Hi friends,
Hello, and an extra howdy to new subscribers. Jazzed to have you with us, and if this isn't what you thought you signed up for, feel free to unsub anytime. You will find that I don't always adhere to the tenets of a growth-oriented content strategy, like maintaining consistent tone and structure and posting frequency. Instead you are at the mercy of my moods from my blasted optimism to my mellow melancholies. Today we’re somewhere in between, as I've recently been on a Chinese herbal medicine regimen which entails drinking two shots of puke flavored chalk 3x a day. I’ve never felt more invincible yet grossed out.
Speaking of intense tastes, the inspiration for today's issue:
"It's not the flavor of your taste that matters; it's the intensity with which you apply your taste that will cause the resulting work of art to feel highly organized." —George Saunders
Onwards.
this newsletter baby’s growing up
Today we cover a few housekeeping notes and announcements. This is all much more exciting than it sounds.
In efforts to build a sustainable writing practice, I’m introducing a bit of structure to the topics I cover. Journalists call them beats and content strategists call them content pillars. These will likely get more refined but for now, expect writing around: creative subcultures, calm technology, and public welfare. Along with more worky work pieces on my thinking behind branding, content strategy, and marketing. Food is a biggie too though I mostly write about that over at Currant—if you're interested, subscribe now to receive a 2022 missive + messy process peek we're sending out tomorrow. Some more things:
hyperdisciplinary is growing up! I'm syncing up these newsletters with a reorganized writing page (blog? what is) on my website: vickygu.com/writing. The intent: more organization in my creation => more clarity in your consumption.
Subscriber perks are expanding. Supporters recently received shiny custom illustrated holiday cards. I've also created a private IG stories list for us, so you'll receive updates on my independent creative work there during the weeks I decide I hate insta a little less and redownload it.
Introducing a new editorial series: friends who talk. Or, F•R•I•E•N•D•S are coming. To be clear Jennifer Aniston will not be making an appearance but even better news is that I'm inviting special guests in the coming months to brew up rich and roasty takes on eclectic topics we have collective domain expertise on. So this space will be a digital Central Perk but decidedly nerdier. Inspired by the critical conversations of Chaoyang Trap and the MAEKAN podcast.
A preview of upcoming issues, their topics-ish, and the sharp, kind speakers you should follow:
On the aesthetics of tech, with:
Kelly Pendergrast, SF-based writer, researcher, media artist, and co-founder of ANTISTATIC
Kyle Paoletta, Cambridge-based writer extraordinaire
On media and echo chambers
Jihii Jolly, NYC-based writer of the Time Spent newsletter and Director of Membership Management & Engagement at the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE)
Mark Stenberg, NYC-based media reporter at Adweek
On faith and broken institutions
Anna Wilhelm, Cincinnati-based Strategy Director at Curiosity
Dami Aboaba, NYC-based Policy Research Analyst at UChicago's Crime Lab New York
Something on community design
Guests TBC
That’s all for today. Thanks for being here, to the disco ball and beyond.
Support me
If you value this newsletter, consider supporting me at $5/mon or $50/year. Put simply: the free tier is the brain; the paid tier is the heart. You'll receive content similar to the critical takes in public issues but more raw and intimate, ending with a bonus photo story—a multimedia inbox party! At 1-2x a month, it’s more frequent than the public pieces that come every 1-2 months. If you’re on IG, I’ll add you to a special close friends group where I share process peeks via stories.
Ultimately the main reason supporters be supportin is to empower me to make things that move minds and hearts. The data also talks: I've maintained a 100% retention / 0% churn rate from when I started 1.5 years ago :)