Whelp, I struck a nerve folks

The last newsletter was one of the most impactful ones I’ve ever sent. I got well over a hundred replies and counting. Almost all of them were incredibly kind and supportive, a few were passive aggressive, and a few were baffling. A couple of you are even full-on stupid arseholes!

Before I go on, I made a FUCK THIS STUPID CULTURE t-shirt and you definitely shouldn’t buy it. This is a limited edition joke. Don’t get yours by Monday, the 17th, when I will stop selling them and pretend this never happened.

Anyway, I heard from old fans, old friends, new fans, new friends, and even an ex-girlfriend. Many of you shared stories of similar experiences. It was moving, beautiful, and informative. Thank you all for writing. I’ll be talking more about this and what I learned from you all in coming mailings.

In the meantime, a book on this subject you might enjoy is From Strength to Strength, which is about finding happiness, fulfillment and success in the second half of life. It’s not totally applicable to my own personal experience. It’s more about how to cope with the loss of mental speed, agility and focus that is an inevitable part of aging. The answer is shifting to the kind of thinking that strengthens as we age: wisdom. This isn’t really my issue because the young-style of thinking was never really my thing. Nonetheless, I’m getting a lot out of the book and I think many of you will too.

Also, Everything is a Remix Part 1 and the complete cut have been blocked on YouTube by Led Zeppelin. It’s always the richest motherfuckers who exert their copyright with the most absurd pettiness. And yes, one of the claims was over the “Taurus” comparison, but it’s an algorithm behind this, folks, not a person.

100% of the copyright issues I’ve had with the new version of the series have been Led Zeppelin. Everybody else just divvies up the ad revenue. (I get no revenue from any of these videos.)

I'm working on fixes and appeals and the original videos should go back online hopefully soon.

The Road Ahead

Alright, what’s next?! I’ll be answering this question over coming newsletters for both you and myself. I’ll be thinking aloud semi-publicly. This will be a work-in-progress.

POSSIBILITY #1:
Freelance Writing, Video Production, and Creative Direction

This isn’t just a possibility—it’s what I’m doing right now. I’m now working as a freelance writer, video producer, and creative director. I love this work, I love telling stories, and I’ve worked with some great clients. I’ve worked with big publications like The New York Times and I have a new AI video in the works with Bloomberg. I’ve worked with the awesome science and math video education company Generation Genius, as well as my long-time pal and fellow Canadian, Roz Allen of Double Barrel. I’ve even been doing content creation work for other people, like the wonderful Nick Milo and his blossoming YouTube channel Linking Your Thinking. It’s been fun to see a video about a web browser, which we made in hours, go a little bit viral and rack up some views. (Definitely switch to the Arc browser, by the way. If you reply I’ll send an invite code if I still have some.)

So why don’t I just commit fully to freelance video work? Maybe I will! Maybe I can get more recurring work and it can stabilize and become more antifragile. This possibility is probably the top contender right now, but freelance video production, like any kind of freelancing, means getting gig after gig after gig endlessly and that is a tricky business. It’s also difficult to scale. It’s service work and I only have so many hours in the day. (I know that I could launch a studio, but I’ve worked enough in that world to know that’s just not a business I want.)

Video writing and production is the short- and medium-term and maybe it’ll become the long-term. I’m open to that. I’m open to anything. If you want to work with me, just hit reply, but please note that the budget should at least be, let’s call it, medium. I don’t do low-budget work, sorry. I can’t make a go of it on those projects, but best of luck with yours.

And in My Spare Time: This

One of the main activities in my spare time will be this newsletter. In these messages, I’ll be exploring new possibilities and pursuing a variety of interests just like I always have. The way you know me is not going away, but the format of my thoughts will be text, which is far faster and easier to create than my bonkers video style.

The subject matter of this newsletter will be eclectic. I’ll be talking about this next phase of life I’m entering. (What do we call it? The Pivot? Reinvention? The Midlife Remix?) I’ll be talking about making money, being happy, being healthy, being a family member or a friend, being part of a community. In a nutshell, a lot of this will just be about life. And I'll still be writing about technology and AI, media and culture. Those will still be there.

This newsletter will be the Kirby Ferguson hub. It will be published weekly, maybe not forever, but for the next while. Consistency is a weak suit of mine and I'm aiming for a small moral victory by locking down the schedule of this newsletter. Without giant personal video projects hogging all my bandwidth, I'm feeling confident.

If you'd like to support this newsletter, come back me on Patreon or make a one-time donation here.​

Folks, thanks for being there. You’re an inspiration to me, I hope I’m an inspiration to you. Whatever you do: don't buy that shirt!​

See you next week!
Kirby

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Why are you still reading? You want a medal or something? Fine, take 10% off anything in my shop!!! Use the code POSSIBILITY1 at checkout.

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