Hi Substack,
This is my first post here on the platform, and my first (hopefully) medium long piece writing since a very long while. I haven’t written for a very long while. I decided to try it out since a great amount of people I follow online seem to be around here, and I’m dedicated to write more, as well as improve my writing. You see, if I didn’t have to work, one thing I’m sure is that I’d be writing by the sea. I love writing and the sea.
I also thought of posting this brain dump directly on LinkedIn, but I have another visual strategy in mind, and this is not the most professionally aesthetic text you’d read around there. “Happy Friday! ‘I just got scammed’” As an Search Engine Optimist, I’m confident such tactic can drive some traffic in this direction.
But even if not, I’m going to write either way just for myself.
I’m going cold turkey here (is this a correct expression?) and just write what goes on my mind right now. Well, I just got scammed. I feel really stupid for not having double checked the domain or contacted service support before I “confirmed my bank account” to subscribe to a service, but well, it happens to everyone, and this was the first time I fell into the trap. Actually, not bad given the amount of online scams, and my endless surfing around different corners of the web.
Not diving into the details of the situation, which can’t be reversed, instead I thought of writing about how incredible it is to have a human on the other side of the screen. A real person that can help you instead of a stupid chatbot that can scam you.
That evening I went to get some pizza - PizzaHut to be more specific (isn’t it delicious?)-, and without a face behind the counter at first, my immediate instinct was to go straight to the self ordering kiosk. But instead, I waited. And someone showed up. I asked for the different menus, the possible combinations, the latest offers, and the best deal between a soda can vs the soda dispenser. (I had to make a quick Google search for this last sentence, you know, those machines that offer refills, Search tells me it’s either a ‘soda fountain machine’ or a ‘soda dispenser’, if you’re a connoisseur, please share the correct term. The soda dispenser ended up being the best deal with 40cl vs 30cl +0,30cents just because it was out of the fridge). And the whole process was great! I loved chatting with a human instead of clicking some buttons on a screen that is most likely filled with gut bacteria.
As a huge fan of automation and optimizing everything I possibly can, sometimes is good to slow down and be more present. This also might have to do with my recent medical diagnosis of ‘generalized anxiety disorder’ about which I’m starting to read about, and finding ways of being more present and connected with reality. Plus the fact that I was so into AI and now, not trying to avoiding it, I’m trying to understand how I can still be in control and not letting my brain rot. I’ve been quite concerned about the latter - how good and pleasurous it is to write without having to ask a system to think it for me, correct it for me, or make it pretty to please others. How good it feels to think with my own mind, make my own mistakes, and learn!
I’m sure this text could be perfected, and that I’m the face of struggle when it comes to choosing between ‘in’ and ‘on’, but wow, it feels so good to write this right now.
I feel this post could lead to many others ‘Feeling human in a robotic world’, ‘Say hello even if no one hears you’, ‘Dare to make eye contact’, ‘Being human is the new revolution’.
But that’s it for now.
P.S: If you feel like leaving a comment, I love receiving feedback (good or constructive).