MEDIA
From Meta and Medium To Mastodon And Back Again
A short history of my search for balance, fulfillment, and a bit of peace and quiet within the chaos of social media
The world is a pretty chaotic place — on a good day. Twenty-four-hour cable news programming, newspapers that rely on clicks to fund their reporting, and social media platforms that purposely push conflict as a means to propel engagement. The pace of information is not just mind-boggling. It’s unsustainable.
In the face of so much uncertainty with regard to our online identities, it’s reasonable for us to look at the options being presented to us and find what works best for us. Whether or not you’re thinking about it consciously or not, you’re likely doing the same.
There was a time when the bulk of my social media usage took place on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. My creative endeavors were mainly journalism, writing, and photography, with a bit of filmmaking thrown in for good measure.
I wrote long pieces on one of my own websites. My newspaper The Standard for politics. My personal blog for essays. I posted links to these pieces on Facebook for wider distribution and easy engagement. I found that people were much more likely to read and comment on social…
