Untangled is three years old!
Untangled is three years old!
PLUS: The largest discount I’ve ever offered, and a new partnership.
Hi, I’m Charley, and this is Untangled, a newsletter about our sociotechnical world, and how to change it. Untangled is 3 years old this week, so I thought I’d kick things off with a birthday bang:
This special offer is the largest discount I’ve ever offered. It’ll go away in the not-so-distant future, so sign up today. But — and I need you to know I’m aware of how cheesy this next line sounds — that’s not all!
This year, I’m partnering with select newsletters to add more value to the Untangled paid subscription. This starts today! When you sign up for an annual paid subscription to Untangled, you’ll also get a free one-year subscription to the paid version of The Golden Hour ($50 value), a newsletter about “thriving and caring for others on a rapidly changing planet” by
, a former NPR reporter and award-winning nonfiction author. Anya writes about how climate justice, mental health, social movements, education, and technology are entangled. Want tools to help you nurture a child-centric society, navigate the polycrisis, or help you talk to your kids about climate change? The Golden Hour is for you! It is smart, engaging, and action-packed, and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Anya and introduce you to her work.Now, when you sign up for the annual paid subscription to Untangled, you’ll get:
✍️ Every issue of Untangled.
⚒️ Access to special issues, practical resources, and tools.
📚 Access to every Untangled e-book, and the full archives.
➕ A free one-year subscription to the paid version of The Golden Hour ($50 value)
You can claim this offer by clicking the gift link at the top of the email sent automatically to paid Untangled subscribers. (If you’re already a paid subscriber, I’ll send you the link directly.) This is my first collaboration of this kind but I intend to identify other partner newsletters that I think you’d enjoy. If you have a newsletter you’d like me to prioritize partnering with, hit ‘reply’ and let me know.
Okay, let’s reflect on the last year, and look ahead, shall we?
Untangled HQ in 2024
I wrote 48 issues last year — which, for those keeping track, amounts to one per week or $1.75 per issue to paid subscribers.
I hosted 6 expert conversations with
, Shannon Vallor, ,, Tamara Kneese, and . I intend to prioritize podcasts more in year four — in November alone, I’ll be interviewing about his new book with , AI Snake Oil, Nik Marda and about their recent report, Public AI: Making AI work for everyone, by everyone, and AI journalist Karen Hao. Get hyped!I launched Untangled Live! and my first live, interactive course, Sociotechnical Systems Change in Practice. (You have just a few days to access early bird pricing by filling out this short form.)
I launched a limited Executive Coaching & Advising practice to help mission-driven leaders facilitate change -- in themself, their organization, and the system they work within -- and live more impactful and freer lives.
I prioritized Practical Tools & Frameworks, including a new special issue, “What does it mean to train AI anyway,” and two new reading lists on AI and Crypto.
8,000 of you subscribe to Untangled and 10,000+ follow along. That’s up from 5,000 one year ago.
Roughly 40% of you open every email.
52 newsletters recommend Untangled, up from 34 last year. These recommendations represent a large chunk of my overall subscriber growth, so I would be remiss if I didn’t thank some of the recent recommenders:
(), (), (), (), (), (), (), and ().
What I learned in 2024
Three years ago, I started with 50 email addresses, and I didn’t know exactly what I’d write about, or whether I’d have anything to say. Truly, I put off starting Untangled until I had 5+ essays I knew I could write. All I knew was that I wanted to help people see clearly the way technology is entangled in social systems. But when I think about what I’ve accomplished this year — I wrote a book y’all! I launched a course! — I’m filled with pride.
As I’ve reflected on the journey, there’s one thing I’d really like to improve. When I launched Untangled in November 2021, I said that I wanted it to become a learning community. I meant it then, but it hasn’t quite materialized. The courses and trainings are one step in this direction. I intend to experiment with group Zoom calls and chats on the Substack app. As I experiment with new ways to turn Untangled into a learning community, my ask to you is this: engage with me, my writing, and one another.
Got an idea for how I can foster a learning community? Ping me!
Think an essay misses the mark? Or maybe you have a different perspective? Comment on the essay or send me a quick email.
Got ideas for how to improve Untangled or a topic I should write about? Tell me.
Like an essay? Share it!
Think someone’s comment is spot on? Let them know.
Just reply to one of my emails or ping me directly at charley.c.johnson@gmail.com.
Okay, that’s it for now,
Charley