Love all of this. Need to reread a couple times to get all the nuance (see what I did there?).
I’ve taken some courses from those “writing bros” and all the advice is to pick a hard stance or be the opposite of a popular opinion. Which can yield clicks and I’ve done it too. But I have to wonder how many of our problems as a society right now stem from that either/or mindset and inability to percolate within the grey. Cuz life is grey.
Also, I want to eat your hero image… pizza, goldfish, m and ms, Oreos et al?!?
Thank you so much. I saw what you did there. Gold star. 🌟
You're right, a lot of popular advice treats complexity like a liability.
Dumb it down, they say.
Trying to write honestly from that place feels more true to me than shouting from a hilltop. When I think about the world, I think about this image lol
I loved your piece, Neela! I’ve been wondering a lot about the increasing gray around all conversations on social media. That’s why I deleted the FB app on my phone, stopped scrolling on x, insta and linkedin.. Oh and the lack of nuance? Isn’t it also brought with the overuse of AI to rewrite, respond and repeat what’s already been said 🔁?
Such a great point. We’ve created this echo chamber where originality gets flattened into digestible sameness. I love that you’re curating your space so intentionally. It really does help. Thank you so much for taking the time.
Wow, so you won't put pineapple on pizza but you'll put M&M's and Oreos?! 😂 I gave up on the algorithms a long time ago. I've tried to work within them, but it doesn't work for me, and I've accepted that.
You know I included the pineapples but it’s so darn tiny LOL
I have a couple friends dying for some visibility on that annoying platform. This is why people resort to silly tactics. To sell people need to see us just a tiny bit. But you are also right. You can’t drive yourself crazy and you know how I feel about trends. Happy Happy Friday Bette!
Unfortunately, the algorithm giveth and the algorithm taketh away. At some point, you just have to throw your hands up in the air and go to Plan B or C. Generally, when these algorithms make a hard pivot and you're impacted, you're probably not going to be able to ride that wave back. At least that's been my experience and what I've observed.
I didn't. I'm not on that platform very often, and I've been getting so many submissions that when I go on there, I pretty much deal with those and that's about all I have time for. Which reminds me, I did get your email and your submission. I'll be publishing that sometime this week 😊
No rush, and thank you. The Medium versus Substack article was garbage lol, but there was one Tony wrote. From a leadership perspective, he is so darn toxic. The use of "I" versus "We." It was something like 18 minutes in length. "rolls eyes"
Who wrote the M vs S one? I read one not too long ago. There's quite a few people that write those. I can't remember who I read. And no, I definitely didn't see the one Tony wrote. Leadership in general or leadership at medium?
LinkedIn passed $16.4b revenue last year - Xbox did $2.4b - I have suspected for a long time that LI is a Sims game where people create an avatar and play dress up dolls and pretend lives in a massive multi-player game - there are even guilds you can join and quests to go on. And if you really want to think you can win it is pay to play.
Love this - wonderfully stated! On the platform fka Twitter, my infrequent comments are usually met with tumbleweeds for this reason! Understanding that so many things fall into the grey, or are far from simple means that one may not be seen or heard at all, which alludes to what I mentioned a few weeks ago about the human desire to feel seen/heard. So, people may enlist in one of the tribes to facilitate said desire, usually quashing independent thought. Your 2 cts. encapsulates this issue perfectly. Thank you!!
The grey areas don’t always play well with algorithms or hot takes, but that doesn’t make them any less real or necessary. And sometimes the longing to feel seen pulls us into groupthink without us even realizing it. This is so true.
"Middle ground doesn't trend." I may put that on a t-shirt and sell it (jk). A great summation of where social media is and where we are as a country. Nicely done.
Finally! Thank you, Neels, for saying the eternal thing that probably won’t trend—but absolutely should. This was refreshing. A brilliant piece as usual.
Almost makes me want to dust off my grey matter, jump back on THAT platform and write something nuanced. Or not.
Certainty? Extremes? Em-dashes? There's a fun grouping right there!
Have you ever heard of The Opposible Mind? Roger Martin's book helped me with that image (like opposible thumbs) to see how such a practice can help me integrate differing perspectives.
The timing on me reading this article couldn't have been better timed because I love the grey and received this comment on a podcast I host:
And not to stroke your ego too much, but I'm in podcast mode today and catching up on the RTB pods. Listen to the one with Ashley. Your apple analogy was good, but what makes you good at what you do is that if someone says apple, even if you hate apples, you'll ask "what's your favorite kind of apple?" This especially comes through in the fact that you're sober and mostly vegan but that's not obvious when you're talking to people about food. I aspire to be as inquisitive and open! Pineapple and peeps, excluded, of course.
This is where the conversations lie and it is where I want to be. Sure I'll not be hawking protein water and selling you 4 ways to 1,000,000 followers and $100,000,000 revenue but I'll also have a much more inspired life because I am always learning and listening!
I’m right there with you, genuine curiosity beats the sales pitch every time. It’s all about digging deeper and honoring people’s unique stories. Pineapple haters unite! 🍎🍍
Another great relevant article. Lots to think about. Like even grey can be gray. The many ways we simplify. We want one thing to definitely cause one result.
We have a couple of friends struggling with cancer which is so random and so many things can contribute to getting it but they keep looking for the one thing they did wrong.
I have stopped using the words tribe/ tribal which applied to worlds 10,000 years ago and no one knows history anyway, in favor of what you said : Teams. Thinking is totally scripted and bad fans are punished just like rabid Pittsburgh Steeler fans.
But already I see your observations about LinkedIn appearing on Substack. I have to change the people I follow quite often.
Nuance, uncertainty, paradox - out of fashion and never going viral. And yet, if we could all admit them, maybe we could create some win-win solutions to our big challenges. You said it, Neela. (And I hear you on LinkedIn!)
As a former LinkedIn contributor, I felt this one in my gut. I pop in to keep an eye on my messages and share something from Substack, but I post-n-ghost like a boss now. (Eff the algo.)
And I still wonder all the time if I'm not making the dumbest mistake of my funnel.
I hate to break it to you but if you can ignore the fuckery, LinkedIn can be the best funnel. I tend to get carried away on that platform. I need to be more disciplined. I am trying to be and make my way back to that platform 😉
You just need a better audience and for that to happen you have churn people…There is a lot of fuckery on there. I scratch your back and you scratch mine. But 30 minutes a day and 1-2 posts per week will do the trick.
Intriguingly true true how algorithms push us into black-and-white thinking, making it tough to find that valuable middle ground. Always better to seek out the 'grey' and embrace nuance just as it is crucial to resist the urge to simplify complex issues for a quick "like."
Thanks for the thoughtful read sister love—now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a lime to go with my two cents! 🍋 Been fighting off insects in my kitchen all day.
Amen to all of that sis. Algorithms may not get nuance, but I’m glad you do.And if you’re adding lime to your two cents, I’ll bring the rum and we’ve got a proper mix now. 😉🍹
What a relief... It's... going. We finally have the place we wanted locked in and paying all the deposits this week. Moving will happen in 2 weeks which means my back will start complaining in approximately 1 week, in anticipation of The Carrying. Since I'm retired I've had so many back problems...
The nuance provides meaning to encounters, music, writing, and, well, basically every conscious moment. We simplify complex issues in writing, with the hope that the human mind will find personal shades of interpretation pertinent to their unique journey. There is no right or wrong answer, but many nuances oscillate within the query. Perhaps, there is a correct question? Eternal things may not trend, but human consciousness may be more inclined to receive eternal ideas intermittently. Thanks, Neela, for your contemporary soul food!
This is such a great point, Jeanne. We try to simplify things in writing, but life is anything but simple. And I love what you said about the question being more important than the answer. There’s so much wisdom in that.
Have a great evening, and thank you so much for taking the time :)
Love all of this. Need to reread a couple times to get all the nuance (see what I did there?).
I’ve taken some courses from those “writing bros” and all the advice is to pick a hard stance or be the opposite of a popular opinion. Which can yield clicks and I’ve done it too. But I have to wonder how many of our problems as a society right now stem from that either/or mindset and inability to percolate within the grey. Cuz life is grey.
Also, I want to eat your hero image… pizza, goldfish, m and ms, Oreos et al?!?
Wonderful post Neela.
Happy Thursday, Karen,
Thank you so much. I saw what you did there. Gold star. 🌟
You're right, a lot of popular advice treats complexity like a liability.
Dumb it down, they say.
Trying to write honestly from that place feels more true to me than shouting from a hilltop. When I think about the world, I think about this image lol
I loved your piece, Neela! I’ve been wondering a lot about the increasing gray around all conversations on social media. That’s why I deleted the FB app on my phone, stopped scrolling on x, insta and linkedin.. Oh and the lack of nuance? Isn’t it also brought with the overuse of AI to rewrite, respond and repeat what’s already been said 🔁?
Happy Thursday Gabriela
Such a great point. We’ve created this echo chamber where originality gets flattened into digestible sameness. I love that you’re curating your space so intentionally. It really does help. Thank you so much for taking the time.
Wow, so you won't put pineapple on pizza but you'll put M&M's and Oreos?! 😂 I gave up on the algorithms a long time ago. I've tried to work within them, but it doesn't work for me, and I've accepted that.
You know I included the pineapples but it’s so darn tiny LOL
I have a couple friends dying for some visibility on that annoying platform. This is why people resort to silly tactics. To sell people need to see us just a tiny bit. But you are also right. You can’t drive yourself crazy and you know how I feel about trends. Happy Happy Friday Bette!
Unfortunately, the algorithm giveth and the algorithm taketh away. At some point, you just have to throw your hands up in the air and go to Plan B or C. Generally, when these algorithms make a hard pivot and you're impacted, you're probably not going to be able to ride that wave back. At least that's been my experience and what I've observed.
This is true. Did you see the two hilarious articles on Medium? 🤣🤣
I didn't. I'm not on that platform very often, and I've been getting so many submissions that when I go on there, I pretty much deal with those and that's about all I have time for. Which reminds me, I did get your email and your submission. I'll be publishing that sometime this week 😊
No rush, and thank you. The Medium versus Substack article was garbage lol, but there was one Tony wrote. From a leadership perspective, he is so darn toxic. The use of "I" versus "We." It was something like 18 minutes in length. "rolls eyes"
Who wrote the M vs S one? I read one not too long ago. There's quite a few people that write those. I can't remember who I read. And no, I definitely didn't see the one Tony wrote. Leadership in general or leadership at medium?
LinkedIn passed $16.4b revenue last year - Xbox did $2.4b - I have suspected for a long time that LI is a Sims game where people create an avatar and play dress up dolls and pretend lives in a massive multi-player game - there are even guilds you can join and quests to go on. And if you really want to think you can win it is pay to play.
Honestly, I’ve been waiting for someone to drop the Sims comparison.
LOL - thank you David.
And like any good MMO, LinkedIn has microtransactions, prestige skins (ahem ....banners), and the sporadic boss fight in the comments section.
As always thank you :)
Love this - wonderfully stated! On the platform fka Twitter, my infrequent comments are usually met with tumbleweeds for this reason! Understanding that so many things fall into the grey, or are far from simple means that one may not be seen or heard at all, which alludes to what I mentioned a few weeks ago about the human desire to feel seen/heard. So, people may enlist in one of the tribes to facilitate said desire, usually quashing independent thought. Your 2 cts. encapsulates this issue perfectly. Thank you!!
Thank you, KC.
The grey areas don’t always play well with algorithms or hot takes, but that doesn’t make them any less real or necessary. And sometimes the longing to feel seen pulls us into groupthink without us even realizing it. This is so true.
As always, I appreciate you.
"Middle ground doesn't trend." I may put that on a t-shirt and sell it (jk). A great summation of where social media is and where we are as a country. Nicely done.
Ha! If you do make that t-shirt, I want one.
Middle ground might not trend, but maybe it’s where the real progress lives. That's why we are stalled as a country.
Happy Thursday, and I appreciate you stopping by...
Nuance is dead. Long live nuance.
Finally! Thank you, Neels, for saying the eternal thing that probably won’t trend—but absolutely should. This was refreshing. A brilliant piece as usual.
Almost makes me want to dust off my grey matter, jump back on THAT platform and write something nuanced. Or not.
Do it, Shams.
I’m here for the nuance revival!
The grey zone feels less lonely on Substack.
Always happy to see you in these comments.
I'm still making my way here—too many detours along the way.
;-)
One day...
detours are good Shams. It clarifies the path forward. With or without Substack…Happy weekend.
Certainty? Extremes? Em-dashes? There's a fun grouping right there!
Have you ever heard of The Opposible Mind? Roger Martin's book helped me with that image (like opposible thumbs) to see how such a practice can help me integrate differing perspectives.
So, my new motto could be "Nuance or Perish." 🤣
It is.
But is it better than "synergy?"
‘Nuance or Perish’ needs to be on a hoodie - hmmmmm
I haven’t read The Opposable Mind, but now I’m intrigued. Anything that makes nuance feel like a superpower is worth checking out.
Thank you so much for taking the time bro..
Have a good Thursday!
The timing on me reading this article couldn't have been better timed because I love the grey and received this comment on a podcast I host:
And not to stroke your ego too much, but I'm in podcast mode today and catching up on the RTB pods. Listen to the one with Ashley. Your apple analogy was good, but what makes you good at what you do is that if someone says apple, even if you hate apples, you'll ask "what's your favorite kind of apple?" This especially comes through in the fact that you're sober and mostly vegan but that's not obvious when you're talking to people about food. I aspire to be as inquisitive and open! Pineapple and peeps, excluded, of course.
This is where the conversations lie and it is where I want to be. Sure I'll not be hawking protein water and selling you 4 ways to 1,000,000 followers and $100,000,000 revenue but I'll also have a much more inspired life because I am always learning and listening!
A thoughtful comment indeed, Jason.
Are you sure I'm sober and vegan though ??? lol
I’m right there with you, genuine curiosity beats the sales pitch every time. It’s all about digging deeper and honoring people’s unique stories. Pineapple haters unite! 🍎🍍
Happy Wednesday/ Thursday Jason
Another great relevant article. Lots to think about. Like even grey can be gray. The many ways we simplify. We want one thing to definitely cause one result.
We have a couple of friends struggling with cancer which is so random and so many things can contribute to getting it but they keep looking for the one thing they did wrong.
I have stopped using the words tribe/ tribal which applied to worlds 10,000 years ago and no one knows history anyway, in favor of what you said : Teams. Thinking is totally scripted and bad fans are punished just like rabid Pittsburgh Steeler fans.
But already I see your observations about LinkedIn appearing on Substack. I have to change the people I follow quite often.
I’m sorry to hear about your friends.
We crave clean cause-and-effect.
Yes to the grey being gray!
And I hear you on Substack. I see the same things, too.
Thank you for always taking the time :)
Nuance, uncertainty, paradox - out of fashion and never going viral. And yet, if we could all admit them, maybe we could create some win-win solutions to our big challenges. You said it, Neela. (And I hear you on LinkedIn!)
We will keep waving the nuance flag.
That platform ..sigh lol
I really want to get back there but it’s sooooo darn hard.
Thank you for taking the time Lisa.
Yes! Love this one. Certainty can be a dangerous thing, and I think most people don’t acknowledge that enough. Cheers to living a life of nuance 🥂
cheers Shlee
Happy Happy Saturday!
How dare you attack authenticity, Neela! 😆
As a former LinkedIn contributor, I felt this one in my gut. I pop in to keep an eye on my messages and share something from Substack, but I post-n-ghost like a boss now. (Eff the algo.)
And I still wonder all the time if I'm not making the dumbest mistake of my funnel.
Happy Friday Damon☺️
I do the same.
I hate to break it to you but if you can ignore the fuckery, LinkedIn can be the best funnel. I tend to get carried away on that platform. I need to be more disciplined. I am trying to be and make my way back to that platform 😉
Have a good weekend..
As always thank you so much 🙏
LinkedIn, best funnel? Noooooooooo! (passes out)
(You’re probably right)
LOL
Happy saturday.
You just need a better audience and for that to happen you have churn people…There is a lot of fuckery on there. I scratch your back and you scratch mine. But 30 minutes a day and 1-2 posts per week will do the trick.
put it on a timer… a method to the madness.
Intriguingly true true how algorithms push us into black-and-white thinking, making it tough to find that valuable middle ground. Always better to seek out the 'grey' and embrace nuance just as it is crucial to resist the urge to simplify complex issues for a quick "like."
Thanks for the thoughtful read sister love—now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a lime to go with my two cents! 🍋 Been fighting off insects in my kitchen all day.
Amen to all of that sis. Algorithms may not get nuance, but I’m glad you do.And if you’re adding lime to your two cents, I’ll bring the rum and we’ve got a proper mix now. 😉🍹
Chat soon sis..
You got me laughing on a Saturday😂
Thanks sis, I'll invite you surely
The day I started inspiring mini rants, I realised I could just retire. There is no higher cause.
you are retired Nadine.
How is the move going btw?
What a relief... It's... going. We finally have the place we wanted locked in and paying all the deposits this week. Moving will happen in 2 weeks which means my back will start complaining in approximately 1 week, in anticipation of The Carrying. Since I'm retired I've had so many back problems...
oh, your spine has its own sixth sense, too?
But yay for locking in the place!
Sending good vibes for the move.
Thank you, I can already feel those good vibes 🪷
The nuance provides meaning to encounters, music, writing, and, well, basically every conscious moment. We simplify complex issues in writing, with the hope that the human mind will find personal shades of interpretation pertinent to their unique journey. There is no right or wrong answer, but many nuances oscillate within the query. Perhaps, there is a correct question? Eternal things may not trend, but human consciousness may be more inclined to receive eternal ideas intermittently. Thanks, Neela, for your contemporary soul food!
This is such a great point, Jeanne. We try to simplify things in writing, but life is anything but simple. And I love what you said about the question being more important than the answer. There’s so much wisdom in that.
Have a great evening, and thank you so much for taking the time :)
🫂💚