look, but don't stare

We are 335 days away from 2026 and a month into 2025. The year of the snake has strangled us with a sudden ferocity that has left many of us, especially in Los Angeles, breathless (if you’ve caught your breath, here are some ways you can help out). Couple that with a new president, TikTok uncertainty, plane crashes, and AI companies battling it out, and you have an absolute whirlwind at the start of the year.

How are we doing, folks? Really?

Some of the best advice I’ve seen about the latest news cycle is to remember to look, but don’t stare. Indeed, there are many things to be happy, or at the very least, curious about. Rather than being alarmed by, say, AI images of Hollywood burning, what can you do today to keep yourself sane + informed?

The Butterfly Effect

Little changes can and do compound into something bigger. I recently learned that the term “butterfly effect” comes from meteorology - the idea that butterflies flapping its wings in Brazil can set off a tornado in Texas. The more significant consequence of this finding is that predicting things is challenging due to the infinite externalities of a system.

After reading AI Snake Oil, it has become even more apparent that AI is not a panacea at all, especially regarding predictions. Rather than list off the many examples of how dangerous this can be, I’ll leave you with this repository, which constantly updates nefarious AI uses.

On Social Media

One way to approach daily life is to “think of the world as a big role playing game, like Skyrim.” After all, we could all benefit from a side quest once in a while. However, if your scrolling addiction is robbing you of side quest time, I’ve been using Clearspace, though others have sworn by Brick.

As a former avid TikTok user, I had been following the news of the ban closely, only to be teased (like the rest of America) into it being brought back almost immediately. This comes at a time when trust in tech and those who build it (the most recent example being Chinese-built DeepSeek) is at a low point.

Some have suggested decentralizing social media as an alternative to the tech oligarchy. The idea isn’t all that radical, seeing as many creators are at the whim of their host platforms for control over their audience and content. This also follows a “file over app” philosophy, which states that to create digital artifacts that last, you must have control over easily accessible files themselves.

One platform that is doing a fascinating job at turning social media + creative work on its head is Metalabel. Its focus on collaboration and curation is a refreshing take on the future of the creative economy. This mindset is also one of the reasons I started People over Pixels: to gain a (somewhat) direct link to followers to share creative endeavors with minimal censorship.

Is Bluesky where it’s at?

As someone who used to frequent Twitter (RIP, sorry, X) and is interested in seeing what the digital world is discussing, I’ve decided to join Bluesky. Join me?