Another interesting thing going on here, is immigrant effects.
I think Twitter-world is fully aware that the best weirdos are ex-hypernormies. They've done "legitimate" work and have a perspective to share about it. This is why the tech world does so well on Twitter!
There seems also to be a pendulum swinging. If 2018-2023 was about quitting your LinkedIn fake life to pursue your true Twitter weird... 2024 is about Twitter weirdos realizing that being poor but happy is worse than being rich and happy, so embarking on adventure into LinkedIn world in pursuit of riches, but now with a new perspective on the whole thing, and a greater appreciation for the importance of LinkedIn.
Some people become deeply cynical, and think it's a betrayal to be a border-crosser (this is "selling out"), but in reality there are serious gains from trade to be had. It isn't selling out as much as it is creating a real surplus. Or maybe these are the same thing.
Regardless, I think the most important movement in my social circles right now is figuring out which Twitter people are trying to embrace their LinkedIn, and networking them in on the other side, like any good LinkedIn normie would do.
The surplus value created by frequent travel also implies the creation and eventual commercialization of popular "on ramps", "highways", and "travel agencies" between LinkedIn and Twitter. Specifically, I think you need an on ramp into Twitter (you aren't really allowed to just parachute into being weird)... that's inauthentic. But you need a travel agency to approve your visa and fly you into LinkedIn, because you can't just organically grow your career... That's not prestigious enough.
Good point. I was 33 when I started my blog in 2007, and had 15 years of adult life dark matter under my belt that online world can’t see at all. I’m definitely an immigrant like all Gen Xers.
Isn’t there a saying, something like: “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t.”…?
Good piece. I have sort of accepted my LinkedIn self over the past year, realizing the way forward is probably a reintegration.
I sense most of the hyper normals I know are practically trying to cash out as much as possible as a strategy. And it’s not a terrible plan just usually a lot of cynicism involved.
Apologies for commenting on an old post (substack put it at the top of my feed), but here is a link to relevant article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/ . The entire article is insightful, but section 6 is the one that resonates the most with this post (fragment excerpted below).
"""
Tragedy valorizes serious, emotional engagement with life’s problems, even struggle to the death. Along with epic, it is part of the Western heroic tradition that extols ideals, the willingness to fight for them, and honor. The tragic ethos is linked to patriarchy and militarism—most of its heroes are kings and conquerors—and it valorizes what Conrad Hyers (1996) calls Warrior Virtues—blind obedience, the willingness to kill or die on command, unquestioning loyalty, single-mindedness, resoluteness of purpose, and pride.
Comedy, by contrast, embodies an anti-heroic, pragmatic attitude toward life’s incongruities. From Aristophanes’ Lysistrata to Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, comedy has mocked the irrationality of militarism and blind respect for authority. Its own methods of handling conflict include deal-making, trickery, getting an enemy drunk, and running away. As the Irish saying goes, you’re only a coward for a moment, but you’re dead for the rest of your life. In place of Warrior Virtues, it extols critical thinking, cleverness, adaptability, and an appreciation of physical pleasures like eating, drinking, and sex.
Along with the idealism of tragedy goes elitism. The people who matter are kings, queens, and generals. In comedy there are more characters and more kinds of characters, women are more prominent, and many protagonists come from lower classes. Everybody counts for one. That shows in the language of comedy, which, unlike the elevated language of tragedy, is common speech. The basic unit in tragedy is the individual, in comedy it is the family, group of friends, or bunch of co-workers.
Good piece. I’d be interested to see your analysis of the flatland occupiers into this frame. I’ve been spending time with many not-very-online small business owners like owners of local bars and restaurants and those that run spaces like these. Local/regional and not very online mode of existence. Probably more on the normal/linkedin side of things (also by virtue of being on IG) but not actually present on either linkedin or twitter and talk about both with a similar sense of confusion or disinterest.
@vgr - I know you are not on Threads but I find that platform to be the LinkedInized version of Twitter. Normies asking engagement bait questions and getting earnest answers. A sort of social media kabuki theater.
Another interesting thing going on here, is immigrant effects.
I think Twitter-world is fully aware that the best weirdos are ex-hypernormies. They've done "legitimate" work and have a perspective to share about it. This is why the tech world does so well on Twitter!
There seems also to be a pendulum swinging. If 2018-2023 was about quitting your LinkedIn fake life to pursue your true Twitter weird... 2024 is about Twitter weirdos realizing that being poor but happy is worse than being rich and happy, so embarking on adventure into LinkedIn world in pursuit of riches, but now with a new perspective on the whole thing, and a greater appreciation for the importance of LinkedIn.
Some people become deeply cynical, and think it's a betrayal to be a border-crosser (this is "selling out"), but in reality there are serious gains from trade to be had. It isn't selling out as much as it is creating a real surplus. Or maybe these are the same thing.
Regardless, I think the most important movement in my social circles right now is figuring out which Twitter people are trying to embrace their LinkedIn, and networking them in on the other side, like any good LinkedIn normie would do.
The surplus value created by frequent travel also implies the creation and eventual commercialization of popular "on ramps", "highways", and "travel agencies" between LinkedIn and Twitter. Specifically, I think you need an on ramp into Twitter (you aren't really allowed to just parachute into being weird)... that's inauthentic. But you need a travel agency to approve your visa and fly you into LinkedIn, because you can't just organically grow your career... That's not prestigious enough.
Good point. I was 33 when I started my blog in 2007, and had 15 years of adult life dark matter under my belt that online world can’t see at all. I’m definitely an immigrant like all Gen Xers.
Isn’t there a saying, something like: “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t.”…?
Good piece. I have sort of accepted my LinkedIn self over the past year, realizing the way forward is probably a reintegration.
I sense most of the hyper normals I know are practically trying to cash out as much as possible as a strategy. And it’s not a terrible plan just usually a lot of cynicism involved.
Apologies for commenting on an old post (substack put it at the top of my feed), but here is a link to relevant article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/humor/ . The entire article is insightful, but section 6 is the one that resonates the most with this post (fragment excerpted below).
"""
Tragedy valorizes serious, emotional engagement with life’s problems, even struggle to the death. Along with epic, it is part of the Western heroic tradition that extols ideals, the willingness to fight for them, and honor. The tragic ethos is linked to patriarchy and militarism—most of its heroes are kings and conquerors—and it valorizes what Conrad Hyers (1996) calls Warrior Virtues—blind obedience, the willingness to kill or die on command, unquestioning loyalty, single-mindedness, resoluteness of purpose, and pride.
Comedy, by contrast, embodies an anti-heroic, pragmatic attitude toward life’s incongruities. From Aristophanes’ Lysistrata to Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, comedy has mocked the irrationality of militarism and blind respect for authority. Its own methods of handling conflict include deal-making, trickery, getting an enemy drunk, and running away. As the Irish saying goes, you’re only a coward for a moment, but you’re dead for the rest of your life. In place of Warrior Virtues, it extols critical thinking, cleverness, adaptability, and an appreciation of physical pleasures like eating, drinking, and sex.
Along with the idealism of tragedy goes elitism. The people who matter are kings, queens, and generals. In comedy there are more characters and more kinds of characters, women are more prominent, and many protagonists come from lower classes. Everybody counts for one. That shows in the language of comedy, which, unlike the elevated language of tragedy, is common speech. The basic unit in tragedy is the individual, in comedy it is the family, group of friends, or bunch of co-workers.
"""
Good piece. I’d be interested to see your analysis of the flatland occupiers into this frame. I’ve been spending time with many not-very-online small business owners like owners of local bars and restaurants and those that run spaces like these. Local/regional and not very online mode of existence. Probably more on the normal/linkedin side of things (also by virtue of being on IG) but not actually present on either linkedin or twitter and talk about both with a similar sense of confusion or disinterest.
@vgr - I know you are not on Threads but I find that platform to be the LinkedInized version of Twitter. Normies asking engagement bait questions and getting earnest answers. A sort of social media kabuki theater.
Interesting article .... seems to map to the interplay between generations as well.