'15 minutes of fame'
An intro to the Digital Wisdom newsletter... from its writer (obviously)
Firstly, thank you so much for signing up to receive this newsletter. It’s really appreciated.
This is the first edition. And you are one of my first subscribers. How exciting!
In a bit I’ll explain what you can expect from the newsletter, why I’ve started it, and what I hope you will get out of it.
But first a story…
It was back in 2014 when I had my ‘15 minutes of fame’. I took a photo of some spikes that had been put into the ground outside a block of flats in London. I had presumed they were to stop homeless people sleeping there. I was right.
Within 48 hours, my photo of these ‘anti-homeless spikes’ had been shared 26,000 times on Twitter. The story had been picked up by all the major UK newspapers and broadcasters; and I’d been interviewed by the Press Association and The Telegraph, appeared on Sky News, and invited to appear live on LBC radio.
The story had gone viral…
Yes, that overused word and long-hoped for success metric: viral.
It was a big story at the time, particularly in London, where a certain Boris Johnson spoke out and condemned the spikes in his role as Mayor of London. They were then removed.
It may have been fleeting fame for me. And I may have fluffed a few quotes when thrust into the media spotlight. But it instigated ongoing PR damage for plans to introduce such inhumane architecture. A positive result.
I shared this story for a few reasons. It’s a bit of an insight into me, and it reveals some of my journalistic character. It’s also an experience that’s given me a richer understanding of the power of stories, the nature of the news cycle, and importance of taking an opportunity when you see it.
Why is this newsletter called Digital Wisdom?
I love the pursuit of wisdom. And I love digital tech and futurism. Yes, I may ask for your grace if I occasionally wander off track in this newsletter, but the central themes will remain. In this newsletter, I plan to share insights and reflections on digital communications.
I will do my utmost to be timely, relevant and to give you value.
To give you a flavour of what’s to come, examples could include: ‘What are the timeless principles of great digital content and what can I learn from them?’, or ‘Should I invest more in owned, earned or paid media when I’m trying to communicate my brand? And what do these even mean?’
It’ll be part blog/part newsletter. I’ll link to some articles I think are important and why, and I may even drop a podcast on here too.
But do let me know: is there anything you’d like me to look into and unpack?
The key thing is I want to learn and share what I’ve learned about how to navigate the digital space with wisdom. And to keep learning and sharing...
At this moment in time I don’t have an enormous subscriber-base, so I would really value your support. You can use the link below to share this newsletter 👇
My first milestone is to reach 100 subscribers. I’ll let you know when I do!
And who knows, maybe one day this newsletter will lead to another 15 minutes of fame… (although that’s probably not a very wise success metric 😂)
Take care for now,
Andrew.
PS. If you have a second, drop me a note to say hi and let me know what you think of the newsletter.
A great first newsletter! Am looking forward to your inspiration