Reid's Analogue Algorithm
- Apr 9
- 2 min read
Welcome to REALS: A series that shines a light on people doing cool stuff in real life. At SLEKE., our mission is simple: to create technology that inspires deeper engagement with the real world. Through REALS, we aim to offer not just inspiration, but examples of what it truly means to do cool stuff. What counts as "cool"? It's a broad canvas—anything from savoring a quiet afternoon with a new book to skydiving in Egypt.
Our fourth feature is Reid, aka Shameless Nerd. We first came across Reid when we were poking around YouTube looking for people who had interesting thoughts about the consumer internet and mobile phone use. Well, Reid may top the list of people with nuanced takes on these topics. His commentary touches on subjects ranging from how we choose to engage with our digital tools to advising on how we can overcome the passive mode of media consumption we have collectively adopted.
The interesting bit lies in how Reid communicates his messages. He doesn’t employ trite anti-capitalist or minimalist-bro arguments. Rather, he filters his perspectives through a distinctly… Reid-based frame. In a moment where almost all online commentary is overly-predictable or a mere regurgitation of others’ talking points, Reid’s takes are uniquely enjoyable and actionable.
In a recent video (shown above), Reid highlighted that algorithmically driven feeds aren’t good at identifying our unique preferences. He illustrates this with a personal example: he dislikes shrimp but loves crawfish. An algorithm, seeing the two as closely related, would lump them together under a 'do not recommend' label, and he'd never have discovered crawfish at all.
As a solution to this problem, Reid recommends replacing consumption of algorithmically driven feeds with a human-first approach. I.e., getting recommendations for books, movies, music, etc. from people rather than from an algorithmic feed (what a concept).
“We have to get back to looking for stuff again,” He says, referencing the imperative to escape passive, feed-based media habits. He believes that this, “I-don’t-want-to-be-fed,-I-want-to-find-food-to-eat,” approach to consumption will “help people become a more well rounded, generally interested, and overall happy media consumer.”
Reid surveyed The Shameless Nerds Discord to produce his second-ever “Shameless Nerd Analogue Algorithm Survey,” publishing the results as a curated set of media recommendations from his community. While aggregated preferences of a set of people with similar interests (ie, Shameless Nerdians) could be considered mechanistically similar to an algorithmically generated feed, Reid’s approach is uniquely human-centered and intentionally curated rather than passive.
Here are the results:
If you would like to hear more from Reid, follow him on his YouTube Channel. If you are so inclined, you can also support him by acquiescing to his capitalist regime by buying a Shameless Nerd hat, T-Shirt or other merch at https://shamelessnerd.myshopify.com/ or by supporting the YouTube channel by becoming a member.