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In this issue
How I use Instagram to connect with close friends
Some interesting things I read/watched/listened to lately
📝 How I use Instagram as a private social network to connect with close friends
Over the previous year, I completely rethought how I use Instagram these days. This has dramatically improved the feeling of connection with some of my friends, who I don’t get to see much often.
Since I joined Instagram back in 2010, I posted when I felt so, and usually, these postings followed one of the same few patterns all the time:
just casually saying what a cool new place I just visited;
showing off cool photos of me playing football, snowboarding, wake surfing, speaking or whatever;
sharing cute pictures of my dog;
occasionally sharing plain good images I took (remember Flickr?).
Eventually, I got bored from Instagram and stopped posting altogether. Thankfully I found the model I really like, and here is how it looks.
I don’t publish posts at all. My Instagram feed is empty.
I only publish stories.
I publish stories once every three months, covering all of the highlights of what had happened during the last 90 days.
I post these by seasons (summer, fall, winter, spring).1
Each seasonal highlight consists of 40-80 pictures and follows a specific narrative.
I publish these only to a “Close Friends” list on Instagram. It includes about 40 people.
Here are some slide examples:
Why this is amazing:
My Instagram stories now follow a clear narrative highlighting significant moments from the concluded period.
I get to reflect more often. When I was putting together summer highlights, I realized how many great things happened during that summer. No more “where did these three months go?” kind of feeling.
I get to practice my storytelling skills.
And most important of all: lots of feedback from those close friends and a feeling of a more profound connection with them.
I remember an app called Path that wanted to become a “social network for your closed friends.” Path didn’t work out, but Instagram serves that exact purpose for me now.
I still have a lot to change about my consumption habits when it comes to Instagram. But it's an entirely different story. I just wish they were to burn in hell the Explore tab, that's about it.
👓 Things I’ve been reading/watching/enjoying
How the healthcare startup is solving a civilization-scale problem
Another great story from The Generalist disassembling piece by piece the company called Levels. When you think of exceptional company cultures, this one now will always be on my top list. Fully remote (including some medical staff), religiously async, documenting everything, offering access to virtual assistants to all of its employees, and so on.
Consumer Trends 2022
A 79-slide presentation looking toward what’s next in the consumer economy. Online grocery, Gen Z and Millennials, sustainability in 2022 shopping priorities, changing attitudes around work, home fitness, and digital money.
I’ve failed (and we need to talk about it)
CEO of one Silicon Valley startup talks honestly about dealing with failure and pivots (there are easy ones and hard ones).
Most of the motivational content for entrepreneurs focuses on ‘not giving up.’ “The entrepreneurs that make it are the ones that don’t give up on their dreams.” And I think that’s a very dangerous statement.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Until next week 👋🏻
I picked up a format of the seasonal Instagram highlights from my friend Dima who started doing these long ago. I loved the idea and couldn't resist doing the same.