FRIENDLY AMBITIOUS NERD v1.0

"sort of a Marcus Aurelius Meditations but for Twitter addicts" – @johnvmcdonnell

A curious mind and earnest heart, sufficiently networked, can imagine wealth into existence.

FRIENDLY AMBITIOUS NERD is a collection of essays by @visakanv about becoming a kinder, bolder and more curious version of yourself. The material is drawn from 10+ years worth of blogging, tweeting, extensive private and public conversations.

Inside are riffs about creativity, taste, marriage, relationships, Internet culture, community-building, masculinity, dealing with assholes, aesthetics, book and movie recommendations and general nerd-ing out about how to have a good time as a human being on the Internet. 

v1.1 will be released sometime in 2025 – everybody who purchased v1.0 will also receive v1.1 as well. (By the way, when you get v1.0, you'll find a passage that says "I'll ship v1.1 soon." Please disregard that.

Reviews from readers:

"One of my biggest takeaways after reading your book was Being Online is a totally different skillset" – Asad B

"Deeply human wisdom that emphasises being good to other people as a way of becoming a better person yourself." – Ken V

"ur book helped me a lot in preventing myself from beating myself up. im running my own company rn and can't even imagine how much i'd beat myself up if i didnt read ur book." – Chestnutric3

"a relevant, modern cecontextualization of advice I've intellectualized but that I've largely ignored" - kt

"It's a very neat collection of some disparate thoughts that build into a useful model of how to become someone at peace with themselves and their ambitions." - MM

“This is the world of the friendly online neighborhood, according to its resident Spider-Man. Look upon his works ye mighty, and marvel.” – Venkatesh Rao (@vgr), founder and editor-in-chief of Ribbonfarm

“Visa is one of the most original people I know. I don’t know what he’s up to. But he’s up to something really special. I can confidently say there’s nobody in the world like Visa. He might be the most prolific person on planet Earth.” – David Perell (@david_perell), host of the North Star Podcast

“10-20 years from now people will tell their children, 'Visa threaded the world together, he was the friendly web made flesh." You can't buy a legacy like that.” Conor White-Sullivan, (@conaw), founder of Roam

“Visakan is one of the smartest men I know and manages to do it in such a kind, unpretentious "not trying to be a profound guru" sort of way. The topics he curates, then explores have on several occasions directly benefited me- either my work or just offered a better way of looking at the world.” – Naomi Wu (@realsexycyborg)

“Visa is that nerdy, creative friend with a magical brain who is kind enough to let you follow his musings. I have learned so much from him—it sometimes feels ridiculous to get so many brain candies for free. He helps make Twitter one of the best places to hang out and make friends. I basically see him as the cornerstone of a new kind of tribe I didn't know I needed.” – Anne-Laure Le Cunff (@anthilemoon), founder of Ness Labs

"Every era has its gurus. Someone to teach the public what is significant, what is moral, what is something to just enjoy... and what is a must-learn for everyone alive today. When our current era of neo-individualism, metamodernism and post-social-media-ism began, and found us humans on yet again unprecedented levels of connection and disconnection, I was hoping that this person would not bring religious dogma or political cynicism with him- or herself. But, at first, those who competed for the role of DigitalGuru2020 brought exactly those things. No one remembers them now. But Visa is here - playing and teaching, listening and giving. Now I know that the gurus of this era will be of the people, of the users; part of the tapestry, part of the fun. Thank you, Visa, for lighting the passage in the labyrinth a bit for us all!" – Anna Gát (@TheAnnaGat), founder of Interintellect.com