Friends news: Most popular links
Hello Reader from Nick Gray, author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party (paperback or Audible).
In this issue: The most popular articles, studies, and tools from the past few issues based on number of clicks.
Why you’re getting this: I'm Nick Gray and this is my Friends Newsletter. I send this every month to interesting people I’ve connected with and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can un-subscríbe any time and I won't be mad. I won't even be notified!
Most Popular Links
Here's are the most popular links from my last few newsletters, with updates on the first three.
🌿 The Ugly Truth about Spinach (and Kidney Stones)
Update: I talked to my doctor and she said, "You don't have to cut out spinach ENTIRELY! It is still a good nutritional food. But sure, be mindful of your consumption."
Article by my friend Mitchell on what he learned about kidney stones. Cutting back on my spinach now!
⚖️ The Prisoners Who Debate Ivy League Students
Update: My friend Charlotte told me about the documentary "COLLEGE BEHIND BARS" which is an "Emmy-nominated film series about the Bard Prison Initiative and the transformative power of education" on Amazon Prime and PBS.
"A debate team at an upstate New York prison has bested students from Harvard and Brown."
Update: My friend Blake signed up for the Delta one. It worked and was not a scam.
For flight nerds: This company resells corporate benefits packages allowing you to purchase Delta Platinum Medallion status for $400/yr, Southwest A-List for $400/yr, and Hawaiian Airlines Pualani Platinum (incl 2 first-class upgrades) for $400/yr. Each one has a setup fee. Not sponsored, just looks neat, via Amit Gupta.
📱 We ran a Phone Check at a YCombinator event in SF
I liked this post! Doing things that don’t scale, talking to customers, and writing about it.
🔈 The Art of Manliness: Throw a 2-Hour Cocktail Party That Can Change Your Life
Perhaps the best interview I've ever done? I was flooded with feedback afterwards and hello to new readers who found me from there.
📧 How to Introduce Two People via Email: Sample Scripts (2023)
Pro tip: ALWAYS DOUBLE OPT-IN! I wrote this article to show you exactly how to introduce two people via email.
✅ 79 Tasks for My Virtual Assistants: Real World Examples
New article I just published! See an updated list of actual examples for things I get help with.
💰 27 People on the Streets of New York Talk About How Much Money They Make
New York Times article with salary numbers and cute illustrations.
🪑 CSC Generation is a billion-dollar home brand. Why haven’t you heard of it?
"Really interesting profile of a business I'd never heard of but is quickly buying up (or attempting to buy) established players in home decor and furniture," via Austin H. from WFU
👱🏻♂️ The most interesting people are not super successful billionaire types
Investor and entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson wrote a nice Tweet about me that went viral. He called me a "friend billionaire." See why.
How do we overcome the awkwardness that keeps us from starting a conversation? Podcast episode by The Atlantic.
🫰 If I Had $10 Million Dollars, How Would I Live Differently?
I wrote this article a few years ago and it still rings true. You can try the thought exercise, too.
🌩 How my indoor air made me sick and dumb (and how I fixed it)
I met this guy recently and he is VERY passionate about indoor air quality. Specifically using ERV devices inside the home to circulate outside air without a loss of temperature (to reduce indoor CO2, I think?) here's his whole writeup on his site.
"Travel stress-free. Predict delays. Get instant updates." It is an app that helps you with your flights or tracks them. My friend Amit Gupta and a few others love this and swear by it for travel delays etc.
🔈 Why Most Parties Suck - Nir and Far
Podcast with my friend Nir where we talk about why most parties and gatherings are not good, especially for introverts.
▶️ YouTube: Tom Scott's Videos
Informative, a bit geeky, and fun. This is one of my favorite channels. He's covered things like: monorails, treadmill cranes, neat things in London, New Zealand, geysers, railroads, and more. Each video is only about 5 minutes long and they are well-produced.
📈 Kickstarting TikTok: 55,500 Followers & 7M views in 6 Weeks
Nat said: "My videos have been viewed 7 million times. And I have seen a clear and significant impact in the off-TikTok action I was trying to drive: book sales."
My Book at the Airport, WOW!
It was an honor to see my book The 2-Hour Cocktail Party front and center at the Austin airport*
The End
Thanks for reading my Friends Newsletter.
It has been 1 year since I launched my book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party. I'm writing a recap with some reflections and statistics that I'll share soon.
Last night I hosted a dating salon, which was really fun. Photo and my notes on it here on Twitter.
Also: add me on Instagram to see my viral Reels. This one at the library went crazy popular in Mexico. Hola to my new Mexican friends.
🤠 Nick Gray
p.s. Here's the About Me on my website if you forgot who I am. We met [HOWWEMET GOES HERE].