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

Get woke and stay woke

0 implied HN points • 19 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Trolling Chatbots
  1. Engage in public work to tackle abuse systematically, not behind closed doors.
  2. Some online platforms are funded in unconventional ways, like pig farming.
  3. Consider the value of engaging trolls to understand them better.

Reader beware

0 implied HN points • 12 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Social media Online Content Digital Experiences
  1. Facebook is still struggling to combat fake news despite efforts to reduce engagement with hoax stories.
  2. Purging dissenters from your Facebook feed can create an echo chamber effect, leading to a lack of diverse perspectives.
  3. Binge-watching for a world record can be a draining and disorienting experience.

just bein nosy

0 implied HN points • 08 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Social media Digital Culture Internet Law
  1. Facebook wants users to share more personal information, but people are becoming more cautious about what they post online
  2. The newsletter takes a different form on Fridays, providing an ebook or direct links for catch-up and unplugging
  3. Readers can vote to help the newsletter in a Webby nomination for email newsletters

Internet with a capital "I"

0 implied HN points • 04 Apr 16
🕹 Technology Internet culture Online Privacy Internet History
  1. The relationship between humans and machines is evolving, as technology gains voices and personalities, raising concerns about transparency and choice.
  2. Internet memes can provide personal insight and catharsis, helping individuals navigate complex aspects of identity.
  3. Tracking the online activity of wealthy individuals' children can reveal hidden assets, a tactic some lawyers use for discovery.
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"Links" Weekend Edition: Incominggggg!

0 implied HN points • 13 Nov 15
🕹 Technology Apps Digital Culture Email Web
  1. There are apps available for various aspects of relationships, including breaking up, arguments, and love advice.
  2. You can access a collection of digital culture articles in ebook form or visit individual links of interest.
  3. This newsletter provides a roundup of intriguing reads on topics like digital intimacy, missed connections, and the impact of the internet.

OFF my lawn

0 implied HN points • 17 Mar 16
🕹 Technology Internet Art Computer Science
  1. Garbage person insult originates from Manson's self-reference during trial, now widely used online for various situations.
  2. The internet is transforming discussions in the art world towards shallowness and democracy, seen in literature and other creative fields.
  3. Humans created the computer program that beat humans at the game of Go, showcasing the complexity at the intersection of strategy games and computer science.

Newfangled fads

0 implied HN points • 15 Mar 16
🎭️ Culture Social media Internet Technology Online Communities Literature
  1. Twitter's saddest celebrity, Melissa Broder, faces criticism for potentially romanticizing anxiety.
  2. The identity politics of 4chan's 'beta males' are complex, going beyond being simply under-sexed and anti-feminist.
  3. The Internet's petri dish for 'erotic audio' is described as collaborative, anonymous, and surprisingly not terrible.

This newsletter is art.

0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 16
🎨 Art & Illustration Internet Art Digital Art
  1. When dealing with cyberstalking, fear of physical harm is often a requirement for legal action.
  2. Satirical Twitter accounts may lose their humor as real-world issues escalate.
  3. Some new coding systems, like C+, are designed with specific political biases.

We'll never let go, until we do

0 implied HN points • 29 Feb 16
🕹 Technology Privacy Bias Memes Artificial Intelligence
  1. The FBI wants access to our minds, not just our phones, according to the 'extended mind hypothesis.'
  2. Netflix recommendations show racial biases - defaulting to 'white' movies until you indicate preference for diversity.
  3. Mark Zuckerberg's grey T-shirt uniform is an unexpected lifestyle choice, suggesting simplicity and consistency.

That's some BS

0 implied HN points • 29 Sep 15
🕹 Technology Social media Politics Smartphones Machine Learning Internet
  1. The concept of 'personal brand' can be perceived as privileged and self-important, especially in a competitive market.
  2. There are 'neoreactionaries' on the internet who oppose democracy and predict a future led by the far right.
  3. Apple products like iPhones may have biases, like being more right-hander oriented, which can be frustrating for left-handed users.

It could work

0 implied HN points • 17 Feb 16
🎭️ Culture Social media Online Communities Celebrities Arts News
  1. Teens on Tumblr are highly engaged with online content and understand how to make things go viral very well.
  2. Victims of online harassment often receive little help from the legal system, leaving online mobs unchecked.
  3. Instagram-famous pets are a highly profitable and emotionally intense social media trend, acting as brand representatives until their passing.

Ehhhhhhrmagerd

0 implied HN points • 01 Feb 16
🕹 Technology Addiction Treatment
  1. CBT4CBT is an online recovery program for addiction treatment that uses basic tasks to improve addicts' response to triggers
  2. Effective Internet ads are fast, fun, and fragmented, but ad-blocking is still common
  3. Jukin Media's success in the viral video market has led to the disappearance of wacky videos on YouTube

Everyone will know

0 implied HN points • 12 Oct 15
🕹 Technology Social media Online Content Online Communities
  1. When sharing your life online, consider when to turn the camera off, especially during sensitive moments like tragedies.
  2. The history of CSS color names is both fascinating and quirky, with colors like 'peru' and 'rebecca' having interesting stories behind them.
  3. In the virtual world of The Sims, divorce rates are low because they are computer characters and not real people.

Maybe don't?

0 implied HN points • 08 Oct 15
🕹 Technology Internet Social media Online Content Parenting Community
  1. Wikipedia was initially designed to be easily editable by anyone, but now it's infamous for its strict editing policies.
  2. Mixing Facebook with parenting discussions creates a judgmental online space filled with personal ideologies.
  3. Many online platforms aim to create a consolidated space to show users a wide range of content, like Twitter Moments and Reddit's Upvoted.

You won't want to click this.

0 implied HN points • 28 Sep 15
🎭️ Culture Lifestyle Social media Trends
  1. Lifestyle bloggers often have challenging lives behind the scenes, despite their curated online presence.
  2. Membership in Yelp Elite is exclusive and comes with its own set of privileges, raising questions about their role and influence.
  3. Deleting all your tweets can symbolize moving forward and letting go of the past to progress in life.

Overrated

0 implied HN points • 23 Sep 15
🎭️ Culture Social media Internet Trends Celebrities Art
  1. Meet Lilli Hymowitz, the 'prom queen of Instagram' who redefined high school popularity online.
  2. In defense of YouTube's controversial star KSI, recognizing he is young and deserves some understanding for his behavior.
  3. Explore the zany niche community of Celeb Heights that solely debates celebrity stature online.

The struggle is real

0 implied HN points • 22 Sep 15
🎭️ Culture Social media Technology Gender Innovation Trends
  1. The myth of the #luckygirl on Instagram - why pretend to live a lucky life when hard work is something to be proud of?
  2. Annotation culture is growing with platforms like Genius and Kindle - but is it just a trend or a meaningful shift in how we engage with content?
  3. Addressing unconscious gender bias in the tech industry using Margaret Gould Stewart's insightful essay.

Cool/wow

0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 15
🕹 Technology Internet VR Customer Service
  1. The future of the Internet might change due to ad-blockers potentially making it cleaner but threatening the web's infrastructure
  2. Virtual Reality is on the horizon, with experts predicting possibilities straight out of science fiction within the next decade
  3. Insights from a nine-month stint in Uber's customer service provide revealing perspectives about the company

A hashtag is something you smoke

0 implied HN points • 20 Jul 15
🎭️ Culture Internet culture Technology TV shows Social media
  1. The internet culture often involves reappropriating and decontextualizing content, blurring the lines between stealing and art.
  2. Apps have emerged to help people cope with heartbreak by erasing online reminders of past relationships.
  3. Degrassi, a Canadian soap opera, was ahead of its time in portraying teen internet culture with references to social media platforms.

🐱💣💫

0 implied HN points • 09 Jul 15
🕹 Technology Internet Social media Apps Criticism Podcasts
  1. Every Tuesday, 20 engineers meet at Facebook HQ to work on personalizing the News Feed for billions of users.
  2. The Awl is praised for being a hub of quality tech and Internet criticism.
  3. Becoming a meme can expose you to intense online hate, revealing the dark side of Internet fame.

This stuff's getting out of hand.

0 implied HN points • 01 Jul 15
🎭️ Culture Internet Technology Music Science Humor
  1. Nobody puts the Internet in a corner - the Internet always finds a way to fill voids.
  2. Sweden has become Europe's Silicon Valley with many successful tech companies like Spotify and Skype.
  3. Confronting past choices like buying CDs through Apple Music can open up reflections about personal history.

lolz/tears

0 implied HN points • 23 Jun 15
🎭️ Culture Art Internet Social media Entertainment Humor
  1. Google Maps plays a crucial part in Google's quest for world domination.
  2. Minions are popular on the internet for their versatility in representing various things.
  3. Illustrations inspired by Craigslist personal ads depict a decade of amusing and touching moments.

The best thing on the Internet *

0 implied HN points • 08 Jun 15
🕹 Technology Internet Social media Entertainment Online Communities
  1. When online spaces are unsafe, users can either complain, quit, or adopt conservationist strategies for a long-term solution.
  2. Cam-girling is a profitable career option that is more accepting than many branches of entertainment, with older individuals also finding success in the industry.
  3. An interview with Patricia Lockwood, known as 'Twitter's poet laureate,' including amusing encounters on Twitter.

Hehehe

0 implied HN points • 30 Apr 15
🕹 Technology Social media Movies Internet Trends
  1. Thank God the fine luminaries of the New Yorker cast their intellects on questions, like whether 'hahaha' or 'hehehe' is correct
  2. In court cases, lawyers are now checking victims' social profiles to gauge their emotional state
  3. The future of movies might shift towards 'screen movies' involving computers

Chin up, buttercup

0 implied HN points • 03 Apr 15
🕹 Technology Internet Privacy E-commerce
  1. Tech materials are mined in places like Baotou, Inner Mongolia.
  2. Revenge porn has shifted to underground platforms like private forums and networks.
  3. There's value in running out of things; shopping helps counter consumption and allows for ethical decisions.