Common Discourse is a project designed to help others (and ourselves) think through creativity, focus, and intentional work—from Alex Tan & Alice Otieno.
Every Tuesday we share words from a journal, a few ideas, a quote from somebody else, and links worth sharing. On Fridays we invite a guest to share images from their camera roll and a sound that resonates with them.
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90% of what we talk about on Common Discourse circles around the idea of the internet as a living & breathing thing that is responsible for nearly everything in my life up unto this point: My friends, my career, my relationships, fashion choices, new music finds, restaurants to try, and recipes to make.
There was a time where the internet supported true connection to strangers that you were nowhere near geographically but were very near to them in their taste, interests, and thoughts. It was also a time where tastemakers could tell you what was good versus being told by a numbers and algorithm-driven software what to think and when to think of it.
But like almost everything, it can only be great for a short amount of time.
When social giants caught wind that contributors began identifying themselves as Creators, platforms aggressively sold the idea of their platforms as the vehicle for self-discovery and self-expression. TikTok has cleverly put power in the hands of their users by using campaign copy such as “Make your day.”
The creator narrative is a stroke of the ego of course, but more realistically it is a narrowing of the self to the reductive, defensive aim of getting recognition. It’s both a reassurance of one’s own existence and question of belonging. Social today is hardly anything but a landscape for cruel commentary, lifeless tapping, and cleverly (or not so cleverly) disguised sales tactics.
The internet, which could then be identified as a place of refuge, could now be characterized as the opposite.
One of the reasons we see people make big announcements about leaving social media then crawling back to it quietly is because it’s just not that simple. In some ways, leaving the internet is like leaving society. The internet isn’t an individual pursuit, it’s something we do together. It’s where people are, which is why abandoning it doesn’t enhance our sense of freedom or selfhood.
When I started Common Discourse, it was merely an attempt to reclaim space on the Internet that felt like it once did. I figured long ago that publicly complaining to Zuckerberg or Elon about the ways they should steer their billion dollar enterprises would be a heroic effort, and instead wanted to take accountability to create a different reality.
Alice and I view this project as a slowly but graciously growing garden: connection over virality, the right people over more people, and value over volume.
Our number one priority is to build something that you look forward to and feel lucky to know about. A quiet corner of the Internet that feels both safe and connected. Like a dinner party with close friends as opposed to a house party with strangers. Just the way we like it.
Safety has never been about the absence of threat, but rather the presence of connection.
— Alex