tl;dr #019

The one where...oh we literally changed our perception of time.

Love + Money Agency

May 06, 2022

Wow, it’s cold.

Goodbye to bathers and hello to fleece jackets, winter is inbound.

What’ve we been doing?

Joe had a birthday, LAM hired four more people and now we all work towards goal based days.

Things move pretty quickly around here, so if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss something. Hit that subscribe, smash that share, drink that cool-aid

Share Always Beta College

#graphic-design-is-my-passion

Graphic design is a golden pash and here it is, for you all - a kiss from us to you.

Please enjoy.

First up we have new fonts we’re eying up which is a bit on the nose given Dinamo’s is called Camera, and 205’s is Exposure.

Gettit?

Yeah, neither. Variable type is a special thing. You’ve probably seen it on the Internet, rather than having discreet weights, there’s kind of a spectrum of weights that can be moved through. This makes it real dope for motion because you can get super buttery transitions between weights, or so we’ve heard. Different weights, slants, ink traps, roundness, axis - world’s your oyster. Here’s a really good us of it. Damn Collins, flames.

#code-city

Code city? More like code ghost town.

Guess the coders were too busy coding. Not to worry. Adnaan had our back.

You’re the goose to his Maverick, cause he introduced us to co-pilot (that metaphor doesn’t work, it’s fine tho, don’t worry about it).

What’s cool about co-pilot is, it helps coders code. Meaning, it’s not long until…

And in the world of music?

Meaning, you can fiddle with your spotify algorithm! Take that Skynet!

So while co-pilot is slowly make humans obsolete, the hardworking folk at Nelson are helping us claw our autonomy back.

#vibe

When you’re the new kid on the block, there’s always a load to learn, you gotta get street smart and book smart QuickSmart™. Standing here with sodden shirt wet feet after drinking from the fire-hose of information that has been seven weeks at LAM, there has been one thing I knew I could truly depend upon to help me navigate this new hood.

The ever expressive Emoji reaction.

I would like to explore the importance of this device as applied to our interactions in the treacle thick richness that is the #vibe channel…let’s dive in.

The “shaka” or “call me” is a popular symbol, it peaked out this month when NZ contingent of the LAM Fam assembled for an IRL work and hang. Being a remote and decentralised workfam, the entire crew loves it when we see quality hangs between any of the team. IRL #vibe

What no-one expected however was the appearance of the ne’er used dice emoji, as we tucked into a 50’s New Zealand knock-off of Snakes and Ladders, where you progress through bullshit fictional routes (GoogleMap Opua to Gore and you’ll see what I mean), and get stuck in city centres unless you roll a 4 or whatever. It was absolute Wholesome Team Fun however. Danny is still in Dargaville.

But what about the LOLz?

It was a close call between a phishing e-mail whose logic collapsed faster than an observed wave function, and the moment that Hangouts turned Emily turned into God briefly when courteously informing Jessie that she was on mute…

What made this moment so good? The feedback, the fact Jessie was on mute, the silence after Emily booms down, her reaction with the hand clasp to mouth, the fermata of muted laughter, or Charl’s final hot take to round it out?

Either way - this replay topped the #vibe charts for the lolz this month. Thanks internet.

What does it all mean?

There was a liberal smattering of other emoji (yes, that’s plural) through the month which eloquently summarised the events depicted, be it epic hikes, or being re-unified with a pet after a long journey - there was one post which elicited the greatest range of emoji in the month.

We’d had a week, they happen to us all, we’d collectively hit the Valley of Despair, and there was a rallying message posted to the group at the end of said week. It picked us up, dusted us off, put a band aid on our knee and gave us a lollipop. It resonated, and made some of us feel like a Ninja and a Unicorn (there’s a whole #vibe piece on that alone).

This collection captured it all, and every one of those sweet little icons truly was a distillation of the #vibe that was happening at that moment.

The emoji has helped me navigate the #vibe channel, and the vibe channel has helped me navigate LAM. It is a playground of expression, wit, sincerity, and, well, emotions. I’ve never emoji’d so much in my life.

See you in the #vibe

#processes-and-platforms

AH YEAH. Not exactly a small week in terms of processes and platforms. Pretty big week actually. You might say it was the week everything changed. You’d be entirely right.

Seriously. A huge week.

Check it.

We’ve gone asynchronistic. Our online office is even more virtual. And if time is a flat circle - we just stepped off.

We’re calling it TheSystem2.0

Our people are setting their own goals, and when they hit those goals, they’re done for the day. No more 9-5. No more twiddling thumbs.

Hopefully it works. We’ll be shipping our findings.

Oh and another thing.

Our family is growing. And like every family, sometimes you forget each others’ names.

If you’ve ever written a resume, or started a dating profile, or read some Kafka you know how hard it is to create a human self. And decide how that human self should be perceived.