If I am on social media, I am probably on Instagram or YouTube.
I use Instagram as my primary window to the planet. I follow primarily:
· world travellers who go where few tourists go: @DrewBinsky @WanderReds @LostWithPurpose
· accounts that broadcast from a single region: @ThailandBuzz @VietnamTravelers @itsYourJapan
· local photographers: @nocchi_24 @lindaberlin
· cities I love: @Vancouver @theStrangerSeattle @VegasIssues @DiscoverLA
· city histories: @vintage_las_vegas @vegasinthe90s @losangeles.history
· accounts from Georgia, where my ancestors are from: @Visit__Georgia @GeorgiaTravel
Music
· musicians, producers: @rickrubin @roy_z_ramirez
· bands: @AliceInChains @NewModelArmy
· guitar players: @AlexSkolnick @DaveMustaine @misterAdrianSmith
Film industry, performing arts, show business:
· filmmakers: @morganspurlocknyc @riancjohnson @rodriguez
· shows and show business: @cirquedusoleil @spiegelworld @absinthe_vegas
· performance artists: @airoticlv @ajonestru @icantdigestmilk @marina_mazepa
· interesting celebrities: @JamieLeeCurtis @Madonna @Schwarzennegger
· content creators: @matt_tin @zachking
· other interesting people: @banksy @DavidChoe @MikeTyson @slaywhore
Canada:
· Canadian personalities: @MarcScottEmery @SethRogen
· interesting Vancouverites: @GWNVC @JodieEmery @corinne_riotheatre
· local music producers: @chinstogram @djkemo @brevner
· local venues: @firehallartscentre @rickshawtheatre @thecultch @theartsclub
Germany:
· Deutschrap artists: @bush1do @fler @koolsavas @shawnstein
· Deutschrap-related accounts: @canozev @streamingfakten
· some non-rap talents from Germany: @fatih_bombero @NazanEckes @SibelKekilli
YouTube
YouTube is like my evening television.
VICE, Vox and AJ+ cover a number of key social and political issues. VICE features a variety of other channels on its network. I follow only VICE News in addition to the main broadcast.
Vox has a way of making almost any video interesting. Even when the topic is not of much interest to me, I sometimes give it a chance only because Vox produced it. Finally, AJ+ has a larger coverage of the developing world.
Then come somewhat nerdy but entertaining channels such as PBS's Be Smart or Kurzgesagt. vlogbrothers by Hank and John Green may also be all right, depending on the topic; I like the format, and the dynamic between the two brothers.
YouTube is probably the best place to keep up-to-date on technological developments in video production and filmmaking gear. Many in this sphere are Canadian: Chris Brockhurst, Dunna Did It, Gerald Undone, Lee Zavitz, Mark Bone, Matti Haapoja, Peter McKinnon, and so on... But there are interesting people elsewhere: Benett Graezer, Dan Mace, Peter Lindgren, Sidney Diongzon...
It's always interesting to see what people do
- in very different sectors of the film industry (The Film Look, WhoIsMatt)
- in very different kinds of jobs (Film Riot, Studio Binder, This Guy Edits)
- or personal projects (Free To Use Sounds, Film It Yourself)
For entertainment, I sometimes turn to interesting channels Dope As Yola. (Sample video: Tommy Chong)
Among world travellers on Instagram, I follow only Drew Binsky on YouTube.
Finally, I follow Turkish documentary filmmakers (SLOT, 140journos), self-styled comedians (Kukla Kabare, Röportaj Adam), and content creators that explore the migration experiences of second- or third-generation Turkish immigrants in Germany in a variety of ways (Almancii, Şafak Salda).
My Twitter timeline reads like the feed of a daily newspaper that usually covers:
· comedy: @DougStanhope @JohnCleese @PennJillette @StephenFry @RickyGervais
· tech: @openAI @RobotAndAIWorld
· current leaders of Canadian political parties
· news from China, Germany: @ChinaDaily @DWnews
Data, knowledge:
· science: @NeilTyson @LKrauss1 @SciAm
· social data: @MaxCRoser @ConradHackett
· other: @rlMcElreath @ringo_ring (RIP @AaronSw)
Some debates I am interested in:
· human mind and cognition: @DanielDennett @SamHarrisOrg @saPinker
· politics and religion: @Charlie_Hebdo_ @PewReligion @RichardDawkins @RobertWrighter
· civil liberties, human rights: @ACLU @cancivLib @StefanIhrig
Supplements:
· Canadian film industry: @AubreyNealon @TheNFB @viffest
· influential people: @ElonMusk @Snowden
· interesting characters: @EmilyYoffe @RichardQuest @TommyChong
I spend relatively less time on Reddit. I launch the app primarily for one of the following subreddits: r/Vancouver r/Science