The Digital Void Podcast

How do YouTube influencers neg their audiences into taking lifestyle advice?Internet culture writer Steffi Cao joins Jamie to discuss how influencers undermine audiences with video titles that are not what they seem. The two discuss authenticity on social media platforms, why clickbait titles still reign supreme, and if there’s anything positive to come of this trend.📖 Read YouTube Influencers want to neg you into taking lifestyle advice in Fast CompanyAbout Steffi CaoSteffi Cao is an internet culture writer, most recently reporting at BuzzFeed News and Forbes as its inaugural creator economy staff writer. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Bustle, and MTV News. Her work, including her eponymous newsletter, it’s steffi, was featured on NPR and The View this year. She resides in Brooklyn, and her favorite berry is the blueberry.CreditsHosted by Josh Chapdelaine & Dr. Jamie CohenDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

What is the true potential of AI text-to-video generation?Director of Curiouser Institute and award-winning AI games designer Reed Berkowitz discusses OpenAI's Sora, an AI text-to-image model that will soon be made available to the public. As Hollywood rolls back studio investments and executives project up to 90% loss in animation jobs, how can we separate hype from reality in the space? And what are the best ways to use AI text-to-video generation today?Show notes:OpenAI's SoraJeffrey Katzenberg claims 90% of artist animation jobs will be lost due to AITyler Perry stops $800 million studio investment after OpenAI's SoraBill Peebles alien generationBlaine Brown alien remixAnimateDiffAbout Reed Berkowitz:Reed Berkowitz is the Director of Curiouser Institute, who has more than 25 years of experience designing, writing, and researching award-winning interactive experiences for companies including Universal Studios, Paramount, Cartoon Network, Peanuts, Sanrio, and many more. He formerly served as the Creative Director of New Games at Latitude, an AI-powered games company.Follow Reed BerkowitzTwitter | Website

How will creators and tech companies grapple with the decline of journalism?On this week's episode, Jamie and Josh discuss the relationship between creators, platforms, and journalists, the ongoing shift from legacy news sources to platforms like TikTok and YouTube for news consumption, and how venture-backed outlets built on the promise of digital advertising contributed to journalism's current crisis. Additionally, they highlight what gives them hope about journalism's future – and how you can help contribute to it.Show NotesMore than half of U.S. counties have no access or very limited access to local news - NorthwesternMore Americans are getting news on TikTok, bucking the trend seen on most other social media sites - Pew Research CenterS&P 500 Closes at Record High as Wall Street Bulls Run Wild - AxiosIn a Pennsylvania town, a Facebook group fills the local news void - Brandy ZadroznyCarol's Journey - Brandy Zadrozny404 MediaDefectorCreditsHosted by Dr. Jamie Cohen and Josh ChapdelaineDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

How can we separate hype from hallucination in AI games?Award-winning games designer and Director of Curiouser Institute Reed Berkowitz discusses why it's so difficult for mid-to-large studios to create AI NPCs, the brand safety risks associated with AI in games, and why AI games might require more writers rather than fewer.🕹️ You can play Grilling Molly Stone now.📰 You can read AI Powered NPCs — Hype, or Hallucination and AI in Games: Complicated Characters on Medium.About Reed Berkowitz:Reed Berkowitz is the Director of Curiouser LLC, who has more than 25 years of experience designing, writing, and researching award-winning interactive experiences for companies including Universal Studios, Paramount, Cartoon Network, Peanuts, Sanrio, and many more. He formerly served as the Creative Director of New Games at Latitude, an AI-powered games company.Follow Reed BerkowitzTwitter | WebsiteCreditsHosted by Josh ChapdelaineDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

Where can creators turn after they’ve been cancelled? Internet culture writer Steffi Cao discusses why cancelled creators turn to right-wing values to grow their businesses, the difficulty audiences have determining authenticity, and why it all matters – from economics to real-world action. 📖 Read Influencers are pandering to conservatives to salvage their post-cancellation careers in Fast Company.About Steffi CaoSteffi Cao is an internet culture writer, most recently reporting at BuzzFeed News and Forbes as its inaugural creator economy staff writer. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Bustle, and MTV News. Her work, including her eponymous newsletter, it’s steffi, was featured on NPR and The View this year. She resides in Brooklyn, and her favorite berry is the blueberry.CreditsHosted by Josh Chapdelaine & Dr. Jamie CohenDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

How did Palantir develop a meme-obsessed fanbase of retail traders — and what does it mean?Business Insider senior correspondent Katie Notopoulos discusses the livestreaming, meme-making community behind Palantir's stock and the company's CEO Alex Karp.📖 Read How Palantir stock developed a weird, passionate, meme-crazy fan base on Fast Company.About Katie NotopoulosKatie Notopoulos is a senior correspondent at Business Insider writing about technology and business. Based in New York, you can email her knotopoulos@businessinsider.com or message her on Twitter @katienotopoulos. She covers topics on internet culture, big tech, social platforms, crypto, and personal tech. Previously, Katie was a tech reporter at BuzzFeed News and has written for Fast Company, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and MIT Technology Review.CreditsHosted by Josh Chapdelaine & Dr. Jamie CohenDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

How can we explore visions for a better internet as it undergoes a monumental evolution?Media literacy influencer Kelsey Russell, award-winning journalist Kat Tenbarge, digital culture journalist Steffi Cao, and moderator Rachel E. Greenspan explore the role of surveillance and the rise of panopticontent, the importance of trust and safety on healthy platforms, and why youth voices need to be included in conversations about social media platform development. This panel was recorded live from Digital Void's The Meme in the Moment Festival 2023 at Caveat in New York City on December 14, 2024.About Kat TenbargeKat Tenbarge is an award-winning tech and culture reporter for NBC News Digital. Her coverage includes platforms, influencers, celebrities, and online culture. She also investigates sexual assault allegations.About Kelsey RussellKelsey Russell is a content creator and full time graduate student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Kelsey Russell believes education should be entertaining and entertainment should be educational. This mantra comes to life on her TikTok page of almost 100K followers where she dynamically reads different forms of print media to her audience. By promoting an approach to new information from a state of curiosity and nostalgia, she hopes to make generations fall back in love with learning. Russell graduated from Boston University with a BA in sociology and is originally from Atlanta, Georgia.About Steffi CaoSteffi Cao is an internet culture writer, most recently reporting at BuzzFeed News and Forbes as its inaugural creator economy staff writer. Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Bustle, and MTV News. Her work, including her eponymous newsletter, it’s steffi, was featured on NPR and The View this year. She resides in Brooklyn, and her favorite berry is the blueberry.About Rachel E. GreenspanRachel E. Greenspan is a writer and social media strategist in New York. Previously, she was a reporter and editor on Insider’s Digital Culture desk, where she focused on right-wing extremism and its spread on social platforms. Her coverage of the QAnon conspiracy theory won the inaugural Best Debunking of Fake News award from NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her writing has also been published in Time Magazine and MSNBC.CreditsHosted by Josh ChapdelaineAudio edited and mixed by Josh ChapdelaineDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

How do reboots and IP fueled universes prevent us from ever feeling nostalgia?Author of Foreverism Grafton Tanner discusses how the practice of keeping things alive prevents us from ever feeling nostalgia.📚 You can order Foreverism by Grafton Tanner now!About Grafton Tanner:Grafton Tanner is the author of Foreverism, The Hours Have Lost Their Clock: The Politics of Nostalgia (Repeater Books, 2021), The Circle of the Snake: Nostalgia and Utopia in the Age of Big Tech (Zer0 Books, 2020), and Babbling Corpse: Vaporwave and the Commodification of Ghosts (Zer0 Books, 2016). His work focuses on nostalgia, technology, and the rhetoric of neoliberalism, and his writing has appeared in such venues as NPR, The Nation, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Real Life. He also hosts Delusioneering, an audio series about the myths of capitalism, and he writes and performs music with his band Superpuppet. He’s currently writing a book on the re-emergence of exorcism in the late twentieth century.03:30 The History and Politics of Nostalgia04:11 The Shift in Perception of Nostalgia04:27 The Impact of Nostalgia on Consumer Choices04:51 The Medical Roots of Nostalgia05:19 The Concept of Foreverism05:52 The Evolution of Nostalgia to Commercial Term07:50 The Impact of IP Fueled Universes on Nostalgia11:02 The Commodification of Nostalgia12:08 Persistent Storylling21:30 The Shift in Acting Practices due to Foreverism30:23 The Consequences of Foreverism on the Planet36:03 Resisting ForeverismCreditsHosted by Josh Chapdelaine and Jamie Cohen, PhDAudio edited and mixed by Josh ChapdelaineDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.

How does creative misuse of social media platforms inform the future of social media at large?Director of Curiouser Institute Reed Berkowitz highlights five popular ways people are engaging, interacting, and using social platforms - ranging from Life360 to Roblox - and what it means for how we imagine and create a social media future that enhances our social capacities.📰 You can read Everything About Social Media Is About To Change Again on Medium.About Reed Berkowitz:Reed Berkowitz is the Director of Curiouser LLC, who has more than 25 years of experience designing, writing, and researching award-winning interactive experiences for companies including Universal Studios, Paramount, Cartoon Network, Peanuts, Sanrio, and many more. He formerly served as the Creative Director of New Games at Latitude, an AI-powered games company.🎟️ Digital Void is thrilled to announce a special Team Human Live featuring Douglas Rushkoff in conversation with Mitch Horowitz on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Caveat in New York City! Join two award-winning authors for a special live podcast taping, book signing, live music, and social hour. Click here for tickets and livestream.Follow Reed BerkowitzTwitter | WebsiteShow Notes and Resources:Everything About Social Media Is About To Change Again - Reed BerkowitzxhummingLofi girlPokémon SleepLife360RobloxCreditsHosted by Dr. Jamie Cohen and Josh ChapdelaineAudio edited and mixed by Josh ChapdelaineDigital Void Podcast is a production of Digital Void, LLC.