A viral internet newsletter began as a personal, hand-made monthly email sent to thousands of subscribers, reflecting an early belief that ideas could flow freely online. Over time, artisanal knowledge-making shifted into industrial-scale information production powered by social media platforms. The result is an environment associated with infobesity, where people consume processed information from unknown sources designed to keep attention on feeds. As audiences crave authenticity, influencer culture grows as a form of guidance for both low-stakes and high-stakes topics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, charismatic figures filled information gaps, using their own research to offer survival guidance while distrust and uncertainty complicated credibility.
"“Meme is my newsletter, delivered once a month via electronic mail to 4,400 subscribers... What counts is who reads it.” I was, in today's language, an early influencer. The early internet offered “an idealized picture” where “ideas flow freely” - and I desperately wanted to believe it could work."
"What began as a land of artisanal knowledge-makers cultivating gardens of wisdom became an industrial farming operation powered by social media platforms. On the internet of 2026, people speak of “infobesity” - gorged on processed information from unknown sources, an intellectual abattoir where bits of everything are thrown together with one purpose: to hook us on the feed. We know it's bad for us. We can't put it down."
"In this slurry of addictive information, people craved the authentic - and influencer culture emerged as a tonic. Here were native guides doing the research for us, helping us make sense of the low-stakes (handbags, smoothies) and increasingly the high-stakes: longevity, retirement, parenting. Yet as with so much that starts as sincere human-to-human connection online, the higher the stakes, the more conflicted the influencer's role became. Is it entertainment or discernment?"
"In spring 2020, it became a survival technology. A terrifying pandemic with no vaccine and no easy explanations sent millions of us to our screens for answers. Into this panicked information vacuum stepped people with charisma - “rizz” - who did their own research on COVID and taught us, maybe, how we could survive. Distrust of expe"
#viral-newsletters #influencer-culture #social-media-addiction #information-overload #covid-19-misinformation
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