In our latest update, we built a lightbox that opens when a user taps on a piece of media, presenting ten posts that reveal moments, ideas, connections other users have shared that resemble what they clicked on, aesthetically or semantically.

Vegas

I popped over to Vegas at the start of the year. As I walked down the strip I found myself noticing how meticulously planned the city felt. Food, bets, entertainment — everything was tracked and tied to your personal profile. Every dollar spent, every game played used to build a detailed map of who you are and what you're likely to do next. You can't walk across the street without following a predetermined path, through the hotel’s casinos, past the luxury stores, and out through the gift shop.

Algorithms today feel similar — we’re given little ability to choose where we’re going. We’re being fed content, post after post, pushed in directions predetermined by an amorphous representation of your interest. We get the dopamine hits, and we find ourselves entertained but are often left with a tinge of emptiness at the end of a binge. A nagging sense that I’ve wasted time, that I’ve been led somewhere I didn't really want to go. In contrast, I haven't felt this same emptiness when traversing Wikipedia articles or clicking through YouTube videos.

The difference is simple: in those moments i'm exploring a path of my own choosing; following my personal curiosity rather than an algorithmic suggestion.

I keep coming back to the image of the "fool"— the archetypal reference contains both stagnation and promise, representing a choice between aimless wandering or stepping forward ready to journey toward understanding, eager to engage with the world on their own terms. The image as a call to action: to begin the journey not as someone who merely receives, but as someone who seeks.

The question becomes: What is it about a post that calls to you? Is it an approximation for something else you're seeking? Sometimes the starting point matters less than where you're going. Other times, where you end up is much less important than how you got there.

This realization led us to explore a different approach for surfacing posts. Instead of herding users down predetermined paths, what if we presented starting points? What if we offered pathways only after someone chose to "tap in" on a post that resonated with them?

The idea is simple: one thing can be appreciated in multiple ways. With access to practically infinite knowledge, the discovery of media should lead to new contexts and new connections carved by human curiosity, not algorithmic suggestion.

In a world of designed paths, perhaps the most radical act is choosing to wander.