#72: The world is waiting
Time for another pattern interrupt
Hello everyone,
We’re returning to an old, but favourite, format this week—the pattern interrupt.
Pattern interrupt is an attempt to hijack our search and newsfeed algorithms. Tech startups are unlikely to see content from the non-profit world and vice versa, even if you could learn something from it. When we pattern interrupt, we hack the system for everyone's benefit.
We have more in common than many would want us to believe. Now, more than ever, it feels important to remember that.
#1 Rest vs West
Rest of World
A question to the tech audience: how many non-US and non-European tech giants can you name? (May I guess: not many?) Rest of World is a global non-profit publication capturing people’s experiences with technology outside the West. Their name is a nod to the Western-centric corporate catchall and a reminder of what they’re fighting against. They’ve just released their 2023 ‘Rest vs West’ list of 40 pioneering companies outmanoeuvring Silicon Valley.
“What is the most widely used social media platform in Vietnam? Not Facebook or TikTok — it’s Zalo, with an impressive 87% adoption rate.
And what was one of the earliest online food delivery platforms? That would be Talabat, launched by a group of Kuwaiti students in Cairo, in 2004. That’s three years before the iPhone came to market.
If these names surprise you, they shouldn’t.”
#2 Principles for sharing on the internet
Sari Azout
I’ve lost count of the number of articles I’ve bookmarked from
. Sari is on a mission to build a more human and intellectually nourishing internet. Her latest solution is Sublime, an intelligent library that helps you connect and collect anything you care about. Alongside building Sublime, Sari publishes on Substack. Each post is like a trail—a thoughtful collection of links and ideas that guide you gently forward. Two weeks ago, Sari’s trail was her 5 principles for sharing on the internet:
Do the work required to have an opinion
Allow yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind
Cultivate intellectual humility
Choose your words carefully
Be kind, even if you are right
One Substack commenter described this post as a “tonic.” And I couldn’t agree more.
#3 Demanding and supportive
Ravi Gupta
A short and punchy post on leadership. Ravi Gupta is a partner at Sequoia, one of the world’s most influential and successful venture capital firms. In this blog, Ravi recounts a pivotal moment in his career as the CFO of US delivery giant Instacart, when the company’s future was at stake, and explains how one board member’s ability to be both demanding and supportive helped them turn the company around.
“What I’ve come to realize over time is that, far from being contradictory, being demanding and supportive are inextricably linked. It’s the way you are when you believe in someone more than they believe in themselves.”
#4 WriteToThem
mySociety
WriteToThem is a free tool that makes it easy for UK citizens to write to the politicians who represent them. You pop in a postcode to locate your relevant representative, draft your message, and then WriteToThem sends it. It’s refreshingly simple. Last year, the tool helped send over 200,000 messages. The charity behind the initiative is mySociety, a non-profit group focused on increasing civic participation through online technology.
➡️ Try the tool
#5 Love
Nick Cave
This one doesn’t need a preface.
“Love. The world is waiting.”
I hope everyone is taking care.
Lauren
love the format; thanks for the discoveries 🙏🤙