Generous Media

kottke.org August 14, 2025 By Jason Kottke

Questlove in the Criterion closet holding up a DVD surrounded by shelves of hundreds of movie DVDs

In the latest issue of his monthly newsletter, Robin Sloan shared a quick reflection on why the Criterion closet interviews are so effective, entertaining, and worth participating in for celebrities (emphasis mine):

Let’s think about the format that is the Criterion closet:

1. Makes people look smarter, rather than dumber;
2. invites them to praise other artists, other work; and
3. demonstrates the way in which praise is reflected back upon the giver, a positive-sum game, with no limit to the size of the pie.

His observation immediately reminded me of how Sloan — and many other of my favorite curators/writers/bloggers/link sharers — writes his newsletters & blogs posts. That kind of generosity, in some ways a result of the connective nature of hypertextual media, is a big part of what first attracted me to the open & personal web and keeps me engaged ~30 years later. And as someone who tries to adhere to #2 as much as possible these days, I can tell you that praising the work of others is great for one’s soul.

What other examples of generous media can you think of?

Tags: blogging · Criterion Collection · Robin Sloan

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org

Questlove in the Criterion closet holding up a DVD surrounded by shelves of hundreds of movie DVDs

In the latest issue of his monthly newsletter, Robin Sloan shared a quick reflection on why the Criterion closet interviews are so effective, entertaining, and worth participating in for celebrities (emphasis mine):

Let’s think about the format that is the Criterion closet:

1. Makes people look smarter, rather than dumber;
2. invites them to praise other artists, other work; and
3. demonstrates the way in which praise is reflected back upon the giver, a positive-sum game, with no limit to the size of the pie.

His observation immediately reminded me of how Sloan — and many other of my favorite curators/writers/bloggers/link sharers — writes his newsletters & blogs posts. That kind of generosity, in some ways a result of the connective nature of hypertextual media, is a big part of what first attracted me to the open & personal web and keeps me engaged ~30 years later. And as someone who tries to adhere to #2 as much as possible these days, I can tell you that praising the work of others is great for one’s soul.

What other examples of generous media can you think of?

Tags: blogging · Criterion Collection · Robin Sloan

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org

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Published on August 14, 2025 by Jason Kottke

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