(005) 15 Digital Love Languages
Give them these URLs this Christmas
If you’ve left it late, fear not. Here’s my list of digital gifts that are only a URL away & will arrive in time for December 25th, no shipping required. Happy Holidays in advance!
Symbolic Animal Adoption of Your Choosing
Does your loved one have a soft spot for a particular endangered species? With symbolic virtual adoption, you can gift them a pet with zero maintenance while contributing to a great cause. You could even co-own one…
🐬 Adopt a dolphin
🐼 Adopt a giant panda
🦩 Adopt a flamingo
Or select from many other endangered animals
Are.na Annual Subscription
Undoubtedly, the thing I most happily put money towards on the internet is a premium subscription to Are.na. Gift an annual subscription to someone who fiends it or even better, has never encountered the wonderland that is this website. For the thoughtful, creative and curious. This is atemporal internet.
Airbnb Credit
Maybe this is just wishful thinking on my own part but… If someone you love travels, nomads, or is planning on some away time next year, this is the one.
“Send cheer with Airbnb gift cards. Delivered straight to your lucky loved one’s inbox, gift cards can be used for both stays and Experiences. Just choose a card design, personalise it and congratulate yourself on a job well done.”
Make & Customise a Digital Mixtape
As Charlie said in Perks of Being a Wallflower, “I’ve been making her a mixtape so she'll know how I feel.” Use Kaseta to dedicate songs & design mixtapes plus other customisations!
If you need some inspiration, check out Playlist Prompts
Curate a Personalised Are.na Channel
Fill up an Are.na channel (public or private) with things that remind you of someone, things that you love that you’d like to share with them, things you think they’d find interesting, their favourite memes, etc. Channels are ongoing stories… add them as a collaborator and keep it up over time or keep it as a digital artefact.
Below is an example between my best friend Gaby & I who never live in the same country anymore.
Head to Are.na to make a channel
Airdrop Digital Art (Previously known as: “NFTs”)
Say what you will about them; I like these artists, collections, concepts:
FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT by Maya Man (Generative)
DEATH CLOCK (though I understand that’s not terribly festive…)
N.b. This is by no means financial or investment advice 🫠
Share Your Beta Access to Something Cool
e.g. I bootlegged Arc Browser to other people when it launched — sorry! Invites have opened up now, but underground software recommendations are indeed their own love language. If anyone has TestFlight or can help out with beta for SOOT or Pager, holla 😋
Betas I recently joined: Cosmos & Entropy
We’re Not Really Strangers E-Gift Card
As 2023 approaches, there’s nothing better to do than turn inwards. Let your recipient of choice dig deeper through WNRS products. I may or may not have contributed to this one!
A Virtual Movement Class
Cami Árboles is the queen of movement. I had the pleasure of attending one of her IRL workshops in Toronto last year despite the fact that I have never done yoga and I can confirm that her sessions are the absolute best for mind, body and spirit. Stay up to date with the coolest collective & end the year with something holistic.
Purchase a virtual Shapeshifter workshop
After the Creator Economy — On Chain Record & Physical Zine
For your web3 one who likes the boutique vibe with a fervent interest in the future of creative work… “After The Creator Economy is a publication that explores constructive alternatives for the ways we produce, distribute, and monetize creative work online through a range of interviews with artists, thinkers & builders.”
Cop After the Creator Economy here
Paid Substack Subscriptions
Gift the gift of reading all year round!
Bookbear Express for sharp and incisive thinking
The Sociology of Business is a splurge but well worth it for the deep insights on brands, culture and curation
Virtual Love Letter — Suities by Poolsuite
To be in love and online… it never gets old. Send a virtual love letter accompanied by worldwide web slogans & endorphin-enhancing tunes to your nearest and dearest.
Send a Suitie (or ten)
SafetyWing Insurance for Your Nomad
Dry, but necessary. This is the best nomadic policy there is, plus I think many ideas percolating within the company are becoming more and more relevant by the day. Get some peace of mind knowing your loved one is covered wherever they go 🫠
Become a Startupy Member
Startupy is one of my favourite places on the internet for trusted information, as well as the stellar newsletter that ships every week. This is the perfect gift for your startup friends, intellectually playful yet rigorous entrepreneurs and anyone interested in the curation space.
Custom Phone Wallpaper [Coordinated]
We be coordinating… Spend a little afternoon with Midjourney or Dalle & create coordinating wallpapers, maybe around an in joke or in the style of something you mutually love.
Thinking of someone who’s last minute? Forward this. Or buy them one of the above gifts.