👇 tl;dr

Today we celebrate, we run a poll, we launch a rewards program, we look at pigeons, we listen to a podcast interview about product management, we read a long article about Strategy, and a short one about AI.

👋 Good Morfternight!

Hello from beautiful Vienna, where the summer is gracefully giving way to pleasant weather that I hope will be with us for many more weeks.

We have reasons to celebrate in this issue!

Not only are we celebrating the growth of our community with over four thousand Morfternighters, but also gearing up to celebrate my birthday in just two days!

To mark these joyful occasions with style, I've got two exciting opportunities lined up for you.

Firstly, let's talk about our brand-new referral program, the details of which you'll find at the end of this issue. In a nutshell, if you enjoy Morfternight, feel free to share it with your friends. If they subscribe, you earn delightful rewards.

These range from a heartfelt thank you note featured on Morfternight, complete with a link to your blog, newsletter, or social profile, to a set of 14 exquisite printed postcards from my "Focus" photo series, and even an opportunity for a personal 45-minute Zoom call with me.

Next up, I've been pondering about making Morfternight even more accessible, and here's how I plan to do it: I'm considering using AI tools to create translated versions of Morfternight in the near future. But before moving forward, I'd love to hear your thoughts on which language you'd prefer.

Now, the language needs to be one I'm fluent in, so I can ensure the quality of the translation. While I won't be translating manually, I can definitely tweak and polish machine-generated translations in either French or Italian.

So, I'm eager to hear: which one would you choose? French or Italian?

Ensuite, j'ai réfléchi à rendre Morfternight encore plus accessible, et voici comment je prévois de le faire : j'envisage d'utiliser des outils IA pour créer des versions traduites de Morfternight prochainement. Mais avant de commencer, j'aimerais connaître votre avis sur la langue que vous préféreriez.

Il faut que ce soit une langue que je parle couramment, afin de pouvoir garantir la qualité de la traduction. Je ne vais pas traduire manuellement, mais je peux éditer et corriger les traductions générées par machine en français ou en italien.

Alors, je suis impatient de savoir : Français ou italien ?

Poi, ho riflettuto su come rendere Morfternight ancora più accessibile, ed ecco come ho intenzione di farlo: sto considerando di usare strumenti IA per creare versioni tradotte di Morfternight prossimamente. Ma prima di procedere, mi piacerebbe sentire il vostro parere su quale lingua preferireste.

Ora, dev’essere una lingua che parlo per poter garantire la qualità della traduzione. Anche se non tradurrò manualmente, posso modificare e perfezionare le traduzioni automatiche in francese o in italiano.

Allora, sono curioso di sentire: quale scegliereste? Francese o italiano?

Time to vote! I’ll make the results known in the next issue.

📷 Photo of the week

The Volkstheater Pigeon Gang, Vienna — More Photos

Yesterday, I found out that Glass, the app where I also share my photos, has chosen "Bird" as the category for September.

This morning, it seemed the universe was in on it too. On my way to therapy, I noticed these pigeons congregated, almost as if they had received Glass's memo and were posing for me.

Later, when I showed the photo to a couple of people, they all wondered if these were the regulars at Volkstheater. And that's when it clicked: they've always been there, gracing the area with their presence, (and the curb with their droppings).

So, I've decided to name them "The Volkstheater Pigeon Gang" from now on.

🗺️ Three places to visit

A podcast episode, a long read, a short read.

One about building, one about strategy, one about innovating.

This is me, trying to please you all 😀

① “I define success as the optionality I have with my time.” declares Shreyas Doshi in Better Teams, Better Products the latest episode of the fs.blog podcast. I truly resonate with this insight: one of the most important things I learned in life, one of the hardest to achieve, the one true luxury.

For those who aren't members yet, fret not; in just a few more hours, the episode will be accessible to all. I strongly suggest listening. Shreyas Doshi imparts some of the most insightful advice on product development I've come across in years. And being interviewed by one of the industry's foremost podcast hosts amplifies the richness of his insights.

② If you haven’t heard the word “Strategy” recently, you haven’t been in a meeting, congratulations! In the business world, this term finds itself tossed around quite often, adopting various meanings depending on who you ask.

A strategy is not a plan, nor the description of a goal or mission. If you are curious, I recommend What makes a strategy great by Jason Cohen. It's a resourceful read providing a plethora of links to useful references.

③ Navigating the ever-evolving landscape of AI can indeed be likened to weathering a storm, a sentiment echoed by Intercom's Des Traynor and Fergal Reid in their field notes featured in "How Intercom navigated the AI paradigm shift" by Ethan Kurzweil. Through this piece, they offer up insights that other builder teams might find useful as they enhance their products with language models.

In Traynor's words, "We are four to five months into a hurricane of opportunity, and it is very early days."

I find myself nodding in agreement with this sentiment, though I might have chosen a metaphor less destructive than a hurricane, typically associated with devastation rather than creation. Nevertheless, an excellent read, with valuable insights.

🎁 Earn rewards by referring friends to Morfternight

Thank you for reading Morfternight — your support allows me to keep doing this work.

If you enjoy Morfternight, it would mean the world to me if you invited friends to subscribe and read with us. If you refer friends, you will receive benefits that give you special access to Morfternight.

How to participate

1. Share Morfternight. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.

Refer a friend

2. Earn benefits. When more friends use your referral link to subscribe, you’ll receive special benefits.

• Get A thank you note and a link! for 5 referrals

• Get A set of 14 "Focus" postcards. for 50 referrals

• Get A 45-minutes 1-1 Zoom call. for 100 referrals

Visit the leaderboard

To learn more, check out Substack’s FAQ.

Thank you for helping get the word out about Morfternight!