Manifesto
Do the thing that matters, not the thing that looks best on a feed.
Most of what you’ve been told about doing good is theatre. Shopping bags with slogans. Donations that fund the marketing that asked for the donations. A green tick on a label that means nothing.
The truth is more useful and more uncomfortable. A tiny number of choices do almost all the work. The rest is noise. We’re here to tell the difference, with evidence, and without the guilt trip.
Every Tuesday we publish one long read and a handful of small acts. The long read tries to change your mind about something. The small acts try to change the week ahead.
This is for people who want to be useful, not performative. If that’s you, welcome.
Who writes this
Rees Calder.
I spent a decade in marketing and product, mostly in London, building and running the machine that makes people click. I got good at it and grew steadily more uncomfortable with how much of it was theatre dressed as impact.
Net Positive is the version of a newsletter I wish had existed ten years ago. Evidence-weighted, opinionated, and willing to admit when the data is thin. If you’d like to disagree with me publicly or privately, both are welcome.
I live in Cape Town with my wife and two small children, which is a useful cure for taking oneself too seriously.
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