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My name is Philipp and you are reading Creativerly, the internet corner where I unpack my musings, curate and write about noteworthy apps and software, and explore the latest trends in design and tech.
Hey and welcome to Creativerly 300 👋Well, with this issue I am celebrating 300 newsletters that have been sent out over the past five years. It has been an amazing journey so far. Although I experienced some ups and downs during while being on that journey, I kept going and writing the newsletter consistently every single week. Since 2024, I have been focusing on writing more long-form content as this is what I enjoy most, diving into a specific topic, app, researching, and providing value through those kind of posts. For this week's post, I reflected on the past years, the journey of building Creativerly, how it turned into a passion project, and a lot more. I hope you enjoy reading it. And in case you have any questions related to Creativerly, newsletters, writing, publishing, whatsoever, feel free to get in contact by simply replying to this email. I always go through any messages from my readers, and I always love engaging with them.
Reflecting on over five years of CreativerlyCreativerly's anniversary is in January, however I felt like writing and publishing this post now, as we are nearing the end of 2024, and I usually use that time to wind down a bit and reflect on the past months, my work, projects, any events I attended, places I have been, and so on. It is still remarkable to me how Creativerly has continuously been a passion project of mine for over five years. I know that kind of sounds like that I don't think I would have been capable of doing that (so, I surprised myself in actually maintaining it that long), but since I was surrounded by people who started working on side-projects just to abandon them shortly after and heading to the next thing, I do was surprised since Creativerly simply worked. By that, I mean it worked for me. I did not start Creativerly with the goal to create an income stream on the side. Sure, at a certain stage, I started exploring ways of monetizing my writing, to keep Creativerly a sustainable project. As it grew over time, so did the running costs. I am thankful for some lovely folks I had the honor to partner up with, as they sponsored some Creativerly newsletter issues. Among them, Clay, mymind, Discourse, ahrefs, Walling, Sunsama, Sukha, and others. Thanks to them, Creativerly is a sustainable passion project. However, my main intention was to build up a writing habit. I adored the idea of having an online space where I can share my musings about apps, software, and the fields of design and tech. Writing is without a doubt the most valuable skill I have been strengthening throughout the years. Read the whole post here:
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Fresh Updates & NewsSignal's newest update introduced call links, which give you the possibility to share a link with anyone on Signal and let them join a call with a single click or tap. It is lovely to read that Signal as an organization runs all their meetings using Signal calls, as they are treating them as a substitute for the surveillance-heavy video meeting services that grew in popularity during the pandemic. Previously, in case you wanted to start a group call, you had to create a Signal group chat first, then add people, and only then you were able to the start the call. With call links this is a thing of the past. You can create call links on your phone and desktop. Simply navigate to the calls tab, tap or click to create a call link, and decide whether you want to name your link and whether you want to have control over approving people who want to join. The new call links feature joins a set of other features Signal already shipped to improve Signal calling, among them raising hand button, emoji reactions, a dedicated calls tab, and more improvements. Germany based search engine and browser company Ecosia and France based search engine Qwant have joined forces on the for-profit joint venture called European Search Perspective (EUSP) to help small companies and others to reduce their reliance on Google and Bing. The EUSP is building a European web index, which means it is working towards providing a comprehensive directory of website and digital content hosted in Europe. With this index, the EUSP wants to provide an alternative results provider for a diverse set of small search engines, startups, and the European Data and AI industry. It will be interesting to see how Ecosia and Qwant are pulling that off, since other Google competitors like Neeva built their own indexes too, however Neeva for example had to shut down as they discovered that it is one thing to build a search engine, but an entirely different thing to convince regular users of the need to switch to a better choice. Nevertheless, it feels like there is a substantial chance to disrupt Google's search engine. I haven't used Google in a while, but whenever I check it, the search experience is horrible as the "results" are mostly irrelevant ads, and the actual search results are then not even close to provide the value that you would expect. Blogstatic, which launched initially back in 2021 as a simple markdown app to help writers publish static blogs (hence the brand name), now is BlogMaker. Val Sopi, the founder and creator behind BlogMaker, made the decision to switch from serving static files to serving cached blogs instead during year 1 of BlogMaker's (back then still Blogstatic) existence. After that, Sopi had the feeling that the brand name was no longer entirely true. Therefore, he sat down and researched for a name that would be a good fit. The result is BlogMaker as it encapsulates the values of the blogging software perfectly, conceptually simple yet structurally solid, symbolizing consistency. Besides the brand name, the logo, and the website, Val Sopiu introduced some more changes. The most significant one is that yearly pricing is no longer available and instead a single monthly subscription is available now which gives users access to the creation of unlimited blogs. The pricing for existing blogs will stay as it is. Another change I do not resonate that much is that BlogMaker will now focus on serving business clients rather than individuals. What I loved about Blogstatic was its focus on giving individuals a super simple and affordable way to quickly set up a blog and get started with online publishing. Sure, there from a business standpoint and regarding keeping the lights on as BlogMaker, focusing on business clients is understandable. Nevertheless, I am excited that Val Sopi announced that he is looking into ways to continue serving the individual-focused segment through another venue.
Mental Wealth❯ 10,000 ways to fail – “Scientists don’t see an unexpected outcome as a personal failure. They see it as data. Thomas Edison is famously quoted as saying, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison viewed failure as simply a necessary ingredient for innovation and discovery. Rather than giving up or viewing his failures as personal shortcomings, he used them as data points to guide his next steps. This approach ultimately led him to the successful development of the light bulb.” ❯ The Science of Mental Models – “Human reason is a puzzling ability. As a species, we’ve invented logic, mathematics, science and philosophy. Yet we suffer from a list of cognitive biases so long that an entire Wikipedia page is devoted to categorizing them.” ❯ Assertive Empathy: The Key to Transformative Leadership – “Envision a leadership realm where strength is harmonized with compassion and assertiveness coexists with kindness. This vision is not just an idealistic dream; it's a transformative reality achievable through the integrated approach of assertive empathy. This concept reshapes leadership dynamics and profoundly enhances team performance. Let's delve into the neuroscience underpinning assertive empathy and explore why mastering this duality is pivotal for executive leaders.” ❯ Designing for anyone: The power of accessible products – “For years, I viewed accessible design as a set of boring and restrictive rules. Text contrast ratios, focus states for buttons - these were things I thought made design worse, not better. I wasn't alone in this mindset. I've heard colleagues dismiss accessibility concerns, saying things like, "We're not going to have any blind users, so it's not going to be a problem." Or designers insisting that light grey text is perfectly readable because they can see it with their poor eyesight.”
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Appendix❯ ICYMI The world of productivity software is ever-evolving, with users constantly hunting for the perfect tool. This phenomenon, dubbed 'half-life productivity software', reflects our tendency to switch tools frequently. But what drives this cycle of adoption and abandonment? ❯ Quick Bits
Till next time! 👋 Support: Do you have a friend who is looking for inspiration, news about design, and useful tools and apps? Forward this newsletter to a friend or simply share this issue and show some support. You can also show some love by simply clicking the button down below and keep this newsletter a sustainable side-project by buying me a coffee. ☕️ 🥰
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