Jose's sort of loosely (un)structured thoughts that are longer and more relevant than a single tweet

Yesterday I paid beer to a bunch of people in exchange for them trying out my new app, WYD The app is incredibly basic in terms of functionality and design, yet, some people have no idea what to do when they open it. Seeing this, the designer in me started to panic and doubt the effectiveness of my work. This doubt remains. There are DEFINITELY things that need to be improved and will make an impact in the quick understanding of the app, but as I stood there and observed different people try out the app, something much more interesting started to happen: People started explaining how the app works to each other. People were sharing the app on their instagrams and getting DMs from friends asking how to use it. There were several group conversations about how to use the app happening in the bar and online through private messages. As one person understood what the value was, he/she would be eager to tell others if they thought it was cool enough. This got me thinking about wether this is...

  I've been trying to find a way to recreate the social cohesion of the Portuguese countryside in other places I’m trying to recreate a general vibe, a way of interacting with other people that is very characteristic of the place I grew up in. Defining the vibe to strive for: (I will consciously refer to ways of interacting that are not exclusive to this social group and ignore its shortcomings for the sake of simplicity) Where I am from, people show up for each other and keep their social promises. You need help moving stuff? They show up. You need help building stuff? They show up. You invite them for dinner? They show up. You wanna chill for hours on end? They show up. You wanna play football? They show up. They say they are showing up? They show up. People enjoy each other's company and will prolong the times when they are together to their absolute limit. This is a very important point of this vibe: the prolonging of the times together as a signal of full attention on that...