The First Anti-Mimetic Thread Is Now Live

I’m happy to announce that Anti-Mimetic is one of the first newsletters on Substack to receive beta access to a new feature, Threads, which allows us to have real-time conversations (similar to a well-organized group chat) using the Substack app.

I like to think of Threads as a “second space” for this community, like a coffee shop or bar, where we can have more robust interaction about a variety of topics and continue conversations by pulling threads all the way through—drawing out the implications of a key idea or event together rather than moving from one thing to another without conversation, as can sometimes happen.

There is always deeper to go; I think Threads will give us one way to go there. I may start a thread on the idea of New Fremen, for instance—or ask everyone to share one of their fulfillment stories. This Saturday, I plan to be in a car for ~10 hours so I plan to open up a thread (while Claire has the wheel, of course) to explore one of these 25 Anti-Mimetic Ideas (specifically, #22: Learning to Navigate Without GPS, or the idea of anti-mimetic travel in general.) Thanks in advance for helping me pass the time.

I might also use threads in the future for a Book Club, our monthly Salons, and other community features (which, you’ll now see has its own home under the ‘Community’ tab on the home page.) Most importantly, I’ll want to hear from you about what you’re looking for from this feature, and how I can meet you there.

So Here We Go…

The first thread is already available in the Substack app. It is a roll call—a place for you to introduce yourself and learn about other readers. I’ve asked some prompting questions to kick us off, and shared a personal story.

To join the conversation, simply download or update the free Substack app and tap on the second tab at the bottom. (Right now the iOS app is the only place you can join Threads. It’s coming soon to Android.)

In the Threads section of your app, you’ll see a space for Anti-Mimetic where I’ll be starting Threads 3x/week over these next 4-6 weeks. The cadence will be (roughly):

• Monday: A weekly prompt (question). I’ll also be using these prompts to experiment with different ideas that encourage reflection and interaction—a kind of anti-mimetic journey of discovery. I will also be using these Monday prompts to test out reflection questions and challenges, some of which will make it into a new journal/workbook that I plan to publish next year on identifying and living out your thick desires in an accountable way. You can follow along in the app and interact directly with me and other participants on this journey.

• Mid-Week: I’ll open up a thread about something in the news, something I’m reading, or anything else relevant to this community (including photos, videos, screenshots, or anything else that doesn’t fit neatly into a regular essay) and invite comments and interaction. This thread will be more closely tied to what’s going on in the world. (The exception is this week, which we’re using for introductions.)

• Weekend: I’m still working this one out, but I think I’d like to start fun threads related to leisure, sports, hobbies, food, wellness—a change of pace. A glimpse into my personal life. We’ll have some fun with this one. On Saturday, Sept. 17, the weekend thread will be an AMA, open to all.

I’m excited about getting to chat with you more regularly. You can find the first thread right here in the Threads section of the app if you have it:

Visit the Anti-Mimetic Thread

For now, all the threads will be open to all subscribers. This is the only time a thread will have its own post going out to everyone via email—I am only doing this to make the initial announcement. Going forward, you will get new push notifications in the app only (you can manage notifications in the app). I will link to threads from inside essays if there is a conversation to be had via threads. (Please do not worry about getting bombarded with extra emails from me—you will not.) The thread feature is meant to live on the side, as a second space.

If you don’t have the Substack app yet, you can download it here:

Read Anti-Mimetic in the Substack app

Now available for iOS

Get the app

If you’re having trouble finding the first Anti-Mimetic thread, you might want to force quit and restart your app or check out Substack’s FAQ.

Again: after downloading it, you’ll find the first Anti-Mimetic thread in the second tab from the left.

I will also be checking the comments sections at the bottom of these regular posts if you’d like to weigh in here instead, but responses from me will not come as quickly as they will in threads.

Thank you, as always, for reading. I hope this new tool will enrich our experience here.

Yours,

Luke