San Francisco's Hot List: the ragebait economy is still raging, 20 years after Facemash
kyliebytes · x · 2026-09-03
Wired reporter Kylie Robison examines the viral "San Francisco's Hot List": Celeste Amadon publicized her crowdsourced ranking of SF's "most dateable people," judged on attraction, ambition, accomplishment, reputation, and aura, with the first 10 finalists announced the next night to immediate widespread mockery.
- The piece frames it as Facemash 2.0: Silicon Valley ranking faces again, two decades later
- Self-nominees list their traits like resumes with flattering photos—Hinge replicated into the X algorithm, minus any anti-harassment safeguards
- Core thesis: it's proof the ragebait economy still works
Related event: San Francisco's "Hot List" Goes Viral, Dissected as Ragebait(5 posts)→
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