Dear reader,

Earlier today, I was dethroned.

At midnight last night, SEnkey became the #1 Scout on Readup, after finding and posting an astounding seven of the last thirty Articles of the Day (AOTDs). Straight from the leaderboards, here are the current rankings:

Please note that I plan to continue fighting tooth and nail for that top spot. But also, of course, I'm thrilled to pass on the torch. It's downright surreal that my co-founder and I are no longer the most influential readers on the platform that, uh... we built. But that's exactly how we designed it, so we're stoked.

Product Updates

Nope. Holidays are happening and we're (actually, really) chill about that kind of stuff. So, no product updates while we're busy spending time with family.

The Numbers

That saying about how startups are like roller-coasters really misses the point because (1) roller-coasters, unlike startups, are fun when they're going down and (2) with startups, the highs keep getting higher and the lows keep getting lower.

So, yeah: Holy. Sh*t. What. A. Wild. Week.

The Big Picture

Holiday noise is par for the course, and the only thing predictable about this time of year is that absolutely nothing is predictable. Yet, against the odds, we keep having "biggest days ever," without much of a clue as to why.

In the coming weeks, our hope is that holiday vacations don't cause regular readers to lose their reading rhythm. We also hope that some new folks with extra free time crawl out of the woodwork. Reading, after all, is the ultimate travel activity and a great way to unwind.

But, regardless, we're not holding our breath. Instead, we're celebrating the fact that our invention is up and running, and that it keeps growing, even when we take our hands off the wheel. What an honor to be at the helm of such a fascinating community.

We're here because you're here, reader. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Bill

P.S. I can't resist plugging this particular story: Gimme Shelter!. I read it three times in three weeks and can't stop thinking about it.