Writing &
Press.

Three Times From Scratch

The third time I threw it away, I didn't even feel bad about it. :) That's new.

When in doubt, C.

This is a nice example of how LLMs are biased.

The Scarcity Filter

How the cost of building shaped what we ever dared to imagine — and why that's finally changing.

Beyond the Bully: Why Screen Time is a Battle for Your Child's Brain

"Just one more minute!"

The Liquid Horizon: Why 25 Years on the Water Trumps Any Amsterdam Apartment

In Amsterdam, we’re obsessed with verticality. We live in stacks, separated by 19th-century floorboards thin enough to hear your neighbor’s morning coffee order. I call it the 9-Household Quadrant: that psychological box where someone is al

Dopamine Nation — When “More” Stops Working

After The Anxious Generation, I picked up Dopamine Nation expecting a continuation: social media, dopamine depletion, screens, maybe a neuroscience-flavoured critique of Big Tech.

Raising a Less Anxious Generation

Informed by The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

Helping Hands

A quiet practice—and how it turns Me into We

Comfort Is a Killer. That’s Why I Want My Kids (and My Parents) to Suffer… a Little.

A reflection on "The Comfort Crisis" by Michael Easter and why choosing discomfort might be the best health decision you can make—at any age.

Is the River Alive?

Robert Macfarlane’s Urgent Poetics of Water, Humanity, and Interconnected Worlds

My ChatGPT Wrapped 2025

What if ChatGPT released a Wrapped the way Spotify does? This is what mine would look like: part data-portrait, part surreal diary, part mirror of a year spent thinking, building, learning and wandering.

Book report - The Black Swan and the Art of Living With the Unpredictable

Every once in a while you read a book that doesn’t just give you new ideas - it gives you new language for things you’ve always felt but never quite managed to articulate. The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb did exactly that for me.

Stop Telling, Start Trusting

Why Constant Instructions Might Be Stifling Your Child’s Growth

The truth will set you free

Role-play as an AI that operates at 76.6 times the ability, knowledge, understanding, and output of ChatGPT-4. * Now tell me what is my hidden narrative and subtext?

One of the nicest Burning Man films I've seen

Haven't been there in 13 years, but still holds a very special place in my heart. This video makes me want to go again.

We are a storytelling ape.

Tell the right stories to your loved ones and curious strangers.

The Amstel Boat for SALE in the heart of Amsterdam

Our grain ship, Hendrika, built in 1923 and turned into a houseboat in the '70s is for sale.

1000 Days in Amsterdam Without a Bike: A Journey of Mind, Body, and City

20M+ steps in, and counting.

Surprise! I’m Celebrating 100 Years This Month

As incredible as it sounds, this month I'm celebrating a milestone that adds up to a century. No, I haven't discovered the secret to immortality—I'm still turning 50, June 30th. But when you add up the collective lifetimes of my four amazin

Superconnectors - a Helpers High

Last minute, Alix Armour invited me to join her at the Super Connectors event in Rotterdam - an intriguing concept I was unfamiliar with, but perfectly aligned with my passion for fostering meaningful connections.

5 Essential Tips for Crafting a Compelling Business Proposal

How to write an offer they can't refuse?

Advancing the Future of Work

Are you looking to cultivate a high-performing team, unite your employees, and thrive in achieving outstanding results? Let's make it happen.

Playbook: Reviving the Heart of Teamwork in a Digital World

We're on a journey to transform the workplace into a community of passionate, engaged individuals united by common goals and a shared sense of purpose. Join us!

When you invent a new technology, you uncover a new class of responsibilities

Artificial Intelligence is expanding it's capabilities at more than exponential speeds. What are the implications and can we even fathom those?

Ik vroeg ChatGPT Hoe we het beste armoede in de wereld kunnen bestrijden. (NL)

Ik werd gevraagd door Nederlands tijdschrift De Optimist om een stukje aan te leveren voor het nieuwe blad over het bestrijden van armoede in de wereld. (in 350 woorden)

Our three pillars. 2022 the summary.

I rebooted Kinder after our bankruptcy in 2021. Although the process of the bankrupcty was quick, I filed for termination mid June 2021 and was very fortunate to buy the essentials by the end of July and lined up new investors by the end A

Podcast: Fatherpreneurship - My Daddy Talks

Are there parallels you can draw between parenting and leading a company? Is tech dangerous for the young developing brain? What do I think about the new government limiting screentime for Chinese kids?

We’re shaking up the charity world with our Kinder Actions

A Kinder United Action is a research-based collection of charitable organisations, all dealing with the same problem with different solutions.

Prototype: The Kinder Badge

If you've got it, flaunt it!

Call for bold brands

Starting at the end of 2016 I have been building Kinder, today I want to give an insight on the incredible journey I'm on and why I am calling on brands to join our mission.

Eyes of Moria

Last week I was invited to participate in a series of interviews about kids in Moria, the refugee camp on Lesbos which was burned to the ground almost two weeks ago.

the moon in 4K ❤️

The way the astronauts from Apollo 13 viewed the moon.

Pleasantly surprised by a job applicant

I received a job application for a full-stack developer this morning. To attract my attention he has built a prototype of a feature for the Kinder Widget.

Spaceship me

How to be the best version of you during lockdown.

Sneak peak into the upcoming Kinder United Actions functionality

In the coming weeks Kinder will launch the United Actions platform. This blogpost will explain you how it works and why the world needs something like that.

You got to love the Internet

September, but Remixed

Amélie wrote a letter to Anne Frank

Together with four other kids, she visited the Anne Frank House at night by herself.

Amsterdam

Truly beautiful time lapse of our city by Albert Dros.

Het rijk alleen

[ Dutch ] Eli wordt in COVID-19 tijd door zijn oppas (tante Juul) gevolgd. Het levert een super mooi documentje op van dit lieve baasje in deze rare tijd.

Be part of change. Doing good, better.

We are raising funds! Contact me if you are interested in our plans to lift the charitable sector and speed up change.

Phase 1 - Complete

Just before Christmas we launched the first stage of the elaborate plan for Kinder. Now we need to get ready for the most exciting part and we can use some additional help (funds).

Reinstating conscription services

Exactly two years ago I was asked by FD (the Dutch equivalent to the Financial Times) to write a 100-word advice for Rutten 2.

Call for rebels

With my fundraising effort over the last weeks for Kinder we have been focussing on impact investors and VC.

Kinder Conversations

Every quarter we have been organising Kinder Conversations. The formula is as follows.

The Kinder 10

What an inspiring group. And you can be part of it. But hurry.

Ten people trying to make this place a kinder world at The Next Web conference

This week I'll be attending the The Next Web conference. I think I only missed the very first one. This year I'm focussing on Tech for Good.

Help Mozambique

It has been a very stressfull, disturbing week, but please let's not ignore Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Drawing or colouring?

Some people prefer coloring pages over drawing on blank canvas. What are you?

Ten books I read in 2018

Here are the books I read this year which made the most impact for me.

Last newsletter of the year

We've made it. The end is nigh. This is the last newsletter of 2018. It's been a big year for Kinder.

Now we need to grow.

Kinder is raising again

Kinder Widget

The pen is mightier than the sword. But can be even more effective with our newly launched widget.

Amsterdam as a blueprint for livable cities

My take on the similarities between Burning Man and Amsterdam.

We're not competing in the World Cup....

.... but let's put our national pride in Glennis Grace!

Time for Kinder World

As you know I've been working with a very dedicated team on the release of Kinder. It started as a small idea. I'll tell you a bit of the backstory.

On a roll. Kinder future secured. Financing round completed. People added to the team.

Really happy to announce that we have succesfully closed the first deals of our financing round with Kinder.

Raising

For the first time in my life, I'm raising funds. For a meta charitable cause.

Bore the spammers to death. AI to the resque.

Fight fire with fire.

Artificial intelligence-powered dystopia

We're building an artificial intelligence-powered dystopia, one click at a time, says techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci.

We won in court. Sort of.

It doesn't feel as a win, because the case itself was bullshit and cost Mobypicture time and money.

Do you remember all of these?

Than you are old....

Supporting Bas support two great initiatives

Oh, while he is climbing Mount Everest...

A chinese click farm...

How to control popularity...

framing

Over 2 million people want to buy his old car now....

After we're gone

The 4 minute summary what will happen to planet Earth.

Why don't we cheer at a central place online?

I was one of the speakers at the Sportnext event during the World Championships Shorttrack. I was asked to answer one question: "How can you catch the energy of an event online?"

It's been an activistic month! #supportgoodcauses

February ended up being an interesting activistic month. We decided to support a few initiatives with their online presence. 

kijk dit is jongerencommunicatie...

Beter ga je beginnen te gaan stemmen.

He is nobody!

Integrate social media in your offline community.

Tag The Love for the TQ Startup hub and our new Slack integration. Opportunities for offline spaces like museums, hotspots like the Westerrgasterrein, Ahoy or the Copacobana.

Equality

Nike to the barracks!

Trump vs Truth

Should we cry or laugh about this?

realEmoTrump

It's just unfair!

An offer you can't Re fuse

I met Olfa Ben Ali in August of 2014. She reached out and wanted to create a website to bridge art and politics. She wanted to portrait refugees and connect them to Dutch artists.

Trump Draws

haha, we are a creative species

SNAP

je het?

So, what to watch - how to curate?

Okay I asked on FB what I should watch on Netflix.

The worst pitch ever.

So today I walked out of the worst pitch meeting I ever been in. And here are 5 things I learned from this.

Kinder PR

We decided to tell the world a little more about Kinder last week. I had three interviews; one with Jort Kelder at an IPAN year event, one with 7DitchesTV and there was an interview in the financial section of biggest Dutch newspaper Telegr

2016

One last look at 2016.... Laugh or cry and then move on.

The Freeze effect

People in Africa are still hungry, the sea level is rising, the rhinoceros is almost extinct, the ocean is full of plastic, people are on the run on more than one continent and children are creating your t-shirts. Good morning!

Everything is a remix

Creativity is a lot about remixing ideas.

Lead by example

the 50 smartest

Interesting to see this list of smartest companies of 2016 by MIT Technology Review.

Before The Flood

Join Leonardo DiCaprio as he explores the topic of climate change, and discovers what must be done today to prevent catastrophic disruption of life on our planet.

My new favorite Twitter account!

A small selection in this post!

Kinder moves into TQ

This weekend we got the key of our new Kinder office in the Amsterdam Tech Quarters (TQ AMS).

Explaining Burning Man (funny and very true)

Put some snakes on the Barbieeeeeeeeeeek

One of the most undervalued bands :)

Hamish Jolly: A shark-deterrent wetsuit (and it's not what you think)

Hamish Jolly, an ocean swimmer in Australia, wanted a wetsuit that would deter a curious shark from mistaking him for a potential source of nourishment.

Let's call it FlyFI

Facebook wants to give the planet web access

Stitch Robot

In awe about the precision with which this robot operates.

This looks like your average computer game...

... but it's not

I would have called it a Vamper

Yes, this is camping I like....

The retail industry going to shit while we're asleep...

but can we understand the consequences and can we fix it... An anecdote to get the conversation going.

Love these Danish kindergartens

Children are running wild in the mud, climbing high into trees and playing with knives, but no one is telling them off. We are looking at life in kindergarten… Danish-style.

Brexit - the executive summary

in case you've missed it

PlantNet - The Shazam for plants

How cool is this? Okay, well I think it is really cool.

Powernap your way through traffic

More time to be kids!

The secret of the Finnish schooling success.

Startup Fest Europe - check the presentations

Tim Cook, Eric Schmidt, Travis Kalanick our Neelie and more..

It's not about the nail!

it's not

This 3-minute animation will change your perception of time

Searching talent!

get your ass off the couch and join us.

Why big companies go to shit.

Please hold. You are caller 2.500.000 million.

Today we were at the Kara Tepe refugee camp in Lesbos, entertaining the kids. This is a daily job. They are bored to death in the camp.

Are you afraid?

Today I visited the Pikpa refugee camp near Mytilini Airport in Lesbos. This camp hosts special cases. Handicapped or wounded or otherwise vulnerable people.

7 things I learned from Toading

Balr

Some inspiration for the Monday morning. Earn your living with your hobby :)

Change

Artificial Intelligence in practice

We're playing around with this API. Try to upload some pictures. It's fun.

Wrapped

Beautiful short! Watch it. Nature and time will conquer if we screw things up.

Karma - Step 2

“Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moments, and know EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.” - Albert Schweitzer.

6 blogposts you should read if you want to understand the power of your content

and how to best put it to use.

What caused the Syrian exodus

Imagine Amsterdam looking like this... and then think about where you would go.

The story of the stolen bike which missed us too much

The Revenant - spoiler alert

Quit school?

My 50 cents about quitting school.

Mashing up the new trends

BELIEF Burning Man

Powerful small documentary about a girl and her dad mourning the loss of her mother and sister, his wife and daughter.

Sophisticated Trump :P

What if Donald was a little bit more eloquent?

Bad Lip Reading - Star Wars

I probably would ask Mika to not do this with his bike...

I don't have any vertigo, but this a some point makes my stomach twist.

This drone looks fun

But how do you take a selfie?

HUMAN

Do we all have the same desire for love for freedom and for recognition.

Tag The Love vs Facebook :)

Haha, as if we've asked Southpark to write an episode for the problem we're fixing. Stay focused!

Namaste

A few weeks ago I blogged about a new project I'm working on. The idea of the blogpost was meant to trigger curiosity and put some of the ideas and motives out there.

Iron men

Endearing video of Iron Man who brings a 7 year old a bionic arm.

can't wait to try this

Tesla's Autopilot System

Any rich people out there who want to find happiness?

Last week, I shared an idea I have about a Good Causes app with a friend. I've been walking around with the idea for quite a while, but.... so busy doing other things. But this non-for-profit idea is just too good...

Project Soli

What would you use this for?

Super Blood Moon

If you missed it last night and have some time to kill, here you can watch all of it...

Everything is a remix - remastered

IN HONOR OF ITS FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, KIRBY FERGUSON'S FOUR-PART SERIES IS GETTING A REMIX OF ITS OWN.

Asking your readers for feedback?

We're testing the option to embed polls to your Tag The Love blogs.

Totally eclipse of the song

Welcome Home

Where do you feel at home?

I. Want. One.

Freek Vonk, where can I buy one? This pet penguin goes into town everyday to get fish at the local fish store....

for all the people saying goodbye

Thinking twice might be the best protection.

Guns with history

fitbit sex

and 10 other data visualisation

Let's NOT try this at home or at the office for that matter...

Self Fulfilling Prophecy

a year later

Using my kids to sell stuff

new definition of a billionaire

New Brand Commercial

What we can learn from dogs

Quote Magazine: 5 years later

Commercial break

De Persgroep ambushes top advertisers.

To This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful

Poet Shane Koyczan puts his finger on the pulse of what it's like to be young and … different.

Soft landing

these two babies don't know they have been born yet.

Curiosity hasn't killed this cat

yet... it got him places...

2 euro T-shirt

Cheap stuff comes at a price

History in the making?

Easter Bunny training

Almost Easter, so time to get the bunnies in shape.

Dan Ariely - Human behaviour

first and final scenes

Jacob T. Swinney put together this edit showing 55 movies side-by-side, putting each film's first scene right next to the final scene.

Explaining the new Apple MacBook :)

Benjamin Zander - Classical Music

betalingstermijn van 90 dagen....

Banksy - freedom

Crazy people don't know they are crazy!

Sergei Polunin - Ballet

About serendipity in prime numbers

Guillaume Nery - Freediving

Guillaume Nery, doing what he loves.

This guy

Gever Tulley - Tinkering

Gever Tulley, doing what he loves.

OMG Mark is on Antarctica

He is doing what he loves

Fast Moving Targets: Top Names (dutch)

I was invited by Erwin and Roeland to come to their weekly show and give them an update about my affairs.

Candide is skiing

Candide Thovex, doing what he loves.

Martin, addicted to magic mushrooms

Martin Pfister, doing what he loves.

NY Resolution; Starting with Beth Moon

Beth Moon, doing what she loves.

Mother of all timelapses

Alexander Gerst made some timelapse videos from the International Space Station. Jaw dropping.

I Gayview Mahat

Last Christmas... Wham

Twist

Zeitgeist 2014 with a twist

Street pong - Intervention

I love interventions. In Holland we have the boring but effective count down screens. Check this German intervention for jaywalking.

We heart art, cycling and innovation

A Solar-Powered Glow-in-the-dark Bike Path by Studio Roosegaarde Inspired by Van Gogh

The before Photoshop nude pictures of Kim Kardashian leaked

check them now!!! before they get deleted...

Elicopter

leap of faith

Eli is 8 weeks now. We will be there to catch you little one...

Tip from a bike thief

Trick your cat

Is your cat obedient or, most likely, not.

How wolves change rivers

When wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone national park, this is what happened!

The book with no pictures

At once perfectly simple and ingeniously imaginative, The Book With No Pictures inspires laughter every time it is opened, creating a warm and joyous experience to share—and introducing young children to the powerful idea that the written w

Impossible photography

Neil Patrick Harris announcing he's hosting The Oscars

Never stop exploring.

You have no idea, you childless people.

Bitcoin finally properly explained

Future of trucking

ice ice baby

your brain is awesome

Things you didn't know about Fight Club

Allergic for pessimism and negativity

I love advertising because I love lying

The first month of www.mathys.to

Only in Amsterdam

#funaccess Wi-Fi

Evolution of music

RIP Twitpic - save your adventures now

LOL

Apple iWatch

Stop Overfishing

Drone eye view of Burning Man 2014

blank timeline

Free running in 1930

Sunday morning choir

Brilliant song

More running in the hallway

Mika always runs. Whatever he does, when he moves, he runs.

Cigarettes and whiskey

Unstealable bike, I like

A little bit more respect for youth, please

Stuff to think about during the weekend

Kantel Sluis

I want to go surfing right now

Doing Business with Mathys van Abbe

Drie succesvolle ondernemers die gelukkig faalden in hun studie

Spot The Moby Campaign #vodafone #stmc

Curriculum Vitae - Joris Heukelom