The Fondue Cartel + How we launched Minimum Viable Video
Plus: Lifelong learning through pyramid schemes
:::Issue #23. Why are you receiving this? You’re friends with Cam Houser or you just joined the Minimum Viable Video waitlist. This is where I share uncommon stories of creativity, entrepreneurship, and video:::
Merry Christmas, rulebreakers and actiontakers!
Christmas in Austin was delightful, albeit a non-event. Not much happened.
What I’ve been up to:
🏎️ Watching F1: Drive to Survive (Netflix). I only watched this because of the quarantine. F1 fandom might be in my future.
📵 Staying off of email and social media. No major updates to report. I didn’t even achieve enlightenment. (Note: if that happens, this newsletter will get a lot better).
📚 Reading: Robert Cialdini’s Pre-suasion, Matt Ridley’s How Innovation Works, Adrian Tchaikovksky’s The Doors of Eden, and Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings
“The popularity of fondue wasn't an accident. It was planned by a cartel of Swiss cheese makers, which ruled the Swiss economy for 80 years.”
I’ve been thinking about how the business and marketing of food is so screwy.
Why does Michelin (a tire company) decide which restaurants are superior?
Why is the American food pyramid so awful?
Why did we fall for the low fat craze in the 90s?
Sometimes it’s corruption, sometimes it’s business interests. Sometimes it’s both.
Here’s a story on how fondue came about, which involves cartels: NPR’s Planet Money (16 min audio)
How I dictate notes into Roam
If you’re into note taking and Roam Research, this video might be interesting to you:
Behind the Scenes: How We Launched Minimum Viable Video
Julia Saxena, my co-conspirator on Minimum Viable Video, wrote about the launch of the course: JuliaSaxena.com.
See you next year
I’m not going to offer any disparaginging thoughts about 2020. Everyone’s complaining about how trash the year was.
It’s a waste of my time and your time to complain about it. As always, all we can control is how we react.
2020 brought tons of new friends, new skills, and huge wins.
I’m thrilled about the prospects for everyone in 2021.
So let’s make it happen.
See you in the Zoom grid,
Cam
Web: actionworks.co
Twitter: @cahouser
Waitlist for the next cohort of Minimum Viable Video
For professional grade virtual courses and workshops, email cam@actionworks.co
Just for fun: slow motion bird footage…