Severin Matusek

Whenever I asked Yarvin about resonances between his writing and real-world events, his response was nonchalant. He seemed to see himself as a conduit for pure reason—the only mystery, to him, was why it had taken others so long to catch up. “You can invent a lie, but you can only discover the truth,” he told me.

Oupi Goupi is shared by many, from film theorists who drew parallels between Lakaka’s work and that of Godard to cartophilists who are collecting newly produced Goupiland Pokémon-coded cards.

The way that we engage with media on the internet has become laden with fandom energy. All narratives on the internet have become subsumed under the umbrella of‘content’, no matter their scale or veracity. They all have the potential to gather lore, because they can all be read the same way—like fictional media franchises. Thisincludes everyday... See more

These historical patterns show us it is entirely human to turn to the supernatural, conspiracy, spiritualism and the occult in our effort to make sense of how new technology and media might change us, both individually and collectively. It is one big cope, to regain a sense of control in a time of uncertainty and difficulty.

I describe us not as a media company, but as a culture-forward media company, meaning that we view culture as the most important thing that’s feeding the planet.

As Bogost himself puts it in a 2024 update on the state of social media: the rise of Bluesky “is a relapse, not a fix”.

Belonging. The token makes me part of a group of 666 founding members that assigned the same value to the project / were willing to pay the same amount for getting involved.

The internet is what allows what’s inside — our minds, our souls, our many selves — to interact with the insides of others. The internet is where our alts come alive, our internal monologues become dialogues, and a stray thought becomes a globally resonant meme. This is its miracle.

2. Decreasing trust in large social and search companies. Concurrent with the rise of creator-driven discovery is a general sense of dwindling trust in the companies consumers have historically relied on to find online content and products.