The dope side of the internet

Over the last several weeks—months really—I’ve been on an unintended search to find the “dope side of the internet.” I’m happy to report that despite my original mission—to accomplish nothing—I succeeded.

What I’ve gained from this dope stuff

Connection

This should be unsurprising to avid readers of LYV, but hey, for good measure…

A happy and fulfilling life is driven by connection and healthy relationships.

It came to me recently that while working on a (mostly) remote team, I not only miss the camaraderie of in-person work culture, but also the structure that “schooling” lent us throughout all those years to have set places for meaningful, intelligent discussion.

I’ve been incredibly lucky—with the help of a nice pour of coffee, a dollop of distraction, and shake of persistence—to have found some really dope communities consisting of genuine, bright, human-centered people online recently… and I’m not taking any of it for granted.

I really feel like I’ve found my people, and in the sea of chaos that is the internet, that feels… well… pretty dope.

An attitude shift towards conversing online

I don’t use the term revitalized loosely, but man does it feel like the best word to describe how I’ve been feeling lately.

Remember those days of staying up way past your bed time chatting on AIM?

Or setting up your Angelfire website?

I have a profoundly new sense of excitement for building systems and communities online, similar to the feeling 25 (😳) years ago.

That’s truly saying something.

Delightful new tools

There’s a lot of fun stuff to be found on the interwebs. There’s also a lot of devious marketing being stuffed down our throats at every turn.

Finding information, tools, and resources that delight instead of (or maybe, only mildly) distracts is getting harder and harder to accomplish.

But I’ve found some pretty cool stuff that are worth sharing. Check it out:

• Arc Browser - literally revolutionizing the browser experience¹

• This amazingly fun and cathartic virtual tactile keyboard

• This screen typing tool that removes your biggest critic

• The Nostalgia Machine - I dare you to click on 1998 (aka “The Summer of Our Lives”) 🙃 

What am I going to do with this dope stuff?

Sublime is allowing me to curate ideas and collections of ideas, as well as discover related ideas from others in the community. This will help me move from Consumption -> Curation -> Creation.

The Creator Design Kit will allow me to thoughtfully and intentionally build out a brand design that suits my work, and that I’m proud of.

Newsletters (📰 see recs below) that I’ve signed up for are educating me and providing me with a comforting, distraction-free space to learn and get lost in education, entertaining, creative, or just plain weird writing.

Related to that, Printernet is going to print me my very own print magazine, curated from a selection of five articles from my Reader library. As someone who gets easily distracted when reading on any digital device (hello undiagnosed, adult-onset ADHD), I’m super excited to have a customized printed version of my own selection of reading to take with me when I undoubtedly will have to sit in a doctor’s waiting room for too many consecutive minutes before I then have to sit in the observation room for far too many more minutes.

This stuff is allowing me to connect with my own sense of wonder, curiosity, and interests. Sure, there’s a lot of dopamine rollercoaster happening, but at least it’s with stuff that is mostly invigorating and not toxic.

Joining another Foster cohort this month has gotten me back in the posture of wanting to express myself and overcome the resistance I have to doing so. I gotta be honest - I’m still struggling. But hey, if you’re reading this, that means I’m taking a step in the right direction. 

Some Other Dope Stuff

☕️ Some other tasty and enjoyable things to consume:

• The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet (Book)

• What does a great cup of coffee taste like? (YouTube)

• The Philharmonik, NPR 2024 Tiny Desk Winner (YouTube)

• oAT (of all Trades) - Where generalists help founders build startups that scale

Fantastic Reading

☕️ 👀 ☕️ Keep that coffee pouring and read on…

• Both Are True - Absurd, honest comedy delivered twice a weekish through the vulnerable personal essays of Alex Dobrenko

• Pathless by Paul Millerd - thoughts on our relationship with work, the history of work, self-employment, a criticism of culture PR, creativity, learning, reading and other fun topics.

• The Lorem Ipsum - A Funny Email About Serious Topics

• Internet People - A weekly email about slow productivity, digital well-being, and how to live a more creative & fulfilling work life

• The Dope Corners of the Internet by Brandon Dang (inspiration maybe…? 😉)

• 50 things I know by Sasha Chapin

Question for You

One more thing

In person groups can be awesome too… here’s to the most winningest kickball season yet! 🦵 🙌 🍻 

C ya next week!

🥯 Bagel 🥯

¹ I can’t begin to tell you how enjoyable and efficient this has made life on my computer and iPhone