📚 Whose job is it, Moats of data businesses, Puzzmo manifesto, Rules of being human
+ Re-thinking SEO and a lot of fun finds from across the net
Hi & welcome to the post #133.
I’m in a transition mode - physically and emotionally. We had a great festive time at home, came back to Bangalore on an early morning flight and then watched the world cup final. You know what I am talking about.
This post was curated & written in the middle of all that. Somehow!
We have many quick and light reads today. Here’s a quick lineup:
🙋 Whose job is it?
📊 Moats of data businesses
🧩 Puzzmo manifesto
🫶 Rules of being human
🔍 Re-thinking SEO
And much more
Let’s get to it right away.
1. Whose job is it?
Source: “Whose job is it?” by Sketchplanations. I don’t have anything to add.
2. Six Moats of Data Businesses
Travis May’s “the six moats of data businesses” talks of the different moats that exist in data businesses.
This is a new topic for me, and the examples help understand different approaches in building data businesses. The categorization may not be comprehensive or universal, but the examples help understand the underlying approach.
A couple of useful snippets from the post.
3. The Puzzmo Manifesto
Puzzmo is a place for thoughtful puzzles. I did not try a puzzle but loved their manifesto - The Puzzmo Manifesto.
It describes how a bunch of passionate folks would describe their true love.
These two bits are worth noting:
You are smart
Anyone can be great at games. Games are about challenge, but they should always invite you in. Games must not use tricks to make players feel smart, they must help players actually be smart. A great game is also a great teacher.
Play is healthy
Play is not kid stuff, or time-wasters, or gamification. Mindlessly matching gems while you watch tv is not play. Doing light math advertised to keep your brain elastic is not play. Work cannot be magically reformulated to become play. Play is its own thing. Play is engaging and all-encompassing. Play makes you feel light and free, even when it itself is deep and complex. Play is the companion of joy.
4. Rules of Being Human
This one comes from Chérie Carter-Scott. These rules are often presented on social media as being “handed down from ancient Sanskrit” but their more recent origin shouldn’t keep us from learning what we can from them.
Here they are - the 10 rules of being human
This one is the highlight for me:
🎁 Light reads & videos
Sharing two posts from The Verge around SEO. Interesting topic, going through a transition of its own.
Did SEO experts ruin the internet or did Google? As the public begins to believe Google isn’t as useful anymore, what happens to the cottage industry of search engine optimization experts who struck content oil and smeared it all over the web?
The restaurant nearest Google. Thai Food Near Me, Dentist Near Me, Notary Near Me, Plumber Near Me — businesses across the country picked names meant to outsmart Google Search. Does it actually work?
🪄 Everything else
Some random goodness from the internet:
An extremely detailed map of New York city neighbourhoods.
Six-Week Cure. A super interesting story about divorce tourism and “the biggest little city in the world”. Another amazing 99% Invisible stuff!
What is a Japanese neighbourhood izakaya like? Check out the Netflix series - “Midnight Diner” if you liked this one.
Lito (@lito_leafart) makes incredibly intricate artworks using the natural canvas of tree leaves.
That's all for this week, folks!
I hope I've earned the privilege of your time.
Please leave a comment or send a message with your feedback. It’s highly helpful & encouraging. If that’s too much of an effort (or not required), at least hit the ❤️ at the start or end of the post to show your love.