Hyperspecific Blogs That Keep the Media Alive
Clogs, trains, hot people smoking cigs, olives of New York, and other possible reasons to revive your IG.
For the majority of my early 20s, my primary footwear has been a pair of white sneakers. I’ve gone through several pairs of Nike Air Force 1s, Adidas Forum Lows, and just recently graduated to the Reebok Club Cs in protest to the Adidas Sambas trend. This year though, I’ve discovered something that every twenty year old is bound to eventually realize: if you wear a cool shoe that’s not a sneaker, every outfit, including a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, instantly looks cool and put together. So, I bought a pair of pink ballet flats in the wake of the Barbiecore, kitten heels with big velvet bows way before the coquette trend, a pair of western boots that aren’t cowboy boots, and now…I am on a hunt for maybe a pair of cool clogs. And that is how life led me to another classic find of your twenties — @thecloglife account on IG.
Clog Life posts everything that has to do with clogs: Emma Stone wearing a pair of clogs in the latest episode of The Curse, a screenshot of someone texting their friend about hammering a pair of expensive clogs back together with an iPhone, and someone posting a lost ad for a missing left clog. Hyperspecific accounts like this really draw me in. It’s normal to see a blog about fashion, tech, or books and even more narrow things like crypto, sneakers, or watches. But when I discover a blog about something as narrow as clogs, I am instantly intrigued. How can there be so many ways and reasons to post frequently about something so small? I won’t stop until I scroll well down the feed and click on every single post, looking to find little gems, like it’s the archives of the human kind.
The first hyperspecific blog I ever discovered must have been the @wireditgirls IG that posts pictures of hot people - actors, models, musicians, and influencers using wired headphones in the wake of the airpods. A similar account, called @cigfluencers, posts pictures of hot people smoking cigarettes in the wake of the vape, but also in the wake of the general American aversion to smoking. My latest finds are @olivesofnewyork and @sendolives - two accounts dedicated solemnly to reviewing olives, @sonnnygram - an IG devoted entirely to a girl’s sonny angel collection, and @pastagirlfriend - an account that posts pictures of beautiful women eating pasta. There are also bigger, more known accounts, like @lostjcrew that posts vintage J.Crew catalogues, @subwayhands that’s led by an artist who tells stories through pictures of people’s hands, and @depthofwikipedia that pulls the weirdest Wikipedia entries on the internet. But for now, the crown for the best hyper-specific IG account in my opinion takes a sadly no longer active @glossierboyfreinds IG that posted pictures of both tired and slightly more enthusiastic boyfriends waiting around for their girlfriends at Glossier pop-ups and stores.
The hyperspecific IG accounts feel like a third cousin of IG alts and moodboards. Alts have been killed by the “close friends”, photo dumps, and IG stories but on hyperspecific accounts, they still exist in spirit in the form of follower submissions and tags. In a world where everything can be screenshotted and shared, an anonymous submission posted to thousands of strangers by the admin of the hyper-specific IG account feels gossip-girl chic. You get all the enjoyment of a little viral moment and none of the possible hate.
Lots of people are still obsessed with moodboards. Lots of brands, like Merit, still sprinkle in aesthetic shots from Pinterest on their feed. To me personally, looking at a feed of pretty images that are coherent aesthetically but are devoid of context feels a little meh. On hyperspecific accounts, every image makes you feel something. Here is a daughter of a former US president taking a cig break. Here is Timothee Chalamet smoking inside of a concert hall during his first public outing with Kylie Jenner. And here is Corey Mylchreest smoking a cigarette in his royal costume on the Bridgerton set. Each of these are more than just aesthetic visuals - they make you tilt your head and go “huh?” for a second. The cigfluencer account exists outside of the social media trends - you don’t see it post a picture of a cigarette pack with a bow on it or some sort of a deep-fried meme about cigs. But it also isn’t pulling random “pictures of hot people smoking” from Pinterest when the engagement is running low. Most pictures are pop culture artifacts that trace back to popular articles, movie premiers, and major pop culture events. Together, they also make you realize that despite American anti-smoke propaganda…everyone you know still smokes.
In the world in which everyone with a social media account is automatically a curator and a critic, hyperfocused interests feel endearing. Oh you like fashion? Odds are we read the same writers and follow the same brands. Yawn. Oh you curate vintage J.Crew catalogue covers? Why? Tell me more. Oh you like eating out? What’s your favorite restaurant - Birds of a Feather or idk… American Bar? I don’t trust you. Oh you’ve tried every olive in Manhattan? Which ones are your favorite? Maybe I should get into olives. I am listening. That’s hot. There is little value and creative inspiration in seeing the same five images that have popped up on everyone creative director’s feed over the past couple of years. We are longing for something real. Something that feels like a dare. Something that doesn’t only look good but has context in the real world.
More and more people on the internet post for an audience rather than individuals that follow them. A lot of people consume content like it’s television rather than a forum. If you are publishing a gift guide, you are one of many. But if you go on a a holiday side quest, like rating every Christmas tree in the city, or drinking every cup of hot chocolate you can get your hands on, then you are a quirky little fella just like the guy who loves trains and the guy who does church tours. In the world where influencing in itself is losing value, building a genuine community around something small is a really good move. Niche blogs give brand creatives ideas for iconic campaigns, like The North Face x Gucci shoot featuring the train guy. If I am working on a campaign, I am picking a cigfluencer or an olive connoisseur over a plain simple “infleuncer”, like Kit Keenan, any day.
It’s also an extremely good way to meet interesting people across industries. Think of any good show you’ve watched in the past couple of years - from Trainspotting and Chicken Shop Date to Last Meals and Hot Ones. Each of them features a host that brings another person on a fun little date doing something they love. And even if a PR agent can’t book a Jonas brother or a soccer superstar to hang out with you, when you have a go-to niche little interest, it’s an easy-lift way for you to ask people out and for anyone on the internet to approach you. Because let’s be honest — there is a higher chance of you stumbling upon someone’s IG than approaching a cool-looking person in front of you at a coffee shop.
But also? Side quests and hyperspecific interests are just a fun way to move through life. And even if it doesn’t lead to a book deal and a New York socialite lifestyle, you never know the places that following every clog you spot in the wild or swatching every lipstick you see, can lead you to.
Love this post looking forward to read more 💗