Use better social media platforms

Monday 4 July 2022 - Filed under Default

“The best social media platform is texting.”

3Blue1Brown’s Grant Sanderson

The quote above is from a conversation with Lex Fridman on how to engage with social media. Lex says he feels best when he checks it once a day and Grant recommends engaging with fewer people, more deeply offering finally with a smirk, “The best social media platform is texting.”

In that conversation they agree social media can be addicting and that there are downsides. Elsewhere, people are starting to feel the same and are thinking intentionally about better ways to keep in touch.

Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, shares stories of folks who shun text-based communication and networked services (like Facebook and Instagram) opting for voice instead. Newport suggests holding office hours, finding regular times in your schedule where you can talk, inviting people to call during such times as commute or exercise may be in-process.

Derek Sivers, founder of CDBaby and another intentional thinker is open to emails but prefers phone calls to in-person meetings or video chat. Sivers likes that phone calls can happen anywhere and don’t require the overhead of travel or the distraction of the background. More ideas per hour, he notes.

Social media is here to stay so if you are growing tired of what you’re using, consider checking out the open-source social networking of the fediverse. Mastodon worked so much better for me in connecting with real people that I forked the Mastodon code and founded a community called Magic Stone to support and grow that fork.

2022-07-04  »  David Sterry