Memory Memo vol. VII
Physical 'Third Spaces' for memories
Last month I gathered 20 people at Faro Cafe in Cambridge. They each paid $40 for an experience. The event was an experiment. An experiment in how memories can create better authentic human connection.
Everyone completed a Big Five traits personality test before attending. Attendees were placed into groups of two to five people based on their personality types. We had six different rounds, where people discussed seven different prompt questions in groups. After each round they wrote down a single word that summarized their emotions or feelings during the discussion. The groups changed each time.
The event was a huge success. People loved discussing funny memories with each other.
The prompt questions were deliberately cheeky and quite flirty, but they helped people laugh, share, and reminisce together.
The prompts were as follows:
Espresso: What’s the most unhinged thing you did as a horny teenager that you’re lucky didn’t end up on the internet?
Cortado: What’s your hottest ‘we probably shouldn’t have done that here’ memory?
Flat White: What’s your favorite memory of laughing so hard you couldn’t breathe?
Cappuccino: Tell me about a time you were trying to impress someone and it backfired so spectacularly that you wanted the earth to swallow you whole.
Americano: What’s your most chaotic business school memory where you thought - ‘I’ve made a terrible mistake’?
Matcha: Describe the pettiest revenge you’ve ever executed.
Tea: Describe the most intense sexual tension you’ve ever had with someone, where nothing happened. Why didn’t it? Do you regret it?
There was certainly a huge amount of laughter and some awkward blushes as I walked round the tables between rounds. It was probably, in retrospect, good that the cafe was serving natural wines as well as flat whites…
Everyone who attended felt more connection to other attendees than they typically would at a drinks party. People felt ‘nostalgic’, ’happy’, and ‘grateful’.
This event was just a small test for a wider thesis. As I build thragma I see various levels of our business model as we connect digital and physical worlds. This event showed how powerful physical ‘Third Spaces’ centered on memory can be in driving better connections between people, in real life.
Our memories can form a better connective tissue for humanity - authentic moments of shared experience in a world dominated by AI-generated slop.