What to expect from "Bridging the Gap."

It’s 7am.

It’s dark outside.

I can here the rain tapping on the window pane.

I’m sitting on my living room couch after having recovered from a week of covid.

It’s October (2 days before Halloween) and yet you probably won’t read this until late November - I like to plan ahead.

Why am I starting this newsletter?

Well there are three reasons:

• You - Your feedback

• Private communication

• For my own development.

1. First and foremost I’m starting this because of you. I regularly get comments on YouTube like “I thought you’d stopped posting videos” or “funny that YouTube didn’t notify me about your latest video”.

   The algorithm works in mysterious ways and I would like to find a more reliable way to keep in contact with you.

2. Secondly It’s hard to really get to know you through the comments section on YouTube. Comments get missed or flagged and so I don’t always see them.

   Communication in the public sphere can be uncomfortable and so this is a mode of communication where you can get in contact with me privately. I will try to respond to all replies, although I can’t promise anything :).

3. The last reason is purely selfish. I’ve journaled on and off throughout most of my adult life. However I’ve noticed that since starting YouTube and since I started scripting my videos this has really helped me to organise my thoughts.

   There’s something about having an audience in mind which makes the whole writing experience more valuable. This is why I wanted to extend on this practice here.

This will in a sense be a little like my open journal.

What can you expect?

I will send an email twice a month. They will alternate with my video schedule so you will get something from me once a week. They will essentially be a collection of my thoughts with some curation of helpful resources that have inspired me during the week.

What does “Bridging the Gap” mean?

I’ve always loved bridges. I’m not an engineer or an architect and the fact that we can build these kind of structures is mindblowing to me. I remember when I first walked across the Clifton suspension Bridge in Bristol. I was just a teenager.

I was distracted from the beauty of the bridge by the emergency telephone numbers from the samaritans placed every few meters along the walkway - it seems some did not come to walk across at all.

I remember when this realisation hit me for the first time. It felt like I had been punched in the stomach.

The meaning of “Bridging the Gap” changes as we evolve - a gap in knowledge, a gap in understanding, a gap in competence.

I feel like humanity is fragmenting into smaller and smaller atomised echo chambers. Many people are starved of human connection and building relationships is not getting any easier. So bridging the gap is my small way of contributing to a way out of what I see as the greatest problem of our time.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Take care and have a great week.

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