No crypto chatter this week. Here at TFM we zig while others zag. And vice versa.
My name is Ethan. I manage Alex Russell, Zack Fox, and Cam Hicks. I started this newsletter to regularly send out a few links and musings that I hope other managers will find interesting. Thanks for reading this third edition of season two.
Activity Log
A few things I did this week that I didn’t do last week
Snagged a vaccine appointment by following the advice here (NYC specific)
Hired this guy on Upwork to automate two tasks using Zapier (which I’ve struggled to find a real use case for years) 🔥
FaceTime’d with new pal Jeremy
Likely solved this recurring headache problem I’ve been having by doing a remote visit with a doctor using 98point6… very slick
Binged Lupin… now on to Call My Agent 🇫🇷
Used this heavenly quartz roller on my face
Received $800 for free via Brex Cash… here’s how to replicate if interested
Ran out of Dispo invites but please add me to your Rolls!
Late February Haze
Personally, this was a weird week that I spent in a bit of a fog. I wasn’t really sure what to prioritize, and at times felt guilty about that. Good habits lapsed. I stayed up too late doing pretty meaningless stuff, didn’t go outside enough, and burned the roof of my mouth eating Alexia crinkle-cut fries. I avoided a few difficult conversations I’ve been meaning to have, and called friends on FaceTime instead.
The bizarre thing about this talent management business is that from an objective standpoint, a lot actually got accomplished…. much more than most weeks! Timing is a weird thing. Two deals in the works since last year both closed. Significant progress was made on a major project. And while all three clients are juggling multiple projects simultaneously, I think each has zero’d in on the single most important thing ( for right now) that can make the biggest difference in their careers. I’m proud of them for that.
For me, March is going to be about prioritizing that single most important thing for each client and doing what I can each day to push it forward – while working to create the space for them to focus on it. That “creation of space” is probably what I do best.
My secondary priority is to focus on deepening the connections with you all who take some of your precious time to read this newsletter. I so enjoy (and benefit from!) the conversations I have with you individually about your own experiences, ideas, and perspectives… in talent management, entertainment, and elsewhere. If we haven’t talked in a bit (or ever), please reply and say hello. 👋
No third priorities. Everything else will need to fit in after those two.
Twitter Super Follows
I think this will be big. We talked about OnlyTweets (from Stir) back in Episode 111. That hacked-together experiment didn’t really take off, but I think a native Twitter implementation will make all the difference. And now Stir is valued at $100M so…
Whose tweets would I pay $4.99 a month for? A bunch, actually. Off the top of my head: @its1833, @cheriehu42, @don_shano, @ernestbaker, @gbrl_dick, @VCBrags.
These accounts either make me laugh, have a very specific domain expertise, or have a sharp POV. I hope they don’t all flip on the paywall at the same time.
For this to work: tweeters are going to have to carefully thread the needle between what they share publicly vs. what they share only to paying followers, and keep the value high for both. Like nearly everything else, I suspect that the virality/impact of a year’s worth of good tweets™ follows a power distribution, and it’s not tenable to keep all the good stuff gated behind a paywall where it can’t really spread.
And In a sense, I’m already paying for @zackfox tweets, one way or another.
Ok, I’m off – but here are a few more reads for your weekend ahead:
And all of the Pompliano brethren, of course.