If I was writing a commentary about the bad stuff on the internet, it would be long – too long. By the end, it would be considered one of the bad things on the internet itself, because it would become a rant. We don’t need many more of those.
I don’t want to write about what’s wrong with the web today. I want to spend a little time discussing the beautiful, the helpful, and the righteous. Plenty of all three are available.
Those who rarely discover such good things may be looking in the wrong places. Like anything else valuable, obtaining them requires a bit of hard work. Social media algorithms won’t deliver them automatically.
They are not popular. They won’t be found behind clickbait headlines. They take time to explain. Most aren’t found in reels or shorts or memes. Consuming them requires investments of time and attention. They whisper, rather than shout. That’s why we often just keep scrolling.
Those I find usually arrive via RSS when I open Feedly every morning. Some are delivered to my email inbox. And a few show up in Pocket Casts too.
There is some cross-over, but usually a series of dedicated photographers and designers provide the beautiful. Mostly intellectuals, journalists, and scholars supply the helpful. And a handful of pastors and missionaries often distribute the righteous.
I have carefully chosen my sources through many years of trial and error. A list like this can only be created by reading and rereading, evaluating and reevaluating, questioning and re-questioning, subscribing and unsubscribing.
I’ve become a fact-checker, résumé -reader, portfolio-browser, and theology-critic to assemble this collection. Every moment of careful curation has been worth it. And I’m happy with the results.
There are 221 RSS feeds, 13 podcasts, and I’m -not-sure-how-many email newsletters to consume. Most are published by people I appreciate, but don’t know. They confront me, cause me to think, provide me with inspiration, and sometimes even infuriate me, but I find every experience to be rich.
I rarely jettison those with which I disagree, providing they make a good-faith and high quality attempt at distributing something honest and accurate – even if I object. I find my personal views are always better for having been challenged.
My only problem is a growing list of unread articles with fascinating headlines and an even larger number of un-played weekly episodes I didn’t really want to miss. When the subject matter is serious, detail-heavy, complex, and long-form there are few alternatives.
I hope I can contribute to the big pile of good stuff available. I know those who read and listen will be thankful. I am.