My Internet: A.J. Daulerio
The Small Bow creator is currently obsessed with parkour videos.
Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, from Kate Lindsay and Nick Catucci.
Every week, we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome A.J. Daulerio, creator of the recovery newsletter The Small Bow and host of the podcast Really Good Shares. A.J. loves Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, listens to How Long Gone while foam-rolling, and has not had a post go viral in a very long time, thank god. —Nick
EMBEDDED: What’s a recent meme or other post that made you laugh?
A.J. DAULERIO: That amazing vid that went around the 4th of July of the dancing drunk man at the barn wedding. Simply stunning.
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
A.J. DAULERIO: Right now, I’m obsessed with parkour videos.
EMBEDDED: Do you use TikTok?
A.J. DAULERIO: Negative.
EMBEDDED: What do you use Instagram for?
A.J. DAULERIO: Mainly showcasing Edith’s artwork.
EMBEDDED: Do you tweet? Why?
A.J. DAULERIO: Never! I couldn’t figure out a persona or find a purpose that made much sense for me anymore.
EMBEDDED: Have you ever had a post go viral?
A.J. DAULERIO: Not in a very long time, thank God.
EMBEDDED: Who’s the coolest person who follows you?
A.J. DAULERIO: Katz’s Deli follows TSB’s Instagram.
EMBEDDED: Who’s someone more people should follow?
A.J. DAULERIO: The Food Boys.
EMBEDDED: Which big celebrity has your favorite internet presence, and why?
A.J. DAULERIO: I don’t follow many and the ones I do all stick to the look-at-me-doing-normal-things approach. But Joan as Police Woman’s fruit posts are captivating and soothing.
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
A.J. DAULERIO: The New York Times.
EMBEDDED: What’s one positive trend you see in media right now? What’s one negative trend?
A.J. DAULERIO: Positive: Everyone quitting. Negative: Everyone quitting to work for Substack.
EMBEDDED: What does “cancel culture” mean to you?
A.J. DAULERIO: Nothing. It’s an outdated term that has lost its power.
EMBEDDED: Do you subscribe to any Substacks or other independent newsletters? What are your favorites?
A.J. DAULERIO: Dozens! Like, so many. She’s A Beast, The Real Sarah Miller, The Will Leitch Newsletter, Welcome to Hell World, Ask Molly, Embedded, Evil Witches, Indignity, Read Max, The Immense Wave, Recovering, Less Art, S/FJ, Tiny Revolutions, Exclusive Content, The Best Place is The Worst Place, The Marginalian, Drawing Links, obv. And, like, 80 more.
EMBEDDED: Are you into any podcasts right now? How and when do you usually listen?
A.J. DAULERIO: I listen to How Long Gone while foam-rolling and Crypto Island when I’m not.
EMBEDDED: Have you ever been heavily into Snapchat? Around what age?
A.J. DAULERIO: Nope!
EMBEDDED: When was the last time you browsed Pinterest? What for?
A.J. DAULERIO: Three years ago. I needed to learn how to clean a squid for Christmas Eve dinner.
EMBEDDED: Are you nostalgic for Vine or Tumblr?
A.J. DAULERIO: No, sir!
EMBEDDED: Are you in any groups on Reddit, Slack, Discord, or Facebook?
A.J. DAULERIO: Not one!
EMBEDDED: Are you playing any games right now?
A.J. DAULERIO: Wordle every single morning. Sometimes I stay up until midnight to do it immediately after the new one drops, which is a sure sign that a major depressive episode is coming for me.
EMBEDDED: What’s something you might want to do in the metaverse? What’s something you wouldn’t want to do?
A.J. DAULERIO: Want to Do: Learn how to speak Portuguese. Wouldn’t: Lose all my crypto space jewels investing in ape art.
EMBEDDED: What purpose do you see in NFTs?
A.J. DAULERIO: My first response was … cool screensavers? But I don’t know! I’m skeptical but also ignorant.
EMBEDDED: Do you think Web3 will mean a better internet?
A.J. DAULERIO: I think we’re in Web3 right now so I’m gonna say nope.
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
A.J. DAULERIO: I have never found this helpful.
EMBEDDED: Do any of your group chats have a name that you’re willing to share? What’s something that recently inspired debate in the chat?
A.J. DAULERIO: “Pashed It-LA Edition Plus Tom” is the name of one of my Wordle groups. If I told you the debates that go on in that chat you’d have us all arrested.
EMBEDDED: What’s your go-to emoji, and what does it mean to you?
A.J. DAULERIO: I am a too-cool-for-emojis guy, so I do the annoying #thumbsupemoji to show tepid enthusiasm.
EMBEDDED: What’s a playlist, song, album, or style of music you’ve listened to a lot lately?
A.J. DAULERIO: Swamp Dogg.
EMBEDDED: Do you pay for a music streaming service, and if so, which one? When was the last time you bought a music download or vinyl record, CD, or tape?
A.J. DAULERIO: Spotify is my service. After I watched too many Bosch episodes in a row, I purchased Art Pepper on vinyl.
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep Netflix, Disney, HBO Max, or one other streaming service, which would it be, and why?
A.J. DAULERIO: HBO Max. It has decent kids’ stuff, plus adult stuff. Not porn—you know, The Wire.
EMBEDDED: What’s your favorite non-social media app?
A.J. DAULERIO: Insight Timer.
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
A.J. DAULERIO: Yahoo! Fantasy Sports.
EMBEDDED: Is there any content you want that you can’t seem to find anywhere online?
A.J. DAULERIO: The internet has everything. I think it’s important we all strive for less.
EMBEDDED: Do you regularly use eBay, Depop, or other shopping platforms? What’s a recent thing you’ve bought or sold?
A.J. DAULERIO: One of the ways I spoil myself is buying non-mint-conditioned 70’s baseball cards off of eBay. I stick them underneath the glass top of my work table.
EMBEDDED: Have you recently read an article, book, or social media post about the internet that you’ve found particularly insightful?
A.J. DAULERIO: Max’s “Going Postal” thing holds up.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last thing that brought you joy online?
A.J. DAULERIO: Feels lame to plug her due to our TSB collaboration but Drawing Links is tremendous. Her newsletters always elevate my mood.
Thanks A.J.! Listen to Really Good Shares and subscribe to and follow The Small Bow. 👍
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