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The Future of Luxury Is on-Site

The tech platforms aren’t like the Medici in Florence, or those other rich patrons of the arts. They don’t want to find the next Michelangelo or Mozart. They want to create a world of junkies—because they will be the dealers.

Ted Gioia • The State of the Culture, 2024

Kids will not believe me when I say this, but people didn’t always absorb their “content” by way of mysterious algorithmic black magic on endlessly-scrolling crack feeds. We used to type web addresses into our browsers, and actually visit our favorite sites. This, going to “www dot college shitpost dot com” or whatever, was itself considered a radi

The media has propagated a new definition of what it means to be a good consumer of information. They want you to read high-velocity content from multiple information streams and be constantly plugged into what’s happening. They can sell the most advertisements this way.

Shout out to Bemelmans, an inarguable treasure. And shout out to the immensely & similarly charming Tosca , in San Francisco, where Erin & I had dinner the other night and which never disappoints.

BUT these places are not U.G.H.Z. because they are highly grammable and therefore susceptible to invasion by annoying hordes, screaming out to be

Blackbird Spyplane • Too Many Places Are STERILE and TORCHED — Let’s Make Them COOL and FUNKY

Om Malik: Bumper Sticker Gurus

open.spotify.com

I think there are three algorithms that have reshaped the American press in ways that we are just now starting to confront. You have Google and Facebook, which can serve up this incredible fire hose of traffic to publishers so long as they cater to the ever-shifting whims of that algorithm.

Alex Kantrowitz • Is the Tech Press Bad? With The Verge's Casey Newton

The first good thing about Substack is there’s no canceling. A young, talented heterodox thinker doesn’t have to worry that less talented conformists in his or her organization will use ideology as an outlet for their resentments. The next good thing is there are no ads, just subscription revenue. Online writers don’t have to chase clicks by writin... See more

David Brooks • Opinion | The Future of Nonconformity (Published 2020)

Many things in modernity are brain dead, but I can’t think of anything worse than the short form dystopias of TikTok and Instagram. They’re materially making people dumber, breeding addict behavior (particularly in the young) and ultimately ruining the lives of normies. It’s depressing to think about the countless kids who might have started garage... See more