what does it mean to push against instead of playing to the crowd? is playing to the crowd antithetical to the authentic, pre-irony space pi.fyi organically echoes from earlier internet times? lots of ways to look at this!
i get this and think it's easy if you're fluent in online spaces. i actually feel like this specific aspect of the app feels most on par with the general design and function of apps in general and thus a tiny drawback for me; seeing the sorta patterned language and text magnified in this way (i'm off all other apps). this dilution and self-referential talk kinda bums me out?? it is refreshing to see a rec that pushes against this with flowery, long passages that are less self-aware and more about actually communicating the thing than just signaling status or an in- the-knowness. me? i like a little of both...xo
Feb 13, 2024
Related Recs
it definitely can be frustrating when you find a niche corner of the internet thats sweet and has its nice little community norms, but the more people join that community — if the norms aren’t super clear — the more those norms become a little obscured. i’m of the opinion that you can use the app however you want, WHO CARES. but it is nice to have a community where you have a shared language and norms :) i think that’s super human :)
soOooOoOoOoOo my understanding of the intention of the app was that this was for recs and then asking for recs. but you can use artistic license to communicate whatever you want in either of those post formats. the difference i think is when people don’t pay a little homage to the original intent of the app, it can be frustrating for users who have this perceived expectation of what a post *should* be. honestly sometimes i am that person. i think i care *too* much sometimes 😅🤠
IMO — post whatever the hell you want but if you’re post reads like “i recommend [insert title of post here] even if it’s not rly a recommendation, i think it’s a nice connection to the initial community norms? i also feel like it requires some thinking and a little bit of cleverness and intention — which is so scarce on the internet that i’m sure people are like oh no mr. bill what happened to my lil corner of the web? well the truth is nothing is ever ours and everything is always changing, woof!
OR do absolutely none of this and ignore this post completely!
because it hoooonestly doesn’t matter :)
i think we’re all just clinging to things and then when they change we kinda bug out because *gestures broadly at everything*
I LOVE YOU PI.FYI!!!!!!!
*to be loved is to be changed*
May 12, 2025
✏️
- Loving the early-internet vibe aesthetically and spiritually. In the latter sense, appreciate the democratic nature of the ‘everyone’ tab - it feels wild and thrilling in the way of an aol chat space.
- In the same vein, mildly suspicious of the user spotlights; one of the reasons I left IG in favor of PI was the feeling that I was being fed paid or preferred content and it felt yuck. Popularity contests are out.
- Would be more inclined to pay for pro if there was some guarantee/agreement that the money was going towards keeping the platform ad-free *forever*.
- I like how it can function as a source of recommendations/aspirational user-generated content *and* as a personal mini- blog/collage of interests. I think that keeping its purpose flexible in this way would be smart. Suspect folks are burnt out on likes and follows and promotion, but love to digitally scrapbook towards self-actualization.
- Big yes to the ‘ask’ feature, enjoy when they’re wacky, and hope it remains central to the concept. Would maybe be more encouraged to engage upon opening the app if new, randomized questions were up top instead of recs.
Jan 27, 2025
💻
i don't think there's something more authentic about this app than there is about, say, twitter - i be talking some shit on there and it's all pretty "authentic". i'm more concerned with how i come across online because that has always been the case since, like, biblical times (see: chatrooms in 1999). my opinion on this is that most of us will never be our fully authentic selves in any form of consumable media whether that's through an app or through our art. "raw, unfiltered, authentic" means nothing to me, i fear. recommending a piece of media (music, film, tv, book, podcast) clues your audience into what you may be like: i can filter out the "bad" music i listen to, or the books i don't want anyone to know i've read and enjoyed and just recommend things that i believe the majority here would appreciate because they too have the little bug in their brain that tells them this is something to be enjoyed shamelessly while others are not. i'm not going to come on here and recommend the marvel movie - i'll recommend some obscure italian neorealism film, because that's what i think will get me more attention here. but maybe i'm alone on this.
Apr 17, 2024
Top Recs from @kpeck
⭐
less attachment to identity markers and more-sensory driven living/being. staying conscious and in touch with our core essence and saying yes to life when the forces that be make it very easy to say no and cut ourselves off from others and the rest of the world. embodying this truth can ignite a sense of freedom and liberation that is a sexy balm...if you are into that kinda thing
Feb 10, 2024
❤️
nothing short of a spiritual advisor. here he is illuminating a truth I believe we all feel to be true when down and out but often forget/neglect out of allegiance to self-pity or the traps of misery. this could almost read as a hallmark card quote, but it exists elsewhere...so by default, it is its own thing.
I do not mean to be sentimental about suffering— but people who cannot suffer can never grow up, can never discover who they are.
Feb 13, 2024
🌬
do a giant wave to the birds in the trees, give your lungs a jolt & inhale that crisp morning air, instant cold plunge without the water and you feel ALIVE AND HERE
Jan 30, 2024