Big party at Craft and Draft Irmo to celebrate their 5th anniversary. That’s right, the opened in January 2020 right before COVID shut the world down. So glad our favorite local bar is still thriving.
Parasocial
In one of my early grad school classes, we had a conversation and some readings on parasocial relationships… mostly one-sided relationships you “build” with people that you watch on tv, listen to on the radio, or subscribe to their podcasts. We think we know these people. Maybe at some point we met them, but our real “relationship” is surface level. We might know their favorite athlete or actor, but have no idea what their spouse’s name is. We may know all about them, but they don’t actually know we exist.
(My grandmother had a very strong parasocial connection to the Augusta, Georgia NBC affiliate morning show hosts. She would tell me all about them when I visited, as though she knew them.)
Social media is a little different than local television celebrities. You can have interchanges and discussions, but the reality is that these are also incomplete. You can’t get to know someone fully through a series of short posts, comments or reactions. Especially for people with heavily curated and crafted feeds. Look, it’s hard enough to get to really know a person when you meet them in person. Getting to know someone online is even harder. And yet, we often fall into the trap of making broad assumptions based on what we can see through a pixel-sized knothole in a digital walled garden.
I try not to fall into that trap. Sure, I decide whether I want to continue to follow them. Do I want to let them into my feed. Do I want to interact with this person? And like with in person relationships, my opinion of someone can change over time. I’ve definitely followed people only to find out later that they aren’t aligned with my interests. I’ve followed people who I agree with politically and whose work I largely admire, but their social media feed is so unhinged, that I have to unfollow them. But I don’t ever believe I know someone simply based on their social media presence. It’s just a type of quasi-parasocial relationship.
Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.
Six years ago, I wrote a blog post encouraging people to ask “why” they post to Facebook? I reread it last night and at the end, I found this gem:
Now the hard part: Start asking “why” before you post? Understand the impact of your words before you comment. Or like. Or share. In all likelihood, this exercise will cause you will post less. Comment less. Like less. That’s okay. The only person who will get upset that you are using Facebook less is Mark Zuckerberg. (And honestly, he’s too busy trying to collect all your personal data to notice.)
Still true today. And not just for Facebook.
Iconfactory’s Tapestry is nearing release. I love being able to scroll through a unified feed with Micro.Blog, Bluesky, YouTube, RSS feeds and more. I’m so impressed with how it’s come together and steadily improved during the beta process.
For a class research project, I’ve been reading some journal articles about how to build more positive social media platforms. Sadly, I’m not sure it’s possible. I admire the people who are legitimately trying, though.
Had to take a few more pictures of the snow before it melts… the park behind our house is beautiful when blanketed in snow.
A little snow in Columbia, South Carolina is a big deal.
If the Bills win, it will set up a battle between Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and Hailee Steinfeld’s fiancé.
Helping my 7th grader understand linear regressions for his algebra class… I suppose this is normal? I was much older when I learned how to do linear regressions. As in, grad school.
Just ordered a custom Timbuk2 backpack to replace my 12-year-old custom Timbuk2 messenger bag. The messenger bag is still in good shape… pretty impressive for over a decade of daily use.
Reflections from 1.19.2025
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
My first “Now” update of 2025. The start of the year has been chaotic. Cold weather and threat of snow, but only a couple of flurries. Then, last week, both kids had the flu. The semester started and I’m taking two classes. Work remains busy. Tomorrow is MLK Day and it’s a holiday for us. Hoping to use the day off to recharge and reset.
Feels
- Anxious. A car accident before Christmas. Wildfires in California. Insane political news. Sick kiddos. The general state of the world. It’s just one thing after another.
- Optimistic. While the state of the world is depressing, I’m excited about the direction at work. And I’m moving toward finishing my Ph.D.
Health
- Still stalled. Had hoped to hit reset after the new year, but alas, things are just too chaotic. I was looking to start walking more this week, but the weather looks terrible. So maybe I’m heading to the gym until the weather improves? Don’t know, but I need to kick my fitness routine into gear.
Projects
- Typeface design. Spent a little time working on my new typeface design. Happy with the little prototype that I built.
- My blog. Thinking about some things I might want to change here. I’m more sure than ever that my Micro.Blog hosted site is the best possible option.
Entertainment
- Skeleton Crew. So good. I enjoyed the show from start to finish. And the finale briefly shows my favorite ships of all time. I won’t spoil it for you.
- South Carolina Women’s Basketball. Go Gamecocks. They are ranked #2 because of a loss to UCLA, but they look like they will fight for another national championship. They are so much fun to watch.
- NFL Playoffs. I didn’t watch a lot of the regular season, but I’m tuned into the playoffs. I’m not pulling for anyone in particular so it’s just fun to enjoy the games without a rooting interest.
Enjoyed Star Wars Skeleton Crew. Fun show. Loved the 1980s Goonies vibe and would love more Star Wars like this.
I’m going to get a Micro.One subscription for my dad. He wants a place to share family geneology, stories and pictures and I think Micro.One is perfect for him.
My wife and I are making some changes around the house. Mostly rearranging existing furniture and cleaning out stuff we don’t use. But every time we make an improvement, we see something else that we need to tackle. It’s a seemingly never ending upgrade cycle.
People are talking about the “new” Honda logo that is used on their Honda Zero electric car prototypes they showed off at CES, but in reality, they announced that logo quietly last year.
Proud of this kiddo. 9 am Saturday practice with the high school team. 27 degrees. And heâs excited to go to practice. (As a 7th grader, heâs pretty much the youngest kid out there.)
I think it’s time to phase out bowl games. With opt outs, the transfer portal and and the playoff, they are an unnecessary relic. Switch to a 16-team playoff. Let everyone practice through December.
Then: Reflections from 12.31.24
Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page.
The last day of the year. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks leading up to Christmas and before New Years. A minor car accident complicated the already busy season. Everyone is fine, and it was the other driver’s fault, but now we are just waiting to find out if the damage is repairable. Thankful for good auto insurance.
Normally by now, I have a plan for the next year. And I guess I have some ideas, but I haven’t written it out yet. I probably need to go ahead and do that today or tomorrow, since, you know, 2025 starts tomorrow.
Feels
- Drained. So many things to do at the end of the year. I was productive, but have not rested enough over the last couple weeks. I have two more days of vacation before I head back to work in 2025.
- Frustrated. We had a car accident before Christmas. The other driver ran a red light, although she swore she had a green light. Her passenger was incredibly aggravated and belligerent. Thankful for the helpful police officers, insurance agents and others that have helped us. But it’s just a complicated time to deal with a rental car and repairs.
- Optimistic. There are things I’m dreading about 2025, but personally, I’m optimistic about so many things. Finding that balance is challenging, but I’m going to keep pushing forward.
Health
- Still stalled. I had some good progress late in the year, but I’ve been in neutral for the last couple months. Need to kick it into gear starting tomorrow.
Projects
- Typeface design. I’ve got some sketches for an experimental typeface. It’s not something that’s going to sell so it’s been on the back burner, but I feel like I really want to spend some time on it.
- InShow. Do I need another project? Not really. Is InShow 23 coming in 2025? Maybe…
Entertainment
- Skeleton Crew. Still loving this show. Looking forward to an episode tonight and then two more in this season.
- What if…? I know a bunch of people thought this season was weak, but I enjoyed it. Storm as Thor is wonderful. And I always love Captain Carter.
2025: Incremental Progress
My themes for 2025 are essentially the same as they were last year. And the year before. I need to get healthy. I want to write and be creative. I need to stay organized.
It’s somewhat boring that my major themes have stayed the same for three years. I’ve made progress, but I still have a ways to go. I thought about changing them up, but these four goals still reflect what I need to work on so I’m sticking with them. Just some slight modifications…
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Get healthy. Once again, this needs to be my top priority. I made some good progress late in 2024, but I need to carve more time out for walking and exercising. And I need to continue to make better food choices. I turn 50 this year, and I’d like to be healthier at 50 than I was at 40. To pull that off, I need to put a lot of work in between now and the beginning of August. I’ve got some more specific plans for getting more active.
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Write. In Spring 2025, I have two Ph.D. classes. And then, from there, I’m writing until my dissertation is done. If I stay on the current pace, I have a year and a half until I finish my Ph.D. And that means that by the end of 2025, I’ll need to have made significant progress on my dissertation. I feel like I’ve been in grad school forever – I started working on my MA part time six years ago – so it feels strange and unbelievable to finally have the end in sight.
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Explore creative endeavors. In 2024, I launched a bunch of new typefaces and built a new website for my fonts. I’m really proud of what I accomplished creatively this year. For 2025, I want to finalize an experimental typeface design that I’ve worked on for years, but never really worked on seriously because it isn’t something I think will sell. However, I enjoy playing around with more unique, experimental concepts and plan to focus on that design this year. I also may resurrect InShow, a Columbia-based design show, but we’ll see if I can find the bandwidth and recruit a team.
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Get organized and stay organized. Continue to refine and evolve my methods and tools for staying organized. With so much going on, task management is vital. I especially want to work on keeping my finances more organized this year.
And that’s the rough plan for 2025. Admittedly not that exciting. Stay the course. Keep improving slowly, but surely.
Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.
Our family has been going at full speed since Thanksgiving. Three birthdays, exams for the kiddos, a car accident (everyone is fine), parties, Christmas, family visiting… Thankfully, not much on the calendar for the next few days until I go back to work on January 2. I need some time to relax.