narrative operator, maker of memes, writer of poems, etc. writing toward aliveness β‘Β°. βΰΌΊπ€ΰΌ»β. Β°β‘.
San Francisco via π¦πΊπ¨
Joined March 2014
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i've started working with people on their writing, voice, and public body of work, and it has become some of the most fulfilling work Iβve ever done
the work is basically: creating a container and mirror for the ideas already in you, finding the signal, then helping it become more real in public
if you feel something in your mind wanting to take shape through public writing, essays, a newsletter, or a clearer body of work, reach out
a few people have reached out asking how to grow on substack, build trust with readers, and make the whole thing feel less mysterious
so iβve started taking on a few select people for substack / personal brand audits + growth strategy βπ²Β° βΉβ©Β°β
best for writers, founders, or creative people who want to build a newsletter that feels thoughtful, distinctive, and alive, but are stuck on positioning, cadence, growth, or what their βthingβ actually is
i can help with voice, content pillars, editorial direction, growth loops, what to write next, and making your publication feel like a world rather than just βcontentβ
i grew velvet noise from 0 to 30,000 subscribers in 8 months, have built audiences across instagram from 0 to 2M+ followers, and genuinely love the strange little art/science of helping people find their voice online
dm me if useful <3
Currently on a train with a group of writers and thinking about how this all started as a random 'what ifβ¦' tweet 3 months ago
This is my favourite part about Twitter. There was plenty of work involved, but also a sense of natural unfolding. You riff with reality, and sometimes reality riffs back
seeing the response from writers in my DMs and replies, iβm increasingly convinced someone should bring this back, even if it isnβt amtrak. imagine a grant program that sends writers, technologists, and founders across the US by train, with one requirement to pay attention, talk to people, and publish what you learn
it feels like an unusually good fit for an AI lab or foundation with some capital to splash. one of the most common critiques of SF tech discourse is that it has little sense of what is happening beyond its own bubble. so fund people to leave it
iβd love to read dispatches on how people outside coastal cities are thinking about AI, work, community, and the future, and how technology is actually diffusing beyond SF and NYC. there is a real narrative gulf between the people building these systems and the people encountering them. trains seem like an especially good technology for producing this kind of writing, slow enough to notice things
so, which cool institution or newly rich creative technologist is going to fund it?
maja ππ retweeted
This! One of the biggest differences between NYC/DC and SF is the number of cozy and curated coffee shops that are actually good for working/pulling out a book
"Who's going to give you the authority to feel that what you notice is important?
It will have to be you.
Being a writer is an act of perpetual self-authroization"
The partner of someone Iβm travelling with gave me a stack of lil love notes to hide for him throughout our trip. Apparently this is their ritual whenever theyβre apart, so they keep finding unexpected reminders of being loved
Love is alive!!!
day 1: the journey begins π
Itβs GO EAST week!! π
This Thursday, weβre boarding a train from San Francisco to Chicago with a group of writers to explore what technological progress should be in service of
My first ever Amtrak is going to be a multi-day train journey across America with writers. A dream!!!
goeastfellowship.com/
maja ππ retweeted
longer thing on this incoming, but i think there's a strong argument for the third wave of american philanthropy funding third spaces
maja ππ retweeted
They yearn for the intellectual coffeehouse culture of early 20th-century Vienna. As they should.
To experience something of the real thing, you have two options:
1. Visit Vienna and spend some time in its historic coffeehouses, many of which still exist. (Viennese coffeehouse culture is recognized as intangible cultural heritage in Austria's UNESCO inventory)
2. Read about its golden age, when an extraordinary melting pot of philosophers, scientists, economists, psychologists, artists, musicians, and writers helped make Vienna one of the great intellectual centers of the modern world.
For anyone who wants to immerse themselves in that world, understand the conditions that made it possible, or explore the ideas, intellectual movements, and cultural history that emerged from it, I've put together the following reading list:
a friend and i were talking about seeking Viennese coffeehouse culture in SF. the dream is a spacious, cozy neighborhood cafe where we can spend a Saturday or Sunday reading, writing, chatting, and inviting friends to drift in and out throughout the day. maybe it turns into a bar in the evening
over time it becomes a weekly ritual where you can just show up and find familiar faces, no plans needed
does this place exist? whatβs the best cafe in SF for this?
maja ππ retweeted
the second place refrenced is Tea by Shiloh, a late night tea house in Los Angeles. they're a legendary study in everything from graphic design to hosting and crafting a container β at San Francisco, CA
maja ππ retweeted
Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.
- AndrΓ© Gide
friends with upcoming IPOs looking to fund local public goods in San Francisco - humbly requesting more beautiful, spacious, cozy cafes. coffee bar + library, lots of plants, warm lighting, turns into a wine bar in the evening
maja ππ retweeted
this used to be ubiquitous in SF before rent prices made it unsustainable to maintain :'(
a friend and i were talking about seeking Viennese coffeehouse culture in SF. the dream is a spacious, cozy neighborhood cafe where we can spend a Saturday or Sunday reading, writing, chatting, and inviting friends to drift in and out throughout the day. maybe it turns into a bar in the evening
over time it becomes a weekly ritual where you can just show up and find familiar faces, no plans needed
does this place exist? whatβs the best cafe in SF for this?
maja ππ retweeted
i haven't quite found that same viennese coffeehouse culture in sf. but for settling in with a book, writing, being around art, and friends, some bars in sf feel like a better fit than cafes:
- vesuvio cafe
- golden sardine
- the interval at long now
- the jay, autograph collection
- hotel biron
- royal cuckoo
a friend and i were talking about seeking Viennese coffeehouse culture in SF. the dream is a spacious, cozy neighborhood cafe where we can spend a Saturday or Sunday reading, writing, chatting, and inviting friends to drift in and out throughout the day. maybe it turns into a bar in the evening
over time it becomes a weekly ritual where you can just show up and find familiar faces, no plans needed
does this place exist? whatβs the best cafe in SF for this?
a friend and i were talking about seeking Viennese coffeehouse culture in SF. the dream is a spacious, cozy neighborhood cafe where we can spend a Saturday or Sunday reading, writing, chatting, and inviting friends to drift in and out throughout the day. maybe it turns into a bar in the evening
over time it becomes a weekly ritual where you can just show up and find familiar faces, no plans needed
does this place exist? whatβs the best cafe in SF for this?
maja ππ retweeted
the best first date iβve ever been on we got a couple drinks at a dive bar then played folk music together in a park in the rain
Hinge: here are 6 photos of him hiking and in Japan
Twitter: here are 600 unfiltered thoughts and a comprehensive archive of his public crashouts
maja ππ retweeted
this is why twitter is the ultimate dating app. you find the one person who gets your obscure reference and immediately start planning a very small, very annoying wedding