Hello from Amsterdam! It's been a great week & I'm stoked to be sending this issue on time & packed with rad content. Let's kick off with some pop culture trivia:
"We're in the pipe, five by five." - Collete Hiller’s character, Ferro in James Cameron’s “Aliens”
The quote meant that everything is going fine and that Ferro was on track to achieve her objective in the expected time frame. In that case, landing a dropship in stormy weather.
Feeling not familiar with “in the pipe”? Well, when something is in the works or is happening, people say that it is “in the pipeline.” “In the pipe” is just an abbreviated form of “in the pipeline.” ; )
Originally, I was looking for rhymes with the word 'five' & came across the phrase "five by five". It can be used informally to mean "good signal strength" or "loud and clear" and is the best of 25 possible subjective responses used to describe the quality of communications, specifically the signal-to-noise ratio.
I even found a beer brewery called Five by Five & an agency in Australia with a cool article about the value in the brand evolution. (Something that we're up to at Twotone currently but more about that later!)
Finally, I also learned that though both “in the pipe” and “five by five” were used in the military, the combination of the two was never actual military lingo. “In the pipe, five by five” was created by “Aliens”’s scriptwriters to create something that sounded authentic; nothing new. of course. In fact, I even came across an article about how to spot a military imposter.
But five by five, as it pertains to signal-to-noise ratio, is what intrigued me post. Especially as the term “signal-to-noise ratio” is a useful metaphor when discussing the pollution of the information ecosystem with misinformation, disinformation, or situations where much of the information available is irrelevant. I'm sure this conjures up various examples of current cultural ailments for anyone reading this. 'Cutting through the noise' is something we all try to do, right?
As Gaby Goldberg's article below conveys:
"In today’s oversaturated world, we need curators to help us separate signal from noise."
Ultimately, that's what this newsletter is meant to do! Sent through the pipe & five by five straight to you. ; )
as always, thank you for reading & sharing this newsletter,
Jon
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📶 p.s. the "five bars" displayed on many cell phones correlates to the signal strength rating originating 100 years ago. Pretty cool!
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🙏 Thank you all for the replies & good vibes each week!
📷 Banner image by my colleague Kike at yesterday's WS6 BBQ.
Cycling
Rigs of the 2021 Silk Road Mountain Race
Bikepacking's wonderful feature on 60 of the rigs rolling this year's just started Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan. Damn, when I competed in 2018 feels like a lifetime ago...
Twotone will be at Eurobike this year!
I'll be at Day 1 & 2 of Eurobike this year. This will be my 8th time at the show and coming from a guy who loves tradeshows, I'm stoked to be attending!
Let me know if you'll be there and keen to catch up. I'll be riding 200km to show from Basel & heading further east after the 1st two days to compete in the 1st Bohemian Border Bash Race.
Gettin rowdy with Roll Call Amsterdam
In addition to getting it tattooed on my leg, I've been getting back in the groove of getting it on before the dawn with the Roll Call Crew. Route on Strava & snaps on insta. Stoked to ride again this Friday!
Startups
It’s hard to be a moral person. Technology is making it harder.
Digital distractions such as social media and smartphones erode our attention spans. Could they also be making us less ethical?
Don't worry, it's not all doom and gloom. The article ends with some advice I think we call could use.
Curators All the Way Down
Last year, Gaby Goldberg published the piece Curators are the New Creators, arguing in favor of a business model centered around “good taste.” This piece expands upon that previous work by putting a magnifying glass on the relationship between curation and commerce. Her point:
"In today’s oversaturated world, we need curators to help us separate signal from noise."
4 Steps to Writing Better Email Replies
Like everyone knows: email blows. Here are some great tips from Erica Dhawan:
Step 1: Slow Down – "Don’t automatically choose immediacy over a response that can become all the more valuable when you delay sending it."
Step 2: Avoid Brevity – "The pressure to communicate quickly and often makes us take shortcuts and leave out context, leaving people to fill the void with confusion and insecurity."
Step 3: Don’t Say “Yes” Immediately – "Be careful about saying “yes” to a task without first understanding all of the details, such as deadlines, who will be working alongside you, and what resources you’ll have at your disposal."
Step 4: Take Charge of Your Communication – "In today’s world, the average manager spends around 2.5 hours a day on workplace drama, misunderstanding, and confusion."
Friends
Introducing WS6 2nd Friday Feestjes!
The 1st one was a hit! The next one is Sept 10th!
We have several open desks at Workspace Six. Swing by for a trial day if you're keen to try it out!
Do the same traits that help people pursue romantic relationships translate into being good at sales?
An old friend of mine, Kyle Porter, from the Atlanta startup scene, posed this question on LinkedIn and 62% of respondents (including me) said yes. What do you think?
The science of ‘herd mentality’
My friend Peter of Let's Be Fwends shared this video about why your brain wants you to follow the crowd. this week and it certainly pertains to the signal-to-noise ratio theme of this issue. Worth a watch!
Radness
Mechanics of Joy on ECHOBOX.radio this Thursday
Speaking of broadcasting five by five & having a new project in the pipe, ECHOBOX.radio is a local Amsterdam independent, online radio station maintaining DIY enthusiasm with the quality of FM.
And, my colleague Kike & I will have the first monthly installment of our new show "The Mechanics of Joy" this Thursday at 2 pm CET.
"The Mechanics of Joy is about the nuts & bolts of finding your stoke. Jon & Kike spend an hour each month exploring typically two-wheeled topics, music, adventure, and more."
Add it to your agenda to make sure you can listen along this Thursday during the live broadcast!