Hello dear reader!
Welcome to another issue of this newsletter. This week I want to talk about why I write this newsletter.
In this issue:
- Moving away from algorithms
- Real connections and conversations
- Taking the time
When I started this newsletter, and every time I have started something writing-based, I have had as a priority to make a space to share ideas. For this newsletter, I also wanted something different from Instagram. Not only a platform to share photos, and play for an algorithm. I wanted to share ideas and reach the people who actually wanted to follow my work.
Here’s something that has been bothering me about Instagram: my followers chose to follow me, but they don’t choose whether they see my work or not. The algorithm, and how my content ranks for the algorithm, does. It doesn’t matter that you or anyone else has chosen to follow me, what matters is whether the algorithm thinks that what I posted will keep you engaged on the platform.
This creates a perverse game. As a photographer, you write captions designed to perform better. Start publishing reels, rather than photos (I still, and will, resist to make POV reels). Start choosing photos based on what will work algorithmically, not on what you want to show or matters to you. The algorithm becomes the public, or at least a mediator.
However, with this newsletter, I can write. Actually write. Not optimize for engagement, but for ideas that take space, and time, to develop. I can explore how photography intersects with coding, about how outdoor benches blur public and private space in Amsterdam, or even about how I’m creating my own tools. These aren’t Instagram caption topics. They need room to breathe.
And I’m very happy that I’m doing so. As since starting this newsletter, I’ve had actual conversations. Not Instagram comments. I’ve connected with Giuseppe, who writes Quantum of Sollazzo (make sure to follow him if you are interested in data) and more of you who are interested in what I write. These are connections based on shared interests, not on what an algorithm thought would keep us scrolling.
This type of connection is what I look forward to. Connecting with people who care about similar things. Building a community.
In a time when everything moves fast, I find the newsletter format inspiring. I take time to write it. You take time to read. There’s value and intention, rather than the microseconds of attention we give things while scrolling. On the scrolling platforms, we notice something for a fraction of a second, maybe double-tap, maybe not; best case scenario, we share it. We keep moving. There’s no real engagement with ideas, or even the image. Just a quick reaction before the next thing appears.
So that’s why I write. To move away from those microseconds. To build real connections, share ideas. To value slowness and intention over trends and quick scrolls. To build, slowly, something based on what I care about.
I’m curious about your experience. Why do you read newsletters? What draws you to email over social media? Have you thought about starting your own? Hit reply—I’d genuinely love to hear from you.
That’s it for today! If you enjoyed this issue, share it with a friend! Know someone thinking about newsletters vs. social media? Send it their way—they might find this useful.
Luis