Episode 114Jul 16, 2025Ā· 49:19

🤳 Put Down Your Phone & Abandon Your Brand — with Casey Johnston

ā–ø Show notes from the creator
Casey Johnston is a weight-lifting memoirist and former editor at Vice, Ars Technica & the New York Times’ Wirecutter. She’s been reporting on social media and smart phones for over a decade, and in that time, she built her career on Twitter then left it behind in favorite of a paid newsletter and a phone with fewer than ten apps on it. In this conversation, we dig into the the major shifts that Casey’s witnessed in digital media since 2010, as well as how she created a ā€œDIY Dumb Phoneā€ to help her kick her phone addiction last year. Specifically, we explore: How Twitter helped Casey start her writing career Why Casey launched a newsletter & how it’s become her primary income stream Virality, memes & how they push us to always be online The difference between a Beat, a Brand, and a Business The successes & failures of journalists on Substack Casey’s ā€œDIY Dumb Phoneā€ method How algorithms convince us we have problems Why Casey quit being a defender of social media Ā  RESOURCES + LINKS šŸ‘‹ Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community 🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails šŸ“˜ A more joyful business is within reach. Get your copy of Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business by Jenny Blake today at itsfreetime.com/book (sponsored) Ā  Ā  Ā  FREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK āŠ 7-Day Savings Challenge from Dalene Higgins āŠ Toolkit for Navigating Capitalism & Other Fuckery from Kristi Amdahl āŠ More free resources from Close Biz Friends!
About this episode
Casey Johnston is a weight-lifting memoirist and former editor at Vice, Ars Technica & the New York Times’ Wirecutter. She’s been reporting on social media and smart phones for over a decade, and in that time, she built her career on Twitter then left it behind in favorite of a paid newsletter and a phone with fewer than ten apps on it. In this conversation, we dig into the the major shifts that Casey’s witnessed…
Listener reactions
šŸ’”0
šŸ¤0
šŸ”„0
šŸ˜„0
0 reactions

Share your reaction

Pick how this episode landed — then leave a public review or a private note to the host.

You
Your name will appear with your review
0/300 Visible to everyone
Sign in to leave feedback
Support this podcast

Get discounts when you shop.
Support Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media — for free.

Install the Donato extension once, and a share of merchant commissions from your normal online shopping goes to this podcast. No subscription, no extra cost.

You save money with automatic discounts
The podcast earns from your regular shopping
No payment info needed — ever
Takes 10 seconds Ā· No payment required Ā· Remove anytime