This year's wrap-up post must open with a necessary premise. Some of the posts from the beginning of the year are still in Italian, but if you're interested in reading them, any online tool you choose to use today will allow you to quickly translate the text and understand its meaning.

Let's start with the classic and obligatory list of previous episodes: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013

I still find it hard to believe that I've reached the twelfth year of this annual appointment that allows me to look back and retrace the life of this blog. A blog that, as far as I'm concerned, has regained a certain centrality in my online life. The main topic of this year, to which I'm particularly attached: online interaction dynamics.

The subject of my thesis never ceases to fascinate me. Never like this year, with the advent of new microblogging tools like Threads or BSky, have I reflected on how insignificant those spaces are compared to what is contained within a human being and their complexity. Basically, social networks bring out the worst in people, no matter which platform. Unfortunately, this continues to be an absolute truth even in 2024. Therefore, my focus for 2025 will be to give more space to long and hopefully interesting thoughts here.

On this topic, I'd like to quote two posts by Louie Mantia. The first, Everything Competes with Everything:

I am becoming more selective about what I end up giving my resources to, because I want that energy returned. Not everything does that. Doomscrolling on social media drains me, whereas a good movie energizes me.
So I've come to realize it isn't just competition among all media and products—it's also about competition between all of that and what I value.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who perceives a certain fatigue not only in keeping up with the circus of these new tools but in trying to give the best version of oneself for the pure pleasure of being considered. It's no longer for me.

And the second quote fits perfectly thanks to one of his latest posts, Nowhere Place:

Because it's so effortless to post, everyone does it without thinking much of it. Very few people are engaging meaningfully. Superficial posts are followed up with drive-by replies. And no one likes that, I'm fairly certain.

I'm not immune to this. I've been doing exactly this for as long as I can remember. But last month, I decided to stop posting on social media, because I realized that if I want to say something, I'll write a blog post about it. If I lack the energy to go through that process, then it's not really worth sharing.

I wonder if everyone would be just as satisfied if they typed something into a box, hit post, and it went nowhere at all. How much of the reason people instinctively post is just catharsis? Is it just that we need somewhere for those thoughts to go so we can let go of them? And if so, is there a nowhere place we can send them instead?

Let's move on to the actual recap:

With this, I send you a big hug and, as usual, wish you an excellent end of the year and a fantastic 2025.

Ah, of course...Keep in touch!