Welcome to Fresh van Root newsletter #92!
Surprise, this newsletter is not so heavy on new things in AI…. take a break from the AI-news tsunami.
Some highlights of this newsletter:
- Is a 15-hour workweek utopia?
- More Twitter clones
- Remember the first phone you owned?
stay fresh,
Rolf
Hello to 42 new subscribers. 👋 I’m Rolf from Fresh van Root. What’s Fresh van Root? A digital marketing agency working for tech startups primarily, and a content creation business. This newsletter features content and apps at the intersection of AI, marketing, productivity, tech, content creation, and social media – for curious minds.
🧠 Hand-Picked Content
Productivity: The 15-Hour Work Week (Podcast, 3min)
John Meynard Keynes said in 1930 that his grandchildren would work only 15 hours weekly. Why? Because productivity gains made by new technology will reduce work hours. Instead, we can spend more time on leisure activities. While in some countries we work fewer hours every week, generally we are far away from that goal. Why is that? This podcast by NPR revisits theory and asks, “What went wrong”? More
Blogging: Myths Debunked (Blog, 5min)
You do not need to be an expert in something to start blogging. That is one of 10 myths debunked in this blog post about blogging. Are you thinking about launching your blog, or do you need some motivation to get into blogging again? This blog post might help. More
Social Media: Reddit Does It Like Twitter (Blog, 10min)
Reddit has a massive benefit over other content platforms: All its content is contributed by humans who share their experiences, from fixing a door knob to discussing new books – if you can imagine it, there is a high probability of a Reddit forum discussing it. The Reddit CEO is making the same mistake as we have seen with several other platforms. He has made a decision that makes the community angry. Technical changes to its API will lead to several 3rd party apps that the community loves going out of business. And the Reddit CEO resists learning from previous examples. It will be interesting if Reddit will suffer from this move long term. More
Productivity: AI Cant Solve It? (Blog 1min)
If it is inconvenient or not solvable via AI prompts, it might be a sign it’s worth working on. More
🛠️ Tools & Apps & Services
Productivity: Fine Tune Your Camera
If you are unhappy with the quality of your webcam, you can check out Camo. It’s a virtual camera app that allows you to fine-tune all the settings and get more out of the camera you already own. Camo works with all the online meeting tools you already use. More
- Camo is similar to mmhmm app, featured in newsletter 91
More Twitter Alternatives
Meta is reportedly working on its Twitter-like app, code-named “Barcelona”. While the app is not publicly available, some screenshots surfaced. The app will be focused on sharing text updates, and you can bring your followers from Instagram to the service. More
Bluesky is a Twitter alternative that looks precisely like Twitter and copies its key features. If you want to try it out – we got invite keyes – reply to this email. More
Design: AI Features In Canva
Canva added a bunch of AI features over the last couple of months. From removing backgrounds, adding objects to pictures via prompt, or creating complete slide decks. It is worth checking out if you last used Canva a while ago. The app grew into a suite of tools used by 140 million users monthly. More
📣 Fresh van Root
Is Twitter Dying? (LinkedIn Post)
Yes. The only community growing on Twitter is predominantly right-wing accounts. More
New Client: European Forum Alpbach
Digital marketing consulting across the board and running social media campaigns for specific events, like the “Europe In The World Days.” That’s what we do for our newest client. More
🏞️ Your Next Wallpaper?
🔗 One More Link
Colorize B&W Photos
If you got some Black and White photos, you can colorize them using AI. More
Humans Under A Hydraulic Press (Instagram)
The lengths you have to go to get some “engagement” on Instagram these days… More