This week's best things

Yugoslavia’s Digital Twin. What happens when a country’s internet domain outlives the nation?

A really interesting article in The Dial about the .yu domain.

It covers the development of the early internet, the collapse of Yugoslavia, the political and practical implications of country code domains, and the historical and archival ramifications of technical decisions.

Reading this also made me think of this TEDx talk from Dr Caroline Wilson-Barnao

4 Phrases That Build a Culture of Curiosity

I am a bit obsessed with curiosity (I’ve written about it before, and it’s the theme of our Digital Works Conference next year).

This article from the Harvard Business Review expands on the importance of curiosity in company culture. It also provides some simple suggestions for ways in which managers can shift conversations and mindsets to better facilitate and embed curiosity:

“Curiosity is a powerful practice to infuse into a company’s culture. Research shows that managers are seen as more communal and friendly when they recognize their beliefs might be wrong. It also reduces employee burnout and stress, and is associated with higher levels of creativity and innovation. When you build a culture of curiosity, people feel seen and heard — in essence, they feel like they truly matter.”

A managers’ guide to the Great Gloom

I’m always mildly skeptical about ‘the great’ whatever.

But it’s undeniable that we live in age of crises, and this is clearly having an effect on people.

This article is focused on employees feeling disengaged and apathetic - I’m interested in thinking about what that means for the cultural sector.

Cultural experiences can bring people together, and deliver enjoyable, engaging, meaningful ways to spend time.

If we are indeed in The Great Gloom (which admittedly is quite fun to write, and say) then that gives the cultural sector an opportunity to be part of the answer, solution, and antidote do that disaffection.

Why Cirque du Soleil is creating its own influencer network

Influencer marketing is nothing new, but it’s interesting to see an organisation like Cirque du Soleil making this move (rather than, for example, leveraging influencers to promote their own Cirque events).

“The nearly 40-year-old entertainment group’s new offering touts more than 1,500 artists — their combined following totaling more than 35 million followers across social media — in which brands can pay to produce social-first content. It wasn’t clear what these artists’ exact fees are — or how much of a cut Cirque du Soleil takes. […] The network is open to both on and off-stage creative employees who are full-time or those with at least a six-month contract with the entertainment group. However, there is no non-compete and artists are free to work with companies that reach out to them, per Bower.”

To be clear, this involves Cirque acting as an agency on behalf of the employees working on its shows, and brokering relationships/contracts between them and brands who want to reach the employees’ followers.

I’ll be interested to see how this progresses, but if successful it’s a new model that will unlock revenue for artists and organisations alike.

Radiohead’s Pyramid Song 800% slower

I’ve been listening to a lot of Radiohead recently, so this popped up.

I’m currently listening to it whilst watching the rain fall on our balcony, it’s very soothing.

If you’ve seen something interesting, stick it in the comments! The algorithms are invading our lives, but the best stuff is still discovered and shared through word of mouth.

Here’s last week’s round-up