Hello from Here
When I was considering leaving Meta apps, my purpose wasn’t to leave social media altogether. In the days leading up to my decision to deactivate Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, as well as TikTok, I reflected on what I valued about each of these platforms—and what I would truly miss.
On Facebook, I found neighborhood Facebook groups and Marketplace useful, and I enjoyed seeing updates from people I’ve met at every stage of my life.
On Messenger, I’d had daily conversations with certain people and groups going back 10+ years.
On Instagram, I kept up with so many people I didn’t communicate with anywhere else, but we regularly responded to each others’ Stories.
On TikTok, I discovered books and recipes I’d never have found otherwise, and found joy and escape in the creativity of so many creators.
But once I pulled the plug, even the hardest of those things to let go were quickly found elsewhere.
Most importantly, I am so grateful that within 12 hours of me cold quitting Messenger, an entire 15-person group chat relocated to a Discord server, instead of letting me just be cut off from them.
I saw a couple of TikTok creators say they were migrating to Substack, so I sought them out here and am enjoying the slower-paced, long-form written content. Similarly I found accounts I had followed on those apps on YouTube. Some post their TikToks and Reels as Shorts, but I’ve appreciated finding their longer content there, too.
One question I had was how I would share my monthly reading logs, something I’ve been doing on Instagram since 2022, and had so many conversations around. Soon I realized I could do that in a newsletter format here on Substack.
This format also gives me an opportunity to share other updates I would have posted as Stories, or longer thoughts or updates I wouldn’t have posted on any of the other platforms, establishing a different kind of connection than before.
So what you can expect here? It’s still evolving, but here’s what I’m envisioning:
Weekly or bi-weekly posts about what I’ve been up to…making, cooking, listening to, thinking about, or doing.
Monthly reading recaps with a little more detail than before.
Re-posts of some things I’d previously posted in stories, so you might see me revisit what I’ve read in previous years or a recap of The Fruit Pursuit…plus a look at what we’re doing this year instead. 👀
Silly things, like Taylor Swift activities I’ve done with friends.
Trip recaps.
Probably some random topics neither of us expects yet!
I hope that many of the conversations I’ve had in Instagram stories can continue via this platform, whether in comments, messages, or direct email responses.
To hopefully make you laugh in exchange for making it this far…I present to you a collage of me on various rollercoasters/rides 😹
Thank you for being here!