Subscriptions not renewed
I rarely unsubscribe or not renew my subscription because it takes a lot of thought for me to subscribe to a service or an app.
I did not renew my subscription to Pocket and Tweetbot.
This is an excellent read-it-later app that I have been subscribed to for years. However, for the last 12 to 18 months, Pocket has become a place to add articles to read later, but never a place that I actually read. I'd rather not have another inbox to manage or triage later. It is a burden on me that now there is one more inbox to organise or attend to. I read a fair bit, but these days it’s more books rather than short-form writing. That doesn’t mean I am not reading any short-form writing. I read articles from my favourite blogs, but I find I read those anyway. I don’t need to add them to a read-it-later app. Therefore, I no longer have a read it later app. For now, I do not need it. To that end, if I do not need it, I am not subscribing to it either.
Tweetbot
Twitter has changed a lot in the last 12 months. In many ways, it’s the same Twitter; perhaps it’s me who has changed. I am attempting to change my Twitter relationship, so I am not on Twitter every dull moment. I rather be bored than be on Twitter. At least for a few months, I want to know what that feels like. In a moment of weakness, Tweetbot will tempt me. Therefore, to increase the friction, I unsubscribed from Tweetbot. Furthermore, I’m considering blocking Twitter at the network level through NextDNS.
The great thing about subscriptions is that one can cancel them and walk away from them. One-time purchase apps do not have the same sense of power. Those apps are always there.
It’s interesting, the mind games I play on my mind 😝