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Preface: Alif and Communities of Practice A couple of years ago, I told a bunch of my friends that I was going to organize a “Muslim tech conference.

In the last two essays in this series, we established that agency is the critical resource of our age, and that networks—not just tools—shape how we exercise that agency.

“What is fundamental to a convivial society is not the total absence of manipulative institutions and addictive goods and services, but the balance between those tools which create the specific demands they are specialized to satisfy and those complementary, enabling tools which foster self-realization.

The most dangerous idea in the world is that action alone breeds good outcomes.

All the cool kids are revolutionaries.

This is one of those essays where I can feel a thread that connects ideas I’ve seen in different parts of my life, but it hasn’t manifested itself yet.

I have a tendency to overcomplicate things.

In his essay “Individuals Matter,” Dan Luu makes a tangential argument that “projects which are more legible get more funding across organizations as well as within them.

There’s a Tyler, the Creator interview clip that’s been making the rounds again where he talks about artists and self-promotion:

Some of my happiest moments came after making really big decisions.

I asked Fardeem for his favorite reads of the year, which of course means I had to reciprocate.

Nouns is a tokenized community.

Jess Sloss has said many times that “there will be billion-dollar communities on the internet.

Web3 has introduced a new type of organization: Tokenized Communities.

You shouldn’t talk about people.

I’m calling the top on startup slop.

A few decades ago, you might be able to convince yourself to be a PMF merchant, selling whatever goods and services to the highest bidder.

Imagine a line representing the spectrum of ambition.

I tend to compartmentalize different aspects of my life and personality.

There is an abundance of creators, but a dearth of people saying anything interesting.

“The intellectual eye of man is formed to see the light, not to make it.

Since college, I’ve often straddled the line between optimist and ideologist.

I’ve always wanted to make an album.

Hands down, the number one thing I’ve learned this year is that energy and discipline are temporary.

With every decision in my life, I’ve asked myself, “what if?

While the “creator economy” was painted as an internet-native phenomenon, the people we’re talking about when we use the word “creator” are largely defined by their distribution rather than their work.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting more on Visa’s quote, “pay attention to what you want to see more of.

Since publishing Luxury Media in June of last year, the most common pieces of criticism haven’t been directed at the ideas – they’ve been directed at the term itself.

PREDICTION: The lines between publisher, platform, and device will blur.

Consistency breeds taste. Taste breeds outcomes.

The feed is the base layer of media.

Everybody is worldbuilding. There is a vision of the world that you want to come to fruition, and you are working to make that a reality.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is narrated to have said:

Reggie James asks in his most recent essay: “How does a technologist begin to look at their body of work?

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Essays that have shaped my thinking in profound ways.

Three new essays this week. Calling them the Native Papers, foundational texts for Native’s brand.

Latest posts Essays, notes, letters, and ramblings.