Recap: 2024
My top deep dives, favorite shower thoughts, top mind-blowing framings, 4 themes to prepare for 2025, and my plans for the next year
Hey all,
Before we all probably shift into holiday mode and only appear again in early January, I wanted to share a recap of 2024 with you.
Below, you’ll find:
The Top 5 Deep Dives Of 2024
Favorite 5 Shower Thoughts of 2024
Top 10 Mindblow Framings Of 2024
4 Themes To Prepare For 2025
My Plans for 2025
Thank you all so much for supporting my work this year! Without your support, this whole thing would not exist. It means a lot to me! So again, huge thank you goes out to all of you! 😊
Now, enjoy the recap:
The Top 5 Deep Dives Of 2024
How did I determine the top 5? I combined overall views, likes, the number of new subscribers the post triggered, and especially the resonating feedback I received from subscribers via e-mail, comments, or LinkedIn.
1️⃣
This piece from January was by far my most viewed post of 2024 (and actually of all time for this newsletter), and that’s because it went a bit “viral” on HackerNews and caused a lot of discussions over there. But not only there, it also hit nerve on LinkedIn.
2️⃣
This report got many views and downloads, but more importantly, it resonated greatly with people. Omg, the e-mails and messages I got…very heartwarming, so thank you all very much! 😊 I guess the report just really mattered to people, and it satisfied a deep feeling and need that people, demoralized by the status quo of business, have.
3️⃣
Again a piece that resonated a lot with people (lots of likes and feedback) and was actually viewed a bit more than the report above. It’s a long piece and, together with three other pieces, it forms a bigger theory, which I might explain a bit more with a presentation or so next year, because I think this stuff has actually become even more relevant during the last months.
4️⃣
While other pieces got a bit more likes, views and comments, this one made it into this year’s top five because it led to a huge increase in paid subscribers for me. And if quite a lot of people were willing to pay for it, it must have hit a nerve 😁. It definitely speaks to the value of this piece, especially for those of us who might consider themselves part of the creator economy.
5️⃣
This piece, which was sort of a rant about corporate foresight, led to quite a lot of discussions, me being invited to an online panel, and it was shared a lot within the foresight community. Interestingly, I am now seeing more and more speculative, imaginative, and scenario-thinking futures work emerging again (and I love it!), which I think explains why this piece hit a nerve in early 2024 – good timing, I guess. 😉
Favorite Shower Thoughts of 2024
Each Rabbit Holes issue comes with a thought-provoking but also funny tweet, quote, or meme. Here are my favorites of this year:
Top 5 Mindblow Framings Of 2024
These were extremely hard to pick. But there were a few articles (or framings) in this year’s Rabbit Holes that had a lasting, mind-blowing impact on me. I actually think it might be necessary for you to get mentally prepared before reading these pieces 😅. So, get yourself a good coffee, tea, or whiskey, block some time in your day, and have a conscious read:
🤮 Ugly Times
I haven’t read stronger and funnier words than this in a very long time. What I like about the “ugly times” framing is that it tackles our systemic problems from an angle that is extremely relatable across people with different backgrounds. Said differently, beautifying the world requires a systemic transformation that, in turn, I believe, will also tremendously boost things like sustainability, physical and mental health, as well as social justice.
🍟 Intellectual Obesity
This piece frames the problem of information overload in today’s age in such a super clear and eye-opening way. “Curiosity, which once focused us, now distracts us.” The more we participate in the info feed, the more we bloat our minds with “a cacophony of half-remembered gibberish that sidetracks your attention and confuses your senses”.
📺 Amusing Ourselves To Death
There are articles out there that are very interesting, even mind-blowing. And then there are articles that are truly transformative, like this one. I don’t even wanna add more of a comment or intro here for this one. Please just read the entire piece! 😉
😮 From Intelligence To Wonder
Read this article to shift your view and understanding of intelligence completely. I really mean it! Amidst all the AI hype, this is an essential read to step out of anthropocentric worldviews and re-discover the immense beauty and awe that the world offers.
⚙️ Mechanized Minds
Wow! Reading this piece is essential if you’re into AI or the debate between re-humanization and trans-humanization. What it’s done for me is to weave various thoughts I had together into a bigger theory, one that I might soon share with you in a deep dive. Also got a lot of positive feedback from subscribers on this one.
4 Themes For 2025
Now, the following are a few picks from my Rabbit Holes issues and Deep Dive posts that will help you better understand the times we are in, with a focus on what might come in 2025. In other words, this will help you shape your way of looking at and making sense of the stuff that will make headlines in 2025. Putting this together, I realized that these are also basically rough ideas for potential future deep dives, so keep that in mind. 😉