If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know how much I love the #Discourse™
The problem is that some people follow my Instagram for the discourse, and some follow me for the fashion and other lifestyle content. And every time I post either type of content, it confuses (and maybe even disappoints) my audience because they don't consistently get the exact type of content that they followed for.
You know how Tupac wrote Changes but then also wrote How Do U Want It? Well, that’s because he’s a Gemini but also… so am I. We are multifaceted. Sometimes all I want to have is good ol’ sociopolitical discourse but other times I just be wanting to post thirst traps—no thoughts, head empty, just vibes 😌☝️💯
By creating a separate platform for the #Discourse™, I’m able to have all my writing and discussions with you guys all live in one place. Welcome to our new home! No longer are the days of 10 frame Instagram stories full of text that disappear in 24 hours. Every time I post those stories, I ALWAYS get the request to save them as a highlight so that you can refer back to them later. Well, call me TiVo because now you can access all this content, ON DEMAND. (That was such an outdated reference omg…do the kids even know what TiVo is) This way, I’m able to reserve my Instagram for my fashion and lifestyle content (with a tiny slice of discourse because let’s be real…I’m me) while all of my long-form writing can live here where we can have actual discussions with one another.
I am SO excited about this, y’all!!!
The Importance of Civil Discussion
There's two points I'd like to make about civil discussion.
1) In the era of social media and virality, people are sometimes afraid to speak their minds online because they fear being “cancelled” or ridiculed. But there are more productive ways to go about this—ways that encourage everyone to share their insight and experiences instead of feeling scared or ashamed. A lot of the stuff that I know, I didn’t learn in school. I learned them from talking to other people.
My goal with this platform is to create a safe and compassionate space for our community to educate, share, listen, and learn from one another. It’s easy to project and be condescending online (I’m guilty of it) but the truth is that everyone is at a different place in their politics, their understanding of themselves, and their understanding of the world. A lot of the discussions that I see online tend to be very unproductive and nasty. It’s easy to talk like this online, but we would never talk like this to strangers in person. This platform is intended to bring humanity and compassion back to conversation and discussion. No retweets or likes for clout—just human beings talking to each other and sharing their perspectives.
2) Whenever I post these writings (yeah...let's call it that) on my Instagram stories, I frequently get replies from y'all sharing your own stories and opinions and I always thought, "how great would it be if everyone who replied could read other's DMs to create a discussion...That would be so nice. Oh well!" Then I would close the app and start scrolling through some random enraging Twitter discourse. You see, Twitter discourse is never productive because we are all limited by a character limit. So we often sacrifice nuance for shorter tweets that simply don't get the point across as well.
But also, it's so easy to be condescending on Twitter because 1. You're not talking face to face with another human being and 2. Twitter rewards "gotcha" tweets with likes and retweets. You're literally being rewarded with clout for being a mean person. Ever been ratio'd before? The person who ratio'd you will definitely let you know. Have YOU ever ratio'd someone else before? Seeing those notifications come in is like taking a hit of some crazy obscure underground drug that you need to do more of. I will admit that I’ve been a meanie for retweets on numerous occasions. Don’t judge me, I’m healing.
I cannot tell you how many times I've opened Twitter and saw a seemingly innocent question or discussion turn hostile in like, 2 tweet exchanges. You know that saying “well, that escalated quickly”? It was invented for Twitter. It's almost as if Twitter has become a home of reactionary discussions fueled by clout chasing and dopamine hits instead of civil and productive discussions rooted in listening and learning.
I want to commit to cultivating a platform for civil discussion. As such, I will be implementing community guidelines for the comments section and discussion threads.
Community Discussion Guidelines
These guidelines are put in place to encourage healthy & productive conversations amongst our community.
No Ad Hominem Attacks - Always address the argument and refrain from attacking the person making the argument.
T.H.I.N.K. - Before commenting, T.H.I.N.K.! Ask yourself: Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?
Consideration - Always consider that the person who holds opposing views to yours, grew up under entirely different circumstances (cultural, economic, etc). How can this discussion be more productive? When typing out your response, consider your tone, wording, or personal biases ♡
This is the first time I've ever had a moderated comments section. I almost never delete comments—I usually let my YouTube and Instagram comments exhibit the worst of humanity—but since I know exactly what I want this platform to achieve, I think these guidelines will be a great way to mediate discussions without censoring anyone or their stories.
Why should I pay for this?
Researching, curating, thinking, and writing requires a lot of labor (remember that post I did about the model minority myth? That took almost 2 weeks to create). While I enjoy doing all of these things, sometimes actual work gets in the way and I have to prioritize those projects over my passion projects (I originally posted that model minority myth post to be part of a series, which I never continued because actual work that pays my rent, got in the way) With this monthly subscription model, I’m able to prioritize this type of content for you all to consume and enjoy on a twice a week basis instead of a once every three months Instagram story that disappears in 24 hours 🤪
This will also allow me to engage with you guys on an even deeper, more personal level to have actual discussions and conversations.
There will always be a free component to this newsletter. All educational content will be free (to align with my goal to make education more accessible) but subscribing will get you access to exclusive content, discussion threads, and even an exclusive podcast!
I am sooo excited about this launch. Let me know what y’all think about this project in the comments! I wanna hear your thoughts :)
More content tomorrow! See ya xo
I'm so excited!!! A great way to stay connected, speak on conversations using your online platform! Happy that you started this Asia!
This is amazing, I'm so excited! Congrats, Asia :)