🎈 time spent offline turns 4! 🎈

Get in loser, we're going offline

Come on, Barbie / Let’s go party

Hi there,

For real this time.

And I’ve been on the internet and posting since 2007. That is almost two decades now. I was thirteen then and today I’m thirty years old.

In 2007, at thirteen, I have just moved to Canada from Ethiopia and everything was new: The language, the people, the food, and most exciting of all, the internet.

One of my favourite memories of getting on the internet at thirteen in 2007 is trying to figure out why it was cool for my peers to post photos of themselves at the Apple Store on Facebook. I couldn’t understand for the life of me why Canadian teens found the fruit market the cool spot to pose for photos and share it online for everyone to see, or why I couldn’t see any fruits or vegetables in the background.

I did figure it out eventually.

Apple Store wasn’t a fruit market but a store that sold phones and computers and anyone could go in there and take photos on their fancy laptops by clicking on the Photo Booth app.

Do you remember that?

So much can change in a lifetime, can you believe it?

The only lasting truth Is Change.

And at thirty, as you might be able to tell, I have become very familiar with the language, the people, the internet, and even the store that’s named after a fruit that sells computers and smartphones. In fact, I exclusively use their products and have done so for almost as long as I have been on the internet.

Alas.

And I wonder now, I am so curious, Is it still possible to create content and share ideas with people without the aid of the internet?

Sure, you will place your order and I will process orders using an online platform, with a wifi connection, but can we keep the message, the messenger, the congregation off of the internet?

Isn’t it so exciting to try something new? Or rather, try something old again. Something they say is not possible anymore.

So far it has turned out to be a lie.

To celebrate, and because winning is fun,

time spent offline is now a monthly analog publication delivered straight to your mailbox.

“Same thing as usual, only different.”

Created using analog tools, each issue includes 20 ideas, tips, and tricks for nurturing a fun, cool, insanely enjoyable life offline in a digitally caffeinated world. Think of it as AA for the internet-holic. Or you're just tired of scrolling your life away on the internet.

Monthly Subscription:

$9.95 USD
Free shipping to Canada & US
Everywhere Else +$5 USD for Shipping ($14.95 USD total)
You must manually enter the $ amount based on your mailing location.

No refund. You may cancel your subscription at any time.

*** First issue mailed January 2025 ***

I'll have a FAQ next week, if you have any questions, leave a comment below or email me at mehretbiruk@gmail.com

P.s. Two more Substack emails remaining… Get in loser! ❤️

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.

Until next time,

Mehret

---

This Substack is no longer being updated. If you enjoyed the content here, you might like OFFLINE, a printed zine with more ideas to unplug, delivered straight to your mailbox.