Back in May, while commuting the few miles from the rural area where I was staying in Mexico to the city for virtual meetings, I listened to a podcast episode about whales. It focused specifically on how scientists are leveraging technological advancements to understand and decode the complex language of certain whale species. The ultimate goal is to create a translator that would allow humans to communicate with these creatures. However, the most challenging aspect lies in grasping the context of their communication — in other words, their world.
Consider this: Have you ever tried explaining the fourth dimension to someone? You might find some videos online, but since we explore the universe through our senses, it’s incredibly difficult to truly comprehend what it would look and feel like, even though this dimension is part of our universe. Similarly, how could we possibly explain concepts like love to a whale, or understand their world when their sensory organs are so different from ours?
A few weeks later, I was recommended a book called An Immense World by Ed Yong. The first chapter felt incredibly connected (or maybe I was already biased) to this scenario, and it introduced me to a fascinating new concept: Umwelt.
Umwelt, as explained in Ed Yong’s book, refers to the unique sensory world of every animal, including humans. Every species lives in its own perceptual world, shaped by its sensory organs and neurological architecture.For instance, a dog’s world is filled with smells that are invisible to us, while birds can see ultraviolet light that we cannot perceive. In the case of whales, their umwelt is shaped by senses we can barely fathom, like echolocation. They live in a completely alien reality. This gives us an idea of the challenge scientists face in trying to interpret whale communication - they are not merely deciphering sounds but attempting to enter an entirely different sensory world.
Imagine being able to hear the world through echolocation like Daredevil, or see ultraviolet light. It’s a cool idea, right? These abilities are explored in many comics, where humans possess sensory powers far beyond the norm. But take Madame Web, for example; she struggles to make sense of the overwhelming flood of information her abilities bring.
The reason we perceive the world differently from whales, dogs, and other creatures is, as you might have guessed, because we evolved in distinct ways. Each species has developed sensory perceptions that are most efficient for its survival. A key concept in the book An Immense World is that you don’t want to perceive everything. Perceiving more is actually detrimental to efficiency. If humans could see ultraviolet light or sense echolocation, we would likely be less efficient — perhaps even overwhelmed to the point of madness. Our senses are finely tuned to give us just enough information to thrive without becoming overloaded.
The whole 4-5 paragraphs before of this is to explain this idea, so I will repeat it once again: Our senses are finely tuned to give us just enough information to thrive without becoming overloaded. And you know what? I’m not a scientist, and I’m not here to talk about the book or animals. I’m here to pitch a new concept: The Umwelt of Internet Content.
I used to fill my RSS feeds with every major and interesting website I could find—Slashdot, personal blogs, technical blogs, news sites. I still follow some of them, along with newer ones like Hacker News. One of my daily goals was to go through all the articles, every single one, to ensure I didn’t miss anything. I wanted to stay ahead of each new technology stack, framework, and idea. I use to follow hundreds if not thousands of twitter accounts. I was overwhelmed, yet I was determined to consume everything as fast as I could. If I could go back in time, I’d slap myself in the face to realize that I was drowning in useless information. What I really needed was to curate the content that mattered to me.
I’ve heard this expressed differently: It’s not the content you consume that matters, but the content you don’t consume. The power of saying “no.” The internet is a vast universe of information, but that universe is shaped by what you choose to engage with and the social networks you frequent. Your Umwelt—your personal perceptual window to the world—is defined by the content you allow in. Just as our biological senses are fine-tuned to avoid overload, we need to be just as selective with the digital content we consume. By curating our digital environment, we can focus on what truly matters, enhancing our understanding and avoiding the chaos of unnecessary noise. And each one of us will have a different Umwelt, and that is fine. We are different; we come from different places and have different opportunities. Our goals vary as well. To survive, we need to make our sensory world as efficient as possible.
And there’s a lot of noise out there. A lot of crap, garbage, and AI-generated content. Many unoriginal voices are willing to do anything to get engagement—likes, clicks, whatever it takes. We’re constantly bombarded with meaningless motivation. As consumers of content, we must be careful about what we choose to consume and engage with. Community is one of the best ways to filter content—finding like-minded people with strong bonds and connections—but it’s not the only way. As content creators, we also need to be mindful of this. Do we really want to be in the Umwelt of everyone? Every creature on earth perceives the sun differently—a lizard, for example, experiences it differently than a shark. If you did not get it, this analogy talks about how content is perceived differently by different people. When you reach a large enough audience, there’s no such thing as homogeneous content—you’ll have haters, fans, followers, and friends. Is that really what you want as a content creator?
My belief is that it’s not. You need to be intentional about the channels through which you deliver your content. Just as writing a book is different from making a movie based on that book, creating a YouTube video is not the same as writing a LinkedIn post. We need to be deliberate about the platforms we use to reach the people we want to connect with. The goal should be to talk about what truly matters to us, rather than trying to appeal to the largest possible group. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone—blinding or annoying people with a broad approach—we should focus on being a limited set of frequency bands in the light spectrum, reaching only those who resonate with our message. You’ll want to find your niche, where you’re genuinely happy and passionate about the content you create.
Your voice is unique, and that’s something worth protecting. Content creators have the power—and the responsibility—to shape the digital landscape with intentionality. AI can be a powerful tool, but it should serve as an extension of your creativity, not a substitute for it. By being deliberate about how we use AI and the content we produce, we can avoid contributing to the flood of meaningless noise online. Instead, we can create work that reflects our true passions and resonates with our audience.
Don’t settle for adding more clutter to the internet; be better, have a purpose, tell your story, cut the crap. And maybe you did not like it this article, is fine, it should not be in your universe, but if you do, subscribe, and welcome this publication to your Umwelt.