I love this question, I think you’re pointing at something important. Not all meaningful years lived online. Did you know there’s also what some people call the digital black hole? A lot of photo memories from the early 2000s just disappeared because of the rapid transition from film to digital.
I wouldn’t try to force this into an Instagram frame. I’d start with associations instead. Sit for a few minutes and let things surface starting at Africa, Canada, people, places, how you felt. Think loose mind map. If someone was close to you then a quick conversation can help too.
If you want to try the prompt, just change the year and feed it those associations. This already says something about how you’ve been holding onto things. 🩷🦩
Great piece. Sounds like you have pulled slightly ahead of the curve. I wasn't thinking about 2016 until I read this. Did you know that nostalgia was originally an ailment? Has something to do with homesickness. Quick 2016 for you and whoever peeks in. It was the end of my career and all I could think about was leaving the gig & the US. That's the year the Vagabond Philosopher was officially born, making selfie videos as I prepared to and finally left both the "system" and the US and traveled around the world. Thanks for the memories. Best wishes with your project. I bet you get a lot of participation.
No, I returned to the US during the … well 2020. I don’t miss traveling, don’t miss my hometown. Didn’t really miss the US while I was on the road. Universe puts me where I am supposed to be. Native soil has vibe to it, though.
"Yesterday's avant-garde experiment is today's chic and tomorrow's cliche." -Richard Hofstadter (1956 & 1964 General Nonfiction winner) - of what, I did not note. Avant-Garde however, I've been a fan of and working on posting more to come.
The book was “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life” in 1964. (I looked him up.) I’ll check on the 56 piece too. It was a Pulitzer he won. ‘64 was an election year, JFK was assassinated the year he wrote the book. Hofstadter was dubbed a “Public Intellectual.”
2016 was a challenging year personally, so I think I'll just leave it in the past, lol. I may go back 5 years, though, and see what I get (moved to Costa Rica, sight unseen, to live for a couple of years).
Thank you for the shoutout - much appreciated!
*And YES to Substack feeling like a University! I want to block a week off to take your 'classes', lol
omg, as always, this is so fun! I feel like 2016 Pinkie + Nat would have gotten along swimmingly: A 25-year-old marketing assistant who thought ‘personal brand’ meant matching your blazer to your coffee cup. 🤣 I can't wait to try this tomorrow.
My Persona Summary called me "slightly feral" and I have to agree haha
2016 Persona Summary
You were freshly minted in your design career, clocking in at a travel agency by day and clocking out straight into the weekend by night. Work was exciting, life felt endless, and sleep was optional if there was a concert, a drink, or a story worth telling. Your vibe was creative, slightly feral, joyfully overbooked, and fully convinced that live music was a personality trait.
Up next, let's see if i can make an Insta grid. Thanks again for the fun prompt :)
Thank you Pinkie for the mention! I have to say, no one makes AI seem FUN like you do! Always love how creative you are with how you use and think about AI!
What about 2006? That was a huge year for me, Africa, Canada-dinosaur museum. What if none of this lives online or in the Instagram bubble? How can I even bring this to light? Been a hugely private person, my entire IG feed is 9 posts, yet my Evernote, migrated to Obsidian 3 years ago spans till 2009, if not before. Curious eccelctic collector of times I suppose.
I love this Pinkie not just for the cringeness of 2016 but also for the fact that you've purposefully created a framework that plays with hallucinations. I think this is a really interesting way of exploring the limitations and known weaknesses of these models to create something truly unique. Thank you.
Loved this whole thing and trying out the prompt was so fun! 2016 me was very booked, busy, flying to NYC, and deep in my photography era and this brought it all rushing back in the best way. Nostalgic without being cringe, which is a rare and beautiful thing on the internet. Thanks for the inspiration. 🖤
Loved the read!! What a cool idea! I think I was still using the duck face in 2016 photos 😂🤦🏻♀️Food appeared in a lot in my feed too, along with random scenery photos 🤣 I do not miss posting on insta at alllll!!
My grid looks awful though so not gonna post it. I think Nano Banana forgot how instagram looked like 🤣
Here were my results (not sure why 99% of them were saying "you were exhausted, terrified, etc" cause my input was simply: "In 2016 I just got back home from university in London, finished my film degree. Started 2 masters - in security and diplomacy and another one in marketing. Started my first job in marketing, met my husband for the first time. Went to festival in Barcelona and then for the first time at Electric Castle festival at the mysteryous Banffy Castle in Romania.")
But aaaaanyway haha, the results:
In 2016, you were the personification of "Main Character Energy" before we had a name for it. You were caught in the crossfire of an identity crisis—part artsy London film auteur, part corporate ladder-climber, and part geopolitical intellectual.
AAAAND my fav visuals ideas:
Post 1
Visual: A moodily lit shot of a stack of DVD cases and a graduation cap on a London windowsill. Rain on the glass. Filter: Ludwig.
Caption: That’s a wrap on London. 🎬 So grateful for the last three years. On to the next adventure. #filmstudent #londonlife #nextchapter #blessed
Emotional Subtext: I am terrified of leaving my student bubble and have no idea what I’m doing, but I need to look poised.
Post 5
Visual: A heavily filtered photo of a pile of textbooks: Marketing Strategy on top of Global Geopolitics.
Caption: Why do one Master's when you can do two? 🤓 Send help (and wine). #studentlife #marketing #nerd
Emotional Subtext: I have made a terrible mistake and I am drowning in coursework, but I am addicted to academic validation.
Post 8
Visual: A selfie (slightly high angle) with a "serious" expression, wearing a scarf.
Caption: Winter is coming. ❄️ Time to hunker down and write. #thesis #mood #londonboy/girl/person
Emotional Subtext: I looked good today and didn't want to waste the outfit, even though I'm just going to the library.
I love this question, I think you’re pointing at something important. Not all meaningful years lived online. Did you know there’s also what some people call the digital black hole? A lot of photo memories from the early 2000s just disappeared because of the rapid transition from film to digital.
I wouldn’t try to force this into an Instagram frame. I’d start with associations instead. Sit for a few minutes and let things surface starting at Africa, Canada, people, places, how you felt. Think loose mind map. If someone was close to you then a quick conversation can help too.
If you want to try the prompt, just change the year and feed it those associations. This already says something about how you’ve been holding onto things. 🩷🦩
Great piece. Sounds like you have pulled slightly ahead of the curve. I wasn't thinking about 2016 until I read this. Did you know that nostalgia was originally an ailment? Has something to do with homesickness. Quick 2016 for you and whoever peeks in. It was the end of my career and all I could think about was leaving the gig & the US. That's the year the Vagabond Philosopher was officially born, making selfie videos as I prepared to and finally left both the "system" and the US and traveled around the world. Thanks for the memories. Best wishes with your project. I bet you get a lot of participation.
That's so interesting! I didn't know that, but it makes total sense. Do you have "nostalgia" for the US? 🩷
No, I returned to the US during the … well 2020. I don’t miss traveling, don’t miss my hometown. Didn’t really miss the US while I was on the road. Universe puts me where I am supposed to be. Native soil has vibe to it, though.
"Yesterday's avant-garde experiment is today's chic and tomorrow's cliche." -Richard Hofstadter (1956 & 1964 General Nonfiction winner) - of what, I did not note. Avant-Garde however, I've been a fan of and working on posting more to come.
The book was “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life” in 1964. (I looked him up.) I’ll check on the 56 piece too. It was a Pulitzer he won. ‘64 was an election year, JFK was assassinated the year he wrote the book. Hofstadter was dubbed a “Public Intellectual.”
The tongue out picture made me laugh… my daughter was 12 in 2016 and it was in every shot!!! 😂
Right?🤣😜
I see Gen Alpha doing this now: 😌
One of my nieces did that all.the.time. 😂 Thankfully my daughter was older and skipped that trend, lol
This is fabulous!
2016 was a challenging year personally, so I think I'll just leave it in the past, lol. I may go back 5 years, though, and see what I get (moved to Costa Rica, sight unseen, to live for a couple of years).
Thank you for the shoutout - much appreciated!
*And YES to Substack feeling like a University! I want to block a week off to take your 'classes', lol
Why not? That's a really interesting idea, to try the prompt by changing 2016 to a different year. Let me know how it goes!
omg, as always, this is so fun! I feel like 2016 Pinkie + Nat would have gotten along swimmingly: A 25-year-old marketing assistant who thought ‘personal brand’ meant matching your blazer to your coffee cup. 🤣 I can't wait to try this tomorrow.
Hahaha! We would have been work besties for sure!🩷 I have to see the results, please share!👀🦩
My Persona Summary called me "slightly feral" and I have to agree haha
2016 Persona Summary
You were freshly minted in your design career, clocking in at a travel agency by day and clocking out straight into the weekend by night. Work was exciting, life felt endless, and sleep was optional if there was a concert, a drink, or a story worth telling. Your vibe was creative, slightly feral, joyfully overbooked, and fully convinced that live music was a personality trait.
Up next, let's see if i can make an Insta grid. Thanks again for the fun prompt :)
This is fun!
Thanks Clari!🩷
Thank you Pinkie for the mention! I have to say, no one makes AI seem FUN like you do! Always love how creative you are with how you use and think about AI!
What about 2006? That was a huge year for me, Africa, Canada-dinosaur museum. What if none of this lives online or in the Instagram bubble? How can I even bring this to light? Been a hugely private person, my entire IG feed is 9 posts, yet my Evernote, migrated to Obsidian 3 years ago spans till 2009, if not before. Curious eccelctic collector of times I suppose.
I love this Pinkie not just for the cringeness of 2016 but also for the fact that you've purposefully created a framework that plays with hallucinations. I think this is a really interesting way of exploring the limitations and known weaknesses of these models to create something truly unique. Thank you.
Thank you Sam. AI is so good at hallucinations, why not put it to some creative use? 😉🩷🦩
Loved this whole thing and trying out the prompt was so fun! 2016 me was very booked, busy, flying to NYC, and deep in my photography era and this brought it all rushing back in the best way. Nostalgic without being cringe, which is a rare and beautiful thing on the internet. Thanks for the inspiration. 🖤
Loved the read!! What a cool idea! I think I was still using the duck face in 2016 photos 😂🤦🏻♀️Food appeared in a lot in my feed too, along with random scenery photos 🤣 I do not miss posting on insta at alllll!!
Now I feel like I absolutely need to see that duck face image generated by AI.😂🩷🦩
I just can't bring 2016 back in any form, even with AI 🤣
Wow. AI has limits! 😂
One of my generated instagram posts!
---
“Workspace, but make it cozy”
Caption:
Freelancer life ✨ editing + coffee + my tiny supervisors 🐾 #Blessed #WorkFromHome
Visual:
Overhead desk shot. Laptop, coffee mug, headphones, cat tail entering frame. Warm daylight. VSCO A6 filter.
Emotional subtext:
Please believe this is intentional and not chaos.
---
Somehow this is not that different from today. 👀
The #Blessed! Oh my god!!!😂😂
This was loveeeeely!!! ❤️
My grid looks awful though so not gonna post it. I think Nano Banana forgot how instagram looked like 🤣
Here were my results (not sure why 99% of them were saying "you were exhausted, terrified, etc" cause my input was simply: "In 2016 I just got back home from university in London, finished my film degree. Started 2 masters - in security and diplomacy and another one in marketing. Started my first job in marketing, met my husband for the first time. Went to festival in Barcelona and then for the first time at Electric Castle festival at the mysteryous Banffy Castle in Romania.")
But aaaaanyway haha, the results:
In 2016, you were the personification of "Main Character Energy" before we had a name for it. You were caught in the crossfire of an identity crisis—part artsy London film auteur, part corporate ladder-climber, and part geopolitical intellectual.
AAAAND my fav visuals ideas:
Post 1
Visual: A moodily lit shot of a stack of DVD cases and a graduation cap on a London windowsill. Rain on the glass. Filter: Ludwig.
Caption: That’s a wrap on London. 🎬 So grateful for the last three years. On to the next adventure. #filmstudent #londonlife #nextchapter #blessed
Emotional Subtext: I am terrified of leaving my student bubble and have no idea what I’m doing, but I need to look poised.
Post 5
Visual: A heavily filtered photo of a pile of textbooks: Marketing Strategy on top of Global Geopolitics.
Caption: Why do one Master's when you can do two? 🤓 Send help (and wine). #studentlife #marketing #nerd
Emotional Subtext: I have made a terrible mistake and I am drowning in coursework, but I am addicted to academic validation.
Post 8
Visual: A selfie (slightly high angle) with a "serious" expression, wearing a scarf.
Caption: Winter is coming. ❄️ Time to hunker down and write. #thesis #mood #londonboy/girl/person
Emotional Subtext: I looked good today and didn't want to waste the outfit, even though I'm just going to the library.
I would have been surprised if your robots didn’t misbehave with my prompts this time. 🤖
The line on “Why do one Masters when you can do two” cracked me up.
RIGHT?? 🤣🤣🤣