INFLUENCE

Sydney Malloy, one of the group's top "Ant-mins", discusses the Facebook group where people pretend to be ants. They explore the fascination with ants, including their global presence, complex cities, and social behavior. They also touch on linguistic displacement abilities and the concept of a queen in an ant colony. The speakers share their experiences with pretend groups on Facebook and the limitations of other platforms. They end with a discussion on memories and a promotion of the Discord server and Patreon.

There's a lot to laugh at on the Internet, but standup comedy — a distinctly in-person art form — is facing challenges in a time of self-isolation. But "virtual" comedy clubs, powered by Zoom, Twitch, and YouTube, are increasingly popping up in quarantine. But as expected, the tight 5 that kills on stage may need adjustments for an audience that can only laugh in emojis.This week, Alli and Jen talk to standup comedian and writer/producer Josh Gondelman about how the standup world is adapting to the Internet, what makes a set work online, and the difference between IRL and virtual heckling.Follow Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshgondelmanAnd check out his new game show podcast, Make My Day: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-my-day-with-josh-gondelman/id1507871978Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken over the world in self-isolation, and become a virtual place of normalcy, even for non-gamers. But what if you’re single and dating, but can’t leave the house due to lockdowns? Tom Nook, in his infinite wisdom, has a solution for that.Alli and Jen talk with Lady Brittany, a Twitch streamer who has converted her entire Animal Crossing domain into a Love Island, optimized for romance and photo ops around every corner. There, she hosts real dates and even wedding ceremonies, which can’t take place IRL due to COVID-19. And while she typically livestreams her island activities, she also takes the privacy of visiting couples very seriously. Brittany shares the inspiration for her mermaid-themed getaway, the special events she holds for her community, and why Animal Crossing is such a special and important game — especially now.Lady Brittany on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lady_brittanySupport 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

College classes and graduations around the world are being canceled or administered remotely, but many enterprising students have taken to the virtual spaces of Minecraft to painstakingly recreate their campuses in amazing detail. While you can't walk down the main streets of Boston University and UPenn in real life, you can visit them virtually inside the blocky servers built by their students and faculty.Alli and Jen talk with students and volunteer builders Pearse Anderson, Nick Marchuk, and Makarios Chung about why the Minecraft community is so powerful in a time of social distance, why video game worlds are better than Zoom calls, and their virtual graduation plans.Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 600,000 people (mostly college students) are using a Facebook group to come together and bond over how bad taking classes on Zoom is. This week, Alli and Jen talk to Zana Rashid, a moderator from Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens, a place for humor in a time of isolation.Rashid shares how disruptive COVID-19 has been for university students, the power of funny memes during this difficult time, and the Boomer vs. Zoomer wars that constantly erupt within this growing community.https://www.facebook.com/groups/zoommemes/about/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid worldwide shortages of personal protective equipment (medical PPE), someone at the UK's National Health Service reached out to the medical fetish retailer MedFetUK, hoping to find a stock of masks or scrubs. MedFetUK immediately delivered, donating their entire supply (usually sold for sex play) to a hospital. While Justin, the co-founder of the company, says it was obviously "the right thing to do," thousands on Twitter quickly gathered round to cheer the small fetish company, and also collectively wonder: What *is* a medical fetish, anyway?This week, Alli and Jen talk to Justin about the diverse world of MedFet, its roots in BDSM, the variety of equipment used in role play (including needles!), and whether the current pandemic is affecting the community.Check out MedFetUK for all your MedFet needs! https://medfetuk.com/Read Justin's tweet, and the hilarious replies: https://twitter.com/MedFet_UK/status/1243590308878848002Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1995, at the height of cultural mania around 90210, Melrose Place, and MTV's The Real World, the Internet as we know it today was just getting started. But if you had a connection and thirsted for more beautiful people trapped in a house with drama, there was The Spot. Created by producer Scott Zakarin, it was a first-of-its kind interactive webseries that imagined a cast of young, attractive characters writing journal entries about their lives inside a shared beach house in California. Diaries, pictures, and short video clips kept the audience up to date, and devoted fans (some who assumed it was real) could write in by email to influence the characters and plot. Today, we take this kind of interactive media for granted.The Spot was incredibly innovative for its time, and engaged a rabid fanbase while simultaneously baffling mainstream media.Alli and Jen chat with Zakarin about his inspiration for the show, what kind of plot points create the best drama, and why dogs are always able to write journal entries in his projects. He also shares details of his current obsession, a new podcast called Digital Sky, available on all podcast platforms, and YouTube.Subscribe to Digital Sky: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-sky/id1491254282Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbugger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So...how's everybody holding up? Please call us: (347) 871-6548Follow Alli on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/alligoldSupport 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2008, database engineer Chris Dancy weighed 320 pounds, smoked two packs and drank 36 cans of Diet Coke every day. He was being paid a lot of money to be — in his words — “a real pile of shit.”But as modern social media began taking shape, Dancy noticed how the things he posted online correlated with how he felt — and therefore, how he acted.He began to track everything he did: foods he ate, shows he binge-watched, and people he interacted with online. He wrote programs that automatically uploaded these habits to a Google Calendar.In time, he drew correlations between his actions and the resulting behavior. This lead to automated systems, powered by 700 sensors and applications, that reinforced good habits (like exercise and gratitude) instead of bad ones.The results were dramatic. He lost 120 lbs., kicked the smoking and soda habits, and left his regimen of anti-depressants behind.Dancy is now an author and public speaker who inspires people to take control of the data that corporations are using to track and advertise bad habits to you, and put it to work to improve your life.In this week’s episode of 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST, Alli and Jen talk to Dancy about his latest project to help communities cope with COVID-19, the simple systems he created to build gratitude into his daily life, how he earned the title of “Most Connected Man on Earth,” why limiting screen time is bullshit, and the lessons from his book Don’t Unplug: How Technology Saved My Life and Can Save Yours Too.Dancy's COVID-19 Neighborhood Resource: https://www.chrisdancy.com/employment/2020/3/17/covid-19-neighborhood-volunteer-and-support-systemSupport 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are two types of "biohackers" in this world: People who are optimizing their bodies for peak performance, and...cyborgs.The cyborgs are putting microchips, magnets, and even full, working computers inside their bodies. Why? Because it's the future. And these brave pioneers are willing to cut themselves open to see where humanity is headed.Alli and Jen talk to Quinn Mooney, a biohacker with NFC chips in his hands and plans to install a Raspberry Pi in his leg. Mooney moderates the forums at biohacking.me and the r/biohackers subreddit, and explains the community's fascination with human augmentation, the open-source movement behind it all, and the medical and regulatory challenges that stand in the way of this personal experimentation.Visit the forums:https://biohack.me/https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohackers/Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1PJoin us on Discord: discord.gg/2g1pEmail us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.comTalk to Alli and Jen:https://twitter.com/alligoldhttps://twitter.com/joonbuggerCall the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices