Severin Matusek

As awful as all this is, the workarounds themselves are often delightful and clever, testaments to the wit and grace of marginalized communities. For example, sex-workers call themselves "accountants." Homophobia is called "cornucopia" and "LGBTQ" becomes "Leg Booty."

This creativity isn't limited to people I admire or agree with: anti-vaxers have a... See more

brands like Rare Beauty and Poppi reward subscribers with early launches and discounts, while using their communities to gauge new ideas, get feedback and build loyalty. Loyalty driven by sincere participation compounds, creating brand evangelists whose influence can’t be bought.

What people such as Altman and Andreessen envision is the logical end point of technology itself—a push to eliminate cognitive resistance and bridge the gap between imagination and reality.

When it comes to meme culture, I would say Elon is a Level 1 Crook or a Level 3 Street Thug at best, but he seized a moment of shared dread to engineer timeline hysteria that went on for days.

When I was 21, the cool thing to be was famous on Instagram. Now the cooler thing to be is a mystery. Anonymity is in.