Machine unreadable
More and more, we create our work to be read by a machine.
SEO specialists tell you how to write a blog post that Google will like. Your resumé needs to have the right keywords to get tagged. Everything has an ISBN, an ASIN or a catalog number. Ideas become data become databases...
We did the same thing when assembly lines started up. Every part had to be the same size, the cogs in the system were less important than the system itself.
Being machine readable might feel like a shortcut to getting where you're going. After all, fitting in as a machine-readable cog into the database of ideas gets you a faster start. But it's also the best way to be ignored, because you've chosen to be one of the many, an idea that's easy to pigeonhole and then ignored.
What happens if your work becomes machine unreadable?
So new we don't have a slot for it.
So unpredictable that we can't ignore it.
So important that we have to stop feeding the database and start paying attention instead...
More Recent Articles
[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]
Don't want to get this email anymore? Click the link below to unsubscribe.
Click here to view mailing archives, here to change your preferences, or here to subscribe • Privacy
A group of 600 refugees have refused to leave a detention center in Papua New Guinea scheduled to permanently close on Tuesday. 
The Producers Guild of America's national board has voted unanimously to enact a lifetime ban on disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein. 
The San Francisco 49ers acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots. 
The Seattle Seahawks acquired left tackle Duane Brown from the Houston Texans. 
The Arizona Cardinals have added linebacker Bryson Albright to the active roster. 
Actor, musician and humanitarian Gary Sinise has been chosen to serve as the 2018 Tournament of Roses grand marshal. 
Couples who are trying to have children should probably be picky about their produce, a new study suggests. 
Opioid addicts saved by the overdose reversal medication naloxone are still in danger following their close brush with death, a new study shows. 
Running back Mack Brown is officially a member of the Minnesota Vikings. 
Black licorice candy may be more trick than treat for adults, according to a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning. 
Vanessa Lachey, Nikki Bella and their professional partners were eliminated from Season 25 of "Dancing with the Stars" in Los Angeles Monday night. 
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress the Trump administration doesn't need special permission to wage new wars. 
Michael Jackson has been dead for more than eight years, but the King of Pop is still topping charts as Forbes' highest-earning dead celebrity of 2017. 
About 126 million American Facebook users viewed Russian advertisements and posts on their news feeds during the 2016 campaign, Facebook testimony reveals. 
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Atlanta Falcons signed defensive tackle Dontari Poe in free agency to help with their run defense. The Falcons will have to continue to play the run well against Carolina on Sunday. 
PHILADELPHIA -- The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. But it doesn't appear the Eagles are going to make any kind of a deal. 
