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PODCAST

INFLUENCE

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

technology hobbies

All Episodes

51:25

153 OnlyFans Culture (with Allie Eve Knox)

INFLUENCE ·

2020/11/09

Adult video entertainment used to involve film crews and distribution companies. These days, performers can log in, create personalized videos for their fans, and get paid well for their wares. OnlyFans has risen to prominence as the destination for custom cams and fetish content to suit every need, and many adult performers are making bank. But like all Internet content creation, it's very hard work. Alli and Jen talk with Allie Eve Knox, a cam model who makes her entire living from fetish

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41:13

152 Political Humiliation with Empress Delfina

INFLUENCE ·

2020/11/02

Domination and humiliation aren't new in the world of fetishes, but one online sex worker has found a particularly compelling niche: Shaming and belittling Trump supporters to change their votes to Biden. Empress Delfina has a multitude of clients who get off on being told how wrong they are to support the current administration — and she thinks the trend is growing. Alli and Jen chat with the Empress about how she's "sex banking" for Biden, one orgasm at a

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54:57

151 Why Tech Companies Won't Let You Fix Your Own...

INFLUENCE ·

2020/10/26

Back in the day, if your computer or an appliance broke down, you could pop open the case, unscrew the faulty part, and order a replacement from the manufacturer for a few dollars. But increasingly, companies are more secretive about their proprietary tech. They keep their parts and schematics hidden, and when your iPhone or tractor breaks down, you’re forced to pay exorbitant repair costs, or worse — throw it away and buy the latest model. It’s bad for the consumer, and it’s bad for the

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54:19

150 Virtual Funeral Services (Gathering Us)

INFLUENCE ·

2020/10/19

Grief is never easy, but it's especially hard if you can't be with your loved ones in person. COVID-19 has made funerals incredibly complicated in recent months, but the online service Gathering Us has been planning for this for a while. Its founder, Noha Waibsnaider, explains why virtual memorials are the next-best thing (and in some cases, even better than in-person events). Waibsnaider chats with Alli and Jen about the origins of Gathering Us, and the complexities of grieving over Zoom. Support

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88:43

149 QAnon Casualties: How to Save a Loved One From...

INFLUENCE ·

2020/10/12

The Internet empowers everyone to find a like-minded community online. It also facilitates misinformation and conspiracy thinking at breakneck speeds. QAnon, the belief that government insiders have foretold the Biblical cleansing of liberals, has morphed from a handful of conspiracy theories on 8chan to a full-blown cult that is tearing families apart. In response, the Internet has birthed support groups like r/QAnonCasualties, where people can share their stories and get advice on how to help

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63:24

[Encore Episode] 55 How Composer Kevin MacLeod Makes...

INFLUENCE ·

2020/10/05

We're working on something big for next week, so here's another one of our favorite encore episodes from back in the day. Original Notes: If you've ever sought a soundtrack for your home movies that wouldn't get removed by YouTube, chances are you've come across Kevin MacLeod's music. He's composed thousands of original tracks, in every imaginable genre, that he gives away under a Creative Commons license, on a variety of platforms, absolutely free. His music has been used in commercials, films,

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70:14

148 Unnecessary Inventions

INFLUENCE ·

2020/09/28

Matty Benedetto is a product designer by training, but his sense of humor led him to a life of hilarious content creation instead. Benedetto builds Unnecessary Inventions, ingenious products that solve urgent problems you don’t actually have — like a drink holder for your shoe, or an alarm clock that snoozes itself so you won’t be bothered in the morning. His fake products (and their crisp photos and videos) are so popular that he’s garnered 4 million followers across social media, and a vast

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70:36

147 One In an ARMY (BTS / K-Pop Fandom Charity)

INFLUENCE ·

2020/09/21

Global K-pop music sensation BTS’ charity efforts with Unicef and other foundations has empowered fans to make positive change in the world. The BTS fandom is known as an “ARMY,” and the global volunteer collective One In an ARMY has become an engine of charitable giving, cause awareness, and social change. When One In an ARMY mobilizes for a cause, K-pop stans flood social media with micro-donations and hashtags, raising thousands of dollars for the Syrian refugee crisis, Iraqi civilians, coral

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71:56

146 Solo Female Traveler Network

INFLUENCE ·

2020/09/14

While traveling alone in Mexico, Amanda Black was robbed. She felt violated, scared, and didn't know where to turn in a foreign county with no friends or family. That's when she realized the need for an online support network -- a place where women traveling alone can get advice, and in some cases, urgent help. She founded the Solo Female Traveler Network in 2016, and thousands of women joined immediately, sharing similar stories of vulnerability. Today, the Facebook group and website count more

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36:57

145 Get a Pen Pal

INFLUENCE ·

2020/09/07

Email, texting, and social media have made our world smaller. But have we lost something in the age of instant messages? Maksim Jovovic created the website Get A Pen Pal, a place to match with someone interesting from anywhere in the world and engage in slow, deliberate letter-writing. Sure, the communication is still digital, but these "letters" take days to go back and forth, use collectible stamps, and encourage rich communication, rather than just, "sup?" Alli and Jen ask Jovovic about his

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66:18

144 What Makes a Great Online Community?

INFLUENCE ·

2020/08/31

Online communities (sometimes the only communities we have during a pandemic) can be magical places. Friendships forged, insights shared, and fun had by all. They can also become toxic, shouty cesspools. Why do some succeed while others devolve into chaos? Alli and Jen talk with Anika Gupta, a journalist who studied online community structures for her book How to Handle a Crowd: The Art of Creating Healthy and Dynamic Online Communities. Gupta shares the key to healthy moderation, the social norms

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77:09

[Encore Episode] 46 The Women Editing Thousands of...

INFLUENCE ·

2020/08/24

This episode was originally published on August 20, 2018 (2 years ago, whoa!) For countless historical and social reasons, most of the people editing Wikipedia are white men. This has led to broad bias across the world's de facto repository of online knowledge. But a loose affiliation of women are making up the ground by writing and editing the biographies of historically significant women and minorities who might otherwise be overlooked by academic or popular culture. Alli and Jen speak with Rosie

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63:28

143 The space cemetery in 'EVE Online'

INFLUENCE ·

2020/08/17

Alli and Jen speak with Jason Marshall, a veteran player of the MMO 'EVE Online' about the game's 15-year-old player-run space graveyard. The Molea cemetery has been operating since 2004, and not only contains the frozen corpses of killed space pilots, but graves that mark the deaths of lost loved ones in real life — friends, family members, pets, and other players. In June of this year, the developers of 'EVE' formally recognized this player accomplishment by adding a massive, permanent memorial to

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71:46

142 How Does Wikipedia Actually Work?

INFLUENCE ·

2020/08/10

We all use Wikipedia on a daily basis, but do you really know how humanity’s largest organized body of knowledge gets made? Alli and Jen talk with Bill Beutler, a longtime Wikipedia editor and the author of The Wikipedian, a blog about Wikipedia culture. He’s also the CEO of Beutler Ink, a consultancy which advises clients and public figures on the ethical way to address inaccuracies on Wikipedia. Beutler explains the dynamic and rigorous process that happens behind the scenes of controversial

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63:05

141 The Church of Universal Suffrage

INFLUENCE ·

2020/08/03

Alli and Jen speak with Tim Jacobs, the founding minister of The Church of Universal Suffrage, a legally recognized religion that hosts “weekly meditation on the nature of voter suppression,” and observes every voting day in the U.S. as a religious holiday, which — legally speaking — affords church members some handy privileges, like the right to take the day off from work. Jacobs explains how the church was inspired by a Reddit discussion about several states stifling vote-by-mail efforts. Since

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70:02

140 Flea Market Flippers (With Rob & Melissa Stephenson)

INFLUENCE ·

2020/07/27

eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Mercari, Craigslist ... there's no shortage of apps to buy and sell random stuff. But if you live and breathe these marketplaces, you can identify opportunities to buy low and sell high. What starts as an exhilarating hobby can turn into a full-time job if you know what you're doing. That's how Rob and Melissa Stephenson make their living. By leveraging their knowledge of certain product categories (home exercise equipment, heavy machinery) and tapping into the internet's

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71:30

139 "Darknet Diaries" with Jack Rhysider

INFLUENCE ·

2020/07/20

Alli and Jen talk with Jack Rhysider, the creator and host of the hit podcast Darknet Diaries which tells “true stories from the dark side of the Internet.” Or as Matt likes to call it, This American Life for hackers. Rhysider worked in information security (infosec) and was searching for a podcast that tells the stories of hackers and digital heists. It didn’t exist, so he made his own. These days, thousands of listeners love his meticulously crafted stories about penetration testers, video game

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72:40

138 "Animal Talking" with Gary Whitta

INFLUENCE ·

2020/07/13

Screenwriter and games journalist Gary Whitta joins Alli and Jen to talk about his experimental late night celebrity talk show "Animal Talking," which is live-streamed entirely inside of Nintendo's "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," and why a world in quarantine can't stop watching. Whitta discusses the show's impromptu beginnings, its technical complexity, what it's like sitting on a virtual couch with Elijah Wood and Danny Trejo, and what happens when Sting wants to be on your "Animal Crossing"

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79:58

[Encore Episode] 54 Tay Zonday (Originally Published...

INFLUENCE ·

2020/07/06

Matt is still on vacation, but we have a great encore episode for you. How Tay Zonday survived being 'Patient Zero' of viral YouTube. Originally Published: October 15, 2018 Way back in 2007 Tay Zonday uploaded the original song "Chocolate Rain" to YouTube, and nothing happened. Then Digg and 4chan found it. And then Zonday was on CNN and Jimmy Kimmel trying to explain his music on national television. His meteoric rise led to a 10-year journey of identity confusion, and eventually

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65:05

[Encore Episode] 87 Birds of North America...

INFLUENCE ·

2020/06/29

Matt is on vacation this week, so we're re-sharing one of our favorites from last year. Enjoy! Bird watching probably conjures images of an old, retired guy sporting binoculars behind his country home. But Jason Ward is rapidly dispelling that stereotype. He's been an avid birder since his childhood growing up in The Bronx, NY, and has brought his passion to social media. His #TrickyBirdID Twitter threads challenge people to snap photos of unknown neighborhood birds so the global community of

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