Andrew Callaghan & the number 1 app for teens
Edition #6: Has social media killed Renaissance men?
đ TWEET
5â9 men have the perfect combination of personality, average height, and motivation.
â QUOTE
There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.
Bertrand Rusell - a British philosopher, logician, essayist, and social critic.
Social media (aka modern-day society) rewards specialists. People who âown their niche,â run the internet. They are all over our feeds and in our brians.
Since these âexpertsâ know 1-3 things really well, they have a lot of blind spots.
They donât do a great job of connecting the dots or understanding complex topics outside of their niche.
Thereâs nothing more cringe than a beauty influencer critiquing capitalism. Or a AirBnb flipper lecturing you about neurodiversity. Get off my timeline weirdo.
The solution: Let people follow their interests and seek âuseless knowledge.â Maybe theyâll find something they like or even better, develop a deeper perspective on the world.
đ COMPANY: Gas đ„
Gas is a social app for teens founded by niche-tech celebrity Nikita Bier, Isaiah Turner, and Dave Schatz. Hereâs how it works:
Join your school and add friends
Answer polls like âI think (blank) is the coolest kid in school.â or "I'd say yes if (blank) asked me out on a date." The polls even use gen z slang like âdrip unmatchedâ and 'âspitting faxâ like a printer.
Get flames. In-app notifications to let you know you were picked for a poll.
1 in 3 U.S. teens are on Gas. Unlike other social apps which are based on controversy, dunking on people, or sharing a fairy tale version of your life, Gas is built to literally âGas your friends up.â So far over 1 billion compliments have been shared.
Nikita, says some kids have even reconsidered self-harm because of the compliments they have received on Gas.
Now, I donât think itâs all benevolent. This is a gossip machine. If I had Gas in high school it would be a problem. âOh the best smile? Yeah I am going to nominate Timmy 10 teeth.â
You see how this could get out of hand? Kids can be cruel.
I hope the hot streak continues for Gas. We need more authentic and positive social apps.
đPERSON: Andrew Callaghan (1997 - PRESENT)
Youâve probably seen Andrew Callaghan on the internet before.
My first introduction to Andrew was his video in Marquette Michigan on July 4th 2020. He showed up at the beach wearing a suit and a mask.
Marquette was full of college kids wiht a lil too much white claw. Andrew stood there, stoic, asking provocative questions to drunk frat boy after drunk frat boy. At one point, a kid that goes by Pat Riley tells Andrew, âIâve. been on that rock before. Been on that rock. Itâs all about jumping off big rocks.â The video is objectively one of the funniest things on the internet.
In his other videos, he visits a real-life Big Foot hunter and a Proud Boys rally. Do you get the gig? His channel was called All Gas No Brakes (AGNB).
He knows what he is doing and he is really good at it â Show up to emotionally charged events, wear an oversized suit that looks absurd, find the most opinionated and interesting people, make them feel comfortable with softball questions, and then get them to do or say absurd shit.
Itâs great content. So good, that HBO just bought his most recent special on the Jan. 6th riot.
Everything was going great for him.
Then, this week multiple women accused Andrew of sexual assault. Look, if one woman accuses you of SA, not a good look. If two women accuse you of SA, really bad look. If a dozen women, from different parts of the country accuse you of SA, brother, itâs time to get a lawyer.
Even though Andrew blew up his own spot, I think this kind of citizen, boots-on-the ground satire journalism is serious. Gen Z and Zoomers love this kind of content. Itâs funny, but itâs also authentic. Thereâs something magical about it.
Someone will be the new Andrew pretty soon. Who knows, maybe Iâll do it. (No, Iâm not talking about his off-the-camera activities. Ainât doing that.)
âđŒ WORD: Malinger
to pretend illness, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.
I picked one week out of the year where I pretended I was sick to miss school and play video games. After Thursday, I usually got sick of it.
Everyone should take one random week off every year. Itâs good for the soul.
đ€ MEME:
If this was a WaPo headline, Iâd believe it đ€Łđ€Ł