The Learning Curve - AI’s Optimistic Future, Threads Update & Peaceful Content
A positive perspective on AI, unrushed update on Threads, & a supply of peaceful content for your feed
read time: 6 mins
Hi. Here we are. The first issue of The Learning Curve. In a world that glorifies overnight success and instant gratification, this newsletter aims to provide a slow-paced space for meaningful exploration and learning.
With each bi-weekly email (pretty slow-paced in this world), we’ll delve into the worlds of creative minds and transformative technologies that are making a positive impact.
Today, I’ll share some recent favourites. They might not be new discoveries to you, but they’ll give you a sense of where I’m coming from, and the tone this newsletter aims to follow.
At a glance:
Creators Corner: Colour psychology with Liz and Mollie
Informed Perspectives: A look at Threads, by Instagram after the initial hype.
Longform Explorations: The brightest version of the future and AI with Possible
Transformative Tech: Modern team management with Mindflick
Digital Discoveries: Notion, the customisable planning tool.
Creators Corner: Today’s creator illustrates the essence of a healthy worklife with positivity and calming, clear visuals. Ultimately making our screentime a more positive experience.
Liz and Mollie’s easy-on-the-eye illustrations spark meaningful discussions on combating burnout, emotional intelligence, and thriving in a hybrid work environment.
This one particularly resonates with me right now for where I’m at with this very newsletter.
One key takeaway from their feed: the psychology of blue. The idea that colour affects our mood is not new. The clearly deliberate choice of blue invokes feelings of calmness and order, a unique touch for social media content. Exactly the type of visuals that make us want to open certain apps and bring us peace.
Give your feed a touch of wellbeing with them on IG.
Informed Perspectives: An article. Or in today’s case, a dedicated page to a topic that perfectly justifies the reason to slow down, wait, and let the dust settle, and resist the temptation of jumping on the bandwagon. Threads, by Instagram (or Meta) is the fastest-growing platform of all time, after all. If we weren’t talking about it, we were at least aware of it. Just like when my mum knew who Ronaldinho was even though she’d never watched a football match in her life.
While Threads enjoyed a surge of attention upon its surprise launch, the true test lies in its daily active users numbers. Why has the initial hype faded fast? It could be that it fails to offer something unique that creators can’t do and users can’t find elsewhere. For now, many creators are still exploring its potential.
However, for those who have access (sorry Europe - try your luck getting in using a VPN 😉🤫), seeing how the developers and directors are open to feedback and publicly respond to users feels like an online course on how to build a new social platform from 0.
To stay informed, you can check out The Verge’s dedicated page, where experts are closely monitoring developments and sharing valuable insights, so we can spend our energy on better things.
Longform Explorations: A podcast to listen to at your best convenience.
Possible is a podcast series that talks about the brightest version of the future. Talk to anyone about AI and chances are they’ll talk to you from a sense of fear or feeling threatened. Listening to this episode of Possible with Trevor Noah will turn you into the person with a fresh perspective in your next conversation on the topic.
Trevor Noah explains the complexities of AI with an open-mindedness and curiosity we should all have, whilst staying true to his optimistic and humourous self. This is one of the few conversations about AI that include self-reflection, which speaks volumes about Trevor’s integrity.
Favourite Snippets:
“It’s the same way I remember when Windows 3.1 launched. I was like, this is the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life! I don’t want to type DIR/, go through every single file and folder, and be typing every command prompt out there. I don’t want to do that. The graphical user interface changed everything. And I think this is, in many ways, a different type of graphical user interface where it’s going to enable us to program faster, write quicker, or summarise information in a way that we’ve never done before.”
“I think we will yield better results if people aren’t spending half their energy worried that this thing is coming to get them and can spend all of their energy working on using it for what it can be used for. How does this make people’s jobs as opposed to take people’s jobs? Maybe it means it’s not an eight-hour workday anymore, it’s a four-hour workday. That’s honestly my dream, that people will use these tools and then we just have more time in life.”
Listen to the full episode here on Spotify
Transformative Tech: Data visualisation for improved team management
In my experience working with diverse teams, I’ve come to a powerful realisation - teams are inherently complex, with each member bringing unique backgrounds, personalities, and aspirations. The dream of a perfectly harmonious, high-performing team can often feel out of reach.
As curious growth seekers, we understand that the modern workforce demands adaptability and innovation. However, many managers struggle to keep up with these ever-changing dynamics. The traditional approach to team development may not suffice in today’s fast-paced world.
Enter Mindflick - a beacon of hope for those seeking a more progressive path. Mindflick seems to have found a method that empowers individuals and fosters a proactive, collaborative environment, which can be tailored to suit a team’s specific needs and challenges. Simply put, so people and teams can be the best version of themselves.
Think of it like a virtual coach, equipping a team and it’s members with the tools they need to thrive in the face of uncertainty. Much like in sports games, where players’ attributes are analyzed to identify strengths and areas for improvement, Mindflick helps you uncover untapped potential within your team.
Starting with the individual, they build a unique behavioural profile for each person and then set up a personalised schedule of smartphone nudges, to help keep them on track
Find out more from their website here
Digital Discoveries: Notion boards - fully customisable databases to organise… almost anything.
Even this newsletter. From conception to delivery, I am using Notion’s ingenious content calendar and pipelines templates to organise this and future editions of The Learning Curve, ensuring a seamless flow of ideas and insights. Notion empowers me to stay on track and bring my vision to life.
Check out their templates here.
Some of my favourites are Personal CRM and Life Wiki. I’m also working on my own personalised content calendar that I might just share in the future.
And if you, dear reader, are also harnessing the power of Notion, I invite you to connect with me. Let’s dive into how this versatile tool is propelling us towards our goals. If you haven’t started and are curious, let’s also connect. We’re all at a different stage of The Learning Curve after all.
Conclusion:
If you got this far, thank you.
Today, we delved into @lizandmollie’s inspiring illustrations, understood the value of allowing hype to settle with Threads, explored the optimistic future of AI with Trevor Noah in Possible, discovered Mindflick’stransformative approach to team management, and harnessed the power of Notion for seamless organisation.
Let’s continue this journey together - stay curious, connect, and embrace growth on The Learning Curve.
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See you in two weeks.
Peace,
Has
