My name is Philipp and you are reading Creativerly, the internet corner where I unpack my musings, curate and write about noteworthy apps and software, and explore the latest trends in design and tech.

Hey and welcome to Creativerly 371 👋

I thought I would manage to be back with the regular schedule this week for the newsletter, but well, here we are on a Wednesday when the newest newsletter lands in your inbox. At least, I am getting back to you with the regular structure which you are used to. The past days have yet again been packed with settling in my new apartment, taking care of furniture deliveries, and making myself feel home, which probably will still take some time, but I am already in a happy place.

Anyway, I keep this intro section once again a bit on the shorter side, as my head is currently packed with some other stuff. Have fun reading this issue!

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Fresh Updates & News

Fathom Analytics introduces v4* →

I have been using Fathom to keep track of the traffic happening on all my websites for four years now, and since then it has been pure joy to use. I do not optimize my websites based on the insights I get, it simply is a nice way to see what is going on my websites, where people are coming from, what posts are popular, etc. It is super exciting to see that Fathom just announced it v4. With this new major version of Fathom, the company introduced a new analytics engine, running at massive scale while delivering page, event, and session-level metrics with far more consistency and flexibility. Additionally, there is now a Google Search Console integration, which allows you to link your site and see the Google search terms, countries, device types, and pages sending traffic your way. With custom data exports, you can build exactly the export your need through a friendly interface. Speaking of exports, you can now also download your dashboard as a ZIP file of CSVs, covering all pages for deeper reporting and analysis.

There is loads more to check out, so make sure to head over to Fathom's website and read through the full post announcing its new major version. And in case you are looking for a privacy-focused and ethical Google Analytics alternative, give Fathom a try, it won't disappoint.

Surf is now live on the web and publicly available →

Surf has been in closed beta for quite some time, and therefore, it is amazing to read that it is now live on the web and publicly available (while still in beta, always listening, continuously improving). In case you do not know what Surf is, it is an app by the makers of Flipboard, to discover and create communities across the open social web. With ease you can combine people and posts from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, Flipboard, YouTube, and more to build custom feeds for your interests. The result of this is a vibrant community building feeds for all sorts of interests. You can then use Surf search to find feeds that others have created and get to the social stuff you want, when you want it.

And with this newest update, you can now visit surf.social on desktop, log in, and explore the social web, manage your feeds, and discover new feeds from the community. What is even better, you can now share your feeds with anyone and invite them to join the conversation.

Cosmos launches its v2 →

It has been a bit quiet around Cosmos since the initial hype around the Pinterest-alternative, but most recently, the company announced that it has launched its new major version, as they spent the past year rebuilding Cosmos from the ground up, including every screen, every interaction, every detail. Reading the "What's new" section feels a bit sobering though, as the major changes are rebuilt interfaces across web, iOS, and Android, an evolved brand identity (rethinking the visual language of Cosmos), finding your friends on Cosmos (you can now sync your contacts to find and follow friends), sharing to social with templates, and collaboration now becoming free for all, so you can curate alongside other people in shared collections.

Ellipsus introduces the Reader and a lot more →

I bet for most of you, Ellipsus is still flying under the radar, although they just announced that over 400k writers are now working and collaborating on over 4 million docs in Ellipsus, which is amazing. Ellipsus is a collaborative writing tool made for creativity, one place for drafts, edits, and discussions.

With the newest update, Ellipsus introduced the Reader, which allows you to share links to zour work with friends and on social. In the Reader, you then can enable props to get appreciation from readers, enable comments and replies, set the right access level, choose a them for your audience to set the mood, and hide spoilers in Reader comments with formatting. Besides that, the newest update also introduced .docx import and export, so you can move your work from Google Docs and Word much easier. Additionally, you can now set the document zoom, insert emojis in both editor comments and Reader comments, as well as hide text highlights in the Reader via the display settings among other improvements.

Mental Wealth

❯ Craft is Untouchable – “I have a vested interest in the title of this piece being true. I’ve spent decades developing craft—not just making things, but understanding systems, seeing patterns, making judgments that can’t be reduced to prompts. If AI eliminates the need for that expertise, I’m in trouble.”

❯ Dissolving the social – ““AI” exists to disenfranchise labor. That’s what it’s for. Regardless of how good these stochastic systems are or the flaws they have just being able to point at the non-unionized robot whenever the employees ask for raises or anything really is incredibly valuable for business. The existence of “AI” and the supporting narrative mean that you defending your value and therefore price on the market will have a way harder time.”

❯ What Are You Waiting For? – “I was out on the bike earlier this week and per usual, I was taking an inventory of personal injuries, ailments, aches, and pains. Strain in my left bicep, plantar pain in my left foot, right hip flexor is tight, right calf cramp
you get the picture. And if you’re over 50 (as I am), you definitely get the picture.”

❯ Actually, people love to work hard – “One of the most infuriating tropes that I see repeated in media is executives (usually from boring old companies) insisting that their employees don’t want to work hard. Media outlets dutifully repeat this pernicious lie, despite there being no evidence to back it up, and then cultural commentators either credulously amplify it, or actively take part in advancing the narrative as part of their agenda, even though they know it’s false. There is an apparently infinite attention appetite for commentators who troll for attention by saying how “kids these days” don’t want to work hard.”

Do not miss out on this ...

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These are paid promotions or affiliate links to support Creativerly. If you are interested in putting your tool, product, or resource in front of over 2000 creative minds, consider advertising in Creativerly and book a sponsor or classified ad spot. Find all the important information at creativerly.com/advertise.

Appendix

❯ ICYMI

You’ve saved 500 articles, 200 videos, and 100 podcasts, promising to revisit them ‘someday.’ But will you? Explore the ‘save for later’ paradox: why we hoard digital content, the illusion of productivity, and how to embrace (or break) the cycle in an age of AI-generated overload.

❯ Quick Bits

Till next time! 👋‌‌‌‌

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