A Taxonomy of Seasonal Vibes
i’m okay, look i made a scatterplot to prove it
If timed newsletters work the way I think they do, you should be receiving this close to the precise moment of the winter solstice -- that is, the moment when the earth’s rotation starts to again tilt the north pole toward the sun. It’s the year’s midpoint for those who start their years on the summer solstice, and it’s the season’s midpoint for those who start their seasons on cross-quarter days. And we love midpoints here at Middling Content!
I’m transitioning an eight-year tradition that I’ve had with colleagues and friends to this Substack, because I intend to make it more the center of my working life in 2025. (I intended to prioritize it in 2024 as well, but feel like I have insight as to how I can have more success this year!)
Plotting The Past Decade
Since 2011, I’ve celebrated “Old Year’s Day” by writing my future self a note reflecting on lessons learned and placing it in a “whenvelope” (once a physical construct, now metaphorical) to be read after the next year elapses. And in placing such a clear marker around this time of year, it’s given me perspective on how broadly my feelings about the year can be. Even though all year’s have a mixed bag of good and bad happenings, some feel distinctly “good” and others feel “rough”. And so I must ask: why?
And in response, I’ve designed this two-by-two four-quadrant framework!
Ultimately, my sense is that the years that really sting this time of year are those with “high vibes variance” that end on a down note. This year was one of the most personally difficult years I’ve had in some time -- the most funerals/memorials since 2020 -- but mercifully this holiday season is not as difficult as others I’ve experienced recently.
According to this methodology:
My past decade has spanned all four quadrants.
I’ve never had two rough years in a row.
If you’ve had a tough year, I’m hopeful that an at least okay year is ahead of you. And it’s worth remembering that dividing the year at different points would yield different outcomes -- years that start strong and end poorly would feel completely different if we recognized their endings in June instead of December.
2024 in Review: Progress
Despite the difficulties of the year, though, no year is without small victories! And as this is a performative medium and I have products and projects to promote, it’s worth noting a few areas I hope to build on in the new year.
Mic Check
The survey system I built last year has continued to collect data, and I conducted over 15k interviews this year about a variety of topics relating to media and wellbeing. I intend to publicize more of these surveys in the new year, and I’m very open to adding questions that subscribers like you request -- so send me a note to nominate a question if you have one!
Below is an example of some work I’m doing with a couple wellbeing nonprofits to assess happiness across age groups globally.
As you can see above, about 1 in 10 younger people are around the lower third of an 11-point wellbeing index. So if you know any younger folks, it could be a good opportunity to send them some seasonal good vibes and/or check in with them.
There’s a lot more to come with Mic Check in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned!
Tuuntr
I’m happy to say that I was able to grow paid subscribers 10X year-over-year for my language-learning web application! But, of course, there are a few important caveats on this stat.
Each paid user pays only $2/month, so income is negligible.
Revenue from paid users does not cover user acquisition, so I’ve paused advertising.
The paid subscribers aren’t using the app regularly, so I need to fundamentally rework the offering.
So not quite a winning story yet! But it’s been interesting to watch the app grow (20k signups!) and I do believe there is a path to eventual success with continued tweaks to the application.
If you’re interested in free access to Tuuntr as I work through new capabilities, please reach out!
Day Job
While I get great joy from personal projects, most of my time was spent holding down a day job! I continued my work at an analytics-focused ad agency, where I had the goal to deepen my understanding of modern marketing systems and processes. And in bright news, I was able to “automate myself out of a job”, so I’m transitioning to part time in the new year to provide more space for my other projects.
Exploration & Travel
And of course, I continued to travel frequently, adding a few new stamps to my passport -- including Bhutan, Brunei, South Korea and Nepal! I presented research in Johannesburg, bringing my “continents I’ve presented on” to five! I watched Bullet Train and took the eponymous Japanese bullet train on the same day! I watched a presidential acceptance speech live at the Zócalo in CDMX! And I made it to Houston to celebrate the arrival of a new niece. A rich year in many regards.
What’s Next in 2025
I’ll have more to share about the new year in the new year, but the focus will be on doing fewer things more effectively.
I’m thinking of 2025 as a “productivity cocoon” that I will enter and it will be relatively dull, but my hope is the routine will enable a higher degree of output. I plan to have this newsletter be my primary means of social interaction, which should force me to hit a more consistent publication schedule. Or drive me into madness. If you aren’t already subscribed, why not subscribe to find out?
Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter and for supporting me in this endeavor! It truly means a great deal to me.
Happy Old Year,
Lots of Love,
Harry