35 - Dayne and Clyde Rathbone - Letter: Changing the Nature of Online Conversations

2:42 Dayne and Clyde’s backgrounds and why they decided to found Letter
10:50 What is Letter? How does the form nudge us towards more worthwhile forms of exchange.
16:16 How to avoid trolls and call-out culture on a platform.
27:00 How certain technologies facilitate and encourage certain types of use
34:02 The advantage of having a discussion in written form
37:20 Twitter
42:02 Time well spent
44:12 Addiction, unitasking and focus; longer term value
51:19 Connection
58:38 Long-term goals and target audience
59:58 Role models
1:03:20 Facebook
1:08:50 Avoiding outrage culture

References

You can find Letter here:
https://letter.wiki/conversations

For an account of what we are trying to do:
https://areomagazine.com/2019/07/12/lets-change-the-nature-of-public-debate-an-introduction-to-letter/

On the letter exchange between Massimo Pigliucci and David Sloan Wilson:
https://areomagazine.com/2019/07/10/human-cultural-evolution-a-letter-exchange/

On the letter exchange between Gurwinder Bhogal and Iona Italia:
https://areomagazine.com/2019/07/19/memory-and-identity-a-letter-exchange-with-gurwinder-bhogal/

Further References

Mike Nayna’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzk08fzh5c_BhjQa1w35wtA

Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2008)

Sam Harris’ Making Sense podcast:
https://samharris.org/podcast/

Sam Harris’ and Ezra Klein’s conversation:
https://samharris.org/podcasts/123-identity-honesty/

Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016)