!
ON KEEPING YOUR HERBS FRESHER LONGER
From Sohla El-Waylly’s TikTok (watch here):
Treat them like flowers.
Cut the ends
Wash and spin dry
Put them in one container like a bouquet
Put a plastic bag over the top
Place in fridge
Should last for 2-4 weeks as long as you replace water every few days. Also never put basil in the fridge.
I don’t know about you but I am trying to make my plates look less beige.
ON NOT TAKING INTERNET GOSSIP PERSONALLY
“I literally have not met any [mother] who’s happy, anyone who has, like, light in their eyes.”
Chappell Roan went on Call Her Daddy and said some negative things about mothers and set the internet’s women ablaze. Great soundbites for Alex Cooper, though!
In a recent Maybe Baby essay titled “The gossip you’re not supposed to hear,” writer Haley Nahman offers her advice:
“An important part of coming out of my own neuroticism about being “perceived” as a mother has been recognizing how irrelevant this kind of internet-based discourse is to my life, and more importantly, how infrequently it’s borne out offline. The apparent relations between parents and non-parents on the internet is one of extreme tension, but outside my apartment, I’ve rarely experienced anything but kindness, or at the very worst, indifference, toward me as a parent.
…Of course some internet commentary is worthy of genuine exploration and debate, but far more of it is just gossip—the kind of blatantly biased hip-shooting we do among friends and retain the right to revoke when we grow up or figure out what’s actually been bugging us.
…It’s worth asking whether her comments deserve the attention they’re receiving, or if we wouldn’t be better off just going outside and seeing whether or not they ring true.”
I do believe there’s a bit of “if you look for it, you’ll find it” going on. And it’s not healthy to look for it. When there are real things to be mad at (like this, this, and this), why waste energy on someone else’s personal vent session?
In other news, we took the girls to Descanso Gardens this weekend to see the trains and tulips. Touched grass.
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Good luck to all the parents during Spring Break.
Nathalie