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I just checked and McSweeney's has been around since 1998! From the Wikipedia article: In contrast, in 2001, the New York Times noted "The McSweeneyites may

I just checked and McSweeney's has been around since 1998! From the Wikipedia article: In contrast, in 2001, the New York Times noted "The McSweeneyites may be the current emperors of cool, but they're starting to need some new clothes." Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today, but the sardonic humor of McSweeney's just doesn't hit for me anymore. It feels like a vibe that matches the style of Gen-X (my generation) but broader culture already has moved passed Millennials and onto Gen-Z.

pohl 3y ago
That makes me wonder: what would be the rough equivalent of McSweeney's for either or both of those generations, assuming they haven't entirely abandoned the written word? (I'm asking as a Gen-Xer who is more than willing to move on.)
- colanderman 3y ago
  As a millennial, The Onion used to be our satirical touchstone -- they even transitioned with us into the YouTube era with the inimitable Onion Digital Studios, bringing us top-notch parody of our own culture with miniseries such as Sex House [1]. Unfortunately once ODS was killed off, their content has withered. The Hard Drive seems to have stepped up to fill its place in our social media feeds. The quality of the satire is across-the-board better than anything from the Onion in recent years, and taps into our generation's "woke" mindset. Here's one y'all will enjoy [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0App7QizQCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0App7QizQCU [2] https://hard-drive.net/hd/technology/slight-problem-with-windows-solved-with-massive-inconvenience-of-switching-to-linux/ https://hard-drive.net/hd/technology/slight-problem-with-win...
- naravara 3y ago
  The medium is the message so I don't think you'd have a McSweeney's for GenZ. GenX was the -zine generation, so satirical papers and magazines were kind of your thing. Millennials got a bit of it, but we were mostly a blogger generation. Zoomers are more of a Twitch/Vlog/YouTuber generation. The sense of humor seems to mostly be short form, Vine style content. Check out ProZD sketches on YouTube for a good example. We all seem to like podcasts though, so it's nice that something unites us.
lwhi 3y ago
As we're talking about writing: *past
Brendinooo 3y ago
I don't think it's a generational thing. My contention is that smugness kills satire. McSweeney's can be very smug. Some people obviously disagree (since satire that I consider to be smug are popular, and because satire does have a broader definition than what I'm saying), but satire works best when an outsider voice has a bit of earnestness and empathy as he punches up. Otherwise, it feels self-indulgent, insular, mean-spirited, or preachy.
- gbjw 3y ago
  This is a freelance writer lampooning overpaid neural network mechanics and "maybe we're all just auto-complete models" philosophy bros and their myopic search for efficiency and "intelligence". "Punching up" is a relative term -- in many circles the latter group has all the social cache.
  - Brendinooo 3y ago
    You're probably right. I thought about this after I posted: Because of the nature of the comment I replied to, I was speaking more generally about McSweeney's than this article specifically.
- version_five 3y ago
  Good catch. I had wondered what I found off about a lot of modern satire, and yeah, it's smugness. I think it's a side effect of polarization. A lot of jokes aren't just mocking in good fun anymore, they're more just insults to people with different views. Which is ironic because there seems to be a modern narrative that lots of past jokes that were in good fun are actually offensive.
- mkr-hn 3y ago
  Jordan Klepper comes to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1VpraYEUPk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1VpraYEUPk He can interview the most self-stereotyping person, mock them mercilessly, and they'll have no idea because he's so earnest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNwJAcMH5U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNwJAcMH5U
jpcfl 3y ago
I love it. The delivery is very Douglas Adams-esque. Hope you feel better.
mk_stjames 3y ago
I'd never heard of McSweeneys, but in general: The cynicism around tech discussion has become really tiring for me to read lately. I need takes that require effort, and being a sardonic smear across these topics seems easy for anyone. Ironic, especially given the take of TFA.
kdazzle 3y ago
Say what you will about McSweeney’s, but to me they can ride _Macroeconomic Changes Have Made it Impossible for me to Want to Pay You_ [1] for another couple of years. [1] - https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/macroeconomic-changes-have-made-it-impossible-for-me-to-want-to-pay-you https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/macroeconomic-changes-ha...
- omoikane 3y ago
  Articles like these are kind of why I stopped reading McSweeney's. On most days I still find it funny, but sometimes I find it to be a little too real. For me, McSweeney's peak was "The Snake Fight Portion of Your Thesis Defense": https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-the-snake-fight-portion-of-your-thesis-defense https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-the-snake-fight-port...
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  This part is gold: Given every available forecast, it was the perfect time to hire 1,200 blockchain developers, spin up original streaming content, and lead three rounds of funding for my nephew’s AI-powered B2B sourdough recipe app.

pohl 3y ago

That makes me wonder: what would be the rough equivalent of McSweeney's for either or both of those generations, assuming they haven't entirely abandoned the written word? (I'm asking as a Gen-Xer who is more than willing to move on.)

colanderman 3y ago
As a millennial, The Onion used to be our satirical touchstone -- they even transitioned with us into the YouTube era with the inimitable Onion Digital Studios, bringing us top-notch parody of our own culture with miniseries such as Sex House [1]. Unfortunately once ODS was killed off, their content has withered. The Hard Drive seems to have stepped up to fill its place in our social media feeds. The quality of the satire is across-the-board better than anything from the Onion in recent years, and taps into our generation's "woke" mindset. Here's one y'all will enjoy [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0App7QizQCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0App7QizQCU [2] https://hard-drive.net/hd/technology/slight-problem-with-windows-solved-with-massive-inconvenience-of-switching-to-linux/ https://hard-drive.net/hd/technology/slight-problem-with-win...
naravara 3y ago
The medium is the message so I don't think you'd have a McSweeney's for GenZ. GenX was the -zine generation, so satirical papers and magazines were kind of your thing. Millennials got a bit of it, but we were mostly a blogger generation. Zoomers are more of a Twitch/Vlog/YouTuber generation. The sense of humor seems to mostly be short form, Vine style content. Check out ProZD sketches on YouTube for a good example. We all seem to like podcasts though, so it's nice that something unites us.

lwhi 3y ago

As we're talking about writing: *past

Brendinooo 3y ago

I don't think it's a generational thing. My contention is that smugness kills satire. McSweeney's can be very smug. Some people obviously disagree (since satire that I consider to be smug are popular, and because satire does have a broader definition than what I'm saying), but satire works best when an outsider voice has a bit of earnestness and empathy as he punches up. Otherwise, it feels self-indulgent, insular, mean-spirited, or preachy.

gbjw 3y ago
This is a freelance writer lampooning overpaid neural network mechanics and "maybe we're all just auto-complete models" philosophy bros and their myopic search for efficiency and "intelligence". "Punching up" is a relative term -- in many circles the latter group has all the social cache.
- Brendinooo 3y ago
  You're probably right. I thought about this after I posted: Because of the nature of the comment I replied to, I was speaking more generally about McSweeney's than this article specifically.
version_five 3y ago
Good catch. I had wondered what I found off about a lot of modern satire, and yeah, it's smugness. I think it's a side effect of polarization. A lot of jokes aren't just mocking in good fun anymore, they're more just insults to people with different views. Which is ironic because there seems to be a modern narrative that lots of past jokes that were in good fun are actually offensive.
mkr-hn 3y ago
Jordan Klepper comes to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1VpraYEUPk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1VpraYEUPk He can interview the most self-stereotyping person, mock them mercilessly, and they'll have no idea because he's so earnest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNwJAcMH5U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPNwJAcMH5U

jpcfl 3y ago

I love it. The delivery is very Douglas Adams-esque. Hope you feel better.

mk_stjames 3y ago

I'd never heard of McSweeneys, but in general: The cynicism around tech discussion has become really tiring for me to read lately. I need takes that require effort, and being a sardonic smear across these topics seems easy for anyone. Ironic, especially given the take of TFA.

kdazzle 3y ago

Say what you will about McSweeney’s, but to me they can ride _Macroeconomic Changes Have Made it Impossible for me to Want to Pay You_ [1] for another couple of years. [1] - https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/macroeconomic-changes-have-made-it-impossible-for-me-to-want-to-pay-you https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/macroeconomic-changes-ha...

omoikane 3y ago
Articles like these are kind of why I stopped reading McSweeney's. On most days I still find it funny, but sometimes I find it to be a little too real. For me, McSweeney's peak was "The Snake Fight Portion of Your Thesis Defense": https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-the-snake-fight-portion-of-your-thesis-defense https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-the-snake-fight-port...
throwaway2037 3y ago
This part is gold: Given every available forecast, it was the perfect time to hire 1,200 blockchain developers, spin up original streaming content, and lead three rounds of funding for my nephew’s AI-powered B2B sourdough recipe app.