Add nuance to 'the mission matters' post (+ related tweaks)

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@@ -29,6 +29,13 @@ article.post-single img {
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+  margin-bottom: 20px;
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content/posts/2022-06-06-the-mission-matters-moving-to-climate-tech-as-a-data-scientist/index.md

@@ -28,9 +28,13 @@ So we are facing the most consequential fork in the road. If we continue as now,
 But we can only choose it this decade. Our parents did not have this choice, because they didn’t have the capital, technologies and understanding. And for our children, it will be too late. So this is the decade and we are the generation.
 {{< /blockquote >}}
 
-Multiple factors contributed to my decision to leave Automattic last year. One factor was that [the company's mission to _"democratize publishing and eCommerce"_](https://transparency.automattic.com/) doesn't resonate with me:[^berkshire-hathaway] First, publishing and eCommerce are already widely accessible. Second, despite decades of increased access to a wide variety of publication tools, [global democracy is declining](https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/02/09/a-new-low-for-global-democracy). Third, a corollary of the mission is [hosting publications by the likes of News Corp Australia](https://wpvip.com/case-studies/unlocking-power-and-efficiency-for-news-corp-australia/), an organisation [that is harming Australian democracy according to former prime ministers from both sides of politics](https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2021/oct/29/news-corp-opponents-team-up-to-fight-cancer-on-democracy). Fourth, I believe that there are more pressing problems I can spend my time on.[^mission-awareness]
+Multiple factors contributed to my decision to leave Automattic last year. One factor was that [the company's mission to _"democratize publishing and eCommerce"_](https://transparency.automattic.com/) no longer resonated with me: First, publishing and eCommerce are already widely accessible. Second, despite decades of increased access to a wide variety of publication tools, [global democracy is declining](https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/02/09/a-new-low-for-global-democracy). Third, a corollary of the mission is [hosting publications by the likes of News Corp Australia](https://wpvip.com/case-studies/unlocking-power-and-efficiency-for-news-corp-australia/), an organisation [that is harming Australian democracy according to former prime ministers from both sides of politics](https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2021/oct/29/news-corp-opponents-team-up-to-fight-cancer-on-democracy). Fourth, I believed that there are more pressing problems I could spend my time on.[^mission-awareness]
 
-One such problem is the climate crisis. I was fortunate to have spent a small amount of time on it at Automattic, where [I co-founded a sustainability employee group and led the company's first purchases of carbon offsets and removals](https://wordpress.com/blog/2020/09/21/toward-zero-reducing-and-offsetting-our-data-center-power-emissions/). However, this was a side gig.[^murdoch-offsets]
+<p class="bordered-note">
+  <b>Update (2024-08-20):</b> Following the October 7th (2023) attack on Israel and its global aftermath, I have a more nuanced view of the above. In Australia, News Corp ended up playing a balancing role in the face of misinformation, under-reporting, and the anti-Zionist & anti-Jewish sentiments that were on display by left-leaning publications like The Guardian and The Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I still think News Corp over-sensationalises many items and is completely off on climate and other topics, but I now see that no single news source is reasonably trustworthy. As such, I see broad access to publishing as better than the alternative of a handful of gatekeepers deciding what deserves coverage.
+</p>
+
+One such problem is the climate crisis. I was fortunate to have spent a small amount of time on it at Automattic, where [I co-founded a sustainability employee group and led the company's first purchases of carbon offsets and removals](https://wordpress.com/blog/2020/09/21/toward-zero-reducing-and-offsetting-our-data-center-power-emissions/). However, this was a side gig.
 
 When I left Automattic, I was hoping to get involved more directly in climate and environmental action. Having recently joined [Orkestra](https://www.orkestra.energy/) &ndash; a company whose mission is _"to power the world's energy decision-making"_ &ndash; I figured it's time to share some thoughts on the climate tech space, along with resources that others may find useful.
 
@@ -98,9 +102,7 @@ Finally, what about the work I do with Orkestra? I can't share much yet, but I c
 
 {{< figure src="rectangular-nightmare.png" link="https://twitter.com/zookmann/status/927894679663898624" alt="Tweet by Jesse Zook Mann: The jury is still out of what is causing depression to surge in the past decade. Showing a meme that says that 'after a nice long day of typing stuff into my nightmare rectangle at work, I like to come home and stare at my portable nightmare rectangle'." caption="Rectangles are useful, but we also need time without them." >}}
 
-[^berkshire-hathaway]: In addition to the mission, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has shared [his vision of making Automattic the Berkshire Hathaway of the internet](https://ma.tt/2021/06/day-one-at-automattic/), a goal that I find even less inspiring.
-[^mission-awareness]: While I was aware of the mission when I joined Automattic in 2017, it [wasn't a critical criterion for me](https://yanirseroussi.com/2017/07/29/my-10-step-path-to-becoming-a-remote-data-scientist-with-automattic/). Over the years, I've become more conscious of the role online platforms play in destabilising societies. I now believe that it's important for platforms to acknowledge their responsibilities and delegate power to external regulators, e.g., as [Facebook is doing with their Oversight Board](https://oversightboard.com/) (which is still an imperfect solution).
-[^murdoch-offsets]: It's also an open question whether it's possible to offset things like the harmful work of the Murdoch press.
+[^mission-awareness]: While I was aware of the mission when I joined Automattic in 2017, it [wasn't a critical criterion for me](https://yanirseroussi.com/2017/07/29/my-10-step-path-to-becoming-a-remote-data-scientist-with-automattic/). Over the years, I've become more conscious of the role online platforms play in destabilising societies. I now believe that it's important for platforms to acknowledge their responsibilities and delegate some editorial power to external regulators, e.g., as [Facebook is doing with their Oversight Board](https://oversightboard.com/) (which is still an imperfect solution).
 [^2018-data-science]: I still like the 2018 definition, so hopefully I'm done with defining data science.
 [^boring-data-scientists]: According to [a recent study](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-21/which-jobs-and-hobbies-are-the-most-boring-surprising-results/101050190), data science is seen as an incredibly boring job. Not sexy at all. 
 [^flights-suck]:  Despite this, I wasn't particularly looking forward to going back to frequent long-haul flights &ndash; [it was an aspect of Automattic work I never liked](https://yanirseroussi.com/2018/11/03/reflections-on-remote-data-science-work/). This made the prospect of post-pandemic work with Automattic less appealing, even without considering the climate impact of so much flying.

content/posts/2023-05-26-how-hackable-are-automated-coding-assessments/index.md

@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ tags:
   - software engineering
 
 ---
-<div style="border: solid 1px; border-radius: 4px; padding: 10px 10px 0 10px; margin-bottom: 20px;">
+<div class="bordered-note">
   <b>Update (2024-06-19):</b>
-  <ul>
+  <ul style="margin-bottom: 5px">
     <li>
       If you're here for tips on CodeSignal's Industry Coding Framework, one of the best things you can read is
 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230321142915/https://discover.codesignal.com/rs/659-AFH-023/images/Industry-Coding-Skills-Evaluation-Framework-CodeSignal-Skills-Evaluation-Lab-Short.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">their whitepaper on the topic</a>. Scroll all the way down for a sample task.

content/til/2023-09-25-the-lines-between-solo-consulting-and-product-building-are-blurry.md

@@ -22,6 +22,6 @@ One of the resources it cited was [a post on consulting best practices from _Con
 
 This sort of advice might be obvious, but I suppose it's needed because it's easy to fall into the trap of making a consulting site about the consultant rather than about the _ideal_ client and their problems. The parallel in the product world is starting from a product idea rather than from customer needs, which many people who enjoy building stuff tend to do.
 
-The _ideal_ bit is worth emphasising because going too broad can also be a mistake for independent consultants and product builders. [Jonathan Stark addresses this point concisely](https://jonathanstark.com/daily/20200504-1409-the-only-business-strategy-youll-ever-need), saying that _"the only business strategy you'll ever need \[is to\] help people you like get what they want."_ This resonates with me since one of the reasons I want to work independently is to have choice over who I help – I find it hard to deal with the moral conundrums that come with [working in a business that sells technology solutions to pretty much anyone](https://yanirseroussi.com/2022/06/06/the-mission-matters-moving-to-climate-tech-as-a-data-scientist/) (as long it's legal).
+The _ideal_ bit is worth emphasising because going too broad can also be a mistake for independent consultants and product builders. [Jonathan Stark addresses this point concisely](https://jonathanstark.com/daily/20200504-1409-the-only-business-strategy-youll-ever-need), saying that _"the only business strategy you'll ever need \[is to\] help people you like get what they want."_ This resonates with me since one of the reasons I want to work independently is to have choice over who I help.
 
 Starting with decisions on a niche and ideal clients is in line with [the advice to product-focused micropreneurs from _Start Small, Stay Small_](https://yanirseroussi.com/til/2023/08/16/revisiting-start-small-stay-small-in-2023-chapter-1/). It makes sense: If one of the aims is to keep the headcount low (starting from one and perhaps staying there), it's impossible to effectively target a broad market. This is regardless of whether the product sold is software subscriptions or consulting services. What wasn't obvious to me until I came across _Consulting Success_ and similar resources is how similar solo consulting can be to solo product building. I thought of consulting more as [freelancing or contracting](https://www.consultingsuccess.com/consultant-vs-freelancer) – selling time/effort for money. But thinking of consulting as achieving results and solving problems for clients brings it much closer to the product realm. Further, through consulting, it's possible to uncover problems that are shared by many clients, which can become the basis for a pure self-service software solution.