Three Pointer: New Social Media Sites, Co-Worker Music, Creative Non-Fiction
I want to write a little bit about three things that are not related so I'm calling it Three Pointer (you know, like basketball!) to create a fun new series on my beautiful blog. Thank you for being here. There's a little surprise at the end.
"I'm Also Over On The Other Site"
This week we've seen a mass joining of the Twitter-esque site, Bluesky. Or at least a mass beginning to use the app. I have had an account for a while but in the last week I've gone from having 250 followers to 1.1K. I'm also using it. If you want to follow me you can!
I'm over there talking about all my regular things– posting a Self Defense Family song, talking about Mikko Rantanen scoring goals, considering Martin Necas's bleached hair, promoting Portable Model, speaking hyperbolically about Chicago, sharing pictures of my cat. You know me.
It's funny to watch a site gain traction distinctly as a reaction against another site. Tumblr sort of had a mass exodus when they decided you shouldn't be able to use porn gifs on the porn gif website, but nothing really popped up directly to compete with Tumblr. People just went to the other existing sites where it was more allowed. So many people are using a new app, an almost clone, BlueSky because they don't want to use Twitter anymore.
What it's created is a really funny culture where people say things like "I'd like a Bookmarking option" and the response is an unironic "this is bsky bitch take your sensitive ass back to HELLSITE twitter if you're gonna complain" which I find as tiresome as I find it funny. My feature based issue with it is that you can't block individual accounts' reposts. I want to see people's reposts because I think that's a huge part of the value of this kind of site– people I like sharing posts with links to articles and videos and songs that other people have written/made– but some people abuse it and I'd like to revoke their repost privileges without muting their entire account. Right now it seems you can only decide all you want to see everybody's reposts or nobody's and I think that's kinda annoying. Not everything I want to see online is posted natively by people I have already chosen to follow and the "popular with people I follow" tab seems to be a deeply inexact science right now.
Overall, though, I like the site. I feel like I've already been able to get new people seeing my posts about Portable Model and about my cat and about the Carolina Hurricanes. I like being actively encouraged to use Alt Text. It could use more sports and more institutional use. It could use fewer people trying to dictate exactly how it'll be different than twitter. It'll get there organically. Instagram Reels and TikTok and YouTube Shorts are all basically the same– with a lot of the same exact content– and they all have distinct cultures and slightly different audiences. It'll get there. If we want it to survive and thrive in a real way we just have to let it develop a culture organically.
Oh well!
I also made this starter pack of people I consider buddies and part of my sphere either via Endless Scroll or zines or whatever!
So-Called Co-Worker Music
There is this idea of Co-Worker Music that has been floating around the internet for a bit. It probably originated on twitter, but it's definitely broken containment. It's a derogatory term about the music your co-worker (less cool and in touch with good music than you) would play at work or in their car or whatever. It's been applied to Jeff Rosenstock and Magdalena Bay and Mt. Joy and all kinds of metalcore among other things. Co-Worker Music isn't about genre, it's about a positioning.
And I must defend the co-workers. There is a deep beauty to be found in Co-Worker Music. There is a societal kindness in Co-Worker Music. Co-Worker Music is a reflection of the upholding of a social contract. Most of these things that are Co-Worker Music are just the most popular thing of a certain genre. It's not about genre, it's about positioning. This is true because the situation– someone at your job who you like in context of work but isn't a friend is playing music– is actually quite heavy the way choosing music to play at a party or a wedding is heavy. Presumably, this is a small group of people who only have the names on their paychecks in common. You've been given control of the music. What do you pick.
Well, work sucks so you want to play what you want to listen to, but you don't want to alienate anybody. So what do you do? Well, you decide to believe that the popular stuff is popular for a reason and you go for the most popular version of the type of thing you like. Co-Worker Music is music played because this person is thinking of you through a personal lens of what they're into and what they know about. It's kindness!
The snide tone it's used in is because there is a certain kind of person for whom jumping up and down to draw attention to their taste with the belief they are the best and most objective music listener stands in for being cool and nice to be around. I think it's boring and I think your family won't have a good time at your wedding reception if you buy into that mindset. Co-Worker Beware.
Small Press Creative Non-Fiction
I read a book recently called Goodbye to the Nervous Apprehension. It's by Michael Heald and was published by Portland small press Perfect Day Publishing back in 2012. I bought it from my local independent, mostly used bookstore, Uncharted Books in Andersonville. It was being sold for list price (a very reasonable $10) so I imagine it's new. In going on their website for the first time, I found I've 5 of 10 of the Perfect Day publications– the Heald book, Staring Contest: Essays About Eyes by Joshua James Amberson, both Martha Grover books, The End of My Career and One More for the People, and Loaners: The Making of a Street Library by Ben Hodgson & Laura Moulton.
It's clear that I'm drawn to their cover designs– all done by Aaron Robert Miller based on the 5 I have– and their paper choices. They're all pretty simple, but they all feel good in the hands. It's mostly essay collections, as is the form of creative non-fiction so often. I'm drawn to those. I'm sure you're all shocked to hear it.
A lot of the books concern external art cultures– music, photography, zines. It's part of what draws me to them. I don't think they're all that successful– Martha Grover's zine collection book, One More for the People, was great, but I found her other book to be a bit of a slog. I would recommend Staring Contest, essays rooted in the grief of someone losing their eyesight and not being able to do anything about it. I don't think I'd recommend you read Nervous Apprehension– despite the Pavement reference title I'm sure appealing to some of you– unless you come across it randomly. It's about the uncertainty of an insecure young man and it's pretty funny and interesting enough. I like the assessment of masculinity and comparison, but it's nothing overly special. The most interesting thing about that one is that there is a sticker with a new blurb covering what appears to be an old blurb that's printed on the actual back cover. I'm considering trying to rip off the sticker to see what's back there.
At the risk of sounding obvious, really what I've learned here is that I'm way more likely read the books that are being sold nearby. I'm tired of online shopping. I like walking up Clark Street and spending $10-15 on a collection of essays by someone I've never heard of. Duh.
You can buy their books online, though!
Staring Contest: Essays about Eyes by Joshua James Amberson $15.00
With the second issue of Portable Model coming up, I want to offer up a free PDF of the first issue to people who read this blog! If you like it and want to support the next issue, feel free to send me some money on paypal or venmo. Those links are at the bottom of this post.
Issue 1 can be found in full at this link! It's a google drive link. Let me know if you have issues. Thanks for all your support.
Miranda Reinert is a music adjacent writer, zine maker, podcaster and law school drop out based in Chicago. Follow me on Twitter or Bluesky or Instagram: @mirandareinert. This blog does have a paid option and I would so appreciate any money you would be willing to throw me! You may also send me small bits of money at @miranda-reinert on venmo/on Paypal if you want. As always, thanks for reading!
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