Meaningful communication in the digital age. That’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. It may be an issue specific to me and my addled headspace, but I find all the current digital town squares, soapboxes, and watercoolers to be fetid, tedious, and disingenuous. They’ve become shill-spaces for ecommerce algorithms where our behaviors and discourse have become rigid and formulaic. I want something more! Back at the turn of the century, my Meathaus brethren and I had an online space we called The Sooper Secret Message Board. To me, it was a vital place, full of fun and surprise. It helped, of course, that at that time we were involved in a mutual creative endeavor, and our 20-something brains were spongey and willing to witness the universe and listen to it. My old friends and I have tried to recreate that magic a few times, but we are all too scattered and otherwise engaged. Too much work when there’s other, better work to keep us going. But I keep thinking maybe there’s a way to a least create a sincere space where I can talk with people I miss, admire, or am inspired by.
Which brings me to this newsletter I hope you’ll subscribe to. We’ll talk about books, art, music, tree spirits, kids, dogs, cats, and Dr. Ph. Marten’s Black Star Ink. Come on, it’ll be fun!
Current feelings on the Big Three social media sites:
Twitter: My twitter got hacked by someone impersonating Elon Musk and they tweeted a bunch of bitcoin spam. I got banned and Twitter refuses to reinstate my account but honestly, I’m grateful.
Instagram: I see maybe 20% of my friends’ posts. The rest is ads and regurgitated tiktok videos aimed at 12-year-olds. What happened? Plus I tend to feel like a bit of a braggy liar on that site.
Facebook: This is a good place to make sure everybody I know is still alive, knock wood. But it doesn’t seem like a good a place for meaningful conversation, unless that conversation is indeed a confirmation of one’s current corporeal status.