11 Comments
User's avatar
Trevor Corbin's avatar

Finally, some content about content about content!

Expand full comment
Ruby Justice Thelot's avatar

It was about time!

Expand full comment
BüGGY's avatar

I feel optimistic, that this will give rise to an era of developing individual discernment/tastes... I mean I hope 😂 I hope to one day see a culture where people wildly disagree about what they like/don't like in a good-natured way

Expand full comment
JimmyBimmy's avatar

To quote Simon Hanselmann (via Werewolf Jones): I don't give a FUCK what cunts on Twitter are doing!

My daily poison is videogames and I've noticed the key players in the 'video commentary' business (Asmongold, etc.) get far more views and engagement than the creators of the things they discuss, be it game trailers, essays or whatever. I'm talking 15k views vs. 3 million views. You would think that this momentum would then trickle down to the OG authors, but nah - the braindead audiences are there just for the drama, one-liners and quips.

Expand full comment
Cheyenne's avatar

The two-step flow of communication, but now tik-tokers are our opinion leaders

Expand full comment
Byron Stewart's avatar

Great read. As streamers (the Kai Cenats and Akademiks of the world) continue to change the media landscape, I unfortunately don't see this paradox changing any time soon. Individual thinking is becoming a rarity online.

Expand full comment
andy's avatar

Another A++ analysis. To be fair, perhaps the universe is essentially self-referential and recursive in its attempt to know its self. I also see this as an example of the decentralization of authority over knowledge. And also some people, like yourself, are just really good at expanding and explaining things, and maybe the original context isn’t needed. Also a lot of content might overload sensitive or neurodivergent people and having someone slow down or buffer the content might create a feeling of safety.

Expand full comment
Collin Volpe Kluchman's avatar

Interesting read! But for me the really crazy phenomenon is the space of youtube wherein you have contextualizer who does nothing but make videos about another contextualizer in a process of removal that can be repeated in infinite steps...

Expand full comment
Swabreen Bakr's avatar

this is so good!

Expand full comment
Pedro's avatar

What do you think contextualizers should do to become less prescriptive? Cause one thing is the reader and how we can stave off the omnispresent danger, the other is what can the analyzer do.

Excellent piece btw!

Expand full comment
Ruby Justice Thelot's avatar

I think it's their prerogative to be prescriptive, they have opinions. We the audience must develop the muscles to have our own!

Expand full comment