EP 485: Broken Links

I'm back! Maybe you noticed or maybe you didn't—but the show (and my newsletter) has been on its longest hiatus since its inception. In the final quarter of 2024, I decided I wanted to (re)consolidate my web presence, abandon most "platforms," and breathe some new life into my work.

This episode reflects on both my own challenges with wrangling my online presence and the ways the state of the web has made it extra challenging. While there’s a lot to complain about when it comes to social media platforms and the billionaires wreaking havoc in online and offline spaces, this isn’t that kind of episode. It’s an effort to illuminate some less obvious issues that, in turn, can help us figure out what we want to do next.

If you've been feeling a bit blah or displaced or just overwhelmed in your online work lately, I hope this episode gives you a fresh mental model for making sense of those feelings. And I hope that model gives you the inspiration it's given me.

Footnotes:

• Check out the new (and hopefully improved) whatworks.fyi!
• "For the Love of God, Make Your Own Website" by Gita Jackson, Aftermath
• "Decoder guest host Hank Green makes Nilay Patel explain why websites have a future" on Decoder
• "Digital Homelessness" by Venkatesh Rao
• "The Web Renaissance takes off" by Anil Dash
• "The Creator Economy Is Eating Creative Acts" by Tara McMullin, featuring Kate Tyson & Charlie Gilkey
• "Wait, I Think You're Platform-Pilled" by Tara McMullin
• "Is it OK to say the word 'homeless?' Or should you say 'unhoused?'" on The Guardian
• Alienation by Rahel Jaeggi
• Possessed: A Cultural History of Hoarding by Rebecca Falkoff
• American Bulk by Emily Mester
• Creating Digital Exhibitions for Cultural Institutions by Emily Marsh

You can check out the What Works archive at whatworks.fyi - where you’ll find a written essay version of this episode. Plus, you can find out more about working with me to turn your own meaningful ideas into remarkable content. 

• (00:00) - What even is a website today?
• (05:17) - 1. Website Metaphysicsp
• (11:32) - 2. Digital Homelessness
• (18:05) - 3. Google Hates Broken Links the Way NIMBYs Hate Tent Cities
• (22:37) - 4. Digital Hoarding
• (34:51) - 5. Rebuilding
• (40:59) - Credits

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What is What Works?

Work is central to the human experience. It helps us shape our identities, care for those we love, and contribute to our communities. Work can be a source of power and a catalyst for change. Unfortunately, that's not how most of us experience work—even those who work for themselves. Our labor and creative spirit are used to enrich others and maintain the status quo. It's time for an intervention. What Works is a show about rethinking work, business, and leadership for the 21st-century economy. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.