Connector Field Notes #4

A more generative social media feed

I stopped checking Instagram last March, and mostly stopped checking Facebook too. I'm still scrolling on my phone some, but LinkedIn at least feels more... generative.

Every so often I started to check Facebook again here or there, and I finally figured out how it was sucking me back in. The first couple posts I see are always actual life updates from actual people on my Friends list- the things that make me go, "This is what I miss out on when I don't look at Facebook."

And then, this is the key: after those couple of posts, my feed immediately turns to clickbait-y mush and advertisements and before I know it I've spent an hour reading junk content and made up Internet stories that aren't even from anyone I know. And of course, seeing plenty of ads during that time. That’s really what Facebook has become, a place that sells my attention to the highest bidder and shows me whatever content it can to keep me scrolling.

My LinkedIn feed, on the other hand, feels like it’s 95% people and companies I’ve actually connected with or followed. There’s a small number of sponsored posts, but they’re usually at least somewhat relevant to my interests. I find valuable articles, projects, and companies as I scroll- many of which I go on to include in Hobbyist Academia media recommendations editions. It can still be a rabbit hole, but mostly in a good way.

The case for not automating groceries

A 45 minute trip to the grocery store: getting there, shopping, and getting home. Maybe not the most efficient way to acquire groceries, especially in our digital age of self checkout lanes and everything delivery. But certainly the most human way.

Hyperlocal spontaneous interactions with strangers are the outermost layer of creating feelings of genuine connectedness. People generally extend basic courtesies to each other in the aisles of a grocery store, navigating the shared public space. It has more of an outer boundary than just walking down the street, but not quite the degree of unspoken familiarity as somewhere like a co-working space or an event hosted by an organization you’re part of.

It’s not the same as hyperlocal spontaneous interactions with familiar faces at the gym (which could lead to new friendships!) or the kind where you run into people you actually know and the interaction creates another touchpoint in a community or a friendship. But even seemingly superficial niceties with strangers bolster feelings of connectedness, in a wonderfully low stakes way.