My Internet: Sydney Gore
The Architectural Digest writer-editor still believes in authenticity.
Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci.
Most weeks, we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome Sydney Gore, a senior digital design editor at Architectural Digest, where she writes the Rent Free column, trend reports, and stories about big bows and jouches. Sydney submitted a college admissions essay about how Tumblr changed her life, composes tweets that she never sends as a form of journaling, and plans to buy the new DIVV album on vinyl on release day. —Nick
EMBEDDED: What’s a recent meme or post that made you laugh?
SYDNEY GORE: A meme is a wish your heart makes, if I don’t laugh at least once a day I feel broken inside. Whenever I spot a design meme in the wild I feel obligated to share it because the audience is so niche. I’m also a HUGE fan of the American Girl Doll meme pages like @juuliealbright and @hellicity_merriman.
EMBEDDED: What shows up on your TikTok For You page?
SYDNEY GORE: My biggest secret is that I don’t have a TikTok account! I love when videos that are extremely on brand find me, though this is usually facilitated through a friend. My favorite channel is Sylvanian Drama, the level of creativity is unmatched.
EMBEDDED: Do you make TikToks? What format works best for you?
SYDNEY GORE: I’ve made guest appearances here and there, maybe you’ve seen (or heard) some of them? Vine walked so TikTok could run, RIP to my username @bitchdontkillmyvine.
EMBEDDED: Do you still tweet? Why?
SYDNEY GORE: For me, tweeting is like screaming into the void—where else can I release my most meaningless thoughts? I can’t quit [redacted].
EMBEDDED: Have you found any good alternatives to Twitter? Do you have on opinion on Threads?
SYDNEY GORE: I got the greenlight for Bluesky, but it feels really vacant there, like tumbleweeds tossing in the wind. Something I really enjoy doing is composing tweets that will never see the light of day—I suppose we could call that journaling. When I’m feeling really unhinged I’ll share screenshots of these drafts with my Close Friends. I should really start archiving them, I’d be devastated if I lost this ongoing log of my silly little thoughts.
EMBEDDED: What do you use Instagram for?
SYDNEY GORE: Lately my grid has been feeling like a bulletin board to promote my work, which I don’t love, but am not ashamed of. I like sharing glimpses of what’s going on in my life—the good, the bad, and everything in between—but still feel resistant to the peer pressure around “being your own brand” by going full influencer mode. Sometimes I just want to post a song I’m listening to right now or be vulnerable by talking through my grief on IG Stories. Maybe I’m delulu, but I still believe in authenticity. What you see online is a fraction of what you’ll get offline, I mean that in the most sincere way.
What I prefer to use Instagram for though is finding furniture. I love this niche within the design world that I’ve been able to carve out for myself through my other account, @spoiledg00ds. I created it during the pandemic in an effort to disrupt my algorithm and now my feed is full of beautiful things that are extremely aesthetically pleasing. I’ve also connected on a deeper level with so many cool tastemakers all over the world because of it and am so appreciative of the open conversations. It sort of feels like cultivating a community.
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
SYDNEY GORE: Live concert performance sets, but every so often a random memory will be unlocked from my past lives and then I find myself deep down in a rabbit hole watching old shows like “The Most Popular Girls In School.”
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
SYDNEY GORE: Everywhere, but nothing compares to the thrill of news breaking in real time via dirty chain texts!
EMBEDDED: How do you keep up with the online discourse? How important is it to you to do this?
SYDNEY GORE: I’m chronically online because of my job, so staying on top of the digital discourse is essential. I’ll admit that keeping up with everything has become increasingly more challenging in recent years because so many things are happening simultaneously. I think it’s really important to know when to tap in or tune out.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last strong opinion you had about a story, topic, or controversy online?
SYDNEY GORE: More people need to go outside and touch grass.
EMBEDDED: Where do you usually discover or learn about online trends?
SYDNEY GORE: Pulling the “I can’t reveal my sources” card :)
EMBEDDED: How do you find recommendations for what to watch, read, and listen to?
SYDNEY GORE: My friends, they have the best taste!
EMBEDDED: What’s something that you have observed about the online behavior of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and/or Boomers?
SYDNEY GORE: Every generation thinks the generation that precedes it acts entitled, which is amusing.
EMBEDDED: What are your favorite Substack or other independent newsletters?
SYDNEY GORE:
(Does Dirt count as an independent newsletter? Either way, I’m a Dirt girly.)
EMBEDDED: Do you have any favorite media company newsletters?
SYDNEY GORE: I have newsletter fatigue, but somehow still feel a rush when T List hits my inbox.
EMBEDDED: What’s one positive media trend? What’s one negative trend?
SYDNEY GORE: Positive: mall nostalgia (that’s my culture)
Negative: lack of media literacy and critical thinking, dupes and fakes, racism
EMBEDDED: Are you into any podcasts right now? How and when do you usually listen?
SYDNEY GORE: When my friends leave me voice memos it’s like tuning into my favorite show :)
EMBEDDED: Have you had posts go viral? What is that experience like?
SYDNEY GORE: Going viral is both exhilarating and exhausting. When it happens for the right reasons it’s really fun, but when people take your words out of context it’s the WORST. I rarely bring up this incident, but one of the last reviews I ever wrote was for the EP of a very famous singer in 2019; she decided to broadcast her disapproval in a tweet, which included a screenshot of the review with my byline, and basically summoned her fans to attack me. Not only was I harassed relentlessly on [redacted] for days, but other media outlets decided that this whole ordeal was “newsworthy” so I was forced to loop in our PR director and wait for the heat to die down. The most disappointing part was that none of those reporters were in my corner, they just added fuel to the fire and wanted me to burn for speaking the truth. (I received a few supportive messages privately, but no one was publicly standing by me.) It was hell, but I took the high road. Unfortunately for them, I’m a survivor! The best advice I’ve ever been given is don’t feed the trolls :)
EMBEDDED: Who’s the coolest person who follows you?
SYDNEY GORE: Mitski and Dua Lipa.
EMBEDDED: Who’s someone more people should follow?
SYDNEY GORE: Recho Omondi.
EMBEDDED: Which big celebrity has your favorite internet presence, and why?
SYDNEY GORE: I don’t subscribe to celebrity culture anymore, but I appreciate when Solange decides to log on to Instagram and let us know she’s still plugged in. I feel like Pam Grier would have been posting like this if social media had been around during the ‘70s—I highly recommend reading her memoir, Foxy: My Life in Three Acts.
EMBEDDED: Have you ever been heavily into Snapchat? Do you miss it?
SYDNEY GORE: I left Snapchat after they did Rihanna dirty in 2018 and never looked back; I miss nothing.
EMBEDDED: When was the last time you browsed Pinterest? What for?
SYDNEY GORE: I’ve never made a Pinterest board, does that make me a freak?
EMBEDDED: Do you have a take on Tumblr?
SYDNEY GORE: I miss Tumblr all the time, everything was beautiful and nothing hurt. Fun fact: I wrote my college admissions essay about how blogging on Tumblr changed my life and it was so ~captivating~ that a dean from one of the universities that accepted me wrote back a letter of praise. (I didn’t end up going there, but appreciated the validation.)
EMBEDDED: Are you in any groups on Reddit, Discord, Slack, or Facebook? What’s the most useful or entertaining one?
SYDNEY GORE: Last year I joined a Facebook group that operates as a MacKenzie-Childs marketplace and it’s honestly the best thing I’ve ever done... Love it there. While I’m here, consider this my petition for Marketplace to be separated from Facebook—I have no desire to use my account for anything else.
EMBEDDED: How has using LinkedIn benefitted you, if at all?
SYDNEY GORE: LinkedIn can be one of your most valuable assets if you understand how to utilize it. I’ve been fortunate to get major work opportunities like my current job through it in the past!
EMBEDDED: Do you use Slack or another chat tool for work? What’s the best thing about Slacking with your co-workers? What’s the worst thing?
SYDNEY GORE: I’m forced to use Slack for work and I’ve never liked it. The only good thing about it is chit chatting with my coworkers throughout the day, but now you have to keep in mind that you’re constantly being surveilled by management so you can’t really speak freely.
EMBEDDED: Do you typically start searches on Google, Reddit, TikTok, or another source? Have you found Google’s “generative AI” summaries helpful?
SYDNEY GORE: I’m an internet explorer so I search everywhere to get the scoop. I’m anti-AI with the exception of Otter which has been very helpful for transcribing interviews.
EMBEDDED: What most excites you about AI chatbots and text and art generators? What most concerns you?
SYDNEY GORE: I’m mostly concerned about how AI will impact creatives in the workforce. The plagiarism side of it really freaks me out.
EMBEDDED: Are you currently playing any console, computer, or phone games?
SYDNEY GORE: I don’t have time for games, but does dating in NYC count?
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?
SYDNEY GORE: Here are a few of my favorites: The Brat Pack, Grown Millennial, The Girls Room
EMBEDDED: What’s your go-to emoji, and what does it mean to you?
SYDNEY GORE: 🤡 as in “clown” and 🎪 as in “circus”:
Guess who raw dog texted me yet again… 🤡🎪
(For more context on the subject, read this old post from my newsletter.)
My go-to response to most things is a hard, firm “No ❤️”.
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
SYDNEY GORE: If my life were a movie I would be talking on the phone constantly. In reality, when someone cold calls me without warning it makes me feel really anxious, especially when I’m really not in the mood to talk, because I assume it’s bad news. If someone is like “we need to talk” or “call me” with no context it sends me into a nervous panic.
I appreciate a voice note because it’s usually about something lighthearted that you can listen to at your own leisure. It also makes the tone crystal clear unlike a text; there’s no room for misinterpretation because you can hear exactly how the person on the other end feels. Also, I spend my whole day in front of a screen typing frantically so I need to give my money makers a break!
EMBEDDED: What’s a playlist, song, album, or style of music you’ve listened to a lot lately?
SYDNEY GORE: I’ve been loving the new Kacey Musgraves and Faye Webster albums so much that I felt inspired to create a new playlist that captures this vibe. (This would be a great time to revisit Kacey’s home tour from the May 2022 issue of AD.) Obviously, Cowboy Carter has been on rotation—my fave songs right now are “BODYGUARD” and LEVII’S JEANS.” Hats off to Beyoncé, but can you give a girl a break from all the discourse? Charli XCX has been dropping bangers that remind me of what it feels like to find g*d on the dance floor, BRAT will heal us all. RIP SOPHIE, we miss you </3
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?
SYDNEY GORE: I pay for Spotify Premium because I get the bundle deal with Hulu. I practically grew up in record stores, it’s how my dad and I bonded when I was younger—one of our favorite places is Princeton Record Exchange. That early exposure built the foundation for my deep love for music, and is a huge part of why I originally pursued music journalism. I’m currently limited on space so I maintain a small collection in my apartment, but will inherit all of my dad’s vinyl records which fill up an entire room in our basement.
I’m really excited for DIIV’s forthcoming album, it’s mind-blowingly good, so I’m planning on buying it on vinyl from a local record store in my hometown on release day. I can only use a CD player to listen to music in my car (I keep it at my childhood home because I don’t need to drive in NYC), so I always have a stack of CDs on hand. I also have some cassette tapes in the mix, but they’re more for decoration.
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep one streaming service for TV and/or movies, which would it be, and why? In general, do you prefer to get ads or pay more for ad-free tiers?
SYDNEY GORE: I’m going to say Hulu because where else would I be able to watch Abbott Elementary without cable? I love seeing Quinta Brunson win! I thought the whole point of streaming was to have an ad-free experience so it feels like we’re all being robbed 🤡
EMBEDDED: What’s your favorite non-social media app?
SYDNEY GORE: The Notes app.
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
SYDNEY GORE: Memes and hitting inbox zero.
EMBEDDED: Is there any content you want but can’t seem to find anywhere online?
SYDNEY GORE: If I told you, I’d have to charge a consulting fee. 😇
EMBEDDED: Do you regularly use eBay, Depop, or other shopping platforms? What’s a recent thing you’ve bought or sold?
SYDNEY GORE: eBay is my happy place. I wouldn’t have this iconic rabbit lamp—and so many other wonderful objects that decorate my home—if it hadn’t been listed there. Another one of my go-to spots for retail therapy is Thriftbooks, I order books at least once a month. I buy and sell stuff on Depop, Poshmark, The RealReal, and Grailed, but it’s only really enjoyable when I make money.
EMBEDDED: Have you recently read an article, book, or social media post about the internet that you’ve found particularly insightful?
SYDNEY GORE: I recently finished reading Kyle Chayka’s book The Longing for Less: Living with Minimalism and a lot of what he unpacks in the book could be applied to our lives on and offline.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last thing that brought you joy online?
SYDNEY GORE: After the news broke about Gaetano Pesce’s passing, I finally ordered a vase that had been sitting in my cart for weeks; I consider this purchase a small way of paying respect to his legacy.
Thanks Sydney! Read her writing and find her on LinkTree, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and here and here on Instagram. 🎪
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