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Tedium. The newsletter all your other newsletters look up to.

Since 2015, Ernie Smith's Tedium has been hunting for the end of the long tail, and we've yet to find it. But we'd sure love it if you followed us on our journey. Especially now that we're ten friggin' years old and we're still using a Street Fighter II slogan as our subscribe button. Validate the use of obscure video game slang as a successful subscription strategy. Click the button.

 

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RIP Power Player

On the passing of Mark Discordia, a ’90s video game fan who got a troll’s welcome to the internet. He was a plumber who loved Mario. Nothing wrong with that.

By Ernie Smith • January 15, 2025
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Saving One Screen At A Time

Pondering the screen saver, a cultural artifact which can mean one of two things: Fun animated graphics and screens that automatically go dark. The difference matters.

By Ernie Smith • January 12, 2025

Pinpointing The Actual Problem

A blog post from Automattic lays out their decision to pull back on the WordPress project. But in the process, the company may have accidentally explained why competitors were able to one-up them.

By Ernie Smith • January 10, 2025

Tic-Tac-D’Oh

Dell decides to rebrand its machines along a 3x3 grid—and ditches a number of popular product lines along the way. (Was it worth it?)

By Ernie Smith • January 7, 2025

Divisible By 5

That feeling of dread that you’re feeling about 2025 doesn’t need to need to define the way you approach the world. Perhaps you need a push.

By Ernie Smith • January 2, 2025

Detecting Parasites

Our year-end award for best blog post goes to a niche website known for its air purifier reviews. But the post reached way beyond its traditional audience—and may have helped change the way Google operates.

By Ernie Smith • December 31, 2024

Data-Driven Deception

A story directly exposing how automakers were selling consumer driving data that ended up in the hands of insurers made a true ripple that drivers will benefit from in the years to come.

By Ernie Smith • December 30, 2024

The Calm Voice Of Chaos

This year’s Tedium awards start off with a shout-out to a prevalent voice that brought protest music back to the masses: The endlessly prolific Jesse Welles.

By Ernie Smith • December 27, 2024

Christmas on Repeat

Despite often being terrible, we watch the same holiday movies every year. Why's that? Well, it's not often about the movies—it's about our memories.

By Ernie Smith • December 22, 2024

The Thrill Was Never There

A famous punk-music personality reveals he was in it for the money—a revelation that has upset fans. But to be fair, it was the algorithm that pushed him in that direction.

By Ernie Smith • December 20, 2024
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