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Dreams Come True.
Another Sunday, Another Naive Weekly - Observations From The Internet Wilderness.
I’ve big news this week. We now have a Naive Weekly logo.
The logo is made by Benedikt from Studio Hollywood. Learn more about Benedikt in this week’s Reader Interview and read his words on the inspiration for the logo below. And I just want to say an extra thank you to Benedikt for inspiring me, touching my emotions and getting to the truth.
With care,
Kristoffer
VISUALLY PLEASING: NAIVE WEEKLY LOGO
On Doves:
“Across all cultures and millennia, from the ancient worlds to modern times, the dove has been an iconic symbol with infinite layers of meaning.
A sacred bird used in all traditions throughout the world from totems in the wild west to the dry deserts of Egypt and the far eastern plains and mighty mountains of China. Creatures of both the sky and the earth, a vital element in connecting all that is up and that what is below.
Today, for some the rats of the air, in the past for many the backbone of communication, both in times of war and in times of peace. For centuries they have been connecting remote villages with cities, individuals with communities, and the divine with the mundane. Due to its inert ability to find its way home over extremely long distances pigeons have been many things, heralds of heavenly news, mighty messengers, even spirited smugglers. As the original ancestors of technologies such as phones and the internet, perhaps now no longer humble servants of civilisations but forever forgotten?
For those that remain: May they deliver you eternal peace, divine guidance & good news from all wild parts of the world.” — Benedikt Scheckenbach
READER INTERVIEW
Benedikt Scheckenbach is at peace in nature, a ruler of important sports and the owner of Berlin’s most well-curated cap collection. When you don’t see him rolling on the floor, he is making stressless business as CEO, Founder and Creative Director of Studio Hollywood. On day-to-day he is a master of uncommon conduct and designer at Clue.
K: Who can write the future?
Benedikt: Everyone for themselves, really. All together for us, ideally. As long as you own your choices and take responsibility for yourself & those around you are good to go.
K: What is the size of your internet?
Benedikt: It’s fairly small and well known to me. I go about to all the services, sites & shenanigans as I would in the physical world. Means the same way I go to that one supermarket, my gym, my work and all those other everyday places I move around in the wild wild web. Then once in a while I would go on an adventure and get lost in the jungle or a just a Youtube rabbithole.
K: Where do you go fishing for different feeds?
Benedikt: Magicians cannot reveal their secrets. I think there is a beauty for everyone to find their own curation, their own systems, their own sharing mechanism and so on. I personally love a certain degree of randomness in my day to day ventures. That said I have a dangerous Pinterest and Instagram addiction that needs moderation.
#icanstopwheneveriwant
K: What would be your fictional dream job title?
Benedikt: One of my older job titles used to be the Mechanic. I was supposedly the person you could hand matters at hand and I would get the job done. This seems extremely silly now, even more looking at the evergrowing linkedin-startup-speak madness I prefer a certain genuinity: if you are a plumber you're a plumber and that’s cool. No need to call yourself Manager of Sinks. My current title is graphic designer and I really love my job. Don’t let your dreams be dreams.
K: How do you think about time?
Benedikt: Time is crazy. The craziest probably. It’s this totally perceptual construct. I like this saying that I picked up in Morocco : “You have the watches, but we have the time”. There are just so many layers to it: culture, perception, centeredness, acceptance & surrender, a willingness to let go and proceed and so much more. Tho I’m way more into space lately.
K: How do you prepare for death?
Benedikt: You don’t. I read a few books on the subject. Namely The Tibetian Book of Living and Dying. Then my dad died this year after fighting cancer. You can read and prepare all you want, as with everything, unless you experience the experience, it’s just not tangible. You have to feel that with your whole system.
Our society is not particularly strong with a lot of those uncomfortable subjects. Truth is time waits for no one, and death is the whole idea of the cycle of life. (sorry for the spoiler🤷🏽♂️) So just live the life to the extent that at some point you can move on to the next plane and be cool and content with it. #youonlyyoloonce
K: Who would like to give a gift? And what would it be?
Benedikt: I like to think about giving myself to others, it does sound awfully wrong of course, but think about all those interactions that you are having on an everyday basis. If you are fully present and establish a connection to the other human person there, that’s something really really precious and wonderful. Of course if you are invited for dinner bring the ice cream and don't forget to treat yourself on a regular basis to reward hardship and such. But the whole materialist-consumerism-capitalism coping mechanism did not serve us well so far.
Tying in with the concept of time from above: really dedicating your attention/time/energy to someone else (without doing the Gollum with your phone) that still has all the value in the world.
K: What is covered in your shadow?
Benedikt: We all have our demos. As you clean your house, your body and whatnot I deem it necessary to maintain a certain mental hygiene for myself as well. There’s a plethora of how/what/why, whatever your jam, for me an ongoing meditation practice, a strong circle of family and friends have always been the most beneficial to uncover what lies beyond and bring more light into my life. It’s also cool to get some professional help and healing checkups every now and then.
K: Who are your spiritual mothers and fathers?
Benedikt: Ever since I was a boy I had a strong affection towards Eastern philosophies. Zen, which is really the child of Daoism and Buddhism, is currently the one I feel most strongly about. Namely works from Ram Dass, Alan Watts & Eckhart Tolle I hold the dearest and they have impacted me and resonated with me the most. And then real people from all around me, friends & foes alike, all great teachers.
K: Where do you go to get lost?
Benedikt: The forest, the mountains, the streets, anything that allows for strolling by myself or with a dear one.
K: What would you be doing if given financial stability and three months space?
Benedikt: Work. Study. Train. I love to work and create stuff. Probably on side projects like this magazine we are planning. I’d watch tons of classes (currently skillshare/masterclass: photography/motion/…). A while ago I bought a piano and could use more headspace for the practice. The rest: roll, roll, roll.
K: What emotion is lost online?
Benedikt: Connection to self.
K: What question would you ask a tree?
Benedikt: Everything. A friend who is quite in touch with nature recently pointed out how trees are really the only beings that are there since eternity and live each day from start to finish one with the elements. And they’ve been doing that for centuries. That is so majestic.
K: What is your most frequently used emoji?
Benedikt: 🤷🏽♂️ :shrug:
K: What would you love to sell that no one wants to buy?
Benedikt: Anything from Cinco, but T&E know best.
ROADSIDE FLOWERS
2.3 million Americans are jailed or imprisoned.
Book a real life goat for your next video call.
Find something different to read.
INTERNET STORIES
We live in overlapping realities. Julian Lehr does a good job at explaining how social media should allow us to have multiple identities. Each identity participating in a different reality. One for work, another for party and so on. The post would have been perfect if it also had challenged the understanding of identities as fixed.
The High Privacy Cost of a “Free” Website
Google Analytics used to be the first thing I installed on my internet projects. I was hunting clicks and eager to track my ‘progress’. I’ve since come around to question tracking users and installing free plug-ins. Tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Pixels and AddThis might be free for you to use, but they are not free your users. The online advertisement companies use the recorded data to create profiles of your users, also when you don’t want it. Another well written article by The Markup and big kudos for launching Blacklight, a tool to reveal tracking on any website.
INTERNETMEZZO
“All startups seek to disrupt and disintermediate a smug status quo, or originate and dominate an entirely new niche. But what makes a brand a bland is duality: claiming simultaneously to be unique in product, groundbreaking in purpose, and singular in delivery, while slavishly obeying an identikit formula of business model, look and feel, and tone of voice.” — Ben Schott
Naive Weekly
Hi, I’m Kristoffer and you have just read Naive Weekly - Observations from the Internet Wilderness.
Last week this newsletter was sent to 650 people. Thirty people are crazy enough to chip in every month/year to support me making time to write this newsletter: Nikolaj, Lars, Ditte, Jakob, Antal, Anders, Sascha, Cecilie, Søren, Dries, Tina, Gautier, Sarper, Maarten, Mystery, Joshua, Thomas, Mikkel, Aydo, Lukas, Hans, Vibe Johanne, Csongor, Dad, Ida Marie, Yinka, Stine, Troels, William & Angela!
Photograph by Ana Santl.
<3
Kristoffer