Would you believe that this newsletter used to have a carefully planned editorial calendar? Lately it seems like every time I start working on planned content more than 24 hours ahead of distribution, it's completely blown out of the water by some utterly batshit news revelation. What could possibly be worth saying here when [insert any one of 47,000 other things] is going on?

This week, rather than having one overarching theme — which doesn't feel remotely appropriate, given everything — I'm going to share a variety of topics.

Following your values

I attended Throughline conference two weeks ago, and if there's one consistent... um, I guess I should call it a throughline... it's that we, the content people, are really feeling some things. Work is perilous. Stress levels are through the roof. Optimism is hard to come by.

And then last week I joined a meetup of sustainability people. Take that level of angst and ratchet it up a couple of notches.

(Honestly, I don't know how anyone is getting anything done. Anywhere.)

But the one thing that kept surfacing in all of this? Values. "What I'm being asked to do doesn't reflect my values," or "the world is heading in a direction that doesn't align with my values."

Hold on to that. Cling to it. Values are the compass that steers the world. It's not a coincidence that they're trying to wear us down. They're hoping that we'll sacrifice our personal values because we're too tired to push back.

Know your hill

What's the hill you're willing to die on? (This may no longer be a metaphorical question in many contexts of our lives.) Sustainability is one of mine. It doesn't matter if the client isn't asking for sustainable content or not, their content will be more sustainable by the time I'm done with it. It will also be more usable, more accessible, and just plain better. This is non-negotiable for me. I'm no longer willing to die on the flat plains of compromise and accommodation. I'm on the hill, planting the flag.

I'm also casting off the shackles of my introversion and leaning hard into community, both professional and personal. I know that a strong community is crucial to making our work and our world better.

Related, if you want to build community here, through meetups or other means, reply to this email and let me know.

Avoid the Zugzwang

I've recently been introduced to a German word used in chess. Zugzwang is when you need to make a move, but every one will make the situation worse.

Life is not chess, but that feeling of Zugzwang is pervasive right now. So let's go back to the topic of values: what small moves, aligned with your values, can make things less worse?

Joy is permitted, even encouraged

Look, if you believe social media, we're not allowed to feel joy right now. Yeah, the horrors are ever-present. I am deeply aware of that. I also really enjoy a good sunset, or the crows that shout out their requests for peanuts, or my new exploration of mocktails, or belly rubs for my neighbor's dog. If owe can't enjoy that, then what are we doing the rest of it for?

Disclosure: there is literally nothing good in the news right now. Proceed with caution.

January was the fifth-warmest on record. This is why we need to take action on every front, including developing sustainable content.

You can't convince me that the buildout of all of these data centers isn't almost entirely for surveillance. That's just one reason why we need to keep fighting the good fight against data center expansion. Data center cancellations and delays are surging.

And is it a coincidence that the increased water use is happening at the same time that the United Nations says we're on the brink of global water bankruptcy? I think not.

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Consulting

​Reduce your Scope 3 emissions​

Alisa Bonsignore

Founder, Strategist, and Author