Will we remember these lockdown days?

No festivals, no celebrations, no birthdays and no Goa plans.

I was scrolling through my phone gallery today and was thinking will we remember these lockdown months if we are not having any ‘conventional memories’ created like birthday party with friends or travel plans or going to music concerts? What will Google Photos or Facebook memories remind us in future?

I saw my calendar for the last 3-4 months and all that it has is zoom calls or phone calls or digital events but will this become a positive nostalgia for the future or will we just remove these memories from our lives when we are in 2030?

I am sorry if talking about past or future is a little overwhelming, this is all because I am watching the series DARK on Netflix. Thanks to Rohang Mishal who replied to the newsletter post ‘Alexa, pause everything for this week’ and recommended me to watch this.

Also thanks to Anurag Sirse and Shubhangi Singh who have answered all my doubts about the series spoiler free throughout these last few days. I am just left with the last episode of the entire series and I have no idea what will I watch next, please don’t say ‘Indian Matchmaking’

DARK is mind blowing, especially if you are interested in geeky concepts like Schrodinger’s Cat and Bootstrap Paradox.

What I have been reading this week?

1. To everyone who has always asked me how did we start Platform For Artists, here is the entire journey in the form of a blog written by Kshitija Sarda

2. How to handle negative reviews and feedback with grace? Twisha Maniar shared this with me on Instagram, read here

3. What if our personal data didn’t stay personal? Read here, Shubhangi Singh shared this article to me.

4. Another angle on the above blog can be found here in this interview of Edward Snowden where he explains how to reclaim your privacy.

5. Innovate, not Copy-Paste by Ronnie Screwvala. Read here

   

6. How do you feel about targeted ads? I am so annoyed by some disgusting ads popping up on my screen when I don’t even search keywords related to those ads. It is just because I am a male in the age 25-30 so they show me ads by Jeevansathi matrimony or fertility clinics, WTF. Check out this video

7. Twitter was hacked a few days back and accounts of Apple, Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Jef Bezos started posting cryptocurrency related tweets. Read the conversations between the hackers on this thrilling article by NY Times.

8. Another interesting piece on the Twitter hack news was this, Was Twitter better without Verified accounts tweeting? What do you think how will the social media platforms look if nobody was trying to manipulate or sell their products or services on social media and just be there for the sake of communicating? How would Instagram look without ‘Instagram Influencers’?

9. Why big tech firms like Google and Facebook are more competent than US Government? I don’t know if this is funny or disturbing to know how stupid a country’s government can be and this time we are not talking about India. Read here (A relevant image I found on Twitter about something similar)

   

10. “Competition is for losers”, this one is by Utkarsh Amitabh who is the Founder of Network Capital and someone I admire as a community builder. Read here why extraordinary people create their category of one?

11. I was talking to a friend about switching jobs during COVID-19, here is a good read if you are planning to switch jobs during the pandemic.

    

12. Take soothing peaks from windows around the world if you are bored with your room view, check here

13. If you are Founder or Director or Leader of an organisation or a community etc, here is something that you might resonate with. Sometimes I feel like openly tell people how difficult it is to survive because of this pandemic especially when you are in a business which is dependent on the offline events or experiences, but I think everyone is already having their troubles so don’t want to burden them with what is in my mind, that is why I speak only to Bruce Wayne about this.

14. Why you should ignore all that coronavirus productivity pressure? Read here

15. Google is offering free courses with certification on multiple topics, if you are a student you should definitely checkout Grow with Google

What I was listening to this week?

1. I am listening to the book Trust Me, I’m lying on Audible and I think it is going to be difficult for me to go back to ‘reading’ books

2. How can artists adapt a subscription based business model? Our show might not be on Spotify Top Charts like Sex Stories Podcast, but I take immense pride in creating valuable piece of content to India’s creative ecosystem. You can listen to it here or on Spotify/ Google Podcast/ Apple Podcast or on YouTube.

3. Trust Nobody on full volume when I just want a little energy.

What did I watch this week?

1. How to manipulate someone without being evil? I absolutely love how people are so creative with their blog or video titles. Watch here

2. Brand building on social media by Uber’s Social Media Head Nikhil Kant, watch here

There is so much free knowledge available on the internet and sometimes I feel sad that how I am not making the most of these free resources. Sharing some useless gyaan below instead of memes this Sunday.

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Take care you all.

Tumhara Bhai

Bhai Bhai