Craig Mod walked across Japan. He documented his journey through text and photos shared via SMS. Those moments were sent out into the interweb so others could see them. You could respond to Craig. But, Craig could not see your response. It wasn't until after he finished the walk, several months later, that he read the replied, along with his posts, in a printed book.

According to Craig, the space between posting and response is a loop. These days, loops are extremely short. Minutes, if not seconds. Think about text messaging, emailing, or Instagram. It's hard to recall communication with short loops, like letter writing. Yet, opportunities are there. Craig mentions posting design work on a wall (in an office) for critique for a week before comments. I recall Peter Drucker suggesting 24 hours before sending a memo (this was in the days before emails). Others, like Cal Newport, remind us that why we don't need major social media platforms. Instead, Newport opts for a blog and newsletter.

I go back and forth about using social media. At the moment, I'm off of it. Instead, I write a post like this on a blog. Recently, I started to post articles on a private blog (it can't be googled, allegedly). No one can read the blog it unless I send them the link. At the end of the month, I review the posts I wrote that month and decide which ones stand out. Often, they need some editing. Afterward, I move them to my public blog. Filtering further, I select three or four of those for my monthly newsletter. One or two people will respond to my newsletter the day it's sent. But they are responding to content I wrote up to 31 days ago. More often than not, I see someone in person much later, and they'll say something kind about the content in my newsletter. It usually makes for a pleasant conversation and an even longer loop. Perhaps, one day, I’ll put an article like this in a book, pushing the loop even further.

The system mentioned above works for me because I don't love the rapid nature of social media and how it affects my well being. My method on instagram usually involves posting something and checking to see if there's a response every few minutes, the rest of the day. Pretty much anytime I need a distraction from reality, I'll take a peek at who liked or commented on my post. Often, I'm disappointed by the outcomes. The longer loop of my articles and newsletter process reminds me to enjoy the act of writing more so than the likes and comments of others. Though, if I'm honest, I still like to look at the analytics of the newsletter. Even then, though, it's much more separated from the content and distraction compared to looking for likes on Instagram.