Flounder Mode – Kevin Kelly on a different way to do great work

latentnumber | 340 points | 12day ago | joincolossus.com

dannyobrien|12day ago

Just after I took on my new role, I wrote to Kevin Kelly and asked if I could meet him (I assumed he wouldn't know who I was, even though we've met informally, but he did). I wanted to talk to him about talking about how to be optimistic about technology. At my heart, I still remain positive about the contributions and opportunities of technology, but I've increasingly struggled to know how to convey, qualify or transmit that. He immediately accepted, I visited him in his tower, and we had a great, sprawling conversation. Like this author, he renewed my confidence in that framing, and the importance of it existing in the world. That single conversation has kept me going more than anything else over the last three or so years.

I realise in reading this, that I never wrote after the fact to say thanks for that: so, thanks, KK, for everything.

flir|12day ago

Since you're here, can I ask if you're still writing/publishing anywhere? Long-time fan.

(Alternative comment: I think oblomovka's down).

dannyobrien|12day ago

i am! oblomovka runs off a machine on my desk, which tends to crash whenever I walk out of my house, like today. However, this is an excellent notification that I'm now writing enough to maybe make it a bit more resilient.

(For real dannyobrien completists, I also write small more regular email newsletter at https://buttondown.com/dannyob of my work within the Filecoin Extended Cinematic Universe (which includes IPFS, libp2p, iroh, Bluesky, Spritely Institute, Guardian Project, Internet Archive, Prelinger Archive, DWeb Community, Foresight Institute, EFF, Muckrock, etc see https://ffdweb.org/projects , https://fil.org/ecosystem-explorer , https://directory.plnetwork.io/projects?focusAreas=Digital+H... ). It's pretty lowkey though.

flir|12day ago

Many thanks for the links, I'll dig into them.

> oblomovka runs off a machine on my desk, which tends to crash whenever I walk out of my house

Your essay on moving to the edge when everyone else is moving to the centre had a big effect on me at the time. I think it was prescient.

dannyobrien|12day ago

though those crashes show the limitations!

pclowes|12day ago

This was a breath of fresh air.

The tech sector has grown and changed so much. It has gotten much more "professional" which is arguably good but it this in turn promotes a fair amount of "corporate stooge" behavior. I am guilty here for sure, it is really easy to focus on levels, promo packets, OKRs, especially as you age and responsibility grows and forget what make this industry amazing in the first place.

Good reminder to focus on direction and interests and what you feel should be built. Reminds be a bit of the opening section of "The Art of Doing Science and Engineering" which I only came across because I liked other Stripe press books.

You also meet more interesting and passionate people if you pick a direction vs a destination.

zebriez|12day ago

Brie, author of the profile here. Funny you mention Art of Doing Science and Engineering. There was a footnote to You and Your Research in an early draft but it hit the cutting room floor in edits. (Also, I helped get Stripe Press off the ground–including tracking down rights to Art of Doing Science and Engineering–so it warms my heart to hear that's how you first came to the essay/speech).

coffeemug|12day ago

When I met you at Stripe you seemed to me the person with strategic foresight and iron discipline— the kind that gets endless opportunities without even trying. I was hopelessly floundering by comparison, and not in a good Kevin Kelly way. I don’t know if people will think of you in 300 years (the day is young!) but you were definitely a role model for what discipline and great execution look like.

chr15m|12day ago

Thanks for sharing this, great article!

You describe a way of living that is probably much more common than the ramen scurvy CEO lifestyle, but it doesn't get written about because people want to read about financial success and winning at zero sum games.

The typical "success" archetype is often at the peak of some hierarchy (e.g. CEO) where the vast majority in the game literally cannot occupy the top positions. So in those situations most participants are losers. Sounds like you found a way to quietly opt out of that framing of success e.g. in your time at Stripe.

Thank you for normalizing shiny object syndrome floundering!

ashwinsundar|12day ago

I always wondered why Stripe Press was a thing. Why was a financial services company publishing books about the lives of great engineers? I'm very happy you did though, the books themselves are a great read, not to mention they are very beautiful. I really liked "The Dream Machine" in particular

Why did you want to start Stripe Press in the first place? How did you get the support to do it?

gkanai|9day ago

Related to Kevin Kelly, if you want to hear from Kelly's collaborator in the walks, Craig Mod was recently interviewed by Tim Ferriss (episode #803).

pclowes|12day ago

Thank you for all your work! I have several Stripe Press books, especially enjoyed Revolt of the Public and Pieces of the Action.