INFLUENCE

Oh hey there! Matt here. It's been a minute, but if you're subscribed to this feed, I have a big update for you. 2G1P is now INFLUENCE, and I'm very excited (and nervous!) to be taking the reigns of a show we are so proud of. All the details you need to know are in this ep, and down below. I hope you'll join me for this next chapter! Help me reach 1,000 subscribers (even if you don't listen on YouTube!): https://www.youtube.com/@InfluencePodcast This show is made made possible with listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod Join our amazing Discord community: discord.gg/influencepod Email me with your dream guest! InfluencePod69@gmail.com (noice!) Call me and leave a voicemail! (347) 871-6548 Connect with me: https://twitter.com/Matt_Silverman https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman/ -Show Description- 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 communities, which ran for 7 years and nearly 300 episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy new year! We wanted to share an update about some truly unexpected circumstances, and explain that the show (and all Patreon contributions) will be paused while we figure things out. We hope you'll still hang with us on Discord, and please get in touch if you have any questions: discord.gg/2g1p 2g1podcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're joined by an EXTREMELY special guest. You might even say ... it's a Christmas miracle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Academic researchers have typically kept to universities and book publishing. But as the Web was maturing in the mid 2000s, blogs and social media accounts devoted to history attracted significant audiences. It turns out lots of people (besides professors) wanted to learn about stuff like: The Middle Ages. Danièle Cybulskie (known as the "5 Minute Medievalist" online) is an author and historian who began pulling medieval research out of the library and onto the Web, much to the chagrin of the academic world. But she was clearly ahead of her time. These days, her mission to make medieval studies more accessible has turned into a fulltime online career. Her show "The Medieval Podcast" is a favorite of esteemed professors and long-haul truckers alike — anyone who loves knights and castles and wants to learn more about what life was really like between 500 and 1,000 CE. Alli and Lindsey speak with Danièle about how she got interested in Medieval studies, the online community that has formed around it, and why we are still so obsessed with chivalry, lords, and peasants across every form of media. Follow Danièle: https://twitter.com/5minmedievalist And check out The Medieval Podcast: https://www.medievalists.net/category/podcast/ Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alli is away being a lady businessman, so Lindsey and Matt discuss why "Deep Space 9" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were WAY ahead of their time, a Christmas dive bar in Seattle, and which Christmas movies are the best. We want to hear your opinions, so call the hotline, email us, or let us know in the Discord! Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The Golden Girls" is a network sitcom anomaly. The hit NBC show about four single, senior women ran from 1985 to 1992, and was extremely progressive for its time. The power of reruns (and pandemic-era binge streaming) has kept it culturally relevant, and a devoted online fandom has blossomed around its beloved cast. Facebook Groups, YouTube channels, merch, and IRL conventions are powered by hilarious quotes, cosplay, drag shows, and critical analysis of what made the show so special. This week, Alli and Lindsey speak with Courtney Antonioli, the creator and host of "Stay Golden," a YouTube channel at the heart of this fascinating fandom. They discuss how the show is being passed down to the "TikTok generation" (often via mothers and grandmothers), whether or not it still holds up today, and the meme-fueled controversies that spring up in online discourse. Check out Courtney's "Stay Golden" YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@StayGoldenGirls Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We gear up for Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving, and look ahead to the chillest, most do-nothing day of all: Christmas Eve if you're Jewish. Also, where are all the Thanksgiving songs, and could we write a hit and become instant millionaires? We also ponder whether former 2G1P co-host Jen really listens to the show every week... Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order that attempts to put standards and guardrails on how AI should be used, specifically when it comes to government agencies (law enforcement, housing, etc.). It comes at a time when algorithmic and generative technologies show increasing bias and harm, while congress seems ineffective at regulating ... anything. So, what even IS an executive order? Will it be effective without legislative power behind it? And how might these new guardrails affect the private sector, especially the tech and Internet companies that determine so much of what we do online? Alli and Lindsey speak with Jon Keegan, an investigative data journalist at the non-profit technology news site The Markup. Jon breaks down the ramifications of an executive order, why the Biden administration took this kind of action, where it might inform the direction of AI, and why it's still lacking without broader bi-partisan urgency. Read Jon and his colleagues' breakdown of the order on The Markup: https://themarkup.org/news/2023/11/01/the-problems-bidens-ai-order-must-address Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alli proposes a test for social media users to determine if they are qualified to post about politics online, and Lindsey explains an unhinged British reality dating show that's mostly just shots of people's genitals. Also, a Halloween costume recap and Thanksgiving plans. Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many of us, Hipyo was bored and laid off during the pandemic. When he needed to find a better keyboard to play PC games, he uncovered a rabbit hole of key cap enthusiasts, mostly on Discord and Reddit. With a bit of research into what people wanted from "keyboard content," he started a YouTube channel. Three years (and more than 500 videos) later, his reviews, modifications, and DIY challenges have garnered millions of views and a thriving community of keyboard fanatics in search of the perfect "click," "thoc," or no sound at all. Alli and Lindsey talk with Hipyo about the sudden growth of keyboard mod culture, and how he fell into a gaggle of prolific creators who push the limits of what PC keyboards can look, feel, and sound like. Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alli shares some news about her live show format and Lindsey updates us on her dating life. Also, a big eureka! moment, the disappointment of Ryan Lochte, and gearing up for spoopy season in our Discord! Also, Elon Musk is still a dum dum! Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Large language models like ChatGPT owe their success to open knowledge platforms like Wikipedia. So, are they as "smart" as human Wikipedia editors? In many ways, they're even smarter, and orders of magnitude faster at writing clear, concise articles about straightforward facts. But as usual, the devil is in the details. Providing context around certain "facts," and arriving at a consensus about sources and notability still falls in the human domain — especially when ChatGPT is prone to "hallucinating" details it can't verify. Alli and Lindsey welcome Bill Beutler back to 2G1P. Bill is the founder and president of Beutler Ink, a digital agency with a focus on Wikipedia. They're also joined by Danny Adler, a Wikipedia strategy manager at Beutler Ink. They've been steeped in Wiki culture (and how to resolve conflicts of interest) for years, and discuss how to create reliable and accessible knowledge in the age of AI. They share their own eye-opening ChatGPT experiment, how Wikipedia editors are (cautiously) employing AI to co-write articles, and what happens when AI starts learning from itself, rather than from human knowledge bases. 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST is an independent production made possible through listener support. Find a tier that's right for you at https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since there's definitely nothing important going on in the world this week, we talk about Halloween costumes, learning sine and cosine in high school, evolutionary psychology, how to end a bad date, and...probably other things? If you're in NYC this week, you can get tickets to Lindsey's show here: https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:544/ Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes something notable? What kind of sources are needed for a thing to have a Wikipedia article about it? These philosophical issues are discussed by volunteer Wikipedia editors constantly to ensure that the non-profit encyclopedia is accurate and relevant. But a community of self-described "Road Geeks" has been at odds with Wikipedia's standards for some time. They're on a mission to catalog every road in North America, but other Wiki editors claim that this content is too granular, or has no secondary (journalistic) sources. But why would these sources exist when roads just...exist? And when should primary research — looking at a map, or even out your own window! — be considered for inclusion in the world's largest knowledge base? Tired of having their road articles deleted or modified, the Road Geeks have now "seceded" from Wikipedia to create their own Wiki on a sympathetic site called AARoads. While this may seem like a bunch of semantic nerds fighting on the Internet, it actually has fascinating implications for who gets to decide what is important, and what Wikipedia is supposed to be. Alli and Lindsey talk with Ben, a longtime Wikipedia editor and road enthusiast who is part of the movement to carve out a home for the historical and cultural value of road knowledge online. You can find the new wiki here: https://wiki.aaroads.com/ Take our quick, anonymous survey to help us make the show the best it can be! https://form.jotform.com/232267699994075 Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alli is spending time in the "real world" with her live show, so Lindsey and Matt catch up on her recent thrifting adventures in Portland (Oregon), watching weird birds go down a chimney, spoopy kids' books, unhinged NYC weather, and conclusive evidence of the best TV theme song ever written. Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the University of Alabama, rushing for a sorority has become a cottage industry, thanks to social media. Centering on "blindingly White" college students and their influencer aspirations. "RushTok" is now a cultural phenomenon, complete with management deals, style consultants, and a massive audience of Internet onlookers who are seriously invested in whether these girls get into the house of their choice. In a way, it has become an influencer-led "reality show," distributed across the Internet, where audience perception (rather than a TV producer) decides the heroes and villains. Bama Rush fans even refer to the content as "seasons." Alli and Lindsey talk with journalist Fortesa Latifi, who covered the phenomenon for Teen Vogue. She discusses why the trend has enraptured millions, and the problematic institutions it unwittingly perpetuates. She also explains why interviewing some of the Internet's favorite rushers lead to an unhinged backlash from the fandom. Read Fortesa's piece here: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/bama-rush-tiktok-is-getting-more-relatable Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dip into the back catalog this week with another fave from yesteryear. Don't forget to take our listener survey: https://form.jotform.com/232267699994075 -- Original Show Notes, Jan 24, 2022 -- Studying, writing, and remote work can be a lonely time. Add in a dose of global pandemic, and the endless isolation can be overwhelming. It's no surprise to see the growth of streaming communities focused on mundane things: Eating, writing, and today's topic: Studying. Alli and Linsey talk with Giulia Mazza, a study streamer who spends hours a day studying for her Master's degree while hundreds of people watch on Twitch. Her audience is also studying and working, and as Giulia explains, the community has become a place for "positive peer pressure" and accountability in an age of endless distraction and isolation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We return to the world of VRChat and the concentric circles of non-human identities with Toy Dragon (It/Its). Its long journey of self-discovery and lucid dreams confirmed that it identifies as a small, loveable red dragon. But unlike other human and gender identities, it was difficult to express this form socially -- until now. Toy Dragon shares how it found a large and welcoming community of Furries and Otherkin who are not just roleplaying for fun, but truly realizing themselves in virtual spaces. Also, Lindsey has returned from Burning Man and is mostly in one piece! She shares her not-so-harrowing tale of Burnpocalypse 2023. Please take 2 mins to help us make the show better! Your (anonymous) opinion will chart the future of 2G1P as an independent production! https://form.jotform.com/232267699994075 Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have some BIG news for our listeners, but first, let's talk about the weather at Burning Man for 20 minutes! If you have 2 minutes, PLEASE take our 100% anonymous listener survey! It will help us improve the show, make it more efficient to produce, and help us focus on what's important to you, our listeners! https://form.jotform.com/232267699994075 New and improved Patreon, coming soon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're off this week, but sharing another one of our faves! -- Original Show Notes, January 9, 2023 -- Wikipedia is your one-stop shop for high level info on public figures, geography, and academic concepts. But the volunteer editors of the free and open digital reference also make copious entries about "low quality images of cats," "Blobjects," "National Moth Week," Osama bin Laden's porn stash, and that time the Dave Matthews Band tour bus dropped poop on people in Chicago. Alli and Lindsey talk with Annie Rauwerda, a writer, longtime Wikipedia editor, and creator of "Depths of Wikipedia," which has more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram alone. Annie discusses how the culture of Wikipedia generates obtuse and often hilarious articles, concepts, and photos taken out of context. She shares the funniest things she's found on the site, and how a beef with a sketchy influencer propelled her to fame. Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/ Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices