I miss the Internet
Before it was commercialized
Hey there! đ
I'll be honestâI'm not entirely sure why anyone would sign up for this newsletter, but here we are! Donât feel guilty if you're here by some random twist of fate; I post updates sporadically and spend a lot of time doing other things too. If you find something helpful here, feel free to pass it along to friends who might appreciate it too.
We once surfed a different kind of web - one that was less about commerce and more about community.
I miss that time.
Before everyone spent their time on social media, we had forums. We had blogs. You had to know the name of the site.
I miss that time.
Forums where people of the same interest work together to foster growth in a specific topic.
Blogs that built a community. Documentation of working in the open. There were no filters. No algorithms.
Just people building in public, sharing their successes, their failures, and what they learned along the way.
Paul Graham's Blog was a favorite. Despite being published in 2009, I still use this concept often.
Seth Godin and Derek Sivers are still keeping it alive today.
The Reach Problem
I get it.
Itâs a weird dichotomy.
We are told: âYou want as many reads, likes, opens, views, etc. etc.â from them.
However, I think who is interacting is the game.
Playing the Right Game
Over the past year this is a concept I have been thinking of but didnât put into words as well as Ryan Holiday and Cal Newport did here:
I guess that is why they are best-selling authors after all!
This isnât a new concept, to say the least though.
Itâs essentially re-branded 80/20.
But I ask myself this often: âWhat one thing will have the most impact?â
To me, itâs more important to have engagement for 10 people who do things I do than 100 strangers who donât have experience or passion for the things I like.
Itâs probably better for you mentally as well.
Derek Sivers has a quote that fits well:
Some people are into money. Some arenât. Some people are inspired by helping the needy. Some arenât. Some people are into fame, power, and prestige. Others are into anonymity and freedom from responsibility.
People have different preferences in different parts of their lives. Famous online, but anonymous in their neighborhood. Generous with time, but stingy with money. Introvert when working, but extrovert when not.
You have to know your preferences well because no matter what you do, someone will tell you youâre wrong.
Derek Sivers writes more here
Focus on what matters to YOU
For the most part, people go with the flow. I donât think that is healthy. Itâs probably just a byproduct of our evolution to follow social norms.
I donât think this leads to a fulfilled life.
And itâs not something I plan to do.
As a housekeeping note, I am in the process of re-designing and migrating articles from my blog (Joshstepp.com) to this newsletter and vice versa. So in the coming weeks, more emails could populate with my earlier work.