Foster the Signal

A story about a writer and entrepreneur with an audacious mission driving the organization he helps lead. Together, cofounder Stew Fortier and his community-led business Foster is helping writers who care about turning their ideas into timeless writing, not viral hits that quickly fade. They're here to fight back against the hollow noise, to develop important ideas from unique voices, crafted into writing that’s meant to resonate deeper, even as the internet trends shallow.But to do that kind of work, to bet on quality and resonance and originality, is to fly in the face of a certain kind of online creative culture. That culture and those who embody it might be the antithesis of what we stand for, running counter to our values. But it's impossible to ignore the temptation of audience reach and fame, especially when doing meaningful work can feel so hard, so much of the time.How do we reconcile reach and resonance? How do we build a creative business according to our values? Is it even possible to focus on serving the audience more deeply when so many people we see on social media seem to focus on the things we dislike -- and succeed?We have lots of big questions this episode!SHARE THE SHOW:Help others find Unthinkable in their favorite podcast player by sharing this link: https://pod.link/jayFORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER: GET REGULAR IDEAS FOR CREATING  RESONANTJoin thousands of marketers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, and creative people both independent and in-house at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, a16z, and the New York Times: https://jayacunzo.com/newsletterFROM THIS EPISODE:Stew Fortier, cofounder of Foster: https://stewfortier.com | https://twitter.com/stewfortierFoster: https://www.foster.co/Author AJ Jacobs: https://ajjacobs.com/ | https://twitter.com/ajjacobsAJ Jacobs's Medium article: https://medium.com/the-mission/an-entrepreneurs-most-important-tool-self-delusion-616de720fc39SPONSOR: RiversideRiverside is the easiest way to record podcasts and videos in studio quality, from anywhere. Record separate audio tracks to avoid the cut-outs, optional video to enhance the show’s experience, and even clip content for sharing elsewhere, all without leaving the platform. Riverside is powerful enough to be used by Marvel, the NY Times, TED, Freakonomics, Indie Hackers, GaryVee, and Guy Raz, but simple enough for thousands of indie creators and new podcasters to use it for their shows.Learn more and try it free at https://riverside.fm/CONNECT WITH ME ELSEWHERE:- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayacunzo and https://twitter.com/UnthinkableShow- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacunzo- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo- Email: [email protected]:- Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com- Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com