Hi! Welcome to the twenty-seventh issue of The Good Side of the Internet! Super glad to have you here. For a brief run-down on what all the hullabaloo is about, please visit the About page for this publication.
This newsletter has been split into two sections. The first is external links that I truly adored, sometimes with my own little endorsements. The second is similar, but within Substack. There once was a third, compiling all the recommended readings on over the last month. I’ve since discontinued the mini-TGSotI, so all links can be found in one place, right here.
All of these come Highly Recommended (by me). Please do heed the trigger warnings if they’re present.
Happy reading!
PS: For (mostly) weekly micro-essays on growing up, poetry, and song recommendations, I’d be happy to have you over at .
TGSotI Reviewed
Forest Crayons Derived Solely From a Different Species of Tree Native to Japan | Johnny, Spoon & Tamago
Forest Crayons are a set of 10 crayons, each with a color derived solely from a different species of tree native to Japan such as cedar, hazenoki and katsura.
The Grocery List Collection | website
This is the world's largest collection of found grocery lists. Proudly wasting the valuable time of people everywhere since ~2000.
When the world connected on skype | Isra Fejzullaj, Rina Chandran and Michael Zelenko, Rest of World
On the eve of its demise, Rest of World readers remember how Skype changed their world.
A brief history of the open-source movement | The Swaddle
Everyone’s search for better social media platforms has inadvertently resuscitated the open source movement. Here’s a brief history to contextualize why the Internet is in an existential moment today, and how it can be better.
I want to ignore beauty culture. But I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t look a certain way | Jessica DeFino, The Guardian
Hi Ugly,
How do I reconcile not wanting to become a victim to beauty culture rhetoric with the fact that being beautiful tangibly improves quality of life? I’m an undergrad in university and it’s hard not to feel like I’ll never get anywhere professionally or romantically if I don’t look a certain way, given that it seems like all the other girls on campus seem to be able to fulfill all their dreams and also casually look like That.
– (Not) That Girl
Too late, Not That Girl. You’re already a victim of beauty culture rhetoric and one word gave it away: casually. A very small percentage of people look like That without effort. For most, That demands a significant investment of time, money, energy and brain space.
The real cost of business abandoning inclusion | Lisette Arsuaga, The Drum
What is perplexing about this new corporate trend is that for years, we have been showcasing research on the impact that diverse marketing has on business growth. Despite the many proof points we’ve shared, we’re still having the same conversations we had years ago.
In-house Links
This section contains links to pieces from different Substack publications.
algorithms are killing coincidences. what does that mean for language? from
rosa parks panties, and other indignities. from
Hello, hello, hello from
Why and the Writer from
That’s a wrap for May ‘25! Had a piece you absolutely loved/hated? Let me know!
For almost-weekly micro-essays on growing up + poems (not my own, don’t worry) + song recommendations, we’d be happy to have you over at .
If you’d like, please share this with your friends. Or your mother. Or on your Instagram story that you share a Spotify link on once in six months. Or anybody whom you think would enjoy it. I am deeply passionate about telling people what to read.
Thank you for reading, and see you next month!
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