What Do You Want to Read about Here in ‘23?
More fish? Digital distraction? Russia? Environment? Tell me.
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I’m heading into my second year of writing a column for Medium and I’m trying to get a sense of the kinds of things readers would like to find on my page in 2023. What I know just from the numbers is that the 60,000 or so that currently follow this page were partial to certain themes. Quitting Facebook was a particularly vibrant topic as was the way iPhones interfere with quiet, private endeavors like walking. Above all readers seemed to have a longing for peace and tech-free escape. Particularly with respect to climate change.
Readers benefitted from my being slightly ahead of the curve on things like cryptocurrency and organized crime and the need to give up gas stoves.
But readers also had questions about the Russian invasion. Since I worked in media in the former Soviet Union throughout the 1990s and have something of an inside line into the post-Soviet thought process I had a few things to say in reaction to Putin’s war. Readers responded particularly strongly to the question of Why the Russian Army is so cruel and also the degree to which contemporary Russians are governed by a complicated code of honor.
Lastly I think readers benefitted from my being slightly ahead of the curve on things like cryptocurrency and organized crime and the need to give up gas stoves. More than a few of you were also worn out by all the incessant talk about pickleball and sensed that this “sport” had perhaps jumped the shark.
With all that being said 2023 is a new year with new expectations, new hopes and new fears. I would love to hear from you about the topics that are on your mind. Climate, oceans, tech escape and Russia are my strong points but 20 years of reporting has left a lot of doors open and a lot of questions unanswered. My New York Times Opinion essay this past week on how New York will respond to net zero goals is a direction I personally plan to look into in greater detail in the coming year.
So please do drop a note and tell me what’s on your mind. Or if you’re feeling more passive you can subscribe to my email feed and get alerts when I pub a new piece.
A note that you will probably max out on free stories If you’re not a Medium subscriber. But you can join Medium fairly easily. If you use this link I get a little bump and that’s always appreciated.
