Becoming a parent is difficult to talk and write about, not because the words are hard to find (though they are), but because when you find them, they feel too intimate to share. The smells and sounds and stirrings of the heart are individual and holy. There’s a sense in which the universal experience is yours alone when the opposite is actually true. You hesitate to say anything at all, as if staying quiet better preserves the miracle.
Month: March 2014
If you me and Brendan [Lewis] all go to Google Maps and search for dinner or food, we’re all going to get the same results. That’s insane. It should be different based upon who you are, what you’ve done, your relationship to the place and what you were doing yesterday and what you’re supposed to be doing 3 hours from now.
Ellie — St. John, USVI.
One of my favorite things about shooting film is the delayed gratification part. This photograph of my daughter was taken last month but I only saw it for the first time yesterday when the scans came back. Made me think about our vacation all over again.
Tumblr and its culture of positivity
I was recently at a tech conference and there were a number of interesting speakers.
One of my favorite sessions was hearing Marissa Mayer, CEO at Yahoo talk about her challenges and progress at Yahoo. It was fascinating and I left with even more respect for her than I had previously.
At one point the host asked Marissa about the Tumblr acquisition. In her response, Marissa made a point to highlight the positive nature of Tumblr the product and Tumblr the company.
The product is positive and not by accident. It is a result of a lot of hard work and a commitment to keeping it that way. Your follower count isn’t public, Tumblr ask questions start out as private, the private messaging system is called Fan Mail, commenting is turned off by default along with a whole host of details that you don’t see. (eg their terms of service is written in plain speak along with humor). They treat their users with respect.
And the product is positive because that is how the company behaves internally and externally. With respect and positivity.
Tumblr shows us that you can build a place that is both anonymous and positive. That combination is much harder than it looks.
I’m so happy that Marissa pointed that out. It is a testimony to David and the team that work there every day.
The other day someone asked me if I regret supporting the sale of Tumblr to Yahoo last year. Time will tell if that was a smart decision or not, but I can tell you with certainty I miss being part of that special company.
Not sure we will see another one like it.
The antidote I’ve found for this is to write for only two people. First, write for yourself, both your present self whose thinking will be clarified by distilling an idea through writing and editing, and your future self who will be able to look back on these words and be reminded of the context in which they were written.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming — December 2013.