#ScottGalloway
In Defense of the Middle Class:
When entrepreneur, NYU Business professor, philanthropist & UCLA Bruin š Scott Galloway breaks down how the biillionaire class is destroying America... and how this will end.
#economy #america #middleclass #scottgalloway #billionaires
Scott Galloway delivers a shocking critique of Elon Musk on "Piers Morgan Uncensored." While recognizing Musk's tech brilliance, he argues that it doesn't excuse ethical failings, like cutting support for vulnerable groups. Galloway warns that society often overlooks morals in the face of wealth and innovation. His insights urgently remind us of the need for accountability. Read more here: https://crooksandliars.com/2025/06/scott-galloways-brutal-takedown-elon-musks, #ScottGalloway #ElonMusk #PiersMorgan #Critique #Accountability #Innovation
"Two fucking man-children showing what it is to not be a man"
#ScottGalloway nails it
Prof. #TimothySnyder
#ScottGalloway
How to Fight Fascism in America ā with Timothy Snyder | Prof G Conversations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NIwH4nKaDg
#ruSSia #kleptocrat #fascist #billionaire #looter #terror #maffia
#ScottGalloway reaches his (as usual) on-point conclusion: the #Papacy knew exactly what they were doing when they asked "which region of humanity is struggling". When #EasternEurope was in trouble they chose a #PolishPope, this time they chose an #AmericanPope
#ScottGalloway: "Of the 500 S&P CEOs, I would be 495 of them wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and say 'good morning, Mr. #President'... There's an opportunity for someone to speak up but no one has taken that risk for fear... it'll hurt #stockholder value."
"This is arguably the biggest grift in modern history": #ScottGalloway, host of "The Prof G Pod" and "Pivot" podcasts, weighs in on new questions about the #Trump family's #cryptocurrency ventures.
Given our #CanadianElection tomorrow, Iām going to ask everyone, regardless of politics, give time to this discussion and to be honest with themselvesāwho else would you rather lead #Canada for the next decade? šØš¦
'Could not be more stupid': Scott Galloway on Trump's tariffs
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qg3JOR44r6M
#trumptariffs #scottgalloway
@botolo86 I hear you. A curse of those with humanity and intelligence is to understand why though.
I honestly think if more dudes had loving fathers and spent more time with their sons that might help.
Cue #ScottGalloway talking points Iām ripping off.
The Balance Between Masculinity and Femininity in Men | @destiny
How to solve the corruption in politics | @profgalloway & @karaswisher
āI want to see democratic governors saying, Iām gonna do everything I can in my power to use the full faith and to the letter of the law to put you folks in prison ā¦ we need to go full gangster.ā - Scott Galloway
#ScottGalloway #KaraSwisher #KyleKulinski #SecularTalk #coup youtu.be/O76fUfs0AM0?...
āTHIS IS A COUPā: Professor RI...
Better than social media: how I built a private, independent database to keep in touch with the most important people in my life
https://therealists.org/?p=8107
This summer I created a system to keep in touch with the most important people in my life. It has revolutionized my social life and relationships ā at a time when I have very few opportunities to go out, as I care for a toddler.
I shared my system with a few friends and they were immediately intrigued and eager to replicate it. Iām discussing it here, as the database was built with the ethos of the Realists in mind: to give importance to relationships in real life and utilize technology to nurture them and maintain themā¦ without falling in the trap of algorithms.
I think we could all use something like this.
An Epidemic of Loneliness
I recently came across a chart that has been haunting me. Scott Galloway ā New York University business professor, podcast host and entrepreneur ā is currently publicizing his new book Adrift: America in 100 Charts.
Galloway posted on Twitter a chart, excerpted from his book, about the evolution of friendship over the past 30 years. Or maybe a more appropriate description would be ādevolutionā ā because the picture is bleak:
1 in 5 men (21%) and almost 1 in 5 women (18%) have either zero or just one close friend ā not counting family or relatives.
In the age of āsocialā media, where platforms have been promising closeness and immediate contact with anyone in the world at the click of a buttonā¦ we are witnessing an epidemic of loneliness.
According to a recent study by the University of New Hampshire, the consequences of prolonged loneliness can be devastating to oneās health. Deadly even: the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
The last three years of my life have been really challenging vis-Ć -vis nurturing friendships and having an active social life. Covid restrictions, caring for a newborn baby and being her primary caretaker have completely transformed my life.
Before 2020, I used to travel abroad every month, either for work or to visit close friends and family. When home in Paris, I always strived to make every day unique, attending conferences and book launches in the evening after work. Or meeting friends for dinner or drinks. No more.
I have not been on a plane in 3 years (great for my carbon footprint!) but caring for a small baby means I need to be home at 6:30pm every night. And stay home.
Donāt get me wrong, now that Iām a mom I fully understand the term JOMO (āthe joy of missing outā), as my little one is my favorite person in the world. I love every second I spend with her and Iām very conscious that these moments are fleeting: soon she will grow up and become more and more independent. If anything I wish I could stop time and live in this eternal present.
This domestic / parental bliss has had some consequences of course. My friendships have suffered, no question about it.
What to do? Well, I devised a system to keep track of my communication with friends and acquaintances so they wouldnāt languish.
I LOVE this system so much, I couldnāt do without it.
My KIT 150 Notion database
But first! You may be wondering, what is Notion?
Well, Notion is a software that allows you to create workspaces and databases ā they can be as simple or complex as you want them to be.
Notion has fast become the favorite tool of millions of students and productivity geeks the world over. Corporate teams too. Think of it as a very stylish Excel meets Airtable meets Trello ā on steroids.
But Iām digressing. Back to my KIT 150 Notion database: keeping track of our most important relationships ā friendships, influential contacts and clients ā is so essential to oneās well being and professional success. Shouldnāt there be a tool that allows you to do that?
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter do not count. I am talking about a database that lists the most important people in your life, that you can sort by date of last contact, geographic location or importance.
This thing doesnāt exist. So I built it.
My database is platform-agnostic and it empowers me, recalling when I last spoke to my favorite peopleā¦ and if it has been too long, it reminds me to get in touch with them.
Why the name KIT 150?
KIT stands for keep in touch.
150 is Dunbarās number ā the maximum number of people that British anthropologist Robin Dunbar theorized one can maintain significant relationships with.
For the record, I have more than 150 people in my database (161 to be precise), but having that target number in mind was helpful for adding only friends and contacts that I really love and admire and want to keep in touch with (instead of adding 1500 people I have tenuous relationships with).
How I built my KIT 150 Database
I created a new database in Notion with these columns:
- Name
- Last Connected (Type: Date)
- Location (Type: Single Select, listing countries)
- Fave (Type: Checkbox)
I started working first in the āNameā column of my database, adding my closest friends first, then scrolling through my messaging apps to add people I communicate with most frequently.
I didnāt add family members because we speak every day. Friends only.
Then I scanned my address book, culling people from there.
And then I went on Twitter and LinkedIn ā the main social media platforms I use ā and added people I follow thereā¦ people that I want to keep in touch with regurlarly.
This is key: I didnāt indiscriminately add everyone I am connected with on social media, just my strongest relationships and my favorite people.
I added a country to each entry, based on where the person lives, because I have so many friends and contacts abroad (I have lived in Italy, the United States and the UK before arriving in France).
I also created a column for āTrue Helperā with a checkbox, and checked it when the person in question went above and beyond to help me in the past. Itās good information to retainā¦ and a reminder to reciprocate.
The column āFavesā is for my favorite people, so I can see at a glance when I last connected with them.
Here is a snapshot of my database:
You may be thinking to yourself something along the lines of āit feels disingenuous or excessively calculating to keep track of social interactions in an appā.
But isnāt it weird how most people post on social media idealized versions of their lives, in order to elicit positive responses from as many people as possible? Friends and strangers alike?
Iām a firm believer that knowledge is power and I love having a private, independent database that lists the most important people in my life and the date of our last interaction.
Is it dystopian that I need an app for that? Not at all. We all lead incredibly busy lives and itās practical and a major time saver to have that information at a glance ā especially when you have a network of friends, contacts and clients spread across several countries around the world.
It takes me less than 5 seconds to update the āLast Connectedā tab.
My goal on any given day is to connect with at least 6-10 people from the database and I love how in Notion I can filter out results by date.
Every month I start from scratch.
What does it mean? This December 1st, I created a new view that filtered results by: āLast Connected Before December 1.ā Everyone from the database showed up in there. So, every time I touch base with someone, they disappear from this viewā¦ the only people left are those I have not been in touch with this monthā¦ so I can be quickly reminded of whom I should contact next.
Of course, there are people I interact with several times a month. I am in touch with some friends more frequently than others. But itās really incredible to have a reminder of which people I have not interacted with in a while. For example, I may be under the impression that I just saw or spoke with friend āXā but then I check my KIT 150 database and see the last time we interacted was early September. This system is AMAZING for that.
I also use Notionās powerful formulas to create a view where I can see what my goal for the month is ā in my case, connect with 125 people from my database ā and see how far along I am.
What counts as an interaction: a meeting in real life, a phone or Zoom call, an email, a text message or a comment on social media. The latter has to be thoughtful and personalized to count.
I have been using this system since July and I find it indispensable.
Goals are one thing and of course I do not always manage to connect with everyone on my list in 30 days. But I love having a reminder to do so. If anything it is truly making me more social ā at a time when I canāt go out or travel as much as I used to.
I hope this post was useful to you. Iād love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments. Or maybe suggestions about how to improve the database.
ā Elena
Additional reading:
- Axios: āSunset of the social networkā
- The Atlantic: āThe Age of Social Media Is Endingā
An update ā January 2025
I wrote this article over 2 and a half years ago, when my favorite social network at the time ā Twitter ā had been hijacked by a mercurial, chaotic billionaire. Back then the Fediverse was still mostly unfamiliar to me. Today I have quit ALL for-profit social media networks (Twitter / X, Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn) and I am mostly inactive on Bluesky. I found a home ā a beloved cozy home ā in the Fediverse, so reading back this article feels a little odd. I have had to revolutionize how I contact people, since the vast majority of my friends are still on mainstream social platforms. So these days communications happens over the phone, text and email. Basically, life circa 2004. And I wouldnāt have things any other way.
If youāre curious about the Fediverse, I have been writing a blog series about it called The Future is Federated.
#BigTech #digitalMindfulness #digitalSovereignty #friendships #guides #howTo #independence #Notion #relationships #ScottGalloway #socialMedia
"Walking into any conference room and believing that if shit got real, you could kill and eat the others, gives you an edge and confidence, note: don't try this" #ScottGalloway
Our infinite appetite for distractions: yesterday, today and tomorrow
Dear Realists,
Today Iād like to share with you words from brilliant writers and thinkers whose books ā published decades ago ā were incredibly prophetic in predicting our current cultural climateā¦ and our fragmented attention.
George Orwellās āNineteen Eighty-Fourā (1949) is quoted extensively as a premonition of surveillance capitalism and the stripping of privacy by Big Tech. And yet, Neil Postman, in the foreword of his brilliant book āAmusing Ourselves to Deathā (published in 1985), astutely remarked that another book turned out to be a more accurate prophecy for the state of things in the late 20th century: Aldous Huxleyās āBrave New Worldā (1932).
Amusing Ourselves to Death: what we love will ruin us
Postman writes:
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture [ā¦]. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny āfailed to take into account manās almost infinite appetite for distractions.ā In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
āAmusing Ourselves to Deathā is a sharp critique of show business and how television and its codes altered public discourse:
Today, we must look to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, as a metaphor of our national character and aspiration, its symbol a thirty-foot-high cardboard picture of a slot machine and a chorus girl. For Las Vegas is a city entirely devoted to the idea of entertainment, and as such proclaims the spirit of a culture in which all public discourse increasingly takes the form of entertainment. Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice. The result is that we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.
This argument perfectly applies to the internet and especially to the most popular social media app of the 2020s: TikTok. Short clips, lasting a handful of seconds, are commanding the attention of over a billion people worldwide.
NYU business professor Scott Galloway recently wrote on his blog a post titled āTikTok: Trojan Stallionā remarking about TikTokās wide ā and free ā talent pool:
Fifty-five percent of its users are also creators, meaning there are approximately 700 times as many creators working for TikTok than there are professionals producing content in film and TV across the globe. Most arenāt as talented, but many are.
TikTok revenues are dwarfing those by Netflix. Yes, you read that right. And while the latter is spending 17 billion dollars in content creation this year, TikTokās users are creating content for the company for free.
Rapid-fire media is destroying our attention
Galloway writes in another post:
Compare the TikTok doomscroll to the Netflix experience, where you skim infinite thumbnails trying to figure out what to watch. Then you have to focus for 40 minutes. A big commitment these days. Parents report their kids canāt sit through feature-length films because theyāre too slow. I notice with my 10 year-old, when heās exposed to uninterrupted, quick-hit media, he has a difficult time afterward doing anything that requires focus ā¦ including being civil to his parents. Expect an emerging field of academic research looking at the effects on behavior, and the developing brain, of rapid-fire media.
Decades before the arrival of smartphone and social media, Neil Postman had written in āAmusing Ourselves to Deathā:
Tyrants of all varieties have always known about the value of providing the masses with amusements as a means of pacifying discontent. But most of them could not have even hoped for a situation in which the masses would ignore that which does not amuse.
Doesnāt this apply perfectly to our current social media landscape? TikTok especially?
Itās fascinating how the appās success has inspired rivals YouTube, Instagram and Facebook to radically change their products, imitating it, in an effort to recapture their usersā attention. (If youāre interested in learning more about this, just yesterday the New York Times published the article: āMeta tweaks Facebook app to act more like TikTokā).
4000 Weeks
In 1985, Postman warned:
When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture-death is a clear possibility. In America, Orwellās prophecies are of small relevance, but Huxleyās are well under way toward being realized. For America is engaged in the worldās most ambitious experiment to accommodate itself to the technological distractions made possible by the electric plug.
Itās worth repeating that Postman wrote this in 1985 about television. Decades before the arrival of smartphones, social media, and addictive, AI-driven recommendation platforms like TikTok. And this phenomenon is not limited to America. One could say the same about any other country.
Apologies for the doom and gloom of this post. Where may one look for causes and solutions? I have been reading Oliver Burkemanās āFour Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.ā The title of the book refers to the average life span: 4,000 weeks or 76.7 years.
Burkeman addresses head-on our āinfinite appetite for distractionā:
[ā¦] whenever we succumb to distraction, weāre attempting to flee a painful encounter with our finitude ā with the human predicament of having limited time, and more especially, in the case of distraction, limited control over that time, which makes it impossible to feel certain about how things will turn out.
He continues:
No wonder we seek out distractions online, where it feels as though no limits apply ā where you can update yourself instantaneously on events taking place a continent away, present yourself however you like, and keep scrolling forever through infinite newsfeeds, drifting through āa realm in which space doesnāt matter and time spreads out into an endless presentā, to quote the critic James Duesterberg. Itās true that killing time on the internet often doesnāt feel especially fun, these days. But it doesnāt need to feel fun. In order to dull the pain of finitude, it just needs to make you feel unconstrained.
I canāt stop thinking about what Galloway said about the behavior of his 10 year old son. This has been on my mind a lot lately, as a filmmaker.
Iāll share this again:
I notice with my 10 year-old, when heās exposed to uninterrupted, quick-hit media, he has a difficult time afterward doing anything that requires focus ā¦ including being civil to his parents. Expect an emerging field of academic research looking at the effects on behavior, and the developing brain, of rapid-fire media.
It feels like hundreds of millions of people are being conditioned every day to be as distracted as possible. To amuse themselves to death, in the words of Postman. Entire creative professions are being made irrelevant by the rise of certain tools and social media platforms.
And there is a stark difference between the media we have discussed so far. Television programming is the same for every viewer. Smartphone content is personalized and tweaked to each user. Burkeman recalled the words of Center for Humane Technology founder Tristan Harris:
[ā¦] Each time you open a social media app, there are āa thousand people on the other side of the screenā paid to keep you there ā and so itās unrealistic to expect users to resist the assault on their time and attention by willpower alone.
I think ā I hope ā the tide will turn at some point. That we will experience a global reckoning. That these conversations will become mainstream and that people will start actively resisting ā and steering away from products that destroy their attention.
When I was researching and writing my documentary The Illusionists back in the day, very few people were talking about the influence of media and advertising on body image. There was one single body standard ā white, thin women with big breasts, airbrushed to perfection ā in billboard ads the world over. There has been incredible change in this field ā now global brands are constantly striving for diversity and inclusion, of even older women, who used to be invisible in advertising. It took about a decade for change to happen. There are obviously still unattainable beauty ideals on display everywhere, but there is real consciousness, on the part of consumers, about what is happening and what to look out for.
I hope, with The Realists, to see something similar happen regarding our relationship to technology. Maybe Realists are pioneers of a new age of consciousness, of a more mindful approach to technology.
Our future generations deserve a better world ā and more control over their attention, away from distractions. It may be easy to blame technological devices and platforms, but real change happens at home ā and in schools, for younger kids. We need to start modeling a different behavior. Parents and grandparents have a big responsibility in this ā digital literacy should be a topic they address head-on. And for adults with no kids, there are many burgeoning resources, books, and tools to reclaim focus and attention. I will include links to organizations at the bottom of the post.
We got this.
Resources for parents and kids:
- 5Rights Foundation: building the digital world that young people deserve
- Common Sense Media: global nonprofit helping families navigate media, tech and digital parenting.
- Fairplay: ācreating a world where kids can be kids, free from false promises of marketers + Big Tech.ā
- Screens and kids: research and advocacy for classroom digital device health & safety policies.
Resources for adults:
If this post speaks to you, please share it with friends and loved ones. And let me know in the comments how I can improve this newsletter or if you have requests for future issues.
Thank you!
ā Elena
#4000Weeks #AldousHuxley #Books #digitalLiteracy #GeorgeOrwell #NeilPostman #OliverBurkeman #resources #ScottGalloway
"#KaraSwisher and #ScottGalloway discuss #ElonMusk's controversial $1 million daily prize for swing voters, and the #legal questions being raised. They also dig into Peter #Thiel's influence on J.D. #Vance, and the possible implications of a #Trump victory."
The "algebra" that Galloway covers is absolutely on pointe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3qb8bB5r5Q