Curate your life, don't let algorithms do it for you

Good morning,

I find when I travel I sometimes spend even more time on my phone than normal. Scrolling through Google Maps to find places to visit, swiping through Twitter while on the bus, for some reason it sparks a need in me to do something, anything, even if it’s the dreaded doom scrolling. It’s something I plan on being more conscious of the next time I travel.

Today’s newsletter will hopefully help you enjoy your weekend a little more. Here’s what we’re covering:

• 📖 Why we need more taste-makers and less algorithms

• 🎯 How to break free from algorithmic recommendations

Let’s jump right into it.

— Geoff Sharpe, co-founder

Why you should rediscover taste in an age of algorithms

We live in a world where all information is instantly accessible. Everything you can imagine is right at your fingertips, just waiting for you to find it. An endless world of possibility and discovery.

Of course, the reality is far more different.

What seems like endless choice, the ability to find anything, is, in fact, delivered through a filtering mechanism called an algorithm. You're digitally literate, so I don’t need to spend too much time explaining them. But suffice it to say, the algorithm is a blackbox, our data goes in, and out comes (theoretically!) what we want.

From Facebook to Amazon, to TikTok, billion-dollar industries have grown up around predicting and providing exactly what we want, when we want it, with pinpoint accuracy to keep us glued to our screen or shopping cart. 

Algorithms shape what we do (Google search results), what we eat (TikTok videos) and what we buy (Amazon suggestions). They shape our dating lives (Tinder), the meals we make (Instagram cooking videos) and the movies we watch (trailers served on YouTube).

Can you imagine a world before this? Many of you probably can’t. I remember my friends raving about a little book called Harry Potter in elementary school, discovering Sixth Sense from a friend, and perusing bookshelves instead of Amazon to find something new to read.

For many of our parent's generation, it was the movie shop owner suggesting what to watch, the newspaper columnist suggesting what to read, and friends recommending what to do. That’s not to say that was a better world. There’s a good argument to be made that algorithms have improved our lives in many ways, helping us dig more deeply into what we love. 

But I am partial to the argument made by author Kyle Chayka, in his book Filterworld. In his interviews, Chayka makes a compelling case that our world of culture, books, movies, arts and ideas have become flattened by algorithms.

He uses the example of coffee shops, how most have become the same Instagam-designed aesthetic of pale colours and industrial palettes. One coffee shop in Tokyo looks strikingly similar to one in New York, Mexico City and Toronto. Our preferences aren’t necessarily our own, but shaped by algorithms.

Rather than a world defined by a related network of interests, Chayka says we need to move back to a world defined by the tastes, interests, quirks and unique viewpoints of people, not machines. He notes that popular culture historically took time to become popular, as time changed our viewpoints on things. As he notes, Moby Dick only became popular a century later. 

In my own life, I keep going back to a bookstore I visited in New York called POWERHOUSE Arena. It wasn’t a warehouse where every book was accessible but a curated selection of novels from the people in the store. No algorithm chose what books were there, only humans decided.

I spent 30 minutes browsing through the books, titles I had never heard, stories I had never imagined. I left, but came back because I was so interested in what they had. I ended up purchasing a translated Italian book about a fellow living in Naples, a story that would never have been in my suggested books on Amazon. It’s a story about life, meaning, and purpose that has stuck with me ever since. 

I believe it’s one reason why we seek out art galleries whenever we travel. It’s a space curated by people with distinct tastes. We may come for the Mona Lisa, but we spend far more time looking at everything else, the combinations of paintings, placement, lights and curation that keep us there for hours. 

There may be no way to break out of the algorithms in our lives. But as you head into the weekend, it’s worth considering how you can break out of the tastes of the algorithm, look beyond the suggested Amazon books, and embrace the tastes of others, if even for a few hours. You’ll be surprised at just how rewarding it can be. 

TIPS & TRICKS

How to break free from algorithmic recommendations

First off, let’s be clear, it’s not easy. In fact, by even finding this newsletter, you probably relied on some sort of algorithm.

If it’s not possible to fully escape algorithms, it is possible to bring more curation and uniqueness into your life, especially on weekends when you have more time.

Here are a few suggestions to

Go physical instead of virtual

I use the bookstore as a perfect example of how to break free of algorithms. To better curate your own unique interests, you need to be in physical spaces where other people’s unique interests have space to grow.

Physical places like record stores, second-hand book shops, vintage clothing stores, old DVD shops, you get the idea. All of these places tend to be curated spaces where you interact with the tastes of real people.

The best thing you can do? Ask the store owner or manager for suggestions. And never be afraid of trying something new.

Ask your opposite for recommendations

I am not a huge music person. In fact, I rarely listen to it. Blame podcasts for that. But when I do listen to music, I try to listen to suggestions from my friends.

On a 20-hour trip to the Arctic Ocean, one of my friends played a 20-minute heavy metal ballad song that imitated the Iliad (I think the trip is a real blur!). Regardless of the exact details, it’s a song I never would’ve listened to but instantly enjoyed. Metal isn’t my thing, but god damn, was it interesting.

Find your opposite and ask them for ideas. You’ll be surprised what they say.

Subscribe to podcasts and Substack

I’m not suggesting you drown in content, we’ve argued why logging off is important. But selective curration of interesting writers, creatives and thinkers can go a long way to shaping your interests. Some of the best ideas I’ve come across are on podcasts or newsletters. Substack is a great resource for this.

I would argue that by being on this newsletter, you’re already engaged in learning about the interests and tastes of me and Kian! So don’t be afraid to branch out and see what people are writing and curating.

RESOURCE & RECOMMENDATIONS

• I mentioned Filterworld before and I recommend you read it, I’m just about halfway through. But this interview was what got me hooked.

• This is a fascinating (and terrifying) deep dive into how Facebook’s algorithm works.

• I’ve found Substack can be an excellent way to find interesting tastes of people, whether through curation or writing. Their staff picks page also includes topics you can check out. I’m a big fan of the food writing.

• 99% Invisible always has great stories, and this one titled The Age of Algorithms is no different

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