“Businesses today are obsessed with being social, but what they typically mean by this is that they are able to permeate peer-to-peer social networks as effectively as possible. Brands hope to play a role in cementing friendships, as a guarantee that they will not be abandoned for more narrowly calculated reasons.”

— How friendship became a tool of the powerful | William Davies | Media | The Guardian

And now you know why brands say “bae.”

There’s a lot of gold in this piece, including the idea of altruism being co-opted to simply reinforce market capitalism. It’s not enough to just sell our eyes and our data to advertisers. The idea of the “friend” itself is being neoliberalized into another market-based unit with its own economic value that’s far more important than the touchy-feely stuff it used to imply.

In Chu’s view, nerds created much of what we love about Internet culture but also much of what we hate about it. Intended as a refuge from real-world hierarchies and prejudices, the Internet has often wound up simply reproducing, even exaggerating, the power dynamics of the “real world,” complete with bullying. Chu feels that if nerds were more willing to set some community standards… and behave with less indifference to the worst of their peers, they could make the world a lot more pleasant and protect the best of nerdiness—the joyful obsessions, the embrace of outsiders, the indifference to convention.

— Reform of the Nerds, Starring Arthur Chu | Pacific-Standard

Powerful. Important. Nerds who are fed up with the abuse, bullying, and harassment online need to step up. Male nerds, especially, need to call their fellow men on the carpet for their terrible behavior. Bravo to Arthur for using his platform for good.

We live in New York City because it’s New York City, and there isn’t anywhere else that has what we have here. We are an A-list city, the best city in the world, and that is why the rent is too damn high.

— 6 Essential Reasons Why We Pay To Live In NYC

Not all of these are exclusive to my adoptive home town, but I still wouldn’t give this town up for anything. You can have your quiet, your nature, your 2 hour commutes by car. I’ll enjoy my 24/7 bodegas and subways, culture, history, and food from pretty much everywhere.

Here is what Carolyn Walworth, a junior at Palo Alto High School, recently wrote: “As I sit in my room staring at the list of colleges I’ve resolved to try to get into, trying to determine my odds of getting into each, I can’t help but feel desolate.”

She confessed to panic attacks in class, to menstrual periods missed as a result of exhaustion. “We are not teenagers,” she added. “We are lifeless bodies in a system that breeds competition, hatred, and discourages teamwork and genuine learning.”

— Best, Brightest — and Saddest? – NYTimes.com

While I’m long past this stage in my life, I can sympathize with the feeling. The pressure wasn’t nearly as heavy on me as a teenager, and yet I still feel like I’m not living up to expectations as a thirty-one year old adult. That kids in the Valley and elsewhere are jumping in front of trains should be a wake up call about the pressures of modern American life.

And more camera feedback, this time from Matt Birchler:

I understand the feeling that our phones currently take pictures that are good enough, but I doubt we’ll look back on these photos as great in 10 or 20 years time. Even looking back at photos I took with my iPhone 4 just 3 years ago, I’m already seeing the cracks in the flaws in those images. I have pictures of my wife and I that don’t look that great anymore. Almost all of the images of us from the first few years we were together were taken with smartphones that were considered “good enough” at the time.

— The Human Reason for Wanting Nicer Tech | BirchTree

I’m not sure I agree that the pictures I take with my phone won’t look as good to me in 10-20 years, but that’s only me. It’s a compelling argument for someone to get a “real camera.” It just isn’t for me.