This week I’m writing this newsletter from Austin, Texas, where I’m in town for SXSW – my first time! Austin has a similar feel to one of my favorite cities in the country – Nashville. This is, I believe, my third time in town and the BBQ seems to get better every time. I’ve always been a fan of Salt Lick, but was able to try Franklin BBQ during this trip and it did not disappoint.
On a side note, this has been a crazy three weeks of travel between California, Florida (family vacation) and Texas. I’m proud to have kept up the streak of 46 consecutive newsletters. If you haven’t taken this survey yet – thank you to those who have – please do. It’s to help improve this newsletter moving forward.
One piece of feedback is for more of my thoughts on the articles I’m sharing. I’ll continue to refine, but below is a start…
Nieman Lab wrote about how the Wall Street Journal has shifted from a one-for-all paywall strategy to one that’s built for the individual reader. I always felt like this was a much smarter approach, but was a technical hurdle for many years at The Times (not as much anymore). While WSJ’s is offer based, I even felt like if you read five Knicks stories in the 10 free you’re allotted, the paywall should not just be a picture of Joe Biden, but tell you to not miss Knicks coverage all year long.
I always enjoy reading the opinions of others related to sports content. The landscape is vast and complex. While I don’t always agree with all the points, many of which are invalidated by not being on the inside, I do respect those opinions. This recent post by Eugene Wei had a lot of great points and is a worthy read.
One of the rewarding aspects of my job moving from New York to New Jersey last year was the ability to get to the gym more often – I live in NJ. Now that I’m going three or four days a week, I find myself more concerned about nutrition, including protein. Eater had a fascinating write-up on the protein drink market.
There are very few writers I’d read whatever they write on whatever topic they choose. Wright Thompson from ESPN is one of them. His feature on Ichiro Suzuki is rich in detail about what drives him and how routine has made him the future Hall of Fame baseball player he’s become.
I love fun stories like this one from Bleacher Report about life on the NBA bench. Yes, there are assigned seats.
I already have a reminder in my calendar to pick up the next New York Times edition for kids. The Times always had such a great culture for innovating, whether that’s in print or digital.
Vero and HQ Trivia probably have gotten the most app buzz in recent months. Both have also had their share of controversy, as well. It’s hard to say the longevity of both – HQ has the best chance of the two. Vero, meanwhile, has shown that people do read the terms of service and privacy policy.
Warren Buffett is a very smart man. Amazon and JP Morgan are very smart companies. What they’re about to do to healthcare could be life-changing. This 25iq piece has one of the best overviews I’ve read thus far on the trio’s efforts.
Is there a secret to living longer? The topics associated with this are often food, exercise, mental stimulation, sex, etc. Time Magazine had the latest write-up on what may be the secret to living longer.
Rock and Roll.
My last newsletter had an open rate of 44.8% (-3.2%).
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