Meme coins perform what Wernick identifies as the “double function” of contemporary promotional forms: they serve simultaneously as products and as advertisements for themselves.9 Their appeal rests in the affective atmosphere that they generate across Discord servers, forums, and social posts: the promise of sudden wealth, the pleasure of... See more
Post-individuals have a desire to belong, to be seen and recognised beyond economic compensation or status. As an answer to the individualism of the creator economy, metalabels are a new paradigm where groups of people team up under a shared purpose to create public releases that manifest their point of view.
To me, it’s very important to think about speculative fiction and worldmaking as two approaches for better orienting ourselves to the present, rather than conjuring escapist utopian futures that will never arrive.
Is it clear to you when a trend forecast is coming from amateurs versus the professionals?
ES: I mean, no. I think an amateur and a professional have kind of an equal chance at hitting the nail on the head. True flashes of cultural insight happen where you’re lucky enough to just put the right words against the cultural phenomenon at the right... See more