S01E01: The Pilot

In my distant past, I was a programmer (before it was cool), creating games at the dawn of the mobile age, squeezing them into tiny screens and making them playable on crude push-button keypads at a futuristic Nokia R&D facility. From my first day in that future-lab, I realized that human existence was about to be irreversibly altered by mobile technology.

In 2012, I joined SoundCloud as a mobile growth marketer. SoundCloud was a new kind of audio platform that put creators - not record labels - in the driving seat, democratizing music distribution.

In 2016, I co-founded Phiture, a trailblazing mobile-first growth agency (before it was cool) that enables brands to leverage data and technology to reach, engage and deliver value to their customers.

This newsletter is simultaneously about none of these things and everything about them: it’s an attempt to document the current disruptive new phase of the evolution of the digital age.

This ‘season’ will consist of 6 monthly episodes. Each episode will present a highly-curated selection of articles and resources that collectively constitute a timely documentation of our collective free-fall into a brave new digital world.

What can you expect from this newsletter each month?

• A short diatribe from myself (or perhaps an esteemed guest writer that I’m able to inveigle, bribe or cajole into contributing)

• Dystopia

• Hope

• Technological wonder and folly

• Literary quotes

• A curated, short list of links to articles and resources that I consider relevant, interesting or important to the pioneers navigating this Brave New Digital World

• At best: Inspiration

• Occasionally: Despair

• Possibly: Art or creative work that epitomizes the episode

What you should not expect:

• Paid-placement or promotional bullshit (including promoting my business)

• Overt coherence

• Raking over the past

• All the answers (or any of them, for that matter)

S01E01’s Brave New Reading List:

*Fictional Terminology Guide:  Dystopian Potential Index (DPI)

In our rapidly evolving world, where technological and socio-political advancements emerge at an unprecedented rate, there arises a need to gauge the long-term implications of these shifts. The Dystopian Potential Index (DPI) serves as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the likelihood that a particular development or trend might steer our society towards a dystopian future. DPI is not merely about technological advancements but encompasses a broader range of factors including cultural shifts, political decisions, and economic strategies. By assessing variables such as ethical implications, power dynamics, and public sentiment, the DPI offers a comprehensive measure, helping stakeholders make informed decisions and navigate potential pitfalls in shaping a future that aligns with our collective aspirations.