Subscribe to the Act of Discovery

Like many people who blog and podcast, I have been interested in writing a newsletter. Over the years I have tried out a few formats and platforms, but they were either sprawling and difficult to write or obtuse to the point of incomprehensible. I signed up for Revue, thinking it would be a good idea for me to revisit the idea.

But what to write about? On my podcast and blog, I often discuss the Act of Discovery. Not the legal term, which I am sure will confuse potential subscribers in the legal profession, but the moment when you find something new unexpectedly.

This used to be so easy. You would browse a physical space or interact with a stranger and you never knew what you would find or learn. The internet is still a goldmine for discovery, but I have found that while still filled with interesting great stuff. It has actually been more difficult to engage in random acts of discovery. This is due to algorithms that serve up exactly what you want and communities that all speak with the same voice.

This was something I was reminded of recently by Ernie Smith in a recent Midrange Newsletter, A Culture of Overstimulation, and it got me thinking.

Almost every day, while researching retro topics for the Retroist, I get derailed on a tangent that I find very entertaining, but I am not sure what to do with it.

Well, now I do.

I am going to share some of these tangents on a new email newsletter called The Act of Discovery.

Just by subscribing, you will be engaging in the act by getting something unexpected served up to you. I hope you enjoy it and that it sets you off to make some random discoveries of your own.

To get the Act of Discovery in your Inbox, please sign up here.