Is this the future we want, you guys?!

Here is a piece of advice for you. You can have it for free: If you want to revive interest in a flagging social platform ... just shut it down abruptly! I can't remember the last time I saw a Vine on Twitter, and now my whole feed is drowning in them. ("Where were you Viners last month?!?" Dorsey asks, sobbing quietly into his hands...)

1. Ahhhh... is it November 9 yet? Still not? Now? No? In THAT case enjoy this trio of profiles on the Internet's pro-Trump trolls. First up: Mike Cernovich, a red-pill rabble-rouser who makes Milo look relatively sane. Next: Alex Jones -- who in any light pretty much always looks deranged. Finally: Rep. Steven Smith, who is actually non-representative Jeffrey Marty. Put them together and you have SOME kinda vision for the Republican party!

2. The pre-Internet history of social media. TL;DR: The heyday of BBS sounds like a kinder and BETTER era. No commercial mandates, no indexes, community norms against abuse -- idk, sometimes "progress" seems pretty confused.

3. Dating apps won't go out with a bang -- or with a whimper, even. More like a faint "zzz" as their jaded users swipe themselves into oblivion. Research shows that people have indeed become less satisfied with dating apps. But is the fault in our stars, in our phones -- or ultimately, in ourselves?

4. Silicon Valley disrupted love, fitness, travel -- so obviously food is next. (And if you're thinking "but we already have Soylent!," then you don't even KNOW what to expect.) A new firm called Habit tests your DNA, plans your diet, and ships meals to your door. Is this the future we want, you guys?! Not if I can't eat ice cream anymore...

5. Inside the quest to save Internet art. It's gone as soon as it's performed -- unless you took screenshots.

Postscripts: Vintage GIFs. Cursed images. Alt-right conspiracy memes. A visual history of the iPod and an ode to social media spirituality. The heartbreaking backstories of Tinder scams. The city that was saved by the Internet. Meet the dudes tasked with saving Ashley Madison and the dude who lobbies for big tech. How much money celebs make on Twitter; why haters really hate. An algorithm settles the great Murray/Hanks photo debate. This week in viral BS: Halloween candy maps and memes vs. Jesus. Bad news for you #blessed 'grammers out there: this gross app for rich people is ALL OF US.

Until next week!
@caitlindewey

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