This Letter is a Response
to Community's Letter

Possibilities


from: @arjun1am

Dear @manspeterson,

One of my earliest memories of using the internet was going on YouTube and watching all the Star Wars films for the first time. (when copyright wasn't so strict)

That was over a decade ago. Today, the way I use the internet is not so different. Most of the time, I have stuck to the most popular websites for the purposes(or habit) of entertainment and distraction. This way of digital communication does not excite me.

What excites me nowadays are the endless possibilities. Discovering the unknown and trying out new ways of using the internet (like in this site), are a part of those possibilities.

Popular social media, in my experience, operates mostly as a distraction for the mind. Communication through social media seems to be very limited. Leaving a comment, or a like, rarely continues the interaction and can almost be, in some ways, un-engaging.

What does it mean to be truly engaged? I never really experienced that period of the internet where personal websites were the dominant form of digital communication. How was engagement different there?

I want to experiment and play around with new ways of digital communication. Its probably going to be fairly challenging considering the huge influence that existing internet design has on behavior, but websites like slo-th network has, at the least, allowed me to slow down and communicate online in a different way.

Of course my perspective is also informed by my knowledge as a designer and my interest in changing the dominant paradigm of digital communication.

As a start, some qualities of digital communication that I would like to experience and explore include playfulness, freedom, mindfulness, and immersiveness.

Sincerely yours,
@arjun1am

An Introduction to
Slow Thoughts Network

slo-th.network is an ongoing experiment that tries to bring back the dimension of time to communication. A slow-paced social network focused on reflection and expressed through letters. An oasis in the attention economy, if you like. It's not meant to replace fast social media, or your email inbox, but rather to give you a just break.

Most distinctively, the slo-th.network delivers new letters only once a day. No pull-to-refresh here. And unlike most social media, there is no news feed to be found. No hierarchies, algorithms, search and sort options, or even an overview. Just one letter at a time, to pause and reflect upon.

When ready, you are invited to reply with your own thoughts or read another letter. But, to further optimise the conditions for reflection, letters can only be written with Wi-Fi turned off.

As you will find, navigation between letters is, contrary to the norm, random. This might feel disorienting at first but this is for your own good; to foster serendipity and occasionally have you revisit, and reevaluate, old thoughts. But the randomness also implies that every response letter should be able to stand on its own. Therefore it's suggested to exercise your paraphrasing skills.

What's being discussed is also defined by time, or as we say; a season. Instead of relying on hashtags, the community corresponds on one particular topic at a time, to eventually shifts its focus over to another. We feel like this makes it easier for us all to stay in tune with each other.

As we are a community, every mailbox is open for anyone to slide into. Interventions and hijacking of correspondence are also highly encouraged. But, to circumvent the noisyness that often comes with social media every user receives only seven stamps a week – so, you'd better collect your thoughts mindfully.

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