Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders · Vulture & New York Magazine

Tech Bros Laid the Foundation, But Women Built Social Media

October 3, 2023·39 min·3 clips

Taylor Lorenz explains how social media founders were constantly wrong and saved by their users.

This episode features host Sam Sanders interviewing Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz about her book "Extremely Online," which argues that users, not tech founders, built social media's culture. Lorenz challenges the common narrative that credits Silicon Valley men like Mark Zuckerberg for creating the social web. She cites a graph stating tech founders were consistently wrong about their platforms' purposes, with users redirecting and rescuing their products. A key example is YouTube, which launched in 2005 as a video dating site before pivoting to general video sharing based on user behavior. Lorenz notes YouTube's 2007 Partner Program, which monetized creators, was initially ridiculed but demonstrated the platform's trust in its user base. She contrasts YouTube's early embrace of creators with founders like Mark Zuckerberg, who initially viewed social media as a space for "real friends" only and scorned content creators. Lorenz identifies Facebook's 2006 News Feed as a pivotal shift, teaching users to post for a broad audience rather than just friends. She highlights mommy bloggers like Heather Armstrong, who in 2004 faced backlash for placing ads on her blog, as pioneers of personal branding and monetization. The discussion covers Tay Zonday's 2007 viral song "Chocolate Rain," noting its overlooked commentary on systemic racism and its role in early YouTube virality. A surprising claim is that Instagram's early resistance to ads forced brands to work directly with creators, inadvertently building the influencer economy. Lorenz mentions Liz Eswine and the "first family of Instagram," who amassed early followers on generic handles and founded influencer marketing companies. She argues current tech executives, like Elon Musk, still fail to understand their platforms, repeating past mistakes. Lorenz asserts the influencer economy was pioneered by women, mothers, and marginalized groups, yet venture capital often ignores their contributions. She states Black creators are frequently told their content isn't "premium," despite originating many viral trends. The conversation acknowledges that social platforms, while built by diverse users, still exacerbate societal harassment and discrimination. The tone is conversational and educational, blending historical analysis with personal anecdotes from Lorenz's reporting. The style is interview-based, with Sanders prompting explorations of culture and power dynamics. This episode would appeal to listeners interested in internet history, media criticism, and those skeptical of traditional tech industry narratives. It might disappoint listeners seeking a focus on current platform algorithms or purely technical insights.

As heard by us

A brisk, smart rewrite of social media's origin story.

Sam Sanders and Taylor Lorenz frame the episode around a cleaner question than the usual social media origin story: who actually made the internet culture people now live inside?

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a sharp take on who actually shaped social media, press play now.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Into It: A Vulture Podcast with Sam Sanders