[Monthly Digest] February 2024
A brief recap of February 2024 issues and a few thoughts on the evolution of "The Mechanics of Knowledge Management"
A few days ago, I received a newsletter issue1 from one of the productivity authors I follow, Cal Newport2. In it, he shared a case study of a podcast called Acquired3 that currently clocks in over 200 thousand unique streams per episode. Although pleasant, this still is an issue, as it has become extremely difficult for them to find advertisers capable of paying the hefty CPM (Cost Per Mille). Having worked in the podcast advertisement industry for nearly four years, I can certify that this is a luxury but legitimate problem.
The show’s overnight success took its co-hosts, Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal, 7.5 - 8 years of hard work. This is the harsh reality of the creators’ economy. No surprises here.
What Cal wanted to emphasize, though, was the fact that this podcast was produced in a way that defeats all modern content creation “best practices”:
Some of their episodes are over 7 hours long, which is well into the territory of audiobooks.
They did not release on a set schedule. Episodes would be ready when the necessary research would have been done, which, these days, oscillates around 100 hours per issue, although it was more modest initially.
Instalments were also not cranked out often, desperately trying to spin the social media algorithm’s wheel, hoping to strike the virality jackpot.
None of that. It was a slow and steady growth whose chart looked desperately flat for the first half of the journey.
Of course, the state of their success wasn’t binary. The hosts did not operate in the void, only to see a spike one morning. Still, there’s only 1% who decide to share their thoughts publicly. Only 1% of that 1% get over years of slow growth without getting demotivated. Acquired maintained the streak and, therefore, deserved to become a sensation.
I’m not going to lie: I’d love to be that 1% of the 1% who didn’t quit the gym in February. So, every morning, I write and groom my setup as part of the daily ritual of cultivating the habit of personal knowledge management and gradually increasing my productivity stamina.
So far, everything worthwhile has always taken me many years of dedication and deliberate practice. This truth keeps pushing me in front of the text editor, a notebook and my digital second brain daily to share with you what took about two decades to master. I hope it brings you value, and if it does, let someone else in.
This February 2024 issue digest represents only the tip of the monthly writing iceberg. I’m giving it my very best, but I secretly hope to be embarrassed by all of them in February 2025.
In this article, we explore the history of PKM, why it's essential, and some of the most popular options available today.
This issue shares my spin on using different tools to review and connect notes to form bigger, more complex thought structures. Whether you use Obsidian, DEVONthink, or a vanilla task manager, I'll show you how to set up the revision process and make it a micro-habit that doesn't feel like a chore. Learn how to prevent knowledge rot, trigger new thoughts, and make the most out of your note-taking practice.
![[Book Review] Personal Knowledge Graphs](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc414461b-75af-46f6-a6e6-9e3c36532343_1000x667.jpeg)
I read a book, "Personal Knowledge Graphs", which was highly informative for those interested in knowledge management and those erring on the geeky side. As a consequence, I can’t recommend it to all of you. However, for some, this will be the read of the month.
That’s it for the month, knowledge engineers.
Thank you for letting me into the intimacy of your mailbox. It’s a pleasure and an honour to geek out with you.
https://calnewport.com/how-the-acquired-podcast-became-a-sensation/
https://calnewport.com
https://www.acquired.fm/