An introduction to backpage content - by unoptimal

For example: here’s a data-driven guide to all the variations of boba order. Here’s an interactive web guide to game theory. Here’s an article describing a unique property in language. Here’s a video essay on existentialism. Here’s an MIT admissions blog post on ambition. How would you describe these pieces of content? What is the uniting theme here? I think most people would say that they’re “interesting” pieces of content. Thought-provoking. Creative. Fun. My favorite attempt comes from a friend who called it “slightly niche, very interdisciplinary life-related stuff”. While these descriptions point to some broad truths, they miss a degree of specificity that I hope to expand on in this post, using a term inspired by my high school newspaper: backpage content. 1 2 I like to think about backpage content as a soft spot between Rigid Formality and Shitposting; it often tackles topics that aren’t traditionally considered serious, but are interesting and engaging. This can include anythin

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• David Gan