cover of episode Dan Shipper — I, Writer (EP.237)

Dan Shipper — I, Writer (EP.237)

2024/10/10
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Dan Shipper讲述了他从孩童时期对编程的兴趣，到创建软件应用，再到创立媒体公司Every的个人成长历程。他分享了在创业过程中，如何平衡个人兴趣（写作）与商业目标，以及如何通过坦诚面对自身真相，找到适合自己的发展道路。他认为，承认显而易见的真相，即使很可怕，也能带来自由和动力。他将Every公司的商业模式比作金字塔结构，从免费内容到付费课程和咨询服务，满足不同用户的需求，并应对市场变化。他认为，媒体是一个充满挑战的行业，需要多元化的收入来源。 Jim O'Shaughnessy与Dan Shipper就人工智能、商业模式、以及个人成长等话题进行了深入探讨。他分享了自己在投资领域的经验，并对Dan Shipper的观点表示赞同。他认为，在人工智能时代，分配能力将成为更重要的技能，并带来新的商业模式。他同时强调了直觉在决策中的重要性，并认为应该重新重视人类直觉在解决复杂问题中的作用。

Deep Dive

Key Insights

Why did Dan Shipper decide to embrace AI despite initial wariness?

Dan realized that AI could significantly enhance his creative and business processes, allowing him to focus on what he loves: writing and business. He saw AI as a tool for amplifying his capabilities rather than replacing them.

How does Dan Shipper describe the evolution of his company, Every?

Every started as a bundle of digital newsletters and has since evolved into an ecosystem of newsletters, podcasts, courses, and software products, all focused on exploring the question, 'What comes next?'

What is the 'Every Pyramid' and how does it structure the company's offerings?

The 'Every Pyramid' is a metaphor for the company's multi-tiered revenue streams. At the base is free content for millions, followed by a subscription service, higher-ticket courses, and consulting services at the top.

Why does Dan Shipper believe that AI is crucial for progress in fields like psychology?

AI can make predictions without requiring causal explanations, which traditional scientific methods struggle with. This shift from defining problems scientifically to solving them as engineering challenges can lead to significant advancements, such as better mental health treatments.

How does Dan Shipper view the reluctance of some writers to use AI in their creative process?

Dan understands the attachment writers have to their words and the fear of losing control. However, he believes that AI can be a valuable co-creator, enhancing creativity without diminishing the human element. He predicts that social norms around AI use will evolve over time.

What are the two ideas Dan Shipper would incept into the world's population if given the chance?

Dan would incept the ideas of 'be curious' and 'be kind,' believing that these qualities would lead to personal growth and a better world.

Chapters
Dan Shipper's journey began with a fifth-grade ambition to create a Microsoft competitor, leading him into coding and eventually building software applications for BlackBerry. His popular app, Find It, demonstrated his early technological prowess and entrepreneurial spirit.
  • Early interest in technology and business.
  • Developed software for BlackBerry.
  • Created the app "Find It", a precursor to Find My iPhone.

Shownotes Transcript

“Ignoring what is obvious incurs a huge cost.

It requires you to go about your day numbing yourself to the reality of who you are and what you want—which is a waste of time for you and everyone around you.

By contrast, admitting what is obvious is freeing and motivating. But it’s terrifying to do it. Sometimes the most obvious truths about ourselves are hard to see because the consequences of those truths seem so dire.”

Those are the opening lines of one of my favourite essays) I’ve read in the last year, written by this week’s guest on Infinite Loops - Dan Shipper.

Dan is the Co-founder and CEO of Every, a media company that wants to be an intellectual lighthouse amidst the tempest that is the Age of AI.

Every began life in 2020 as a bundle of digital newsletters (almost like a centralised version of Substack with more of an editorial flourish). These days, it’s blossomed into an ecosystem of colourful newsletters, podcasts, courses, and software products, all oriented around the unpacking of a single question - “What comes next?”)

Every is already one of my go-to destinations for all things interesting. It’s less brain food than brain buffet (the kind of buffet that serves fresh blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup).

In our conversation, Dan shares his thoughts on everything from AI companions; his approach to erecting the Every ‘Pyramid’; his playbook for building new media companies; the idea of LLMs as mirrors for humanity; and using content to ‘find your people’.

What I love about him is how candidly and thoughtfully he talks about his journey to discover his own truth. His realisation that he didn’t need to hang up his boots as a writer in order to become a founder is something that particularly hit home for me.

Dan Shipper is also my underdog pick to eventually wrest the title of Infinite Loops Emperor) from reigning clubhouse leader Alex Danco. By which I mean to say, this is most certainly not the last time Dan joins us on the show, so you may as well get to know him better.

For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack).

Important Links:

Show Notes:

  • Dan’s Superhero Origin Story
  • Writers as Founders
  • What Would You Pay To Do?
  • The Every Pyramid
  • The New Media Playbook
  • How To Find Your People
  • Our AI Mirrors
  • From Explanation Problems to Engineering Problems
  • On Intuition
  • From The Knowledge Economy To The Allocation Economy
  • The Reluctance To AI Adoption
  • AI Companions
  • Dan, The Emperor of The World

Books and Articles Mentioned:

  • Admitting What Is Obvious); by Dan Shipper
  • The Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century); by Howard Bloom
  • Against Explanations); by Dan Shipper
  • The Trial of Socrates); by I. F. Stone
  • The WEIRDest People in the World); by ****Joseph Heinrich
  • The Three Musketeers); by Alexandre Dumas