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i don't think there's something more authentic about this app than there is about, say, twitter - i be talking some shit on there and it's all pretty "authentic". i'm more concerned with how i come across online because that has always been the case since, like, biblical times (see: chatrooms in 1999). my opinion on this is that most of us will never be our fully authentic selves in any form of consumable media whether that's through an app or through our art. "raw, unfiltered, authentic" means nothing to me, i fear. recommending a piece of media (music, film, tv, book, podcast) clues your audience into what you may be like: i can filter out the "bad" music i listen to, or the books i don't want anyone to know i've read and enjoyed and just recommend things that i believe the majority here would appreciate because they too have the little bug in their brain that tells them this is something to be enjoyed shamelessly while others are not. i'm not going to come on here and recommend the marvel movie - i'll recommend some obscure italian neorealism film, because that's what i think will get me more attention here. but maybe i'm alone on this.
Apr 17, 2024
Related Recs
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what does it mean to push against instead of playing to the crowd? is playing to the crowd antithetical to the authentic, pre-irony space pi.fyi organically echoes from earlier internet times? lots of ways to look at this!
i get this and think it's easy if you're fluent in online spaces. i actually feel like this specific aspect of the app feels most on par with the general design and function of apps in general and thus a tiny drawback for me; seeing the sorta patterned language and text magnified in this way (i'm off all other apps). this dilution and self-referential talk kinda bums me out?? it is refreshing to see a rec that pushes against this with flowery, long passages that are less self-aware and more about actually communicating the thing than just signaling status or an in- the-knowness. me? i like a little of both...xo
Feb 13, 2024
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Just people sharing snippets of their life, recommending things they genuinely like, talk about things they dislike... it feels authentic compared to other platforms where everything feels like a show
Apr 17, 2024
I am going to speak on this both within the PI.FYI ecosystem and outside, in my real life. I consider myself to be gregarious in a way where I am often holding wonderful conversations with wonderful people who do not share my interests. By being immensely charming and well-spoken (or perhaps by having very very patient friends and acquaintances), I find myself able to talk about things I like without boring another person. I don’t think a lot of my taste is something that goes viral with people on this site, or is interesting to people who I get along with. I’m a gemini and I do feel the pull to try and alter myself to who I’m talking to, but I think the ability to just be earnest about yourself will get you way farther and help you develop much more meaningful relationships than just Mirroring Your Way Through Life. If you lead through life with a genuine desire to connect and care and make people leave the room feeling better, I don’t think it matters if you’re a geek or freak, I think it just matters that you were honest.
I’ve had one or two viral posts on PI.FYI, but the recs I’ve been most excited to write are for a comic book or video game. Those recs don’t get any likes at all. And honestly I think that’s perfectly fine, because beyond being just a platform to connect with earnest people, this is an archive of interests and personality. In 700 years when the digital museum archivists are sifting through all the internet servers that haven’t eroded, putting together The Final Digital Archive Of You or Somebody or Whatever, I put something out there that was a little bit honest. Though, I don’t think I have the impulse to leave behind a perfect digital representation of myself. I think the most important things in life are things you can’t leave behind, because they are moments that are meant to be forgotten when you and everyone you know are gone. But one day someone’s going to be in a boring university library sifting through my recs on Grant Morrison’s bibliography, and they’ll be Wondering Why I Felt That Way. And by and large they’ll know.
Apr 6, 2025
Top Recs from @ioanna
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i know it’s dinner and a movie but I like going to earlier screenings - then i have the time to debrief and analyse while the movie’s still warm and fresh in my head during dinner or drinks.
Apr 18, 2024
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ins: beach picnics with mismatched tupperware / roadtrips to the occupied side of cyprus to get in touch with the culture and nature there / learning a new language / taking a boat somewhere / park hangs / working on your writing / sunbathing on a roof / malamas-papakonstantinou / sweaty at a festival / not giving up on protests because it’s hot out / AC (pls)
outs: sunburns / 40 different swimsuits / beach bars that charge you €40 for a sunbed / flying to another country / sweaty at a club / tall buildings blocking out the sun / climate change
Apr 17, 2024
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Aren’t you? How can anyone not be? I think it’s my favourite trait - i’m so curious all the time i can’t NOT find out everything i can about a subject even if i only keep a little of the information in my brain forever. how does one not have that little bug in them?
Apr 19, 2024