PHONE TIME party edition: Andrew Yang’s no-phone ‘OFFLINE’ party
People mostly followed the rules.
Today’s extra late-night party issue of PHONE TIME includes: Tonight, I finally put my phone away. Plus, AI slop has come for Product Hunt, and some Instagram feature updates.
I’m not a big partier, but when a friend texted me the invite poster for “OFFLINE,” a no-phone party hosted by Andrew Yang, I replied, “Okay I’m so there.” I wrote most of this newsletter on the train home.
The party was free. We had to show our IDs at the door, and they handed us small mailer bags to put our phones in. I was a little surprised they didn’t use Yondr pouches or something similar.
My friend generously let me borrow a notebook and pen to jot down notes: strobe lights, pop music, including the songs “Unwritten,” “Party in the U.S.A.,” “Empire State of Mind,” “Love on Top,” and “Stereo Love.” I commented that the atmosphere reminded me of a sorority formal.
Phrases scrolled by on an LED ticker display, including “End the Brain Rot,” “Offline,” “Touch Grass,” “Fully Present,” and “Look Up.” It was the second time Yang had hosted an OFFLINE party. The first was in April at Ploume. Notably, this one followed Yang telling Politico Magazine that he had reached out to Elon Musk about starting a third party together after Musk’s feud with President Donald Trump.
“After the incredible energy and connection we felt at our first OFFLINE party, I knew we had to do it again. People dancing, laughing, actually talking to each other without phones in their faces. It reminded me how rare and needed that is these days,” Yang wrote on his website about the event.
People mostly followed the no-phone rule, except in one area of the party: an unofficial line to take photos with Yang. We got in line and snapped a picture on my friend’s film camera, which he had thoughtfully brought to avoid using his phone in case an opportunity arose. We exchanged a few words with Yang over music that was way too loud for real conversation before stepping aside for the next people.
We stuck around about 20 more minutes before heading out. As we left, I heard a passerby say, “All of these random things in the city—I’m like, what the fuck is happening.” My journalism training prompts me to note that I can’t confirm whether this was specifically about the line outside the venue or just an unrelated, well-timed remark.
I followed the no-phone rule the entire time, except right before we left, to get the cover photo for this issue.
AI slop comes for Product Hunt
If you’re a techie like me, you probably browse Product Hunt from time to time. I check it almost every day, and it has become so overrun with AI products that anything not AI-related immediately stands out. All five featured products on June 12—including the Dia browser, which I reviewed here—mentioned AI in their descriptions.
I was texted the link to oghunt yesterday and was surprised I hadn’t heard about it before. “We filter out AI-generated Products from Product Hunt, helping you discover genuine innovation and creativity,” the website reads. You can toggle between “real” and “AI slop” launches.
I got a kick out of one Product Hunt launch from this week called “undash,” a Chrome plugin that “makes AI text feel more human by removing em dashes.” I can assure you that my em dashes are 100% written by me.
Elsewhere online
A few Instagram updates:
Meta confirmed to USA Today that a new update—allowing you to reorganize your main profile grid—will be available to all users the week of June 16. This feels like a response to increased self-consciousness people have about posting on the grid—see the “sneaky post,” which entails posting something and quickly archiving it before unarchiving it days later so it shows up on the grid.
A new feature will let you “share what you’re listening to on Spotify directly in Notes, to easily connect with friends through music,” reads a company blog post by head of Instagram Adam Mosseri. I frequently find myself thinking that Instagram keeps adding too many features that are ultimately distracting.
“Restyle” is a new generative AI video feature in Edits, enabling you to “change backgrounds, outfits, lighting, and more with 50+ ready-to-use presets.”
Drafts is “a new initiative that will invest in emerging talent and support creators and artists at critical moments in their journey.”
