Justin Kownacki

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bullshit

Social Media

How Social Media Destroyed Itself

To everyone who’s ever created something and shared it online, I’d like to say one thing: I’m sorry. See, those of us who’ve been doing this for awhile now — we’re the ones who invented blogging, and tweeting, and YouTubing, and social networking, and we’ve been preaching about “the digital Read more…

By Justin, 11 yearsApril 15, 2014 ago
Armchair Sociology

The Commencement Speech I Wish Someone Had Given at My Graduation

I don’t remember a word from my graduation. I don’t even remember who spoke at it, much less what they said. That’s partly because I was exhausted (our art school staged our portfolio review and our graduation on the same day), but also because people rarely say anything memorable during Read more…

By Justin, 12 yearsMay 19, 2013 ago
Jon Hamm as Don Draper on AMC's TV series Mad Men
Armchair Sociology

What the Existence of Don Draper and Katy Perry Really Says About You

Why we need to stop living vicariously through our pop culture heroes and start living our own lives like we mean it.

By Justin, 14 yearsJune 16, 2011 ago
Armchair Sociology

How to Live Your Life in a No-Bullshit Zone

NOTE: I wrote this years ago, but I took it down when I last redesigned my blog. Then a reader told me that this post helped her a lot over the years, and she asked me if I would consider reposting it. So, after a few small updates, I did. Read more…

By Justin, 14 yearsMay 9, 2011 ago
Armchair Sociology

10 Questions You Should Ask Yourself More Often

Life is short. We’re busy. Things happen. And then we die. In the meantime, here are 10 questions you should ask yourself more often, so you don’t end up running in place between now and then. What did the 18 year-old me think the current me would be doing? What Read more…

By Justin, 15 yearsOctober 11, 2010 ago
Social Media

What I Learned by Reading Everything

Last week, Ian M. Rountree and I started Read It All Week, a challenge to read everything we were subscribed to — especially all the blogs we so easily subscribe to, but never actually absorb.  We did this for two reasons: To reconsider why we subscribe to certain kinds of Read more…

By Justin, 15 yearsJuly 26, 2010 ago
Armchair Sociology

3 Myths About Social Media Debunked

On Sunday nights, Mack Collier runs a Twitter-based group chat called #blogchat, which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about blogging while hobnobbing with their peers. But, based on the defensive reaction to some of my comments from several of the #blogchat participants, I’ve realized that Read more…

By Justin, 15 yearsJuly 19, 2010 ago
Armchair Sociology

The Popularity Paradox: Why Do We Hate Pop Culture?

I don’t know anybody who loves pop radio. I know people who listen to it ironically, as though they’re not comfortable admitting they don’t entirely hate Lady Gaga.  And I know people who admit to liking just Lady Gaga, or just Usher, but still insist they “hate the radio.” But Read more…

By Justin, 15 yearsJune 21, 2010 ago
Social Media

I Tweet, Therefore I Am… Empty?

What if our newspapers were filled with articles on how to write for newspapers? What if the only books we printed were books about how to sell books? What if TV shows consisted solely of monologues about TV? I doubt we’d have much use for them at all. So why Read more…

By Justin, 15 yearsMay 24, 2010 ago

Popular Posts

  • • What Makes Game of Thrones So Addictive?
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  • • Why Does Every Marvel Movie Tell the Same Story?
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  • • How Iron Man Created the Formula for Every Marvel Movie

Latest Posts

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  • • Screenwriting Lessons from ALIENS
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  • • WandaVision's Biggest Question Gets Deep
  • • Why The Queen's Gambit Is Such Smart Storytelling

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