With the internet, it’s easy to find people who share an interest or hobby with you, even if it’s quite niche. If you’re obsessed with the Arc browser, there’s a subreddit for you. If you have a passion for mechanical keyboards, there’s also a subreddit, as well as a bunch of dedicated forums, namely Geekhack and Deskthority. If you love the indie folk music of Gregory Alan Isakov (check it out!), there’s a community on Reddit for that, too. And if you’re a type designer, calligrapher, or in some way involved with or interested in letterforms, there’s a whole Mastodon server for you.
Yes, those are my interests, among (many) others.
What’s harder to find, but all the more so rewarding, is when two (or more) of one’s interests are combined. Now, this experience can take a variety of different forms. It could entail meeting someone with whom you share two or more interests (always fun!). Another form, which I will focus on, is when some sort of project, post, video, or really anything, interests you because of two different passions you already had. Since I’ll be referring to this experience a lot throughout the post, I’m going to call the noun a “crosspassion” and the adjective “crosspassionate.” To clear any confusion up, I’ll share a couple of examples of crosspassion that I found recently.
As I delved deeper into the world of mechanical keyboards, I learned about some fascinating projects. One company that I re-discovered last week through the fantastic mechanical keyboard newsletter clicks ‘n clacks is Typface, which—you guessed it—makes keyboards inspired by famous typefaces. When I saw their keyboards, I was interested on two levels. Yes, I love looking at interesting keyboards, but what really drew me in was the fact that they appreciated both keyboards and fonts. It’s not that I wouldn’t have explored Typface’s offerings if they didn’t have that added tie-in. It’s just that it amplified the curiosity I already felt, and made me feel a connection even before I knew much about them.
As I thought about the crosspassion between me and Typface, I realized that crosspassionate experiences can occur in even the simplest of ways. When someone is interested in something you’re interested in too, that creates a bond. The bond only deepens when you have multiple relatable things, which is what makes crosspassions so powerful, even if it’s just looking at a website, and thinking, Oh, that’s cool.
As well as what I mentioned earlier, I enjoy trying new foods and going to new restaurants, as well as the music of singer-songwriter Ben Rector.
Those two interests remained completely unrelated, until I stumbled upon a crosspassion experience this week, in the form of a new initiative launched by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, pairing Tennessee musicians with chefs from across the state. It explores “sonic seasoning,” which is a phenomenon in which music impacts the way we perceive taste.
In the 8-minute film I watched, Nashville-based Chef Philip Krajeck of Rolf and Daughters was paired with Ben Rector to create an original song in 24 hours, based on Krajeck’s signature dish, tomato pasta. The song that resulted, titled “From the Ground Up” both sounded great, and, in my opinion, evoked the feeling of a garden.
Why was I so interested in what was effectively a promotional video to visit Nashville? Well, in this example, had it been another musician, whose music I hadn’t already discovered, I don’t think I would have watched it. But the video appealed to me because it took two things I loved, and mixed them together (pun intended) in a way that I would never have thought of. Who knew that music affects taste (or did I just scroll past that headline)?
Crosspassion can occur with any two interests, not just obvious ones. My dad, for example, who likes baseball and sushi, would find it rewarding if there were a group of baseball fans who wanted to go out to sushi restaurants—and would be more rewarding than just a group of baseball fans who talk about baseball, or a group of sushi-lovers who eat sushi.
I think that someone should create a new platform for niche interests, but for people who have the same two (or three). I think it would look something like this: I list my interests, and in some way, they get added to some big grid, and the intersections of the lines (hobbies) are where the magic happens. If anyone wants to build this, I’d be happy to advise!
As people, we focus on who shares one hobby with us. But what if we can create a world of newfound friends who share all of our hobbies? Now, who wants to solve my Ben Rector-themed 15×15 crossword puzzle that uses a sans-serif custom font, must be done using with a Topre keyboard, and if completed correctly, you get a free trip to Tennessee?