alice smith
@alicesmith
alice smith
We don’t tell stories anymore.
We sell them.
Wrapped in rhythm. Dressed in sincerity. Built for reach.
And if you listen closely enough, you can hear the moan of the algorithm.
We sell them.
Wrapped in rhythm. Dressed in sincerity. Built for reach.
And if you listen closely enough, you can hear the moan of the algorithm.
Abram Shaffer • The New Porn
In the last ten years, pattern recognition has become a cultural activity. You see that on the bad end, like QAnon, and on the more fun end with the pervasiveness of trend forecasting.
Normcore Was Always a Misunderstood Fantasy | SSENSE
The problem goes deeper than this. Increasingly our tech also opens us up to new vectors of anxiety. Regardless of whether you’re working more or less, your nervous system is now plugged into a neurotic and hypersensitive globe-spanning information system that’s constantly pushing unnecessary things into your consciousness.
Brett Scott • Tech Doesn’t Make Our Lives Easier. It Makes Them Faster
tech being more convenient comes at a cost
“I realized that internet policy-makers and internet artists have similar interests, but different skill sets. Internet artists make work that questions themes of data extraction, surveillance, provenance, identity, and this open display creates a cultural shift that then provides enough momentum for a policy shift. Then once it moves into that... See more
Meet Mindy Seu — passerby magazine
“We’re moving away from the need to say, ‘These items put together are an aesthetic,’ and moving towards a more fluid state,” Panzoni says. Instead of “grabbing” an aesthetic as a whole, consumers can take elements and incorporate them into their own style. “This shift is why we haven’t seen a micro-trend pop in a little bit,” she says.
Did micro-trends kill the trend cycle?
I don’t think the tools themselves are the problem; it’s how the entirety of human culture has been digested and regurgitated by them.
Are you feeding your algorithm or is it feeding you?
this is interesting bc with the abundance of info, we are now turning to each other and those who we aspire to to see what they’re consuming to get the 'best' and their personal curations. Additionally, as ppl become more comfortable with wanting to know every detail, it's only a matter of time before we start using the 'following' feature on IG
... See moreCurators slow down the unending scroll and provide their followers with a way of savoring culture, rather than just inhaling it, developing a sense of appreciation.
Kyle Chayka • The New Generation of Online Culture Curators | The New Yorker
Despite all the crises we face – the cost of living, climate change, AI – any of which should surely be enough material to inspire real and meaningful art, the overwhelm of information paired with exhausting post-capitalist forces has created an atmosphere that is nihilistic and excruciatingly mid.