I started this newsletter because I wanted to write more. Thoughts were bubbling and I needed to find an outlet. Like most projects, the beginning was brimming with opinions and enthusiasm about what to write.
But in recent weeks, I’ve been struggling to turn the fractured ideas in my head into posts that can be published. My first newsletter was about transparency and this is my mea culpa. I am not a person who sits in front of a screen and always knows what to say. In fact, I rarely know what I’m going to say until a few minutes before typing. I had hoped by using the “Thoughtless” moniker, I could trick my brain into typing, even when I wasn’t sure what to say, but that has been proving more difficult than I’d anticipated.
Though the burden of producing “thought-provoking” pieces at the pace of twice a week has become daunting, some interesting things have happened, and are happening, that I’d like to share with you.
I launched a game!
If you’ve followed my newsletter, you know that I’m a huge fan of the pico-8. When I started playing with it, I was struck by how many similarities the things I loved about marketing were attainable through game development. Well, that enjoyment has led me to complete my first ever game.
Introducing…
Lemonade Stand!
Do you have what it takes to run your own lemonade empire?
You're nine-year-old entrepreneur, Caleb. Your parents have just given you $100 to get your empire off the ground. Do you have what it takes to succeed?
Play for free on:
Making this game was a huge learning experience. I learned a ton about programming, pixel art, and crafting a game that was easy to learn but challenging enough to master. As always, the pico-8 community was stellar. In fact, the music for this game was created by @Gruber_Music. I cannot thank him enough for bringing life to this game.
I’m in the process of starting my next game which will push my abilities of programming and force me to learn a few new pico-8 tricks, but I cannot wait.
A full write-up on the process of making Lemonade Stand and everything learned while doing it will hopefully be ready in a few weeks.
What’s in the Pipeline?
I’ve also taken on some slightly bigger projects that are going to take some more time, but I think the articles will be more valuable than my ramblings.
The $1,000 Side Hustle: I’m really excited about this blog post, but it won’t be out for a few months. In this piece, I’m investigating if it’s possible to use design and content creation services to launch a side hustle, in this case, a blog, for $1,000. The hope is that within six months you will have recouped the expenses. I’m already underway on this project, so I’ll make sure to keep subscribers updated as we go!
Building a Charge Bot: Robots have been a longtime fascination of mine and it’s time to build, what I consider, the most useful robot on the planet. One that senses your need for a phone charge and brings the charge to you. I have never built a robot before so this one is going to be interesting.
Why Does Facebook’s Business UI Suck?: If you have a business and handle the advertising, my guess is that you’ve encountered Facebook’s horrendous and ever-changing Business UI. I’m speaking with some other marketing industry professionals to figure out why it’s such a hot mess.
Thank you so much for reading what I’ve already done in this newsletter and I can’t wait for some of these ideas to bear fruit. They are going to be a lot of fun, but are more work than a weekly newsletter deadline allows.
The Future of Thoughtless Opinions
Rest assured, dear reader, Thoughtless Opinions isn’t going anywhere. I enjoy putting these together too much, but I’m just unsure of the publishing schedule as I get things sorted. It might be closer to once a week, although I’ll still try for two articles whenever it makes sense.
A Caveat for the Holiday Season
2020 has been brutal and I can admit that I’ve been luckier than many others. But because of the drain that was 2020, my partner and I are going to try really hard to stay away from the digital world, reconnect with each other, and enjoy some much needed time away from deadlines and projects.
This shouldn’t be the last newsletter before the new year, but just in case, have a wonderful holiday season, and thank you again for reading!