idle gaze 017: new spheres of influence.
The power dynamics of influence are shifting to the dark forest of the web.
With trust in brands and celebrities at an all-time low, the power dynamics of influence are shifting away from high-reach social media influencers with blue checks and corporations with big cheques. What’s cool and what isn’t is increasingly shaped by small, niche communities in the safe and intimate confines of the “dark forest” of the web, where curators of cool decide what music we should listen to, what to wear, who to admire (and even what vaccine we should get). These ideas eventually get propelled into wider public consciousness through the powerful algorithmic feeds of social media, shaping the modern zeitgeist.
A recent product of the dark forest has been Pfizer’s promotion to the “status vax”, with “double dosed Pfizer elitists” cropping up on Discord servers and on other private communities, gradually making its way to TikTok. Pro-Pfizer sentiment is now all over TikTok, where you can find skits of bros bonding over their shared Pfizer status, or one creator declaring that the name itself “Sounds rich. Decadent. Luxury!”
This is at once an obvious joke but at the same time has a real-world impact, creating vaccine brand “comparison shopping”, with significant pockets of the US population holding out for their preferred brand, slowing down national jab rollout. Objectively, Pfizer may have the best efficacy rates, but its performance is not so superior as to justify its moniker as the “Ferrari of vaccines”.
Traditionally, influence is determined by high profile tastemakers (celebrities, high reach influencers, big media outlets). But Pfizer elitism is not a result of celebrity endorsement, or Pfizer brand marketing. Pfizer elitism is an example of how relevance and reputation is now increasingly determined in the dark forest of the web.
The Dark Forest theory of the internet was coined by Yancey Strickler:
"Imagine a dark forest at night. It’s deathly quiet. Nothing moves. This could lead one to assume that the forest is devoid of life. But of course, it’s not. The dark forest is full of life. It’s quiet because night is when the predators come out. To survive, the animals stay silent. This is also what the internet is becoming: a dark forest.”
The ecology of today’s dark forest comprises of Discord servers, paid newsletters, encrypted Telegrams, obscure subreddits, Twitch livestreams and OnlyFans accounts, and wields an increasing amount of power in determining what’s cool and what isn’t. The safety of these tight-knit communities, away from social media’s aggressively public nature, is now vital for members to privately engage, socialise, discuss, network, free of algorithms, censorship, and surveillance.
Another product of the dark forest is the latest in a long line of niche identifiers - "Cheugy”. A term which can be used, broadly, to describe “someone who is out of date or trying too hard”, Cheugy was first coined back in 2013 by then-high school student Gabby Rasson, gradually percolating through Discord server vocabulary before bubbling up into mainstream cultural parlance among Gen Zers on TikTok. Like Pfizer elitism, this is at once an obvious joke, but has real-life consequences when a brand, product or preference becomes categorized as Cheugy.
Until recently it’s been easy to ignore the murky backwaters of the dark forest. But now those desperate to stay relevant must step into the seemingly silent shadows and face the fraternal Discord servers and cagey Patreon subscriber communities. To not be seen as predators, they must welcome these groups into the fold, inviting them to collaborate on products, processes and narratives. Only then do they stand a chance of winning over the communities that have total command of today’s culture.
Idle gaze is a newsletter written by Alexi Gunner, a creative strategist based in Berlin. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).