Women don't need fixing...
But the system really does.
Hello there :)
Welcome to issue seventy eight of Manufacturing Serendipity, a loosely connected, somewhat rambling collection of the unexpected things I’ve recently encountered.
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Speaking of coffee, grab yourself a suitable beverage my loves, let’s do this thing…
First up, a little shameless self-promotion…
I’m running a new cohort of my ideation course!
I had a lovely time running this course in January, and since then, I’ve had a bunch of messages from folks who were keen to know when I’d be launching the next cohort. So, I figured why not do it in May?
Super Early Bird tickets are just £120* and tickets are on sale now :)
*Super Early Bird tickets are limited, regular ticket price £240. Prices quoted exclude Eventbrite fees.
Course Content
This live cohort-based training course runs over a four-week period, with a 90 minute workshop session delivered over Zoom each week.
Attendees will be guided step-by-step through the ideation process I personally use; I’ll suggest a range of exercises attendees might like to complete between sessions, plus they’ll be plenty of time for Q&A each week:
Week One: May 7th 2024, 5pm-6:30pm (UK) - Getting Started: creative myths; creative briefs, seeking inspiration, & gaining a deeper understanding of the media landscape.
Week Two: May 14th 2024, 5pm-6:30pm (UK) - Idea Generation: practical exercises to help you come up with ideas, and further develop them.
Week Three: May 21st 2024, 5pm-6:30pm (UK) - Idea Validation: how to figure out whether or not an idea is likely to generate coverage.
Week Four: May 28th 2024, 5pm-6:30pm (UK) - Review, wrap up, & AMA.
Booking:
Full course details can be found here & you can book your spot here.
Part I: Serendipitous finds:
Women do ask for pay rises & promotions — but they don’t get them
A study by scholars at the University of California, Berkeley, and Vanderbilt University in Nashville debunks the myth that “women don’t ask for raises.” The study found that women attempt salary negotiations as much, or more than men do, but are more likely to be rejected.
“Dr. Kennedy (one of the authors of the study) said: “it’s time for employers to take a clear look at how they pay people. Let’s be sure we fix the system and get over the idea of fixing the women. The women don’t need fixing.”
It’s Not You: Dating Apps Are Getting Worse
“Perhaps dating apps once seemed too good to be true because they were. We never should have been exposed to what the apps originally provided: the sense that the dating pool is some unlimited, ever-increasing-in-quality well of people.
[…]
Dating apps treat people like commodities, and encourage us to treat others the same.”
The team at the Pudding explore what makes an album “the Greatest of All Time”
This visual essay shows how Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" lists changed from 2003 to 2020. For me, the most interesting part was older albums, like Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love,” (originally released in 1985); which didn’t make the 2003 list, but were new inclusions in the 2020 list.
Your inbox can literally take your breath away…
Are you holding your breath while reading this?
“Next time you’re reading or sending an email—whether it has your full attention or it’s at the same time as simultaneously battling incoming Slack messages and texts, take a beat and notice how you're breathing. David Perls, who has taught Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at University of California San Francisco, says that a lot of people unknowingly alter their breathing when emailing, taking short, shallow breaths, or holding their breath altogether, a phenomenon dubbed “email apnea.”
A gorgeous short story about the things we collect.
The cultural division of football fans only serves those who wish to exploit it
“How do you balance the idea that a football club is for everyone against the idea that it is a thing with roots, bound to a locality and a community? How do you balance a fandom expressed through longstanding ritual against a fandom expressed by getting up at 3am to watch Jonny Evans on a tiny screen? How do we reject the false oppositions between “local working class” and “wealthy tourist”, between “true fans” and “plastics”?
“Portland-based artist Alexis Hilliard describes her collages as “visual symphonies,” blending numerous photographs and archival materials to create compositions.
“Sometimes I use whole photos, not cut up much. That’s like sampling a bass line,” she tells Colossal. “Other times, I’m only using a tiny color swatch, so that’s more like adding a simple note into the mix.”
Here are some examples of her work from her website:
Part II: Books I’m Reading Right Now
Doppelganger, Naomi Klein — Naomi Klein has spent several years being mistaken for the feminist turned conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf. Here she dives deep into her doppelganger’s mirror world exploring why and how people are drawn (or driven) to believe conspiracy theories, where the left have messed up, and more. It’s ace.
Stay True, Hua Hsu — In this coming of age memoir, Hsu charts both his friendship with his Berkeley classmate, Ken; and the grief which follows when he is murdered. It’s simultaneously a love letter to his friend, and a meditation on how we write about the people we’ve lost without resorting to eulogy. Gorgeous.
Erasure, Percival Everett — On the surface, this novel concerns Monk, a Black author, who seemingly, is not “Black” enough for his publishers. Frustrated by the publishing machine’s thirst for the “Black experience”, he writes a parody, “My Pafology”; which, much to his despair achieves critical acclaim far beyond anything he’s previously written. But what lies beneath is even more interesting — Erasure is not just satire, it’s the story of a middle class man in deep personal (as opposed to just professional) crisis. Through this lens, we see a Black experience that’s rarely depicted elsewhere.
Part III: Things I’ve Been Watching
Nyad (Netflix) — this film tells the story of Diana Nyad’s quest to swim from Cuba to Florida, (a brutal stretch of 110 miles!) in her sixties. Annette Benning is unflinching as the frequently narcissistic Nyad, and Jodie Foster shines as her longtime friend, coach, and former partner, Bonnie Stoll.
Boy Swallows Universe (Netflix) — I’ve not read Trent Dalton’s novel (which this seven-part series is based on), so I can’t speak to the faithfulness (or otherwise) of this adaptation but I absolutely loved it. Set in the Brisbane suburb of Darra in 1985, the series is essentially a coming of age story for our protagonist, 13-year-old Eli Bell — a teenager with a lot going on: his mother is a recovering addict, his stepdad is a drug dealer, and his father is out of the picture. His closest confidantes are his older brother Gus, and his best friend Slim Halliday, an ex-con. The cast are outstanding, it’s violent, weird, beautiful, sad, and there’s a delicious dash of magical realism. If you enjoyed Deadloch I think you’ll love this.
Part IV: What I’ve been up to…
Emceeing WTS Fest London was an absolute joy, and I can’t wait for Berlin and Philadelphia later this year :)
I also got to go see my Dad’s sea shanty gig in Windsor which was ace.
What’s next?
I am excited about:
Wrapping up this cohort of the PR Pitch Writing course I’m currently running with Britt Klontz
Finalising my talk for Digital PR Summit
Getting to see my friend Laura in-person (rather than just over Zoom)
A little downtime over the Easter weekend :)
A lovely theatre trip with my Dad & Diana
Moar shameless self-promotion
I’ll be speaking at the Digital PR Summit in April, and the line-up is incredible. You can buy tickets here.
Planning on heading to BrightonSEO in either April or October this year? If so, you might like to sign up for my in-person Content Creation for Digital PR training course.
Looking to improve your ideation skills? Tickets for the new cohort of my Ideation for Digital PR Course are on sale now. Full course details can be found here & you can book your spot here.
That’s all from me for now :)
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please consider sharing it, and if you would like to support me you can buy me a coffee.
Big love,
Hannah x
PS Wanna find out more about me and my work? Head over to Worderist.com
