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
Feb 5, 2018 • 1h 3min
18 The history of "shipping" in fan fiction
Writing fanfic about your favorite fictional characters kissing goes back long before the internet. Alli and Jen interview Amanda Brennan, a meme librarian whose expertise in "shipping" (writing about fictional relationships) takes us back to the 1800s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 29, 2018 • 47min
17 Inside the plastic world of Living Dolls
The extreme makeup, fashion, and body modification of the Living Doll community is a sight to behold. Alli and Jen interview Vixie, who moderates numerous living doll forums where members swap pics and tricks on how to look as doe-eyed and plastic as humanly possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 22, 2018 • 1h 3min
16 Doing real archaeology inside video game worlds
As we spend more and more time inside digital worlds, documenting human behavior in virtual spaces has become an exciting new field of research. Alli and Jen talk to gaming archaeologist Andrew Reinhard about his expeditions inside the universe of No Man's Sky. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 15, 2018 • 56min
15 What your Google search history really says about you
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz studied data from Google, Pornhub, and other online platforms. He found that overt racism is alive and well in America, porn preferences are not what you'd expect, and many women are asking Google if their husbands are gay. Alli and Jen talk to Seth about the bizarre trends in his data analysis book Everybody Lies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 8, 2018 • 48min
14 Inside the secret chat room where lawyers bitch about their clients
Turns out attorneys are humans, too. Alli and Jen talk to Keith Lee, who created Lawyer Slack -- a private, lawyers-only chat room where attorneys can speak freely about ongoing cases, modern legal issues, ridiculous lawsuits, Game of Thrones, and cute doggos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 18, 2017 • 40min
13 The Fry Up Police
A Facebook group with 50,000 members is all about posting pictures of British breakfast food so people can curse at you. Alli and Jen get the scoop behind one of the most hilarious and bizarre Facebook communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 11, 2017 • 58min
12 How Reddit brings real science to millions
In the era of fake news, climate deniers, and anti-vaxxers, productive discussion about peer-reviewed science can be hard to come by on the internet. Fortunately, the subreddit r/science (with 17 million subscribers) has some ingenious ways to connect the curious masses with real scientists, root out trolls, and present controversial topics some readers might not be ready for. Alli and Jen get sciency with head moderator Dr. Nathan Allen, a PhD in synthetic chemistry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 4, 2017 • 47min
11 This dating app matches people on things they hate
Most dating apps pair people based on looks or shared interests. Hater matches couples based on things they hate: Slow walkers, the Super Bowl, tall dudes at concerts. Does having a "hate" in common create a deeper connection? Alli and Jen interview the Creator of Hater Dater, Brendan Alper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 27, 2017 • 46min
10 ASMR: This episode will make you tingly
Autonomous sensory meridian response (known as ASMR) is that tingly sensation on the back of your neck when you hear certain quiet sounds, like whispering or tapping. There's a huge community devoted to triggering your tingles on YouTube. Alli and Jen talk to Gibi, an "ASMRtist" about her rise to tingly internet fame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 20, 2017 • 49min
09 Interview with a (real?) vampire
Thousands of people identify as "vampires" online, but the term is more complicated (and metaphorical) than horror movie stereotypes. Alli and Jen talk to self-identified vampire Anshar Seraphim about tasting human blood and absorbing other people's energy and emotions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
