So What, Who Cares (vol 2, issue 88) Who got distracted by a TV show about zoos? (Hint: me)

Hello! This is going to be a very short newsletter because I'm watching The Zoo while I'm supposed to be writing this, and I keep stopping mid-sentence to root for the animals to come out on top in any skirmishes.

Which reminds me: There was a fascinating article recently on how research has found zookeeping "was about the closest anyone in the modern, secular world comes to having a calling—the sort of intensely meaningful career that Martin Luther said could turn work into a divine offering."

This, in turn, reminded me of the excellent book Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Exotic Animal Trainers by Amy Sutherland, which will give you a deep appreciation for these devotees of the zookeeping vocation.

And that's how I ended up spending ten minutes reviewing pictures of zookeepers doing the Raptor Squad trick with their animals. Number five is my favorite. (There's also this roundup.)

*
On-demand economy: It's not just for getting food delivered or having your neighbor drive you to the airport. Manicube is an on-demand manicure service that promises workers who can give 15-minute manicures at your place of employ (provided your place of employ is in New York, Boston, Chicago or San Francisco). And now there's Pamper, a start-up that lets you book a manicurist like you'd book an Uber -- so long you're in the San Francisco area.

These start-ups are taking advantage of some of the agita that arose after the New York Times uncovered the horrific conditions at many nail salons in New York City. And they're hoping to get revenue in two different ways: By offering a service to customers and by offering nail stylists a built-in infrastructure for marketing their services and building a customer base.

The interesting thing about Manicube is how it's positioning its grooming menu not as a luxury experience but as a workplace benefit that permits women to be better at their jobs.

So what? From a customer perspective, one of the biggest constraints on manicures is managing your time so you can go get one. Sometimes, things like jobs and/or children get in the way. Having a manicure service come to your office or home eliminates the time-management concern because now you're making people hop to on your timetable. But what might change is how the consumer regards the manicure: Instead of an "affordable luxury" or a little "me time," the manicure is repositioned as something to be crammed into a busy, job-centric schedule.

Who cares? Let's shelve the notion that on-demand economy watchers or participants care about this. The market is fairly limited because it's constrained by both money and geography. The people who really should be watching this development? YouTube beauty gurus or those people who sell the nail wraps on their Facebook pages.

Think about how they can break out with a do-it-yourself series of tutorials on every step of the manicure and pedicure process. And so long as they find a way to mash the buttons of "DIY ethical empowerment" and "create your own luxury experience" and "do this on your own time," they'll build an audience. It's all a matter of developing the content and packaging it.

*
Your moment in pop culture: ... is a self promotion. Philip Michaels and I rolled out the most recent episode o Phil & Lisa Ruin the Movies, wherein we tackled Magic Mike XXL and the female gaze, San Andreas Fault, and the underrated skill of determining whether a specific breakfast cereal calls for white wine or red as an accompaniment.

And I will be doing a lot of talking in upcoming episodes. On July 8, I'll be recording a Comic Book Club episode about Brian K. Vaughn's run on The Runaways -- read the first 18 issues if you want to play along at home.

And on July 20, I'm talking nerd books in honor of Microserfs' 20th birthday. We'll be covering Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, Tracy Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine, Stephen Levy's Hackers and Clifford Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg. And I just started Scott Rosenberg's Dreaming in Code, to see if nerd books circa 2006 are in keeping with their 1980s and 1990s forebears.

Anyway! Feel free to read along, tune in for the live recording, and let me know what you think.

*
Are there typos? Copyediting is the only editing class I did not earn an A in. I'm trying the David Pogue-suggested method of changing a font to see if that helps, but any other tips appreciated.

Any suggestions for links gratefully received -- hit me up via Twitter and email. And any feedback is welcome. Again --hit me up via Twitter and email.

Really like this newsletter? TELL A FRIEND TO SUBSCRIBE! I'm so close to 4000 subscribers! So close! Please help.