It’s pretty close to an iron law of the internet that if you whine about your impressions or your creator payouts, you are terrible and your existence makes whatever site you’re on a worse place. Left or right, political or non-political, no exceptions. I cannot imagine anything more humiliating than logging on to X Dot Com The Everything App and typing the words “What am I supposed to post so that the algorithm doesn’t punish me???”. Bitch, you’re supposed to post because you’re mentally ill and addicted to the internet, just like the rest of us. We post for love of the game, not to eke out a few more ElonBucks. Have some goddamn pride.

From @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social's latest:

Everyone You Meet Online is a Freak An internet for the obsessives, by the obsessives

The full argument over at Infinite Scroll:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/everyone-y...

When you enter into online discussions, the chances are that the person you’re talking to is more online that you could possibly imagine.

I deeply regret that we must now talk about Bimbofication I also regret that we are still talking about Hasan Piker

The full article:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/i-deeply-r...

I wrote about Bryon Neom, bimbofication, and how this all ties back to MAGA's views on women and meme culture:

Internet Book Club: The Conspiracists How middle-aged women get sucked into 'conspirituality'

The full review of Noelle Cook's book 'The Conspiracists' over at Infinite Scroll:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/internet-b...

The decentralized nature of modern conspiracy communities is something that wouldn't be possible without social media - any any exploration of conspiracy culture has to grapple with how social media amplifies the dumbest voices in society.

We Are Ruled By Underpants Gnomes Small gnomes stealing underwear is no basis for a system of government

The same applies to Trump's approach to Venezuela, China, tariffs, and more. Read the full argument at Infinite Scroll:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/we-are-rul...

Trump's approach to geopolitics uses essentially the same logic as the Underpants Gnomes:

Step one: Bomb Iran
Step two: ????
Step three: The region is peaceful and democratic

Against Over-Inclusivity Inclusion is generally a good thing. But not when it harms more people than it helps.

Gift link:

thedispatch.com/article/incl...

I'm back in The Dispatch today, arguing that progressive institutions have leaned so hard into inclusivity they've actually started excluding people, and are so afraid of being mean they harm more people than they help.

It's a shame it cuts off in 2022, would love to see more recent data. TikTok is likely #1 by now, but by how much?

One of the most interesting ways to see the true 'center' of social media was this graph of meme origins from KnowYourMeme.

YouTube + 4chan dominated early internet culture, Tumblr had a few influential years, then Twitter was the center of everything until the rise of TikTok.

Weekly Scroll: Reinventing Professional Wrestling Trans discourse, Looksmaxxer sagas, and NBA burner drama

Read the rest at Infinite Scroll:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

The rise of looksmaxxing memes and drama is effectively social media creating a decentralized, distributed form of soap opera/pro wrestling.

AI Hype and the Search for Meaning How do we build meaning in a world of algorithms?

Full article - www.infinitescroll.us/p/ai-hype-an...

How do we build meaning in a world where AI does most of our thinking for us? Are we going to become the parrots?

They're coming up with new and advanced forms of NIMBYism in Europe you couldn't even imagine

Clavicular gives us a through-the-looking-glass performance of attractiveness while actually being deeply unsettling, and the MAGA movement gives a performance of toughness without actually being tough.

It's why ICE agents were instructed to make more videos of arrests. It's why Pete Hegseth is obsessed with calling it the Department of War instead of the Department of Defense. It's not a coincidence when that same department posts in incel slang about "Low cortisol. Locked in. Lethalitymaxxing".

Clavicular isn't actually trying to appeal to women, even though he's straight and obsessed with appearance. Instead he appeals to a very odd subculture of incel-adjacent young men. And MAGA isn't trying to maximize deportations, they're trying to maximize 'look tough on immigration on social media'

Both focus on a superficial kind of appearance. Both end up repelling normal people because they're bizarre. And both end up pursuing strange side-goals unrelated to what they supposedly represent.

Feels like there are symbolic links between Clavicular, who is a facially attractive 'looksmaxxer' but is so awkward and devoid of personality that he repulses most people, and modern right wing politics, which cares about creatin spectacle on social media rather than actually accomplishing anything

This from @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social is correct. The End of History is a great book.

The Jestergooning Administration Clavicular gets mogged, Will Stancil gets punched, and X still promotes Nazis

Why is the Department of War posting Clavicular memes? Why did Will Stancil get punched? And what does it have to do with the increasingly strong filter bubbles we're trapped in?

www.infinitescroll.us/p/the-jester...

Mr Beast lined up one person from each age 1-100 and had them race to a finish line, and the overhead camera is an oddly beautiful data visualization of speed by age.

Weekly Scroll: YouTube Communism Weird brand deals, viewer redistribution, and some very good items

Is YouTube redistributing views from top YouTubers to less popular ones? Is Khaby Lame's 9-figure brand deal a scam? It's the Weekly Scroll:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/weekly-scr...

Everything Is Content Does anything exist for its own sake any longer?

The full piece at Infinite Scroll:

www.infinitescroll.us/p/everything...

Why is ICE focused so heavily on Minnesota - which is not a hotbed of illegal immigrants?

Because the people in charge were, above all else, obsessed with creating content. And that attitude starts with the White House.

There Will Be More Renee Goods Poorly trained armed men acting with impunity will lead to tragedy.

Thanks for the dispatch this week, @jeremiahdjohns.bsky.social

Standing on business, CNL has the best podcast host hands down!! 😤

thedispatch.com/article/rene...