Scrolling Less, Connecting More

How Bluesky, Discord, and intentional Black spaces reminded me I don’t have to be everywhere at once.

This week has been heavy.
Not necessarily because of things in my control, but as someone who is chronically online, it’s hard to turn the other way and not look at the doom that is the current state of the country. It’s very much in your face.

Spaces on Instagram, Twitter, or even TikTok content feel like we are not alone to talk about what we really want to yap about. For example, HillmanTok, it was infiltrated by other people. Although that probably wasn’t the only reason for its hiccups at launch, it was an unnecessary annoyance. People are always in our business, and we deserve our peace.

This has sent me searching for apps that have a solid Black community in them. Yes, a Black community on Twitter exists, but Twitter is a toxic waste dump (if you are on Twitter, you get it).

I found myself using Bluesky, more importantly the Blacksky feed (hashtag), and I’ve been hanging out in Discord servers of my friends and The Lineup Community server (shout out The Lineup Community). It’s a music and culture Discord server. Let me break down why I’ve been enjoying both of these.

Bluesky, specifically Blacksky

Bluesky is an open-source, decentralized platform. It means you own your shit. Rudy Fraser owns the Blacksky algorithm and runs it with his own money and through a collective. Over 27,000 Black people are currently in Blacksky. It is a place where you can scroll a feed, relax, and have a better online social media experience.

Where I’ve been spending most of my time, though, has been surfing through Discord servers.

Discord

Discord is a free app where people can talk over text, voice, or video in organized chat rooms called "servers," kind of like a mix between a group chat and a forum. It’s popular for gaming, hobbies, and communities, but you can use it for anything from study groups to fan clubs.

I created a Discord server for The Wake and Think Club. The server is only open to Black creatives. This is a community for us to work, play games, collaborate, post job openings, whatever we need as creatives. If you need an online co-working space because misery loves company, or just want to chat it up with other creatives, drop in. No better time for community than right now.

We do not know what the immediate future holds for us, but as long as God’s got us, we gon’ be alright. Community has always been our survival tool — let’s keep building.

With love,
Loc