Thursday Thoughts - 02/02/2023
In this short newsletter, I share the most interesting things that I’ve read, heard, and/or watched over the past week.
If you are reading this through email, you might have noticed that today’s Thoughts looks a bit different. That’s because I switched from SendFox to ButtonDown as my email service provider. Don’t worry, this doesn’t affect you as a subscriber.
The website also got a refresh. I didn’t like that everything, essays and newsletters were all in one place. It looked messy. So I created separate sections for Thursday Thoughts and Leon’s List. Navigation items and RSS feeds were also updated to match the new layout.
What I am Trying:
ButtonDown Email
As mentioned above, I am testing out ButtonDown as my email service provider. I switched because ButtonDown has RSS automation. It’ll automatically grab new posts from the website and send it to my subscribers.
My current newsletter service, SendFox, does not have this function. My current workflow involves copying and pasting my completed posts into SendFox, fixing the layout, and scheduling the email. RSS automation eliminates this, which saves me time and effort.
ButtonDown isn’t the only email provider to have RSS automation. However, it’s the one of the few to offer it for free. Their Basic tier serves up to 1000 subscribers for $9/month. This seems to be one of the best priced email service providers. One downside is that ButtonDown does not offer automated email sequences like ConvertKit or SendFox.
What I Played:
Modern Art Board Game
In Modern Art, players act as curators of their own museums. The objective of the game is have the most money at the end of the game. To accomplish this goal, curators buy and sell artwork from various artists. At the end of a round, the bank buys the art pieces collected by the museums. To mimic the real world, paintings by the hottest artist are worth more than others.
I played this game with friends over Christmas. We bought into the narrative and started providing descriptions of the artwork and artists. The game theory behind Modern Art is fascinating. Do you push the work of an established artist looking to fetch a high price? Or support a new face because you have a backlog of their collection?
What I Heard:
The Tim Ferriss Show: James Clear, Atomic Habits (#648)
James Clear is the author of the 3-2-1 newsletter and the NYT best selling book, Atomic Habits. In this interview with Tim Ferriss, they discuss reflection questions, building and breaking habits, growing email lists, and writing a best seller.
One of my main takeaways was the importance of good questions. Both Clear and Ferriss use questions to help clarify goals and reflect on events. Another insight was how much marketing plays into creative efforts. As Clear says, marketing is part of being thoughtful about the product. It’s thinking about how to get it in front of the people who will benefit the most from it.
What I’m Pondering:
“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt