Iterate Weekly - Issue 85
This week we're learning about Mastodon, Elon Musk kills remote work, an e-bike hearse, Coding by Voice with Github, and The White Lotus Season 2!
Welcome to issue 85 of Iterate Weekly!
Just a reminder that you can always reply to this email or leave a comment on the web version. I read all of them, and I appreciate the feedback, questions, and insights from all of you.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Can Mastodon Become the New(Better) Twitter?
It’s no secret that people are abandoning Twitter at an alarming rate recently. In some ways, Twitter has just run its course as a social media platform. But its demise has seemed to accelerate since the Elon Musk takeover.
Personally, it’s been a few years since I was a regular user of Twitter. I do remember the “good ol’ days” when it felt like only my truly nerdy friends used the platform. There was also a sense of pride living in San Francisco and seeing this tiny company takeoff. When it opened its Mid-Market office it promised to change the neighborhood forever. Its days as a tiny company are long over, and even many die-hard Twitter users have begun searching for an alternative.
Mastodon may just be the alternative platform that people are looking for. If you’re not familiar with the service, TechCrunch put together a nice primer that gives you everything you need to know.
Think of Mastodon as an open-source child of Twitter and Discord. There are no algorithms to govern what information rises to the top. There are no advertisers allowed. And the entire system is run on a decentralized network of servers.
It’s still early days for Mastodon, but its numbers have been on a steady rise over the last month. It could be just another flash in the pan social media platform, but in my short time using it, it seems like a it could have some staying power.
Anyone else out there already using Mastodon? Any other Twitter alternatives that you’re flocking toward?
🎓 Education/Work/Productivity
Musk Orders Twitter Employees Back to the Office
In keeping with our Twitter theme today, I was really surprised to hear about the new remote work arrangements instituted by Elon Musk recently.
Musk is essentially banning remote work and is requiring Twitter employees to spend “at least” 40 hours per week in the office.
After laying off nearly half of Twitter’s employees, these seems like a fairly radical next step. It’s important to note that this policy was to go into effect immediately. This means that employees won’t have any adjustment period about getting back into the office. There is also no doubt that over the last 2+ years many employees may have moved a bit further from that Mid-Market San Francisco office that I mentioned earlier. Just snapping your fingers and expecting everyone back in the office tomorrow seems like a fool’s errand that hasn’t worked for other companies trying to get employees back to in-person work.
It seems like Elon is pitching this as a necessary step in the efforts to turn around Twitter’s fortunes. Apparently, in this same email where announced the new policy, he promised that there would be “difficult times ahead” for the company. I’m not sure that forcing everyone to come into the office for “at least” 40 hours per week is going to make people work harder or smarter. But it’s worth a shot?
No word yet on how many employees will adhere to this mandate but I’m sure it will cause some backlash. Hey, it will certainly be a boon for all of those shops and restaurants that have been semi-shuttered in the vicinity of the Twitter office.
♻️ Health & Environment
e-Bike Hearse
At last, we finally have a more eco-friendly way to transport our final remains!
The service is called 'Corbicyclette,' which is French for a bicycle hearse. And it’s actually a brilliant concept. It’s basically a super cargo e-bike that is two meters long and equipped with electric assistance, allowing it to navigate difficult terrain while transporting a standard size coffin.
Apparently there are a few similar “Corbicyles” operating in Denmark and The United States as well. I can definitely see services like this taking off as environmentally-conscious mourners and the deceased opt for ways to say goodbye with a smaller carbon footprint.
Anyone adding Corbicycle requests to their will?
🛍 Grab Bag
Code by Voice with GitHub
This one is near and dear to my heart as my wife is an employee at Github where they’ve launched a new feature that allows developers to write code using their voice.
Think of it like Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri, expect you can use it to write code and built build robust programs. The service is still in an experimental phase but it can be found in Github’s CoPilot AI tool that costs $10 per month.
Obviously there are time-saving benefits when you can code without the need for a keyboard. But where this really shines is in the world of accessibility. Saying “Hey Github” to transcribe your commands could open up this type of coding to those who are unable to physically engage in traditional keyboard coding.
I’m always impressed with the ways we can use our voice to enhance our technology. Kudos to Github for bringing this feature to life and I’m sure it will only improve with time.
💬 Quote of the Week
"A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic."
-Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
📺 Content Recommendation
The White Lotus - Season 2
Way back in Issue 17 I originally recommended checking out Season 1 of the HBO show “The White Lotus”.
It seems like just yesterday doesn’t it? But I’m back this week to recommend the new season currently airing on HBO and HBO Max. New episodes launch every Sunday night.
While it is a continuation of the theme of Season 1, Season 2 has a whole new cast and location. Ok, Jennifer Coolidge is back but the rest of the cast is new and now they’re staying at a new White Lotus resort in Sicily.
So far this season seems even more sexy and scandalous. But like last season, we know from the first scene that someone will be found dead at the resort in one week’s time. Then we just get to sit back and watch the action as we make our best guesses about which character may be enjoying their final vacation.
It’s funny, it’s smart, it’ll have you transfixed. And if you ignored my recommendation of Season 1, you can start there and catch up.
Hey! I’m testing out some polling tools. Keep your eyes on this section and please help me get some feedback by taking a second to choose an answer in my poll. Thank you!
POLL
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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Thanks for the info on a variety of interesting topics. I couldn't vote in the poll, since it's for subscribers only, but I was most interested in the Mastodon story, since I'm considering leaving Twitter and had heard Mastodon could be a good alternative.