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Recently I have been trying to find out why PI.FYI has recently been a more lackluster experience for me and (by no fault of the app ! I still love it) I think it’s because I post things as if everyone here were my friends. And while the community here is wonderful, it feels more like I’m sharing to strangers (which is like “yeah duh”). I’m missing that personal touch. I want to appreciate the app for what it is as it feels like a very special place on the internet but, I think feeling connected will take more time.
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I almost think the point is to NOT feel personally connected. Like that’s what makes the other apps so addicting, that false sense of being genuinely connected. I’m starting to come to the conclusion that social media should be treated like an airport, not a coffee shop. If that makes sense.
@HAILEYD4WN this is such a refreshing take that I hadn’t thought of before!!!
@HAILEYD4WN This is such a nice reality check. I think my brain is still very hardwired to believe connection will be found in an app, which might happen for some, but isn’t realistic for most.
@JAI I didn’t really think about it until reading your thoughts on finding connection here (which is still entirely possible). It’s kind of a freeing concept!!!
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one of my very dear friends showed pi.fyi to me!! she always knows the best apps!! i consider myself quite offline (very private finsta as my only presence on ig for example) so i only hear about things through word of mouth really, like in general—events, trends, places, etc; i like it way better this way, i like being slightly out of the loop, it keeps me sane, even if sometimes im a little late (this does not embarrass me). anyway this app has kind of switched things up for me because not only am i learning of things at a much faster speed, but i feel very public with my presence & am sharing a lot with strangers which i am not used to anymore (i was hyper online as a teen & younger adult, but a few years ago decided to retreat for mental health reasons). it is such a lovely and sweet and smallish community here though that i feel like i am in a little warm nest not lost out at sea!!! i feel like i can really share here without fear and it is actually fun! ^___^
Feb 28, 2024
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a couple of my friends who worked at the seattle times + seattle stranger posted screenshots of their newly minted pi.fyi profiles on their ig stories (presumably after hearing about it in some journalistic capacity) and i was intrigued
being on facebook twitter and instagram for p much the entire time those platforms have been around made me really jaded so i was just generally excitable about new social media (was semi-active on clubhouse when that first launched, got really excited about dispo before david dobrik got megacanceled, etc.) and pi.fyi fit the bill
microblogging is so intimate and human and just feels central to the early-00s "wild west" vibe folks loved about the internet, how it was a space for limitless expression and delightful serendipity of finding someone / something cool online and knowing that it was a real person being real with you. as the channels for that kind of expression became rapidly streamlined and commercialized, the "share what you like" charter felt so fundamental to what the internet should be to me and it seemed like tyler + staff were working really hard on figuring out how to build tech that intentionally facilitated that over "website is for advertising" like literally everywhere else
definitely behave differently on here than other platforms; i don't really post elsewhere. ~2022 i mass deleted every social media app (first twitter then tiktok then ig then reddit then youtube) and deactivated a bunch of accounts, eventually went back to instagram to be able to easily connect with folks i met irl / tap into events in my city but didn't really post to the account before this last december. i am verbose to a fault (which i can't / won't be on other platforms) but pi.fyi feels like an app where that's actually ok and kind of good maybe? being verbose about the stuff you like kind of feels like the point of liking stuff
i would / have shared this site with friends! but i'm not quite shouting from the rooftops that people should come here quite yet for the following reasons:
1. i think that twitter + ig have fried people's dopamine receptors to the point that "number get big" is the point of social media for a lot of folks; that doesn't really happen here
2. being earnest online is decidedly not the point of social media for a lot of folks; that does happen here and i think people finding it organically and intentionally participating is why it continues to happen
3. "every white person in (or thinking about moving to) brooklyn: the website" is not a super appealing sales pitch for my friends, who are largely not white (i do think that's just the case while the site is so young tho)
but yeah, perfectly imperfect fuckin' rips and i think within 48 hours of being on here i decided to pay for pro. really excited to see where it goes as editorial continues to flourish and people continue to sign up – there's something here that's been missing from digital space for a long time
Feb 13, 2025
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i’m not sure what area you’re studying/working on, and which is the basis of your essay - also, as a newbie who isn’t well-versed on the culture here - i guess i’ll just say some random misc thoughts about my experience so far!
there is something about this interface, i.e. the fonts, the emojis, the formatting, the colours, etc, that’s all so incredibly nostalgic of early tech. it looks like an elevated version of the bare websites they had us build with html/css in ict class. it also feels like a more text- and community-based tumblr, another platform that i found a lot of comfort and joy being on. i don’t have the introspection or technical knowledge to pinpoint what exactly it is about PI, and similar platforms (like tumblr) that makes them safe and comforting/less stressful to use compared to others, so i’d be interested in seeing whether this is something your essay will touch on, or define!
maybe it’s because it’s still new and with a smaller user base than Big SM™️ sites, but the culture here doesn’t seem to care about how many followers you have, or in getting the highest amount of engagement on everything you post! it‘s an even playing field where everyone i‘ve seen is just enthusiastic, helpful and thoughtful in their recs or general comments. a small detail, but i also like that specific “like“ numbers aren’t displayed - it (maybe unintentionally?) removes a lot of subliminal pressure to up that figure!
PI is a happy, unencumbered space that makes you feel like a (pre-)teen exploring early tech and social platforms again, except instead of it being a collection of people u know irl, it’s basically a bunch of friends from all over. and that’s something that’s been sorely missed, or perhaps even erased, from the cultures of other social media sites. there’s so much individualism and criticism there, and when you don’t receive engagement, you’re basically talking to yourself bc the algorithm won’t pick up your posts & have them show up for other people.
there’s always something so special and personal when social sites such as this are in their early days, when the people participating are still genuine in their pursuit on them. the people gravitating towards being here are probably looking for the same thing as well, so i hope for nothing more than for it to stay like this.
Apr 26, 2024
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Mar 13, 2025
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I’m watching it be fleshed out in real time, seeing every kind of mishap or glitch. I love it, it’s changing with me.
5d ago
One of the best influences a friend had on me is to make a Pinterest board of my own photos. Unlike apps like Instagram, a personal board allows you to fully fill it with yourself unabashedly. Mine works as a digital diary of everywhere I’ve been or seen. But, you could fill it with recipes, outfits, photography, anything. In time you will have created a collage reflective of yourself.
Feb 18, 2025