For people coming of age after 2010, it’s easy to assume Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are just what being social on the internet looks like. It’s a reasonable assumption as those products (especially Facebook and later everything else they picked up along the way) have become so ubiquitous, and their businesses massive. People treat them like water or electricity - a necessary utility to maintain social connections - to friends, schoolmates, local parents, and others.

While many companies have tried to build alternatives, none have gained enough momentum to survive or thrive. It turns out that once everyone is on one service (and Facebook was famously good at growing their network early on), inertia takes over and moving to a new one is incredibly hard (Snapchat and TikTok are exceptions though not without their own challenges).

It doesn’t have to be this way! The internet has always been an incredibly social place. The ease of engaging with the major social platforms has made it harder for people to discover other, often more rewarding and memorable, pockets of connection. The opportunities are out there, but you need to put in more effort to find and nurture them.

I’d like to share an example I’ve enjoyed being part of recently: the Photo Challenge Project run by the author of one of my favorite weekly newsletters, Hiro Report (if you want to read about new physical products and apps, with a strong design sensibility, check it out).

The Photo Challenge Project had a simple promise…

Each Monday, for five weeks, I'll email you a different essential composition technique to focus on while taking photos that week. I'll include a short write-up introducing the technique, maybe give some famous examples, and hopefully provide a little inspiration to go make some great pictures.

It doesn't matter if you're taking your Hasselblad on an Arctic safari or just taking an iPhone shot of your coffee in the morning. You should be able to find easy ways to put these things to use and hopefully sharpen your skill set along the way!

...it’s been fun to be part of it over the past 4 weeks. I’ve enjoyed re-learning core photographic techniques, welcomed the push to be more present and observant as I move through the world and appreciated the opportunity to participate in something with others who share an interest, where I can control how much time I devote to it.

Even if photography isn’t your thing, there are many projects or communities to discover. Be on the lookout and follow your curiosity when you find them.

These little magnets from Eupholia I got for a couple of our plants in the kitchen make me smile every time I see them.

Things I’m into this week

🎧 The Future of Everything with Derek Thompson (The Bill Simmons Podcast) Every six months or so, Derek Thompson - host of my favorite podcast for curious people , Plain English (more on that below) - joins Bill Simmons for a wide ranging conversation about the most interesting developments they're seeing across Tech, Sports, Politics and Culture. It's always a great conversation that touches on a diverse set of topics - is leveraging AI the next "moneyball" advantage to be exploited in sports, the implications of streaming TV abundance on the kind of content that's being created, how late night TV talk shows and video podcasts are becoming more and more like each other and what does that mean for the future of both. It's a fun conversation offering lots of food for thought and a nice introduction to Thompson as someone who deftly unpack rich topics...

🎧 Plain History is an experiment Derek Thompson is doing this year on his podcast Plain English where he unpacks historical moments from the late 19th/early 20th century (known as The Gilded Age) as part of a "pod within a pod." Each episode is an accessible dive into a moment in history that is interesting on its own but also provides a valuable backdrop to what we're seeing unfold in the US right now. I really appreciate that Thompson doesn't use these episodes to deliberately draw connections between then and now but you can feel how the topics have been carefully chosen and thoughtfully presented in way that enables you to make those connections for yourself. I particularly enjoyed the episode on James Garfield, who I knew nothing about. What a fascinating person and story.

He's only 3 episodes in so if this feels like it could be your jam, its easy to catch up and then you can enjoy through the rest of the year.

I'm certain I'll write more about Plain English over time as the episodes are great catalysts for reflection but if you're into how Thompson gets into the topics above, I highly recommend you check out Plain English where he breaks down various timely topics. Some of my recent faves: How Gen Z Sees the World, The End of Reading, The 5 Types of Wealth and 'The Anti Social History': America's Epidemic of Solitude and How to Fix It.

☕ Espresso and lemonade? Yes please. "Pour lemonade into a glass over ice before topping with a double shot of chilled espresso. Mix, if you're into that kind of thing." This week I learned from this 2019 Esquire piece that mixing espresso and lemonade is called a Thunderbolt and I am definitely into that kind of thing. I am determined to find or make one of these myself this weekend.

Thanks for reading. Hope you learned something interesting. I welcome any feedback or suggestions as I settle into a good format for these.

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