A Normie in the Atmosphere

I think it's important for more average people to adopt and try new things. But it feels like I, personally, get a heavy dose of imposter syndrome at times.

As an example, many Sifa ID daily featured accounts are developers, founders, engineers, etc. Professionals in their field. Or, at the very least, enthusiasts with the skills/experience to back it up. Then there's me; a transcriptionist/captioner QA tech-enthusiast. And this isn't an attack on Bluesky, AT proto, the broader Atmosphere, or Sifa ID. But in a sea of tech-forward people building upon the platform, politicians, doctors, or other "people of note," I'm just along for the ride and vibes due to a fixation on, and wanting to be part of, "the new thing." (It's exciting!)

More narrowly, Bluesky has been a breath of fresh air in the social media space. Likewise, with it, the AT protocol has been a step in the right direction of data ownership and control and taking data out of the hands of big tech. The application of AT protocol is only going to expand and get better with time.

There are devs out there bringing new, interesting, or alternative platforms to the Atmosphere every day - and most of the time, it's just for the love of the game. And that does lead to a bit of FOMO. I would love to be a part of it, rather than just a casual observer. But where does one even start?

And this, overall, leads to the subheading. The self-loathing. Maybe that's mostly hyperbole. It's not a loathing so much as a feeling of shame... disappointment... embarrassment? Being 40 with no real skills or direction in life, still trying to figure out "what you want to be when you grow up" - when, by all accounts, retirement plans should be lined up by now. And with borderline debilitating anxiety and a healthy does of neurodivergence, it's incredibly difficult to find stable footing in an ever-more-depressing job market, with a lack of money for schooling, a lack of skills and experience, and a lack of ability to easily learn new skills. That imposter feeling creeps in, drawing unfair comparisons to those around you. And this specifically creeps in when on Bluesky.

Anyway, it's important that more normal people join the Atmosphere and fill the space with more backgrounds, thoughts, expressions, and ideas. I've made a lot of connections with my time spent on Bluesky. I've enjoyed chatting with people. I've enjoyed checking out new Atmosphere applications. But I also feel like it's a weird intersection of enthusiasts and developers still. I know there are other "normies" out there on Bluesky. And it's in better standing, in my opinion, than the completely splintered world of Mastodon and ActivityPub, where the average person doesn't even know where to begin.

This isn't my first rodeo, but it's the same as it always is - I'm an early adopter of a new thing within my (real-life) social group; a group that has little interest in discovery and new things in the online space beyond an immediate fulfillment of a direct need. While it's not necessarily lonely, it feels weird being just a regular person here on vibes and enthusiasm.

This is, of course, just a small glimpse into my experiences and a reflection on myself.