Victoria Song
@vicmsong.bsky.social
Senior reviewer and author of the Optimizer newsletter for The Verge. I write about wearables, health tech, the wellness wild west, and other gadgets. Previously: Gizmodo, PCMag, Yomiuri Shimbun. Signal: @vicmsong.14 Grand poobah of the penguin brigade.
A non trivial amount of my brain is dedicated to knowing way too much about a musical and book about sad French men debating the ethics of stealing a loaf of bread. Anywho tonight I’m seeing a Les Miz live for like the 20th time. I have 99 hyper fixations and this is a big one.
Checking the CPI index is depressing. I don’t recommend doing it unless you have a very cute cat to offset the resulting despair.
I’m on vacation but had some thoughts about the Meta glasses backlash + asked an expert how Meta’s handled privacy concerns thus far. tinyurl.com/3pwc632h
Meta is royally screwing up its smart glasses rollout
It’s Meta’s move.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced mandatory testosterone screenings, but it’s a symptom of a larger fixation. Read more from @vicmsong.bsky.social in this week's Optimizer:
The manosphere’s testosterone fever is coming for the troops
The national obsession with Tmaxxing is an overdue Optimizer bat signal
theverge.com
In this week’s Optimizer we discuss Hegseth’s mandatory T-screening for the military, sperm racing, and the obsession with male fertility. tinyurl.com/2p9hsxj3
The manosphere’s testosterone fever is coming for the troops
The national obsession with Tmaxxing is an overdue Optimizer bat signal
tinyurl.com
Sometimes I see something so cursed on my beat that it haunts me for days. Other times, like today, I see six extremely cursed things in the span of 12 hours and I come to the conclusion that even Jesus can’t save us now.
I wrote about AI wearables — not just glasses — and how they make me sometimes feel like a spy. A thing I don’t always feel great about, even though I’m just doing my job by testing them. tinyurl.com/afkdu7cn
I spy
Testing AI wearables has turned me into an unintentional spy.
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If we really want studios to stop leaning so hard into hyperbolic influencer content as a marketing strategy, we’ve got to start ✨consuming and sharing more thoughtful kinds of entertainment reporting and criticism✨
The Verge@theverge.com · last mo.Influencer screenings aren’t going away
It’s hot as balls out here in many parts of the world. This week’s Optimizer is about how hydrating with plain water is good enough most of the time — and when it actually makes sense to use electrolyte powders or sports drinks. tinyurl.com/265m5jry
Hydration isn’t complicated: Just drink water
You don’t need water that’s more watery than other water
tinyurl.com
All my wearables think I’m dying. Ever since they all added AI insights, my daily recommendations are to skip every workout, rest, and never do anything again. I’m having a hard time arguing against it.
I wrote about how meaty, salty, fatty hot dogs became the food we're all supposed to eat on the hottest days of the year. This one is free for all @weareravenous.com subscribers, just give us your email! www.weareravenous.com/hot-dogs-jul...
How Hot Dogs Accidentally Became the Most American Food
Why do Americans insist on slamming greasy sausages on the sweatiest days of the year? It took a few accidents and a lot more marketing decisions.
weareravenous.com
This week on Optimizer, a reminder that accuracy in health tracking isn't as important as consistency. None of these smart scales ever gives me the same reading and it's impossible to gain/lose 5% muscle in a day. Fixating on individual numbers is a losing game. tinyurl.com/3vjwhhdz
Sometimes, health tracking accuracy is overrated
Especially smart scales.
theverge.com
These Meta Glasses aren't Ray-Bans... but one of them is a collaboration with Kylie Jenner. Also Meta's VP of Wearables Alex Himel told me that updates to improve privacy are on the way. tinyurl.com/3br3pc67
Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban
There is a version designed by Kylie Jenner, though.
tinyurl.com
You know what’s the most messed up indirect GLP-1 side effect? Losing too much EAR FAT so you become unable to regulate inner ear pressure, so you have to hang upside down a few times a day to pop your ears OR your ears just pop nonstop 24/7. I’m beginning to understand why Van Gough.
It’s been almost two weeks since I downloaded iOS 27. My phone is still indexing.
This week on Optimizer, I talk about the travesty that is US sunscreen, why it’s about to get better, and not listening to wellness grifters who say you can build up solar calluses.
The Verge@theverge.com · 2mo agoOur long national sunscreen nightmare is almost over
:Taps sign: The number one rule of wearable design is that they must be comfy and stylistically versatile enough for everyday wear. These.... are not that. www.theverge.com/report/95148...
Can anyone look cool wearing Snap’s $2,000 glasses?
Bold choice, Evan.
theverge.com
$2,195 lol That alone will make this a hard sell to non-devs. www.theverge.com/tech/950492/...
Snap is finally about to ship AR glasses — and they cost a fortune
Snap is finally launching augmented glasses for the public
theverge.com
Thinking about this story a lot while testing so many AI products this conference season. Reminder: You read it from @miasato.bsky.social first. www.theverge.com/tech/900302/...
Can AI responses be influenced? The SEO industry is trying
Marketing firms are going all in on AI search.
theverge.com
There’s a special place in jail for people who put their backpacks, small bags, and jackets in the overhead bin on a full flight after multiple asks to not do that.
The range of emotions going from a super busy day full of WWDC and Siri AI coverage to the Knicks losing and learning the Knicks in 4 thing is a Kalshi ad has left me with the crispiest brain. I’m going to stare at a wall now.
A lot of people are mad and defensive that I pointed out Kalshi is deeply entangled in the viral Knicks rhyme, which is fine! I’m just pointing it out because I’ve reported on the covert marketing and advertising these prediction markets are doing www.theverge.com/business/905...
Fake or real, the “inside traders” on Polymarket are great engagement bait
Welcome to the age of fake insider trading
theverge.com
🥲😭
Mia Sato@miasato.bsky.social · 2mo agoWe JUST went through the whole clipping thing! For a while I’ve felt like I’m in a weird upside down: the public is more aware than ever before of efforts to manipulate their opinions and command their attention, yet fall for it now more than ever www.neverhungover.club/p/why-is-new...
Fuck Trump for many things but especially for fucking up Knicks in 4.
The watchOS site updated to say Series 9 and later is supported. This makes more sense given that’s when the chip was updated to better support AI features.
This week’s Optimizer is about an unexpected reason why stepping on a scale gave me some anxiety: www.theverge.com/column/94363...
What do you mean my new smart scale is ‘built for GLP-1 users’?
Technically, any smart scale is ’built for GLP-1 users’…
theverge.com
I admit, if you ignore where it says ‘unreleased’ right below the headline (and on our homepage), then skip past the part where we say it required a code review, and ignore paragraphs 4, 8, 10, 12, 16, and all the adjectives that mean undisclosed, it does read like an active feature.
