Content creators vs influencers
Content creators and influencers are different things—in purpose, activities, and incentives—though people often act as both.
social media
Forums are still alive
Three examples of Internet forums that still serve up quality communities.
The one feature I really wish Mastodon had
Mastodon should implement a “for this instance only” publishing privacy level to aid the formation of stronger communities.
The two futures of social media
As social media fractures, two distinct futures are unfolding—two entirely different ways to participate socially online, a fundamental divide between viral entertainment and personal community.
The 30% tax on our friendship
I pay a 30% tax on keeping up with the friends, as they only post life updates on enshittified platforms.
Small social networks are everywhere (still)
The common tale told about the rise of the big social media platforms is that they consolidated virtually all online social activity. And there’s a lot of truth to that. It was easier for many smaller communities to simply organize on a specific platform rather than build and maintain their own system, whether that be … Read more
Friends for the sake of memories
I’m in the process of substantially shifting how I use social media. I want to focus on using social media solely to connect with actual people—not to consume so-called breaking news or procrastinate over memes or fight social battles or dunk on the political villain of the moment. It’s become clear that none of those things … Read more
How to make more hiking or camping friends
Solo adventuring can be great—it’s easy to do exactly what you want right when you want to do it. And it’s a perfect time to dive into some introspection and contemplation. But there’s often no substitute for experiencing a new place with friends. Unfortunately, not everyone has a go-to travel partner, or an available crew … Read more
Online to offline relationships: My 10 in 3 challenge
I’m creating a personal goal of proactively reaching out to 10 people I know only online and establishing an offline relationship with them in the next 3 months. I’m going to call it my #10N3 challenge. A little bit of background I’ve been hovering around the edges of a few social media communities for awhile … Read more
Finding a Dublin Dr Pepper in Denver
I received an interesting email a couple of days ago from some guy named Jason. It read: I know this is a random question, but I have a friend in Denver that has been looking everywhere for Dublin Dr. Pepper and I found a photo on your flickr stream of a Dublin Dr. Pepper on tap … Read more