Are you a prophet or a poser?
031. Why everyone is a critic with "taste"
Hey, friends—we’re so back. I have much to say and now the time to write it (read to the end for some news). Welcome to all the new subscribers!! If you’re new here, make sure you subscribe below.
What happens when algorithms are mimetic machines? When they’re designed to encourage existing behaviors instead of promoting the discovery of new ideas? The 7-second, 240-character online storytelling we’re exposed to reinforces our beliefs, rarely challenging us to discover foreign concepts or communities that may appeal to us. In a way, the subcultures we click into have become the new culture, supplanting what used to be mainstream culture into fragmented pockets of online paradise (or not).
What happens when we’re overwhelmed with information? We look to creators, tastemakers, and voices of authority who are shaping the subculture. Sam Altman the AI gawd. Rihanna, our fashion queen. You get the point. These people understand their craft and the way it may reach people, and that’s apparent in the way they communicate their ideas and engage with their communities.
When subcultures evolve inorganically, the loudest voices can co-opt a movement. The abundance of information means anyone can masquerade as a voice of authority. One quick social search and you can learn the minimum viable opinion for subculture in 10 minutes and launch a platform. If you’re early, you can appear to be a connoisseur and become a critic quickly.
In one of my favorite essays, David Chapman says of these artificial connoisseurs: “They dress just like the creators—only better. They talk just like the creators—only smoother. They may even do some creating—competently, if not creatively.”1 If you look closely, you can identify these posers by their shallow motivations. It’s obvious in crypto and scammy memecoins. But a more controversial example lies in founders who attend Christian events for hopeful converts and line up to pitch their startups.2 It makes you go “mhmm” but as a Christian, I want everyone to find salvation so I’ll assume they’re well-intentioned.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, people will decide they don’t like the new thing and it’s easier (and more of a dopamine rush online) to criticize it than to contribute. If you hate AI so much, why are you on TikTok? Using a filter? With AI-generated captions?? Okay, weirdo. I’ll always be grateful for the mute and block buttons.
With so much noise, it’s hard to know who or what to trust. That’s why it’s important to zoom out and realize that to weave a fabric between people and arrive at a formidable movement takes time. Mass culture may be dead, but the persistence of subcultures is enough motivation for us to keep exploring new ideas. If you think an idea is crazy, take it another inch or two.
My friend Alice Ma summarized the tension well—“We can choose to stay NPCs or we can start seeing more people try to break out of that. Are we the slaves to our algorithms or do we become masters?” I can’t remember the last interesting and infallible main character. If you have haters, good! Let them scream into the void.
I’ve been obsessed with storytelling lately, especially worldbuilding that contextualizes and drives a plot forward. Ralph Lauren does this masterfully and is arguably America’s most important experiential designer, but that’s an essay for another day. Personally, I’m proud of the world I’ve built. Last week, a NYMag article went viral for saying it must be nice to be a West Village girl, and, you know what? Yes, it is, because I get to enjoy a charming intermission after two amazing years in venture. I really can’t say enough great things about investing at the earliest stages and working with founders, and maybe I’ll boomerang right back to venture next month. Presently, I’m exploring within and beyond venture, including giving this newsletter the love it deserves and testing new mediums (hello, video). Some topics I’m interested in:
AI consumer apps, bootstrapped and/or developed by product studios
Stablecoins, memecoin culture, and onchain apps (are y’all okay?)
Startups working on brain–computer interfaces (!!!)(hello, Nudge)
Fertility, specifically new tech and innovation (the bolder the better)
Family offices & holding cos (send me your faves)
Manufactured “third spaces” (or, why does Capital One have a cafe)
There’s more where that came from, so if you want to chat about these or other related topics, shoot me a note via email or Twitter. Talk soon!
It feels so good to be back. Special thanks to Alice Ma (Mad Realities). Thank YOU for reading! If you’re new to online-offline, make sure to subscribe.
Geeks, MOPs, & sociopaths in subculture evolution by David Chapman
This really nails how algorithms shape what we see and how culture fragments, love your take on creators as the new tastemakers, can’t wait to see where you take this newsletter next