Iterate Weekly - Issue 153
In this week's flashback issue, we're taking a look back at some of the highlights from tech, work, and culture from March 2022!
Welcome to issue 153 of Iterate Weekly.
Hello everyone! You’re in for a special treat this week. Yours truly has been mostly off-the-grid recently dedicating all my time to renovations on my new office/studio.
I originally posted about my new potential setup here back at the beginning of the year. And I shared a quick update post on the work last week if you missed it. The long and short of it is that it’s been a bigger project than I anticipated, but has been really fulfilling thus far.
So, in lieu of a new weekly rundown this week, let’s take a hop into the time machine and revisit what I was writing about at this time two years ago!
These experiments are fun for two reasons. On one hand, it’s a way to cut myself some slack when life gets in the way of new writing. But it’s also super fascinating to see which stories still feel relevant a year or two later, and which ones were clearly flashes in the proverbial pan at the time.
So as you’re reading (or re-reading) the stories below from March 2022, look for clues on trends that developed and those that didn’t.
For example, generative art was a relatively new concept in 2022 that has become part of many people’s daily workflow just two years later. And the story on Google’s approach to hybrid work is relevant in the wake of many tech layoffs and return to office trends.
Ok, that’s enough rambling from me. Enjoy the flashback issue and we’ll resume regularly scheduled programming next week.
Thanks for reading!
🤖 Tech
Cala Lets Anyone Create a Fashion Line
It seems like nearly everyone on the internet is selling their own merch these days. A majority of the creators that I work with sell t-shirts or hoodies with their logo on them. But e-commerce app Cala is looking to take things a step further. They’re making it relatively easy for anyone to create a full-blown fashion line using their app.
The app considers itself to be “an operating system” for fashion. I typically hate the lazy analogy of “an OS for x” but it seems like they’re actually delivering on their promise. The new version of their app aims to streamline the process of product design and supply chain management.
Cala has been around since 2016 and is gaining traction as a fashion solution within the creator economy. It’s essentially a tool that actually gives some creative freedom to a novice clothing designer. You don’t need to be limited by just placing a logo on the center of a t-shirt. Creators can map out exactly how they envision their products in their heads. And with the new version of the app, they can better wrap their heads around the logistics of materials and inventory.
My hope is that we see more cohesive merch lines in the future. A great example that I’ve seen recently is Tsuki from Felix and Marzia Kjellberg (yes of PewDiePie fame). No, the style isn’t really for me, but I admire the consideration put into it. Not everyone with a website will (or should) become a fashion mogul. But there may be some budding fashionistas out there who have never had the resources to take action until now.
🎓 Education/Art
Generative Art
Generative art is defined as:
Art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an artwork that would otherwise require decisions made directly by the artist. In some cases the human creator may claim that the generative system represents their own artistic idea, and in others that the system takes on the role of the creator.
That definition is a lot to unpack. Essentially, we’re talking about artistic expression that follows some sort of autonomous process. The initial creator gives up full control and “trusts the process”.
This concept is finding a whole new meaning in the modern world of web3 and NFTs.
For a piece of art to meet the criteria of an NFT, it needs to be non-fungible. As in, a unique, not 100% replicable entity. Well, what if you were to piece together 10,000 NFTs into a cohesive graphic novel? That’s what the authors of “The Electrician” are hoping to do.
The Electrician is a series of NFTs linked together to create a graphic novel. When all is said and done, it will be a graphic novel set in a not-too-distant dystopian Los Angeles, it will be completely funded and generated by the same people who purchase the NFTs composing it.
It’s hard to say what the quality of the project will be but it does have some pretty big names backing it. The team of creators has worked on projects like Avatar, Transformers, and The Mandalorian. Of course, that’s no guarantee that those who create the NFTs have any idea what they’re doing.
The artwork definitely gives off a “Grand Theft Auto” vibe. And the story follows the adventures of (wait for it…) an Electrician around LA. It’s a pretty open-ended premise that could go in all sorts of directions. It’s not likely to win any literary awards, but this project could be breaking some serious ground. This could be a blueprint for a new type of generative art in the future. The NFTs themselves could end up being worth a fortune if they’re the precursor to a new process of interactive novel writing.
♻️ Health & Environment
Google’s Take on Hybrid Work
This week marks the 2-year anniversary of the last time I worked in an office. Many knowledge workers are celebrating the same milestone this month.
Personally, I can’t really picture myself going back to a full-time position that requires being in the same office every day. There are just too many benefits that remote work provides me. A lack of a commute, more control over my work hours and environment, and general flexibility and comfort throughout the day are really important to me. And I assume they’ve become important to many employees at Google as well.
This week, Google announced that they expect most Bay Area employees to return to the Mountain View office for at least 3 days per week. This may seem like a decent compromise for most people. But perhaps the more interesting announcement is that Google will be implementing a more “hybrid” approach with “work from anywhere” weeks planned on the calendar.
It’s also been reported that some Google employees are applying to become fully remote employees who never have to return to their previous physical offices. There is no word on how many of these applications have been processed, but they’re saying that 85% of them have been approved.
It’s an interesting approach to hybrid work. It seems like many companies have either declared that employees can remain remote indefinitely, picked a random day on the calendar when everyone must be back in the offices they once were, or kinda just said nothing and played it by ear (as my company has).
I give credit to Google for making a declaration but also allowing a lot of flexibility for employees to find the setup that works best for them. Even just allowing employees to work remotely two days per week will have a big impact on carbon emissions caused by the commute.
🛍 Grab Bag
Women That Rock
It’s Women’s History Month and I want to give a shoutout to an amazing organization called Women That Rock.
They’ll be curating a few shows this month around the country, including a set at the Paste Magazine SXSW Showcase in Austin.
If you’re attending SXSW, go check them out. If you’re just listening to music this month, open up your musical tastes and listen to some new female-led bands.
💬 Quote of the Week
“Good drawing is not copying the surface. It has to do with understanding and expression”
— Richard Williams
🎥Content Recommendation
King Richard
My quest to watch all of the Academy Award nominees continues! This week it was the fantastic King Richard.
Will Smith is amazing in the title role of Tennis Parent, Richard Willams. I’d say it’s his best performance in years, and should absolutely have him in the short discussion for best actor.
Venus and Serena Willams have an incredible story. I thought I was pretty familiar with their careers, but I learned a ton in this movie. I’m sure there were some embellishments along the way, but it seems to paint a pretty accurate picture. You can’t help but admire his drive for his daughters to achieve their full potential. As both a sports fan and a dad, I was entertained from start to finish.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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