You know when event organizers use the phrase they’re trying to evoke a sort of relaxed warmth and intimacy that simply isn’t there. There’s no actual fire, hot cocoa, or single malt. The people do not let guards down enough to connect with fireside depth.
Conversation
One version that kinda works is the FDR version: a President or pm directly addressing a nation. It’s trying to present a conversation as spectacle that struggles.
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Conversational podcasts don’t really have fireside energy. Real fireside energy is the sort portrayed for eg. in some Sherlock Holmes stories, where Holmes and Watson have contemplative chats beyond the case at hand. I think companionable reflection is key; fires make you reflect
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Shared reflection. It’s a rare kind of collective thinking.
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Actual topics
The Power and Possibilities for the Public Good when Researchers & Organizational Stakeholders Collaborate
how to develop threat-informed defense and optimize your security strategy.
LHS as a Driver of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
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Creating Pathways for Decarbonization in the Building Sector.
Business Continuity or Organizational Resilience?
What's the future of the #CIO? Will #procurement and #SupplyChain #tech drive the #NewNormal?
That last one is a work of art.
I’m sure many of these fireside chatters are good thoughtful people having good thoughts, but damn it’s depressing to think of this river of conversations. With PR people desperately trying to get social media action going around it with “please clap” hashtags.
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...and just earlier today I put that screenshot into my presentation on metrics, talking about surrogation / reification.
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A friend of mine who does NHS sponsored research in the UK told me they’re literally judged in part on public impact via social media engagement metrics, so you have all these researchers on esoteric healthcare topics cringeposting their specialized work shilling for likes/RTs
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Yep, UK academia / funding is weird and distorted somewhat differently than American academia, because they use different metrics.
Either thankfully, or unfortunately, the newer metrics will be changed rapidly enough that gaming the system will be a huge waste of time.
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But they can do a lot of damage while they prevail. I’m thinking of McNamara whiz kids counting bodies in Vietnam.

