Iterate Weekly - Issue 16
Welcome to issue sweet 16 of the Iterate weekly newsletter!
Hope you’re all doing well. Let’s jump into it.
You’ll see that the content here is broken down into 4 categories.
Tech - This will be the main focus of the newsletter. I’m dedicated to helping people improve their relationships with technology.
Learning - I consider myself an autodidact and like to examine the concept of learning how to be a more productive learner.
Health - None of these other topics are important if you’re not healthy enough to enjoy them.
Grab Bag - This could be something personal, something silly, something fun that doesn’t quite fit the other categories.
Finally, we’ll wrap things up with a quote of the week and a piece of content that I recommend you check out.
Tech
Are VR work environments the future?
Where and how we work have changed more in the last two years than at any other time in our history. But how do you feel about VR workspaces?
What do I mean? For instance, I recently started using Virtual Desktop on my Oculus Quest 2. It essentially lets me remotely access all of the content on my computer through a connection to my VR headset. Why would I want to do this? Well, for starters, it feels futuristic. I absolutely feel like Tony Stark as I swipe across mid-air to get rid of virtual windows that only I can see.
But is this more productive than just working on my computer screen? Probably not at the moment. This technology is fun and becoming more mainstream, but it’s still only being used by the nerdiest of nerds. Where things get even more interesting is when companies consider creating these virtual office spaces for remote employees.
Spatial has raised over $14Million in an effort to build out digital workspaces that give more reality to the standard Zoom tiled meeting spaces. Is this a good thing? I’m not so sure. I can get behind the idea of wearing your computer on your face to have more digital screen real estate. But (pandemic safety aside) is sitting in a virtual conference room with co-workers any better than sitting in a real conference room? Will it be more efficient than just a standard Zoom call?
Learning
My top 5 CreativeLive course recommendations
This section is a shoutout to a former employer of mine. CreativeLive.
I spent nearly five years hosting, producing, brainstorming, overseeing, and simply creating quality educational content for the company. Recently I’ve been looking back on my time there and reminiscing about some of the classes I’m most proud to have worked on and/or classes that taught me the most. Here are 5 of my favorites that I suggest you check out.
Designing Your Life - I was the host and producer on this one. We took the most popular class at Stanford and turned it into an interactive live education experience.
How to Break the Habit of Self Doubt… - Mel Robbins just has an electric personality. There is a reason she was given a talk show soon after I worked with her on this course.
Stop Making Excuses - We used some cutting-edge (at the time) presentation technology here with Gary John Bishop. The visuals are cool, and he gives some tough love to help you overcome those perpetual excuses that get in your way.
Intro to VR - For this class, I lead a production crew into Berkeley’s Tilden Park to film a 360-degree VR short film that illustrated some of the techniques we were teaching up-and-coming filmmakers
Master Your People Skills - I can’t give enough praise to the work that Vanessa Van Edwards does. If you want to get better at reading body language or just be a less awkward human being, this class is perfect for you.
Health
The fake chicken wars!
I’ve been some form of vegetarian for the past twenty years. I’m not big on labeling it, but I understand that it helps give context. I was strictly vegan for about seven years. These days I’d consider myself a “primarily plant-based pescatarian” if I really had to name it. Which really just means lots of vegetables, some dairy, some fish. No need to overcomplicate things.
But, I provide this background to lend some credibility to a recent Fast Company story on the current state of fake chicken (side note, I’ve always hated the term “fake meat”, it’s an actual product that provides real nutrients, there are no fake calories) I’ve tried nearly all types of meat analogs/imitation meat/whatever you want to call them. I’m excited for more options to flood the market, but I’m also nervous about them becoming even more processed, and even less healthy.
Projections say that meatless chicken products will be a $1billion industry by the year 2027. That may sound insane, but I’ve been watching this trend pick up steam for over two decades. The Fast Company story mainly focuses on Beyond Meat. Their partnership with KFC will have some vegan chicken tenders coming to a fast food joint near you soon enough. I’ve become a pretty big fan of their burgers and sausages so I imagine the chicken will also be a hit.
But as someone who has been trying all types of fake meats for so long, I consider my standards low but my experience high.
Any meat eaters out there who are looking forward to more (supposedly healthier) options when it comes to fake (I really can’t come up with a better word to describe them!) meat?
Grab Bag
Do you really want to go back to the movies?
This is just going to be some personal commentary from me on the state of the movie industry. So bare with me.
I think movies need to continue to be released to streaming platforms on the same day they enter the theatres. The mystique is over. The toothpaste cannot be squeezed back into the tube. Our screens at home are nearly as large as the cinema screens. Even if there isn’t a pandemic going on, I don’t want to watch something on a screen with that many strangers. Yes, I’m still willing to do that for live-action things like sporting events or plays/musicals/concerts. But if I’m just watching a screen, I can do that in familial solitude. The comfort of my living room sofa or reclining zero-gravity chairs while staring at my backyard projector screen is just fine thank you.
Maybe this rant was induced by seeing the weekend box office numbers ($31.6 Million) for “Space Jam: A New Legacy”. I understand the nostalgia behind this movie. And I was eager to check it out at home on HBOMax. But even for someone who loved the original film as a kid, this movie was surprisingly bad. I could take solace in the fact that I watched it on my couch with no additional costs beyond my HBOMax subscription. But how did so many people go to see this in a theatre?!?!
Granted, I have a young child who is not old enough to sit through a movie. So my pre-pandemic theatre trips were already rare, and I have no desire to go back to the sticky floors and overpriced snacks even if I was childless.
Am I missing something? Does anyone want to wax poetically about the magic of the cinema in the comments below?
Quote of the Week
“Storms make trees take deeper roots” - Dolly Parton
Content Recommendation
Summer of Soul (…Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
This weekend my wife and I watched “Summer of Soul (…Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
The film is a documentary that showcases never before seen footage from the Harlem Cultural Festival that took place in 1969. Some referred to it as “The Black Woodstock” as it took place in the same summer and had tremendous cultural significance. Or at least it would have if the footage of the performances wasn’t locked in a basement for fifty years.
The story here is fascinating. The musical performances are captivating. I was thoroughly entertained and engaged for nearly the whole film. Some of the performances could have maybe been trimmed down a bit, but it’s a minor nitpick. Music fans or just fans of the time period (consider me to be both) will really love this film.