# Best of sceneswithsimon.substack.com on Kiwi News Page: https://news.kiwistand.com/source/sceneswithsimon.substack.com 11 stories from sceneswithsimon.substack.com have been shared on Kiwi News since 26 April 2023, with 41 upvotes and 6 comments in total. The latest was shared on 24 June 2025. They are listed below, most upvoted first. Summaries are AI summaries of the linked article. ## 1. Ego as Venue - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Ego-as-Venue?index=0x685b2ab0c6e4980113dad0f6ba46eac4745dc4cec9e4079ca3453d7bfd71ff582e83390a - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/ego-as-venue?r=3ptcv - Shared 24 June 2025, 17 upvotes, 0 comments Creators should treat the ego as a venue that invites conversation and redirects audience attention back to them as a gift, rather than using it to seek recognition. Rick Rubin's view that inspiration comes first and the audience last is set against Jacob Collier's joy in playing to the audience. Marina Abramović's *The Artist Is Present* is offered as a model of presence, and Timothée Chalamet's line "I want to be one of the greats" is cited as healthy aspiration. Creators are left to ask whether their work invites people in more than the recognition they receive. ## 2. The Human Medium is the Human Message - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-Human-Medium-is-the-Human-Message?index=0x65b67fd3e9b136c2785c8504d5c36999794d209b7d856d380575473b3e1ca830abe94870 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/the-human-medium-is-the-human-message?r=2o49nr - Shared 28 January 2024, 5 upvotes, 6 comments Human-made media will increasingly point to its creators as generative AI and algorithmic feeds spread, since "the human medium is the human message" and "you can't automate authenticity." Cassidy Williams says algorithms have made the internet less personal, and Brandon laments that recommender systems have engineered out random encounters. Physical book sales have grown since 2012, and cozy-core content, newsletters and Alexandra Lange's writing on the Coffee Shop Alternate Universe fan-fiction community are cited as signs of a return to communal spaces. LLM-made media is expected to fill a long tail of niche, costly and time-sensitive content. ## 3. Protocol Thresholds and The Days of Two Noons - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Protocol-Thresholds-and-The-Days-of-Two-Noons?index=0x666edb97151b28da66337e21ebac17e918f9a80d98fa9ae443baf1eb3f81118dc6085204 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/protocol-thresholds-and-the-days?r=16nwyb - Shared 16 June 2024, 4 upvotes, 0 comments This is a newsletter-style collection of notes rather than a single argument, and its central thread is that small, seemingly incremental changes can produce large second-order effects, illustrated by the 1883 adoption of standard time in the US. The author describes the Day of Two Noons on November 18, 1883, when clocks were reset across the country and the USA was divided into four time zones. The post also draws parallels to the spread of the like button as a 1-bit form of communication and to the use of standard time in rail scheduling. Other sections cover housing supply, with Steve Randy Waldman's argument that the state may need to build when private builders won't, and the decline of arena tour ticket sales. ## 4. Let readers choose their format - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Let-readers-choose-their-format?index=0x64c662339afaa788ac93345a668eec257f061b9a078e4949d7e1076c09da9d087e863998 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/let-readers-choose-their-format?r=3ptcv - Shared 30 July 2023, 3 upvotes, 0 comments Simon's weekly newsletter covers several topics, and its lead item argues that publishers should bundle a novel's formats, such as hardcover, e-book and audiobook, at release because it is more consumer-friendly. Brandon Sanderson says publishers such as Macmillan sell hardcovers and e-books separately, with paperbacks following months later, which punishes readers who want to support authors, and he says that for years he pushed former Macmillan president John Sargent to offer bundles without success. Other items cover the Kindle versus print reading habits, the origins of the telephone greeting "Hello," and the claim that AI-generated video will favor vibes over specific stories. ## 5. My 500km Walk of Acceptance Alongside Visions of the Future - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/My-500km-Walk-of-Acceptance-Alongside-Visions-of-the-Future?index=0x684be90d21f4198c8e4fb3fc3776912f39bfebf4718e3b8b93e71275d8685cf1e37fbca4 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/my-500km-walk-of-acceptance-alongside?r=3ptcv - Shared 13 June 2025, 2 upvotes, 0 comments The author walked about 485km of the Camino Frances over 22 days in April and May 2025, writing about grief, acceptance and a discovered value in their own over-planning. They describe crying through much of the walk after their divorce and finding support in other pilgrims, including a "Camino Family" of people they met along the way. A key turning point came in Logrono, where their habit of researching accommodation let them lead fellow pilgrims to their hostels during a mass blackout across the Iberian peninsula. The essay concludes that a self-perceived weakness can be reframed as a gift, so that acceptance makes change easier. ## 6. Running My 1st Half Marathon alongside The Passing of the Dragon - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Running-My-1st-Half-Marathon-alongside-The-Passing-of-the-Dragon?index=0x651037ba21f8029193edcee588ed8e7d03a32c77598efad946d50c4a27c2311e63f089d8 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/running-my-1st-half-marathon-alongside?r=3ptcv - Shared 24 September 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments The author finished their first half marathon in 2:06 and says running has become a counterweight to the complexity of creative work, where effort does not reliably produce results. Running is described as simpler because "what you put in, you will get out," while creativity is unpredictable, with work that flops and work that unexpectedly goes viral. The post ties this to Ken Liu's short story "The Passing of the Dragon," about an artist whose transcendental experience fails to reach the audience, and to Liu's remark that "every act of communication is a miracle of translation." The newsletter also covers AI and copyright, RWA crypto trends, and music. ## 7. Owning The Conversations: Ghost Watchers, Barbie, And Publishing in 2023 - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Owning-The-Conversations-Ghost-Watchers-Barbie-And-Publishing-in-2023?index=0x65077239c0f368f41885ab9e8683885af741942c7cf8ca5e292d67b44387e6e30a9b4516 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/owning-the-conversations-ghost-watchers - Shared 17 September 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments This newsletter argues that in 2023's abundance of media, owning the conversation, even through negative attention, is worth more than the risks, using Barbie as an example since Mattel allowed a film critiquing it to be made. The author describes "ghost watchers," a term TikTok user Taylor Stewart used for people who watch posts on Instagram without commenting or supporting them. The piece also covers Unity's runtime fee change, which the author says removed a clause letting developers lock in older terms of service, and it closes with a call to be open to the media in front of us. ## 8. The Prisoner's Dilemma of USA Restaurant Fees - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-Prisoners-Dilemma-of-USA-Restaurant-Fees?index=0x64aafda1610e0688f28673650c7ba0aa918489295f30e5a950466e07e78f4eb0ae2921ff - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/the-prisoners-dilemma-of-usa-restaurant?r=3ptcv - Shared 9 July 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments Restaurants that add surcharges instead of raising posted menu prices create a prisoner's dilemma, and Simon argues that US consumer protection law should require posted prices to include all fees. Mi Vida in DC added a fee after initiative 82 began raising the tipped minimum wage toward 2027, and The Hamilton added its own surcharge in 2023. South Africa's Consumer Protection Act bars suppliers from misleading consumers about pricing, and Simon proposes a "FEE Act" (Fees Exactly as Expected Act) for the US. ## 9. Traditional Publishing vs Self-Publishing - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Traditional-Publishing-vs-Self-Publishing?index=0x64497690d67388d6d96c490447e9b0b42754fdaaa17ea34f595d4e27a2b3a6fabe11dad4 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/traditional-publishing-vs-self-publishing?r=3ptcv - Shared 26 April 2023, 2 upvotes, 0 comments Simon argues that traditional publishing is now one channel for building legitimacy and context for a story, not a reliable route to a living, and that writers should test many formats. He notes that most writers do not earn a living from book sales alone, that books can take two years from booking to sale by the publisher, and that US fiction sales are up year over year, with print outselling ebooks. He suggests options such as Kickstarter, Substack serialization, merchandise and translations, and concludes that "context matters." ## 10. Opaque Streamer Residuals vs Transparent NFT Royalties - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Opaque-Streamer-Residuals-vs-Transparent-NFT-Royalties?index=0x6486a7e3231409c432c776c4eb1e52532eef951ee9506f3982b0707790c6ca8a2434b302 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/opaque-streamer-residuals-vs-transparent?r=3ptcv - Shared 12 June 2023, 1 upvote, 0 comments This is a newsletter-style roundup of several items, not a single news story or essay, so the summary below covers its main threads. The writer argues that streaming residuals and NFT royalties both suffer from opacity and consolidation, with the long tail of smaller creators losing out. Streamers do not reveal view numbers, so writers get no information on viewership and no residual increase for hits, unlike broadcast TV. In NFTs, transparency exists through a public ledger, but platforms moved from enforced to optional royalties, and the writer says the UK's early-2000s "Terms of Trade" code, which required 25% of production from independent producers, offers a model. ## 11. On Luck, Love, and a Viral Time-Travel Romance With Bigolas Dickolas - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/On-Luck-Love-and-a-Viral-Time-Travel-Romance-With-Bigolas-Dickolas?index=0x6460dc3917957c61ce8fa90204d12d645beb6b646f8973d2bdd52bc040ce3ae161870270 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/sceneswithsimon/p/on-luck-love-and-a-viral-time-travel?r=3ptcv - Shared 14 May 2023, 1 upvote, 0 comments This newsletter argues that luck depends less on effort alone than on whether a story gives people things to talk about, with the author pointing to the sudden rise of the novel "This Is How You Lose The Time War" to #3 on Amazon's best-seller list after Bigolas Dickolas promoted it. The author says perseverance matters in part because a body of work becomes a story that makes later works newsworthy, while the debut and the 21st novel draw more attention than the third. The newsletter also covers a school-zone traffic light that stays green for drivers within the speed limit, a suggestion that such signals could extend to intersections, and brief notes on generative art, the Hollywood writers' strike, and NFT royalties.