The social media landscape isn’t what it used to be. I used to love checking in on my friends on Facebook, seeing what the musicians and actors I follow on Twitter were saying, and seeing some nice photos on Instagram. But it’s all gotten a bit clouded. I find myself less and less interested in scrolling through ads and trying to figure out why an algorithm showed me a post from three days ago first. I’m not seeing as much of the people I want to see, and therefore I’m not posting as much. I’ve been away from Facebook for almost two months and quite honestly, it’s been refreshing. I didn’t realize how much time I was wasting just wondering if there might be something interesting farther down the feed.
I discovered Substack through one of the artists I’ve been following for a few years, Tyler Knott Gregson. He started a paid site to help him distribute his writing and poetry, since he was getting lost in the social shuffle. I decided to explore the tool he was using and I liked what I found.
I’m not planning to start a subscription newsletter, but thought I’d create a place for my friends and family to more easily follow what I’m doing. This seemed like a good way go get that started. I have no plan for how often I’ll publish a newsletter, or even exactly what will be in them. For now, I just wanted to start.
I plan to continue to posting photos on Instagram, and will likely be active on Twitter, but this will be more personal, more focused (maybe), and maybe just a little more fun.
In case you missed it, here’s a semi-festive photo I took a few days ago. Just a lovely little mug someone awesome gave me. I think it sets the tone for the holidays and maybe for this newsletter as well.