03/12/2026
I was speaking to my uncle a few days ago about how much I missed shopping for music at a record store. I was never much of a "shopper", but when I was in my 20s I would head out pretty regularly with my friends to the big downtown record shops to look for albums that I had researched online. We would lose an afternoon just flipping through the CDs and vinyl, usually bringing home a handful of new treasures.
Last night I realized that I still do something similar, but with my followers. I am always curious about the people that follow me back and wonder why we're connected. So I try to learn more about them.
I take a moment to step out of writing posts, or leaving comments, and I just flip through some profiles. I click on their websites. I allow myself the enjoyment of learning about the people around me. Sometimes I lose a whole evening just doing it!
While AI integrated algorithms are pushing interest based content on us, and in the race to meet content goals we are turning to more & more to LLMs to curate our ideas and produce content that will hopefully be pushed by those same algorithms... we seem to have lost the "social" part of social media.
I mean, we still have the endless chatter of comment sections, and we still speak about sustained engagement and two-way conversations... but are we really doing it?
So, I encourage you to take the time to find the magic that lies behind the profile pictures. Sift through someone else's pages, go to their web sites, and read their bios. Discover how they present themselves online, and maybe even learn a thing or two. You may find that you want to reach out and contact them in person.
Find a moment to reach outside your circle of "real" friends and discover what people are up to. You will find some really cool people that you didn't realize you already knew.
Afterall, collecting all those albums would have been a pointless exercise if I never listened to the music, and the same can be said for the people we are following and who follow us in return.