The Origins of a Dumbphone Company

Two weeks ago the SLEKE. team received a support request from a User regarding an issue with their SLEKE. Phone. During the correspondence, the SLEKE. team noticed a link in the User’s email signature. Hmmmmm a personal website you say? Intriguing.

After visiting the website, the team wanted to speak with this person further. That’s how SLEKE. met Ali O’Keefe, a multi-talented individual who “stumbled her way into the world of advertising and never quite found her way out.” She has a Substack where she shares her unique perspectives on life, on parenting, and on photography. She is also wayyyyyyyy into cameras (She has a Youtube channel dedicated to photography). Simply put, she is a person with a zest for life who has energy enough to share her experiences and interests with the rest of us.

Last week, the CoFounders of SLEKE. sat down with Ali at the North Figueroa Bookshop in Los Angeles for a conversation about how SLEKE. came to be, where we are going, and insights they gained along the way. Enjoy!

The North Fig bookshop was chosen as the venue because Amadeus, one of the managers ( also the owner of a really cool name), recommended SLEKE. to a customer of the shop. That person ended up becoming a User of SLEKE.!

The North Figueroa Bookshop’s inventory is 100% comprised of books that people sell to the shop. That gives their collection a certain ‘what the neighborhood is reading’ vibe. Pretty neat.

Amadeus curated two collections of books for the evening. Check them out!

Books related to ditching the common pitfalls of everyday technology:

1. Please Unsubscribe, Thanks by Julio Vincent Gambuto. A life-changing guide to freeing ourselves from the utter nonsense of modern life. The best book to read if you’re stressed-out, overloaded, or just plain weirded out by this crazy world we’re all living in.

2. The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes. a powerful reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism on our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society.

3. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It’s the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

4. How to Break up with Your Phone by Catherine Price. This evidence-based, user-friendly guide presents a 30-day digital detox plan that will help you set boundaries with your phone and live a more joyful and fulfilling life.

5. Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. A captivating exploration of how internet algorithms are transforming language and communication in unprecedented ways.

6. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Suboff. The “groundbreaking, magisterial, alarming”(Financial Times) expos of the unprecedented form of power called “surveillance capitalism,” and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior.

7. The Art of Invisibility by Kevin Mitnick. Real-world advice on how to be invisible online from “the FBI’s most wanted hacker” (Wired).

   
   

Books related to ‘Doing Cool Stuff’ that don’t involve a smartphone:

1. What I Talk About when I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect. An illuminating glimpse into the solitary passions of one of our greatest artists.

2. Ikigai by Francesc Miralles, Hector Garcia Puigcerver, & Héctor García. This book is about finding your purpose in life, or “ikigai,” to live longer and happier.

3. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious.” --PopSugar.

4. The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. “With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks -- write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example -- The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it.”--The New York Times

5. With Her Own Hands by Nicole Nehrig. Psychologist and knitter Nicole Nehrig delves into the myriad ways that art forms such as knitting, sewing, and embroidery were and continue to be liberating for women.

6. How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex by Samantha Cole. This book covers everything from Jennicam (remember her?) to deep fakes. And most of what came in between, including “A Brief History of Online Dating” and the promise that VR spaces like the metaverse hold for the future of human sexual interactions.

7. Extremely Online by Taylor Lorenz. A groundbreaking social history of the internet, revealing how online influence and the creators who amass it have reshaped our world, online and off.

8. Watch Me Play by T.L. Taylor. A look at the revolution in game live streaming and esports broadcasting, through extensive interviews and immersion in this gaming scene, T. L. Taylor delves into the inner workings of the live streaming platform Twitch.