Three Lefts #001: Introductions & Expectations
Hi,
You might know me already, or this might have been forwarded to you, or you might have ended up here accidentally – but either way: welcome!
This is a newsletter, its title is Three Lefts and it’s written by me, Fabio Pop, a type & graphic designer trying this thing out as an effort to ditch Big Social Media – not to single out any companies.
But also, fuck Meta
As ubiquitous as single use plastic, apps by Meta have grown unavoidable if you would like to stay in touch with people. And look, I know that I can’t completely cut ties, because otherwise how would I know which six summer DIY projects my fourth cousin has tried recently.
But I am trying to use less and less of all things Alphabet and Meta at least, focusing instead on platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky where there is an actual community sharing things – not just an algorithm, greed, endless doomscrolling, or some other things I vibe even less with.
So I thought not playing into all that would be perhaps nicer except I also wouldn’t want to deprive people of my insights because sharing is caring. Hence: newsletter.
And even though I’m not here to preach or god forbid signal any virtues, I know that this will put me one podcast and two vlogs away from becoming a true content creator, a term that makes me shudder on a molecular level.
Then what’s the point?
Well, these are my own thoughts, opinions, and experiences and therefore it’s totally fine not to give a single shit about any of them. As a truly selfish person in fact, I am writing this mostly for myself as an excuse to practice writing and to keep track of life as it happens (barf).
There is also no clear agenda or specific topics to cover. There will be copious amounts of GIFs, gratuitous swearing and maybe some dumb jokes as well, mostly as a coping mechainsm. I will write about whatever I’ve found interesting over the course of the week or about whatever stuff has happened or things I’m working on. It might potentially get personal or even political, but it definitely will get ranty & rambly. I will also try my best to edit so reading doesn’t feel like punishment. Fuck.
Topics
One of the two things that will definitely have a character arc is my aforementioned struggle with curating an online presence (barf). Part of the reason for even writing this thing, as you might have guessed.
The other thing being M59. To call it running a foundry might be an overstatement at this point, but I am happy to give a summary of what I’ve we’ve been up to with our Departments of Forms & Functions and Comforts & Concerns.
And also, credit where credit is due: a huge source of inspiration for starting this is the “one cool thing” segment in Scriptnotes, in which the hosts and guests share one cool thing they’ve brought in at the end of each episode.
That’s what I will be going for here as well, talking about things that make me say “isn’t this cool?” – or at least “huh.”
← ← ←
Which brings us to the title. I considered not referencing anything right because that word weighs heavy nowadays (see also: algorithm), but a word is just a word in most cases, and it can mean many different things to many different people.
So to make it clear, I am referencing the creative process here (barf), and how taking three left turns might lead to the right path. I’ll let that ring a little bit.
(beat)
Now I obviously didn’t invent this; it’s been around for at least two years on Reddit so you know it’s legit.
Outro
Almost there I promise. Feel free to subscribe if this was up your alley – or check previous editions in the archive if you’re feeling particularily noncommittal. You can also spread the joy and spam all your friends who might be into this with the sub link.
You may reply to this email as well, or email me directly with whatever’s on your mind – and you may also submit any feedback, unsolicited advice, or correction to UMMactually@faebiou.com.
You can still DM me on all the platforms, but I would prefer to talk over Signal. Here’s how. You can also find me on Mastodon for type-related things, or on Bluesky for general bullshitting, and I even have a website. Jury’s still out on Pixelfed though.
These emails will not be very regular, but I will try to keep at least one full week between editions. So I’ll see you next week – or later.
Thank you for reading, and take care!
