Getting experimental with how I use my newsletter. Here are three recent stories I read and loved, along summaries (written by moi and not some gahdamn chatbot).

Would love to hear what you think.

—Nick


​"I was forced to use AI until the day I was laid off." Copywriters reveal how AI has decimated their industry.(Brian Merchant / Blood In The Machine)

The former technology columnist of the Los Angeles Times is now independent on Substack, and has been doing a series this year called "AI killed my job." This most recent edition focused on copywriting, and included testimonies from several writers now out of work.

This one gave me the feels. Prior to media, my full-time effort was B2B copywriting and strategic consulting. I've watched a lot of peers' livelihoods dry right up the last couple years. I liked how this dispatch centered on the human impact of market evolution.

Inside the Dark and Predatory World of Crypto Casinos.​ (Neil Bedi, Aric Toler and Jenny Vrentas / The New York Times) (friend link)

People ask why crypto is so popular, and I think it's because they're not aware of feeder influences like online gambling. The lack of regulation is the point, really.

Crypto can sell the aspirational idea that it will replace currency as a way to inflate its market price. But crypto companies don't really need to rely on this. They rely instead on converting users' money to cryptocurrency, which then releases them from various regulatory constraints. Crypto has generally emboldened scammers and bad actors.

These digital casinos swirl in aggressive affiliate marketing, online gambling, and manosphere vibes to create one hell of a financial cocktail. It's shaping money psychology for a whole new generation, whether they realize it or not.

I feel for young men, I really do. All their media and leisure outlets lead back to this grift. Where's their Heated Rivalry equivalent?

Working on a think piece here, but wanted you to have this source material ASAP.


​Is Social Media More Like Cigarettes or Junk Food?(Cal Newport / The New Yorker)

More Cal Newport for y'all since Sunday's newsletter got a bunch of responses.

Here, Newport weighs the pros and cons of bans versus warning labels for social media. Topical with Australia's recent ban going into effect.

An additional vector I'll toss in here is that, for young queer people, social media has been a net positive. Social media helps isolated queer people seek out and find community and a sense of belonging that they may not be able to access otherwise.

​Here's one citation from my book​, a meta-analysis of 26 studies, that supports these claims.

Social media bans for young people may have other benefits, but they likely choke off a support system for queer teenagers, and other forms of regulation (like not firing the safety teams) should also be explored.

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Whatcha reading lately? Reply to this email or in the vote box below. :)