Curated: back to business, back to play!
Your favourite reads and what’s next for us
Playground readers,
Welcome back. We feel like the second part of August marks kind of a new year. I think ‘academic’ year plays a big role in the way myself, and the team plan & play. At least we really feel the seasonality in our business — and we like that! It keeps it clear when to recharge, when to push.
Some of us have been on holiday — completely calm ones, with no goals to read, listen, or talk about anything work related (as it should be). So no recap here.
But in between holidays, we’ve been planting seeds.
We’ve released an Open Call for Playground Issue 4, which is now closed, and we’ve been going through everything in our bi-annual editorial meetings in Vilnius. Thanks to everyone who submitted their fantastic ideas — we’ll get back to you soon.
We also reached out to our community of paper geeks (so many of you!), as well as anyone working in the creative industries. We’re curious to know: how do we connect these days?
Is it really about the people you know?
Your network?
Where you hang out?
How your socials look?
This survey hasn’t been easy to get answers to, I’ll be honest. Maybe because you’re all so great in supporting us, and we keep putting things out there — questions, open calls, surveys! While we figure out how to run a survey more sustainably next time, we’re still curious to know.
How do we connect? It would mean a lot if you’d take a few minutes to reflect: how do you meet people? Are you part of any communities?
We promise a juicy report at the end of it all!
As we start planning the year ahead — with work, the magazine, and content — I’ve been digging back into our archives and re-reading some of our most popular essays. I’m really grateful that the time I spend writing these insights resonates with you. If you missed them, or want to circle back, here are three favourites from the past ‘academic’ year — yours, and maybe mine too:
Looking ahead, this year we will:
Launch a special new, Insights-like series very soon — stay tuned.
Maybe send more, maybe less. We’ll keep the bi-weekly Thursday rhythm for our own planning, but if we feel something’s worth sharing, we’ll send it out. And if life gets in the way, we won’t force late nights just to hit the schedule. Quality over quantity is our editorial principle, and we want to live up to that. I also care about how our team — and myself — feel.
Not stick too strictly to ‘namings’ of different content series, and experiment. We are Playground, after all…
Have fun, try to surprise you, and add value to your reading. Thanks for tagging along this far — it feels like a real play season ahead.
As this falls under the Curated theme — and we know you still love a good overview from both the online and offline world — I’ve saved three reads to ease you into the new season, plus a few small things that made me smile lately.
In defence of pessimism - Financial Times
As an action-oriented optimist, I loved reading this piece first in print. So much so that I actually cut it out and pinned it on my wall in the work room! I’d love to quote half of it here, but I’ll leave you the joy of discovering it yourself.
Influencing Without the Influencers - the New York Times
A curious look at the idea of an in-house ‘influencer’ as part of an editorial or social strategy. It almost feels like the return of a back-in-the-day TV persona!
The economics of writing a book - by Helen Lewis
Transparency and money talk are always hot topics for me. More of this, please! I’ve also been reflecting on the economics of running a business like ours, and hope to share some of those insights with you some time this ‘academic’ year.
☺ Things that made me smile! Lately, I’ve been obsessing over The New York Times fun coverages like this or this!
Here is to spotting more details the season!
Until the next one, happy settling into the academic 25/26 year,
Auste
Work with us, studio playground, this season! We offer strategies, communication frameworks, and strategic storytelling campaigns that build long-lasting brand equity – rather than one-off content campaigns or fleeting partnerships. You can get to know us more on our website, on Instagram, or simply by emailing hello@studioplayground.cc
We’re still looking for brand partners — big or small (we’ve got fun ideas!) — to collaborate on Playground magazine. Partnerships help us pay all our contributors and keep the magazine rolling and growing. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, ping us!