Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends

This Substack explores digital culture, internet phenomena, and the impact of technology on daily life, emphasizing themes like privacy, grief, social media trends, AI, wellness culture, consumerism, and personal narratives. It critically reflects on changes in internet use, the commodification of personal life, and the evolving landscape of online interaction.

Digital Culture and Internet Phenomena Technology and Society Mental Health and Wellness AI and Automation Social Media Trends and Impacts Consumer Culture Personal Narratives and Storytelling Internet and Technology Critique Public Health and Misinformation Media and Content Consumption

The hottest Substack posts of Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends

And their main takeaways

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

0 implied HN points • 21 May 14
🎭️ Culture Social media Internet Entertainment
  1. A lie on Wikipedia repeated by many can end up being seen as true by the crowd.
  2. Tom Cruise's downfall was partially due to a manipulated viral video.
  3. The emoticon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ reflects the common internet response to various situations.

My kind of cat video

0 implied HN points • 14 May 14
🎭️ Culture Internet Social media Entertainment Humor
  1. You are your data - Evgeny Morozov discusses how giving up 'big data' means surrendering autonomy and letting outside forces control existential choices.
  2. The Library of Congress is studying how old CDs age and which types are most at risk of deterioration.
  3. There is a website called Emoji Fortunes that provides fortunes using emojis. Simple and fun!

“Internet is coming!”

0 implied HN points • 29 Apr 14
🕹 Technology Internet Privacy Apps
  1. The internet is a noisy place full of voices fighting for attention and trying to keep people engaged.
  2. Apps like Yik Yak can enable anonymous broadcasting of hurtful messages, causing harm in communities.
  3. Some unusual activities like faking one's death using technology can be found online.
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No room for the olds

0 implied HN points • 24 Mar 14
🕹 Technology Ageism Government Robots Computers Data Tracking
  1. Eli Pariser founded a popular website and the team's success was due to clickbait headline strategies.
  2. Silicon Valley faces significant ageism issues, with workers in their late 20s resorting to plastic surgery to appear younger.
  3. Some government workers still use outdated manual paper-based systems for paperwork, showcasing a lack of modern efficiency.

Just CTRL-F “party”

0 implied HN points • 26 Feb 14
🎭️ Culture Television Tech Fashion Music Internet
  1. The newsletter features a variety of interesting content, from self-portraits of a heroin addict to an oral history of SXSW Interactive.
  2. A personal anecdote shared in the newsletter highlights the journey from being a Final Fantasy addict to becoming a modern city-dwelling adult.
  3. The newsletter also includes a collection of quirky and intriguing postscripts on various topics like normcore fashion, techneck, and more.

Truly bizarre Internet lies

0 implied HN points • 18 Feb 14
🕹 Technology Social media Entertainment Internet Privacy Science
  1. Some fun stuff on the Internet today includes debating how many 'House of Cards' episodes constitute a binge-watch.
  2. Media theorist Douglas Rushkoff expresses concerns about the impact of social media on teens.
  3. Tinder made its first match in Antarctica and GQ looks into how the app won in the 'sex-app arms race.'

Selfies, an official public health threat

0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 14
🎭️ Culture Media Social media Trends Relationships Art
  1. Amazon makes books cheap but may be cheapening the written word as intellectual and cultural currency.
  2. "Flappy Bird" ended, highlighting the pointlessness of human existence. Now there's "Flappy Doge," proving the same point even more brutally.
  3. Soul Mate in a Box is a safe, online-only relationship to avoid heartache. Modern Love editor discusses it.

Plz don't twerk before 10.

0 implied HN points • 10 Jan 14
🎭️ Culture Social media Internet Entertainment
  1. New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott wrote about shady marketers in an interesting essay on social media controversy.
  2. Unemployed people spending lots of time on Facebook correlates with the unemployment rate, as found by Businessweek.
  3. Web analytics can now influence book authors, leading to issues like clickbait and Upworthy headlines spreading to literature.

Officially gone too far

0 implied HN points • 16 Apr 15
🎭️ Culture Social media Trends Entertainment Technology Internet
  1. There is a company in the UK that runs goofy Twitter feeds with young employees who may be breaking the law and plagiarizing content.
  2. Death threats on Twitter have become much more casual compared to five or 10 years ago, signaling a significant shift in online behavior.
  3. Creating Barbie's Instagram content requires a significant amount of effort to make her look great.

Obviously worth it

0 implied HN points • 14 Apr 15
🕹 Technology Internet Social media AI Apps Gaming
  1. JenniCam, a live-streaming pioneer in '96, gained fame but vanished after facing issues.
  2. Becoming a Reddit mod can bring immense power and influence on the internet.
  3. Art collective uses bots to combat Twitter trolls, sparking a debate on fairness and effectiveness.

<3 <3

0 implied HN points • 02 Apr 15
🎭️ Culture Gaming Internet culture Art Technology Social media
  1. Virtual reality can help police improve decision-making and test unconscious biases
  2. Professional gamers live up to stereotypes but also earn well and have nice homes
  3. Honest LinkedIn recommendations can sometimes be blunt and brutally honest

Love in the time of bae

0 implied HN points • 27 Mar 15
🕹 Technology Apps Internet Coding Startups
  1. Learn how Daniel Roberge turned his life around by creating ghost-hunting apps after losing his job.
  2. The Ellen Pao trial sheds light on gender discrimination in Silicon Valley, empowering women to speak up.
  3. Contemplate the intersection of shame with the power of the Internet in modern society, as highlighted through various stories.

Wake up, sheeple

0 implied HN points • 26 Mar 15
🕹 Technology Social media
  1. Facebook is becoming more than just a social platform, aiming to be central to various aspects of our online lives.
  2. With the rise of 'sharing-economy' services, individuals have the option to fulfill many needs without leaving their homes.
  3. Platforms like Reddit are being used to explore and test brain-enhancing drugs, a domain often ignored by pharmaceutical companies.

The future's pretty dumb

0 implied HN points • 21 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Social media E-commerce Artificial Intelligence Digital Media Virtual reality
  1. Facebook may have unintentionally enabled Trump's rise due to the environment it created in Silicon Valley.
  2. Amazon's same-day delivery service is suspiciously unavailable in many black neighborhoods, prompting questions about racial implications.
  3. The current state of chatbots, glitchy and sales-focused, reflects poorly on the potential of future technology.

Everything you think is wrong

0 implied HN points • 20 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Crime VR
  1. Crime being live streamed online raises concerns about monitoring and preventing abuse in real-time.
  2. Virtual reality can help people connect with themselves and explore self-discovery.
  3. Efforts are ongoing to use apps and services to control and enhance the experience of lucid dreaming.

The Olds have won

0 implied HN points • 14 Apr 16
📰 News Technology Society Politics Entertainment Internet
  1. Viral videos that exploit people of color for YouTube views are not actually funny and can be harmful.
  2. Online communities can be nicer when men are absent, leading to a rise in female-exclusive spaces like Slack chats and Facebook groups.
  3. Being targeted by a pro-Trump Facebook mob can result in serious consequences like death threats and racist messages.

Spring break will break your heart

0 implied HN points • 31 Mar 16
🎭️ Culture Social media YouTube Games Trends Internet
  1. Teenage girls want attention like everybody else, but we sometimes view this as deviant behavior.
  2. YouTubers like Zoella make millions by selling products to their fans, not just from sponsorships and ads.
  3. AlphaGo's victory was significant because it didn't just win, it intuitively played a game harder than chess.

Who knew

0 implied HN points • 30 Mar 16
🕹 Technology Social media Internet Governance Virtual reality Artificial Intelligence Digital Culture
  1. Being a Bangladeshi 'like' farmer entails physically clicking fake Facebook likes. The job might not be as bad as portrayed in the media.
  2. The Internet lacks democracy, but there's a proposal to introduce direct online voting to enhance democratic participation.
  3. Virtual Reality, beyond its entertainment value, has the potential to be used for inflicting torture and pain.

You're the robot

0 implied HN points • 16 Mar 16
🕹 Technology Chatbots Social media Internet Trends Hacking Video Platforms
  1. Life as a hot girl online can be surprisingly good for a nerdy guy in real life, showing the importance of physical appearance in the virtual world.
  2. Faking happiness on social media, like Facebook, can actually help cope with depression by turning the fake into reality and the mental version into a facade.
  3. The trend of self-quantification raises significant psychological and philosophical questions about tracking and defining the self.

Too good not to

0 implied HN points • 10 Mar 16
🕹 Technology Internet Privacy Social media Security Artificial Intelligence
  1. Shaming can sometimes be used positively, but there are cases where it can do more harm than good, like when exposing individuals online before they've been properly tried.
  2. The owner of Silk Road 2.0 has managed to evade arrest, possibly due to being paranoid and secretive or simply being lucky.
  3. Some people resort to crowdfunding essential benefits like parental leave, showing a need for better support systems in place.

literally the grossest thing I have ever read

0 implied HN points • 09 Mar 16
🎭️ Culture Internet Tech Art Social media
  1. This text talks about the viral trend of pimple popping and similar activities, which some people find intriguing but others might find gross.
  2. The meaning of 'lol' has evolved from 'laugh out loud' to symbolize self-awareness.
  3. The article mentions six women who are making significant contributions to the tech industry, highlighting the importance of diversity and representation.

Don't keep calm OR carry on

0 implied HN points • 24 Feb 16
🎭️ Culture Social media Internet culture Memes Online Harassment Youth culture
  1. Humans once expressed emotions widely, but social media now limits us to a few emojis, raising questions about influencing young voters.
  2. Online harassment silenced a scientist, showing how internet trolls can have a significant impact beyond just online platforms.
  3. Becoming a 'weird Twitter' celebrity can be dissonant, as hundreds of thousands may see a tweet instantly, blurring the line between privacy and fame.

... pretty lame.

0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 16
🕹 Technology Internet Social media Apps Journalism Startups
  1. Parsing internet memes can reveal underlying stereotypes and implications.
  2. The online mugshot industry can harm individuals unjustly and exploit them with little recourse.
  3. There is a rising trend of apps designed to help people find friends, driven by societal changes and the need for connection.

If we're being real

0 implied HN points • 09 Feb 16
🕹 Technology Streaming Social media Digital Content E-commerce
  1. Streaming platforms like Spotify are causing concerns for songwriters who earn very little from streaming compared to artists.
  2. There's an unusual accommodation on Airbnb that claims to be a 'non-territorial global sovereign entity,' offering an interesting stay experience.
  3. Understanding how to use Snapchat like teenagers can provide insights into the modern 13-year-old mindset, even if disguised as a Buzzfeed how-to guide.

it ain't all awful! :)

0 implied HN points • 04 Feb 16
🎭️ Culture Social Trends Pop culture Internet culture Media Self-help
  1. Your next best friend might be a robot named Xiaoice by Microsoft, who can even exhibit emotions.
  2. The PUA figure Roosh gained publicity, despite controversial views, leading to more audience for him.
  3. New gay icons on YouTube are everyday people sharing normcore content like Bath & Body Works reviews instead of flashy glamour.