BIG QUESTIONS
Are we being a wee bit too careful with each other at work?
Let’s face it, not everything we do at work is awesome. And that’s okay. Sometimes we’re trying something new and could use some help working out the kinks. Does your team feel empowered to share and receive feedback and alternative ideas – even when it sometimes means bluntly honest critiques? Creating a truly collaborative environment that fosters progress over perfection is key. The psychological safety that results creates the space to challenge one another. And that means more opportunities to learn and become great. After all, iron sharpens iron.
TOOL JOY
Sanebox: Email that improves your mental health
In a decade or so, we’ll reflect on the days we relied on email, tilt our heads back, and let out a nice hearty belly laugh. It’s so distracting it’s practically unusable. We get junk mail, confirmations, musings, reminders, automated notifications, FYIs – and that’s not even counting important work messages. There’s so much garbage mixed with important work messages that we spend half the day clicking around in a daze of dizziness. SaneBox offers a smart, AI-powered sorter that prioritizes important emails and organizes the rest into different folders so you can focus. Importantly, the AI is trainable.
(PS: This email goes to Sanebox’s “Later” folder. Which is just fine by us.)
DESIGN WE ❤️
What if we didn’t have leap years?
2024 was a leap year, sparking the usual bump in memes, recycled articles, and non-birthday cards. We at Pinwheel are a curious lot, and we’re also suckers for scroll-driven animations that reveal juicy data visualizations. It’s a great way to enhance storytelling and make abstract concepts more comprehensible.
This story dedicated to breaking down the reason for leap years ticks both of those boxes. So unless you’re cool with the winter solstice occurring on June 21st by the year 2077, you’ll have to content yourself with having an extra day occasionally added to the most boring month of the year.
BEEP BOOP
Uh-oh SpaghettiOs: 87% of marketers are concerned that technology, including generative AI, could replace their jobs.
Hiya neighbor! “Live Near Friends” is a new social real estate platform helping friends find homes within walking distance of each other. We’ll be right over!
Not lovin’ it: In addition to cancer, obesity, and heart disease, ultra-processed foods also lead to a 40-53% increased risk of anxiety and common mental disorders.
Old habits: While many US companies are removing degree requirements from jobs, that has not significantly increased the hiring of non-degreed workers. Boo.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Is content marketing gaining or losing value?
Average freelance income is up 33% to $121,224
Pay gaps worsened across the board, even when adjusted for location and experience
The average income for a content marketer climbed 17% year-over-year
Male content marketers earned $15k/year more than females ?
Freelance content marketers saw a 34% increase in pay year-over-year
16% of content marketers were laid off in 2023
*Data according to Superpath’s 2023 Content Marketing Salary Report.
WORD TO THE WISE
“I miss the lunatics. I miss the whack jobs and the incendiaries, all full of passion and madness – wild-eyed, hearts on fire. Willing to fall on their swords for an idea.”
— Ernie Schenck, Emmy-nominated Creative Director
ICEBREAKER
What is your favorite SNL skit of all time?
Todd: My wife recently sent me a hilarious fake perfume ad from 2011 starring Kristin Wiig, Andy Sandberg, and Jason Sudeikis (narrated by Jon Hamm). It’s a great example of lampooning a tired, played-out ad format while also having fun with stereotypes (“Her ex-boyfriend was a club promoter…(whispers) red flaaggg.”).
Melissa: I can’t help it, I’m old school. The landshark skit gets me every time. It’s so simple and so stupid and so funny. However, being from Oakland, I have to give Tom Hanks a shout-out for his epic appearance on Black Jeopardy.
John: I would argue that the early 90s was the Golden Age of SNL, but there have been some more recent gems. As a native Southern Californian, The Californians sketches with Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen resonate deeply. Watching Armisen make Hader break character repeatedly is truly impressive.
Laura: Two words: Chris Farley. His “Van Down by the River” sketch holds up like a champ.
Sarah: “Coffee Talk” is one of my favs, and this 1992 sketch with guest stars Madonna and Rosanne, plus a surprise cameo from Barbra is like buttah. Talk amongst yourselves!
FALLACIES, PARADOXES & THEORIES…OH MY
The “Iceberg Theory” of storytelling
This is when a storyteller omits things from their story – choosing instead to infer them. The audience will sense those things as strongly as if the writer had stated them. In essence, the storyteller invites the audience to use their imagination. Not only will the audience make their own inferences, but they’ll do it in a way that will resonate with them more than if the writer had written them. By omitting part of the story, you engage your audience in an entirely new way. They become a secondary storyteller. A co-creator. Now it’s their story, too.
