First, I want to say that all of your posted comments and in-person feedback has meant a lot to me! I took a couple stabs at keeping a journal last year, but I was never able to get consistent. As I had hoped, having friends and family reading (and enjoying!) these posts has motivated me to keep at it.
Because I appreciate you all taking a few minutes out of your day, I’m committed to maintaining a high level of quality, and I’m not entirely sure whether that’s possible seven days a week. As a result, Inherited Wil’s schedule going forward will include releases on Sunday-Thursday nights1.
Feels good to have some structure.
Anyways, onto the articles. Happy reading, and enjoy the weekend!
How to Start a Professional Sports Team, Win Games, and Save the Town - Dan Moore, The Ringer:
This is a much longer piece than what I normally intend to share, but it captures something about sports that is often under-appreciated. In our era of $4.5 billion valuations, it can be easy to think of sports teams as another example of capitalist greed, where the richest of the rich can park their wealth in a high-yield investment while enjoying access to top-notch entertainment and bragging rights.
However, professional sports teams can also be invaluable for building and connecting a community. This is especially true in small markets (places like Green Bay, WI and Sacramento, CA), where a city might lack the amenities and brand of a place like New York or LA. People want to be proud of where they’re from, and a winning team can do that. Unfortunately, since 2019, the good people of Oakland have lost the Golden State Warriors to San Francisco, the Raiders to Las Vegas, and, finally, their beloved Athletics2. This sucks, and Dan Moore has done a great job of covering the community devastated by this exodus3.
You Can Lie, But Only a Little - Jeremiah Johnson, Infinite Scroll:
A cool analysis of the importance of “trust” for influencers working to maintain their brands. I’m not sure if I’ve ever bought something specifically because I saw an influencer discuss it first. I used to think it was because I rarely interacted with sponsored content, but I now think it’s just because I’m too skeptical.
Can an AI health coach fight chronic disease? - Ben Krauss, Slow Boring:
Couldn’t help but appreciate the relevance to Wednesday’s post! Relative to my mostly one-sided attack on AI, the author did a much better job of considering its potential value as a personal health assistant. Still, he ended up in the same place that I do for almost all of these “exciting new developments”: questioning whether the promised tech will be affordable, accessible, or even functional. (I must have inspired him: the last section is titled “It’s All Speculative”!)
Shoutout to Matt and Nat for the inspiration - they both mentioned how they enjoy seeing these posts in their inbox on weekday mornings.
The Moneyball team!
If you find this one interesting, it’s worth going back and reading his other articles.
The meme got me deceased 😮💨