Trust-falling into the universe
Announcing some changes in life and at Links; also: depression chic, wellness scams and assorted other things
Well, friends: I did it.
I quit my day job.
I — a generally risk-averse, rules-following person — forsook health insurance, a bottomless cache of free pens and all the other comforts of gainful W-2 employment.
I packed up my photos and stale desk snacks in an old Svedka box I found in our basement.
I drafted announcements — endlessly second-guessing if I hit the “right” “professional” tone — for the site-formerly-known-as-Twitter and LinkedIn.
But now that that’s dispensed with … can I be real? Holy shit! I am so excited. Like, my parents clearly think I’m out of my damn mind. But I couldn’t be more jazzed for this.
Careers are weird and wild things. Mine has maybe been weirder than some. Five years ago, I left a very good national media job to help care for an ailing family member. That decision unraveled pretty quickly: The family member went into a nursing home, and then the pandemic shut down visitation. I had taken a job at my hometown paper, but that paper was acquired by a newspaper chain eager to slash staff and resources.
Sometimes I’d wonder: Where is this heading? I’m further now from doing the work I want to do than I was at 26 or 27. I’d wake up before dawn to pitch freelance stories or cram this newsletter into the weekends. Sometimes it worked and I hit a good flow. Sometimes I went days without talking to anyone besides sources and editors. I wouldn’t highly recommend that lifestyle, but through it I did definitively figure out where I wanted to end up: Some place that let me do this newsletter, and write big narratives, and spend time engaging deeply with the people and subjects and oddities that I’m interested in.
So: Here we are! I am trust-falling into the universe — and also, to some degree, into each and every one of you — and hoping my grand dreams at a minimum do not bankrupt me, and at a maximum, ahem … come true.
What’s next? I’m already working on several freelance pieces I’m excited to share soon. In the meantime, if you’re a commissioning editor who has ever liked anything you’ve read in this email … hi, hello! I would love to make awkward Zoom small talk and/or send you pitches.
What about the newsletter? The newsletter is getting a glow-up. I don’t wanna say too much more yet. But look for more reported stories, special features and analysis, free shit (maybe?? I don’t know) — plus all the links you’ve already come to love and expect.
On that note, enough about me — we have a great show today. *Thank you* for coming on this journey with me. Let’s do some linking.
If you read anything this weekend
“The Great Zelle Pool Scam,” by Devin Friedman for Insider. If all stories of peer-to-peer payment fraud were so genuinely funny and entertaining, maybe someone would pay attention to the problem! Alas, millions get bilked each year … and the only person who appears to care is Elizabeth Warren.
“Group-Chat Culture Is Out of Control,” by Faith Hill for The Atlantic. With Twitter ruined, Threads abandoned and Facebook — well, Facebook — text messages are arguably our dominant social network. Unfortunately, the group chat has no social norms yet. Or the emergent norms are bad. Respectfully, if you add me to a group chat with more than 10 people, we are probably never texting again.
“Who Wins When Telehealth Companies Push Weight Loss Drugs?” by Elizabeth Lopatto for The Verge. This is a window onto a fascinating and alarming industry that has only metastasized since the pandemic — raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by IG ads pushing ED pills, Ozempic or tretinoin. But oversight of the telehealth industry has lagged, and that puts some patients at risk. One service wrote Lopatto a script for Ozempic without noting a contraindication that could have made it dangerous.
“How TikTok Profits Off Dangerous Health Trends,” by A.W. Ohlheiser for Vox. Creators on TikTok Shop are raking in thousands with wellness quackery, including the claim that castor oil can zap tumors, smooth wrinkles and cure disease. It’s basically one of many signs that TikTok’s shopping venture faltered out the gate. Brands using the tool also say they’ve seen only a moderate sales increase.
“How Loro Piano Became Silicon Valley’s Favorite Flex,” by Jen Wieczner for New York. Is it still “conspicuous consumption” if it’s only visible to the 1% of the 1%?
👉 ICYMI: The most-clicked link from the last newsletter was Jessica Bennett on being 13.
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Postscripts
Depression chic. “Tweakments.” The ultimate SEO hack. (This is the closest I will get to sharing a Swift/Kelce “think” piece, which have generally been sparse on thoughtfulness.) AI astrology. Peak Beverage. A list of fictional computers. Pity the college ghostwriters ChatGPT has put out of work.
“Is the personality quiz the ouroboros of the algorithm? Is all of social media just a personality test?” How we overshare now (frequently: on LinkedIn!) and how TikTok is changing concert sets. The weirdest manuals in the Internet Archive. (Highly recommend this rabbit — heh, get it? — hole.) The best thing I’ve read about Taylor Lorenz’s book. The Vermont town banning visitors. Last but not least: What we stand to lose when LLMs only learn from each other.
That’s it for this week! Until the next one. Warmest virtual regards.
— Caitlin