Notes

A better information diet

January 13, 2021

Technically speaking, a feed is just a stream of content that you can scroll through. The problem is not the feed as a format, but the feed as a model that can be used to hijack your attention.

And today, your attention is so valuable it is quite literally on auction 24/7. Reclaiming your attention and focus is then necessary to stay sane, keep control of your inputs, and be mindful about the ideas you're exposed to.

It's impossible to stay up to date with everything, and there's a lot of ego involved in trying to do it. The amount of incredible, quality content from smart and creative people out there is unprecedented, and this growth won't slow down.

Being ruthless with how and when we digest this content is essential. It's like going every day to the best restaurant in the world, where everything is free, and constantly overfeed yourself and be nauseous afterward. It's the default effect: I'll just eat whatever they put on my plate, so I need to take back control unless I want to be shaped by other people, and, even worse, companies.

While building Mailbrew — an app to get a daily digest with your favorite content — we didn't always keep these principles in mind. But since we've built Mailbrew first and foremost for ourselves, we naturally tried to avoid making it over-stimulating, cluttered, overwhelming, addictive.

As a founder, I believe that creating software that is not unnecessarily addictive and doesn't hijack your attention is almost a moral imperative.

Software should empower people to be better, improve the quality of their lives, and get jobs done — it shouldn't make them miserable, tired, over-stimulated.

As you go on a diet if you're overweight, you should be mindful about your information diet if you're over-stimulated.

Enjoyed this? Be notified when I write a new post.

Subscribe

Or add it to your Mailbrew digest:

Mailbrew Logo

Add to Mailbrew

Fabrizio Rinaldi

Hey, I'm Fabrizio 👋

I'm the co-founder and designer of Mailbrew and Typefully.

If you liked this note say hi on Twitter.