Finding yourself through with social media with Taylor Lorenz

Aba is back to host this fun episode with Taylor Lorenz. Aba is part of the team at Product Hunt and the author of Dream Big, Hustle Hard: The Millennial Woman's Guide to Success in Tech.

Taylor Lorenz is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers technology and culture. We love the way she always finds a way to be entertaining while stirring up thought-provoking debate. She's also an all-around social media superstar.

In this episode we talk about:

• The origins of her obsession with the web and social media, and why people always seem to be nostalgic for the internet as it was when they first discovered it.
• Why deeming tech either universally good or universally bad is a false dichotomy and the need for a more nuanced discussion around the topic.
• Her obsession with horror movies and the psychology of horror, and why she would never want to live on Mars.

We also discuss some of Taylor's favorite products including “Netflix for horror movies,” one of her favorite mobile community apps, and how she uses Google Maps to discover some of the best places and events near her.

We’ll be back next week so be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Breaker, Overcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Also, big thanks to AngelList for their support. 😸

Quotes from This Episode

“I think the most important thing is to recognize that sometimes it can feel like the entire internet hates you or is ganging up on you or is angry at you and it’s really important to remember that that’s not true and that’s why you have to have a lot of good offline friendships too.” — Taylor

“The founders have a responsibility to take into account the negative ways their platforms can be used. I think so many founders are delusional about how their own products are used and they want to think it’s used in some way but you are also letting Nazis on here.” — Taylor

“It’s funny, everyone seems to be nostalgic for whenever they discovered the internet, like I have a lot of colleagues that were online in the 90s and we’re just like oh, early forums or Usenets. I think maybe just being young online is a different experience.” — Taylor

Companies and Products Mentioned in This Episode

Amino — Authentic mobile communities for whatever you're into.

Google Maps — Essential mapping app, now with great discovery features.

Shudder — Stream horror, thrillers and suspense.

Tik Tok — A creative music video clip maker.