- Kinda Brief
- Posts
- The Vegas Nightclub-ification of the Social Web
The Vegas Nightclub-ification of the Social Web
Plus, streaming service stuff
Streaming Draft
This week The Vergecast did a streaming service draft. I guess this is a thing that happens in sports where teams pick new players. I don’t know; sports confuse me. But it seemed like a fun and effective method for getting at which streaming services actually provide value. I kinda want to force my own household to do this same exercise now. I’m sure we are paying for subscriptions we don’t really need.
I’d also like to know your number one streaming service draft pick and why.
Platform Updates
The Rest of Meta
TikTok
YouTube
Snap
Culture Movers
Film & TV
Side Note: They’re moving ahead with a Harry Potter show and that TERF Who Shall Not Be Named will be heavily involved. I loved Harry Potter as a kid but will not be watching or supporting this show or any other Potter content that makes money for the franchise’s transphobic creator. She’s committed to using her wealth to harm queer people, making it both ethically and emotionally difficult for me to enjoy or support her work.
Gaming
Twitter Is Becoming A Vegas Nightclub
I went to Vegas this past weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I’m not a fan of Vegas historically, but he really wanted to see his favorite DJ, Kaskade, perform. I spend a decent amount of time at clubs and nightlife venues here in San Francisco. I love dancing, and I’m fortunate to know some amazing DJs and performers here in the San Francisco queer nightlife community. This club in Vegas was a foreign environment for me.
After navigating the line to get in, we grabbed a couple of overpriced Red Bulls and made our way into the venue's main room. I’m used to clubs dominated by big open dancefloors with maybe a small stage for performers and to elevate a DJ booth above the crowd. This space had a smallish dancefloor surrounded by rows of VIP booths. A ring of additional GA space surrounded the booths, which was mostly used as the line for getting down into the main dancefloor. Beyond that, more VIP tables, which stat empty most of the night. The space was awkward, difficult to navigate, and dominated not by the performer or the crowd gathered to enjoy the music but by VIP spaces and the security around them.
Navigating this space was so difficult thanks to the added security staff and crowd control stanchions necessary to protect the poorly placed VIP tables, half of which weren’t in use. Being able to sell a VIP experience to a few whales is a higher priority than creating a quality experience for a larger number of customers. I think this is the same design philosophy motivating Elon (and likely other tech folks) today.
Let's look at Twitter verification. Initially, it was a utility for helping the site prevent harmful impersonation. Over the feature’s lifetime, it slowly warped into a bizarre status symbol. Something Elon assumed people would pay extra for. So he opened it up to anyone who would pay, initially triggering a wave of hilarious and potentially harmful impersonations. So now, in an effort to maximize the number of Blue Checkmarks he can sell while still trying to curb user impersonation, he’s added another form of verification called “affiliate badges.”
The whole thing just ends up messy, confusing, expensive, and less enjoyable.
Very Different Music Experience
I feel like a true Renaissance man this week. After returning from the dry temple city of tourist capitalism that is Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of attending my boyfriend’s barbershop chorus concert here in the moist holy city of tech capitalism that is San Francisco. Two very different musical experiences, crowds, and venues, all within a few days. No wildly profound observation here, just a general endorsement of art. Especially art that’s a little outside your normal wheelhouse. Go try something new and unexpected this weekend. Don’t feel boxed into always consuming the same mediums and genres. Art, and a variety of it, is good for our souls.