

INFLUENCE
Matt Silverman
What does it really take to make a living (and an impact) on the Internet today?Join Matt Silverman (who has been covering online culture for 15+ years) in conversation with YouTubers, musicians, podcasters, streamers, journalists, TikTokers and more about turning creativity into a job, building community on ever-changing platforms, and their complex relationships with huge online audiences.INFLUENCE is the relaunch of 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST, a weekly comedy/interview show about fascinating online communities, which ran for 7 years and nearly 300 episodes.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 24, 2022 • 1h 27min
Geocaching Is the Global Scavenger Hunt for Everyone [Encore]
Some personal emergencies got in the way of this week's session, so we have a 2G1P classic for you about the worldwide scavenger hunt that is Geocaching!-Original Show Notes from September 27, 2021-There are little treasures hidden all over your neighborhood, and throughout the world. You just need a GPS app (and some sleuthing skills) to find them. That's the fun of geocaching, a global phenomenon where people hide containers (large and small) in public spaces and drop the coordinates on a map. Find one, and you might be the first to add your name to the log, get some free swag, or enjoy the experience of a lifetime.Alli and Lindsey chat with Scott Berks, Chad Courtney, and Jessie Brown, the hosts of The Geocaching Podcast, the long-running show about this worldwide and ever-growing IRL scavenger hunt.Check out the Geocaching Podcast: https://geocachingpodcast.com/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 17, 2022 • 24min
231 "I Like Being on TV" and Other Controversial Statements
Lindsey was on TV (that's short for Tele-Vision, a box in your house that displays moving pictures) and Alli's new stage show is a raging success! The girls discuss the pros and cons of polyamory, Alex Jones having to pay a BILLION dollars for being an asshole, and Alli uses the show to workshop standup material without even paying us. Crime!Sign up for Alli's show: https://www.loveisntblind.co/Watch Lindsey on The TeeVee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mytvgK1PpUSupport 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 2022 • 1h 29min
230 The Ethics of AI-Generated Art and Media Synthesis
Midjourney, Dall-E, Google Deep Dream, and more technologies have rapidly emerged in recent years. What were once fringe novelties have become sophisticated networks capable of turning any phrase into museum-worthy art, in seconds. Large communities of curious creators are flocking to them, as the once-elusive power of drawing or painting can now be commanded from your computer keyboard.But what does this mean for the future of art and artists? If AI can generate 1,000 iterations of your band's T-shirt or podcast logo, then our relationship to art itself is about to radically change.Journalist and CEO of 330.ai Adam B. Levine returns to the show to explain how these technologies work, the communities forming around them, and what to expect in the near-future. We then speak with author and musician K Allado-McDowell, who established the Artists + Machine Intelligence program at Google AI to study the relationship between AI tools and the creators who use them.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 3, 2022 • 1h 10min
229 Etsy Sellers Are On Strike
Etsy — the online marketplace for bespoke, handmade goods — has a labor problem. Despite robust profits during the pandemic, the platform has made recent changes that are angering its seller community. Most complaints revolve around increased fees, forced advertising programs, middleware payment systems (with additional fees), and the algorithmic prioritization of cheap, mass-produced goods — arguably the antithesis of Etsy's "mom and pop" roots.Kristi Cassidy, a longtime Etsy seller, voiced her concern on Reddit, and many agreed. Now, a variety of shops have gone on strike in an effort to raise awareness of the squeeze. This reignites the age-old Internet question of who has more power: The platforms that create the ecosystem, or the individuals who create all the stuff on the platform?Alli and Lindsey talk with Kristi about this budding freelance labor movement, and its implications for other Internet gig workers.Get more info about the Indie Sellers Guild: https://indiesellersguild.org/Check out Kristi's steampunk clothing designs! https://auralynne.com/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 26, 2022 • 59min
Trolling Internet Commenters With Ken M [ENCORE]
We have two amazing episodes coming up, but they're not ready yet! In the meantime, enjoy this encore episode with our favorite comments troll/Internet performance artist Ken M!-Original Show Notes // April 26, 2021 -Dumb comments at the bottom of news articles and Facebook posts are a dime a dozen. But for the last 10 years, Ken M has turned misinformed Internet commentary into a masterful comedic art. His brand of earnest, oblivious comment trolling (and the angry reactions of people who think it's real) earned him hundreds of thousands of fans, who screenshot his comment threads across the Web and laugh hysterically on Reddit and Tumblr.While Ken M has become the stuff of Internet legend, the real man behind the troll accounts — Ken McCarthy — is a friendly guy whose day job is writing for Comedy Central. Alli and Jen chat with McCarthy about his creative process, why his brand of humor is still so relatable after a decade, Ken M imposters, and what happens when troll comments go too far.Follow Ken M on Twitter: https://twitter.com/horseysurpriseEnjoy the Ken M subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/KenM/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 19, 2022 • 58min
228 The Museum of Other Realities
Robin Stethem, Founder and CEO of The Museum of Other Realities, discusses the mind-blowing experience of standing inside a painting in virtual reality. They explore the concept of the Museum of Other Realities and its role in connecting individuals. They also discuss virtual reality interactions, nonverbal communication, compatibility issues with VR headsets, and interacting with art through digital technology. The speakers delve into personal habits and invite listeners to share their museum visits.

Sep 12, 2022 • 54min
Sign Language Is Rapidly Evolving in VR [ENCORE]
In keeping with our recent coverage of VR communities, we're sharing this encore episode about deaf users of VRchat and the volunteer translators making a big impact in social VR. Enjoy!-- Original Show Notes // February 3, 2020 --Deaf users of immersive social platforms like VRchat can face a tough time communicating. Unlike other social media, VR spaces rely on verbal and physical communication rather than text. And sign language with current-gen VR controllers is limiting and clunky at best.But groups of volunteer interpreters inside VR worlds are hard at work making sure these spaces are more welcoming and accessible for deaf users. The result is an empowering community of "Helping Hands."This week, Alli and Jen speak with Quentin, a 19-year-old volunteer translator and VR enthusiast, who is bridging the communications gap between deaf and hearing people in VRchat. Quentin (a hearing person) shares how and why he learned American Sign Language, the tech limitations of signing in VR, and how sign language is evolving in VR to accommodate differences between headsets and motion tracking.A transcript of this episode was provided by @Zazzy_chan! You can read it here: http://bit.ly/2UJ1Qcz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 5, 2022 • 54min
227 Alli Went Inside VR Kmart!
Alli's on her way to Burning Man and Lindsey is enroute to the East Coast, so we catch up on life, world events, learn about Alli's guided tour of VR Kmart!Get tickets for Alli's show in LA, "Love Isn't Blind": https://www.loveisntblind.co/And get tickets for Lindsey's show in NYC, "Letters to the Boys I've Never Kissed" https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:209/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 29, 2022 • 1h 8min
226 This VR Kmart Is Like Time Traveling to 1992
VR is used to create immersive video games, fantastical social worlds, and surreal art. Or you can make a Kmart from 1992.An enterprising community of VRChat players have built just that, and manage it every day, complete with employees, managers, cash registers, and products on the shelves, like Surge soda and Super Nintendo. It's one part role-play, one part time machine — a way to virtually visit what '90s American big box stores were like. And people from all over the virtual world are flocking to it.Carbon Blossom, the communications manager for this virtual store, explains its origins, global appeal, and take Alli and Lindsey on a whirlwind tour through the history of retail.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 22, 2022 • 55min
225 World Vasectomy Day
When filmmaker Jonathan Stack started to burn out on making documentaries about prisons and drug addiction, he decided to turn his attention toward building a positive movement. He noted that misconceptions about family planning are rampant, especially in developing countries and of course, on the Internet. So he co-founded World Vasectomy Day, a global movement for public health and destigmatizing family planning. And when he began interviewing men all over the world about why they had gotten their vasectomies, the overwhelming answer was: "Love."Jonathan shares how the organization got started, and the online community of activists and doctors working to evolve the narrative around vasectomies.Visit World Vasectomy Day: https://wvd.org/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1pJoin the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices