As I was settling into bed last night, for some reason, my brain was looping on the “Choose Life” monologue from Trainspotting.

Now, that’s a deliberately cynical and subversive passage – so maybe it’s a terrible idea to be inspired to re-use the format in this way – but I’m taking the positive parts, and I’m trying something.

I’m not sure what the ultimate outcome will be yet, but I started posting some ideas this morning, and here’s what I’ve got.

[edited 10th Jan, to add the final volta that was missing from my original]

Choose Mastodon. Choose the Fediverse.

Choose curiosity over virality.

Choose connection over noise, authenticity over performance, and hope over hype.

Be niche. Be human. Be yourself.

Choose your people, your pace, your corner of the web.

Choose freedom.

—

Choose open standards and interoperability instead of being walled in and caged.

Choose the right to leave without losing yourself.

Choose clients in a range of fabulous front-ends1.

Choose to build together.

Choose an internet that doesn’t depend on one billionaire’s mood.

Choose boundaries made by people, not incentives set by code.

Choose spaces where your words aren’t metrics and your friends aren’t a product.

—

Choose a thousand small communities instead of one loud machine.

Choose timelines that listen.
Choose #bloomscrolling over doomscrolling.2

Choose #Monsterdon, #Caturday, #SilentSunday, #BelieveInFilm, and #Mosstodon.

Boost because you care. Follow because you’re interested.

Choose creativity. Choose joy!

Choose watching The Indie Beat Television, and being inspired by art.

Choose optionality. Choose respect.
Choose a human web.
—
So why choose any of this, when it’s so much easier not to?

Because caring is the point.

Because building together beats shouting alone.
Because the best places don’t keep you: they let you choose.

Yes – I know the original ends with a “why bother, do drugs” – twisting from meaningful to meaningless to nihilism. That’s not the point of this version. I’m well aware that folks will choose to be contrary – that is, after all, a choice – but I’m saying: let’s take a moment to lift each other up, and celebrate what we’re building together in the open social web!

Thanks for the conversations in the thread on fedi! 🤩

  1. https://toot.cat/@idlestate/115865339639206829 ↩︎
  2. https://mastodon.social/@box464/115865440211515613 ↩︎