curating obscure social medias

I spend a lot of time seeking out music from different countries and regions, and with each passing year the challenge of finding something distinctively local increases.

This is a tremendous loss for everybody—akin to losing a species or an entire ecosystem. I feel I’m fighting a losing battle, but I refuse to walk away from the challenge.

Better social nutrition

Social media feels like the “empty calories” of human connection. I’m filling my cup with connections, but they lack nutrition. They’re social donuts.

In its place, I’ve spent most of my social time in intimate and often vulnerable 1-1 conversations, usually while on walks in the woods.

I’ve been more present with my wife,... See more

Hyping up your friends is actually a lot more fun than self-glorification. After a decade of Instagram, the whole “Look at this photo I took of what I’m doing” game is growing stale. In fact, it’s a bit asocial just lobbing your solo snapshots into the feed. A true social network doesn’t just make consumption social (Likes, comments, reshares), but... See more

That’s kind of how social media has always been in a sense — from choosing a MySpace Top 8 to uploading albums to Facebook to reposting on Tumblr. We’ve always found ways to sort through and present parts of ourselves online. And right now, I’m leaning into that. I don’t miss MySpace or Facebook, but I do miss Tumblr and the ways I’d mix outfit... See more

The bike rides. The sleepovers. Your first cigarette. Gossiping about your latest crush. Being consoled when they break your heart. Discovering a new city. Re-discovering your own (at 2AM). The hungover brunches. The tears. The laughs. The love. So many of the moments that shaped us were shared with friends. And then those moments started happening... See more