Unknown Unknowns #11 - Underdogs Don't Ask for Permission
I like rooting for the underdog. They're scrappier, they need to scratch and claw. The biggest reason I like underdogs is that they need to come up with a different solution to win. David would have gotten his butt kicked if he went toe-to-toe with Goliath. He also didn't ask if slingshots were allowed. He just found a solution and did what he had to do.
This Week:
Something Interesting: Taking on the Medical Industry
Fascinating deep dive by Packy McCormick on NexHealth, a medical startup trying to fix healthcare. NexHealth is trying to create a platform to connect patients, doctors, and developers. Healthcare in the US is incredibly fragmented with communication between patients and different providers stuck on 1990 era technology. Electronic Health Records were supposed to fix that, but hundreds of standards were created, very few of which are interoperable. I particularly like NexHealth's approach of building their own system from scratch rather than getting approval from existing gatekeepers.
Idea of the Week: Someone Please Replace Zoom Already!
I've used Zoom almost every day for well over a year. I've also been frustrated by it at least once a week. The most annoying part is the chat functionality. I haven't had a worse chat experience since the T9 input on a flip phone! What bothers me? There's no threading. Sometimes it doesn't autoscroll and you don't see new messages come in. Private DMs get lost in the feed. You always forget to switch back to responding to everyone. The biggest problem is that it lags constantly.
Why does almost everyone use it? People need to talk to other people. The video is what they need and Zoom gives dependable video. It doesn't crash and the quality is generally acceptable. That's fine for corporate use, where if you can't connect or if the video drops you can lose a client. But there's room for someone to revolutionize online get-togethers. And I don't mean better filters.
Experiment of the Week: Interstitial Journaling
Interstitial journaling is when you take notes after you complete each task throughout the day. What you did, how you thought about it, what it accomplished, etc. It's a continuation of the Odie experiment from a few weeks ago. Hopefully it will aid in becoming more aware in the moment. I also hope it helps in looking back and see patterns in how projects developed. My main goal is to make building in public easier.
Questions, suggestions, complaints? Email me at [email protected]. Feedback welcome.
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Have a great week,
Chris
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