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Kristin Merrilees

@kristinmerrilees.bsky.social
235 followers 146 following 31 posts

internet culture writer, journalist @columbiajournalism, alum @barnard phonetime.news

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Kristin Merrilees
Micah Lee @micahflee.com · 24/01/2026
"The American Nurses Association (ANA) is deeply disturbed and saddened to learn of the death of Alex Pretti, a registered nurse, in Minneapolis earlier today." www.nursingworld.org/news/news-re...
nursingworld.org
Statement from the American Nurses Association regarding the death of registered nurse Alex Pretti
The American Nurses Association (ANA) is deeply disturbed and saddened to learn of the death of Alex Pretti, a registered nurse, in Minneapolis earlier today. We extend our condolences to Alex’s loved...
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ienjoymusic.net @ienjoymusic.net · 12/09/2025
you should definitely subscribe to PHONE TIME and not just because i did an interview for it! www.phonetime.news/p/i-enjoy-mu...
phonetime.news
I Enjoy Music is a callback to old-school music blogging
A conversation with Molly Mary O'Brien about the state of music publications, the joys of personal writing, and how to get people to actually read things.
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ienjoymusic.net @ienjoymusic.net · 12/09/2025
listened to a song rec by @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social, went down a bit of a rabbit hole of production music, TV theme songs, ARPEGGIATION, and a bonus Sliding Doors career moment... www.ienjoymusic.net/music-moots-...
ienjoymusic.net
music moots with PHONE TIME's Kristin Merrilees ("Keep Your Head" by David O'Dowda)
We are extremely back with Music Moots™, the blogseries where I ask someone to recommend me a song they like, and then I listen to the song and then write a little about it. Today we have Kristin Mer...
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jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 03/07/2025
Always curious to see who gets to be an anonymous source!
While Mr. Mamdani was not a target of the hack, the information about him was included in a database of millions of student applications to Columbia going back decades. The data was shared with The Times by an intermediary who goes by the name Crémieux on Substack and X and who is an academic and an opponent of affirmative action. The Times agreed to withhold his real name.
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Maxwell Neely-Cohen @maxy.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Chatted a little about The HTML Review with the great @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social www.phonetime.news/p/the-html-r...
phonetime.news
the html review is a journal of literature 'made to exist on the web'
Published each spring, the html review features poetry, nonfiction, fiction, graphics, and experimental works that use the web as a medium.
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droqen and 24 others @droqen.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
www.phonetime.news/p/making-gam... yay phonetime! @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social and i had a nice phone time (we talked on the phone), she asked me some questions about my droqevers & we chatted abt various things some of your droqever comments are immortalized there, in screenshots...
phonetime.news
Making games that disappear
Game designer droqen on the evolution of his work, droqevers, and newest game "The End of Gameplay."
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
i did some scrolling for you www.phonetime.news/p/i-scrolled...
phonetime.news
I scrolled to the bottom of Instagram's Instagram grid
Plus, an update from The Browser Company and the end of read-it-later app Pocket.
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Reposted by Kristin Merrilees
On the Media @onthemedia.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
“The reason they’re doing [this] is to try to create an environment of fear, to try to get people like myself... to shut the fuck up,” Piker said on a stream recounting the details of the incident. www.usermag.co/p/hasan-pike...
usermag.co
Hasan Piker detained at the border and questioned for hours over politics
"They straight up tried to get something out of me that I think they could use to basically detain me permanently"
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Material Grrrlz has built a fiber arts community through memes, a magazine, and meetups. I talked with founder Alexa Kari in the latest PHONE TIME!! (pics courtesy Material Grrrlz) open.substack.com/pub/phonetim...
open.substack.com
Material Grrrlz is building a fiber arts community through memes, meetups, and a magazine
A conversation with Material Grrrlz founder Alexa Kari.
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
My first interview for PHONE TIME was a few weeks ago with Amy Burek of Awkward Ladies Club. Burek has been making zines about the internet—touching on Reddit, Wikipedia, LiveJournal, and more—since 2012 Thanks for reading, lots more to come :) open.substack.com/pub/phonetim...
open.substack.com
Amy Burek on her publishing project Awkward Ladies Club, zine-making, and the joys of internet forums
Burek has made zines about Wikipedia list pages, internet parenting advice, LiveJournal entries, and Craigslist dating ads.
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Reposted by Kristin Merrilees
Ron Bronson @ronbronson.com · 09/04/2025
Glad that @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social is back to writing her newsletter again, her insights and pulse into where the Zoomers and post-Zoomers are trending is quality reading.
phonetime.substack.com
Being offline is the hottest thing to post online
Plus, some of my favorite corners from around the internet.
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
i haven’t shared it on bluesky yet but i have a new substack called PHONE TIME!!! i hope you will subscribe and enjoy!! :) phonetime.substack.com
Hi! My name is Kristin Merrilees, and I’m a writer, journalist, and creator covering the internet — think TikTok trends, niche communities, memes, platform features, and more. 

Today, I’m launching PHONE TIME, a new publication and newsletter on Substack. It’s free (for now)!
A lot has changed since I first started writing about the internet a few years ago — from the Twitter-to-X transformation to TikTok’s rise as an impossible-to-ignore cultural and economic engine. At the same time, while trust in legacy outlets has declined, a new media ecosystem has flourished. Creators, Instagrammers, podcasters, Substackers, TikTokers, and others have built brands delivering incisive commentary and original insights across fashion, food, technology, and beyond.The internet is facing real threats — from disinformation to increased corporate control — but it also remains a space of constant creativity and cultural shifts. With PHONE TIME, I aim to deliver critical writing and original reporting about the internet, not just looking at trends in isolation but digging deep into the cultural transformations happening before our eyes. 
Here’s a little bit more about what to expect: 

Reviews of new social apps, online tools, and internet/tech-related media (everything from books to movies to YouTube videos to Instagram accounts)

Interviews with online creators, technologists, and makers shaping digital culture

Service journalism on how to live with technology amidst fragmentation, information overload, and algorithmic feeds

Original reporting on online trends, platforms, and communities
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Retro Computers @retrocomps.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
One thing I have a devil of a time finding are 'electric brains', the various purpose-built devices made for computing after electrification but prior to modern electromechanical parts. Any leads are appreciated.
An ad from a 1957 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Up top, the title: "New! A machine that COMPOSES MUSIC!" To the top left, an image of the "Geniac Electric Brain," a masonite board with a set of six ceramic dials in which electronic components may be mounted; these dials are turned for input and the connections underneath serve as the analog "timer" of sorts; the side has a series of four lights, the machine's output. To the top right, an image of a tune created by the Geniac. Below, dense type promotes the machine ("Yes, you can build any one of 33 electric brain machines!" "Over 400 components and parts!" "Your cost for GENIAC kit: Only $19.95 postpaid" (roughly $200 today). A sidebar lists institutions that have purchased GENIACs (including IBM, Bell, and Westinghouse); at the bottom is an ordering sheet for the Oliver Garfield Co., plus options to show interest in various other scientific fields.
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Sam Cole @samleecole.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
NASA workers were told to "drop everything" and spend their time scrubbing mentions of women in leadership, indigenous people, and environmental justice from the web: www.404media.co/nasa-dei-dro...
404media.co
Workers at NASA Told to ‘Drop Everything’ to Scrub Mentions of Indigenous People, Women from Its Websites
"This is a drop everything and reprioritize your day request," a directive "per NASA HQ direction" stated.
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
$2 total from the used bookstore!!
The Internet for Dummies & The Internet Complete Reference Part IV:
Finding Stuff on the Net
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Read my short history of social networking at Columbia — covering email, blogs, Facebook, Snapchat, Yik Yak, Instagram, meme pages, Sidechat, and more!! www.columbiaspectator.com/arts-and-cul...
columbiaspectator.com
From blogging to Sidechat: A short history of social networking at Columbia
From posting Instagram photo dumps at the end of the semester to checking Sidechat while procrastinating for finals, social media is a fact of life for virtually everyone at Columbia. The virtual plat...
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
my story on memenome, founded by jackie ni, cc ‘26, which describes itself as “the original pdf to brainrot” www.columbiaspectator.com/arts-and-cul...
columbiaspectator.com
Memenome, founded by Jackie Ni, CC ’26, is turning PDFs into ‘brainrot’
Step aside, ChatGPT: A new startup is betting on using “brainrot” to help students learn.
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
is there a meme community on bluesky ‼️
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NYU's Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics @csmapnyu.org · 18/11/2024
New report on America's news influencers from @pewresearch.org & @knightfdn.bsky.social offers some interesting insights: - 21% of adults get news from influencers (more for young ppl) - More influencers lean to the right (27 to 21%) - More are men (63 to 30%) www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2...
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
meme for friends
the “new york or la” meme with two women 
but it’s “twitter or blue sky” and she responds “google+”
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Read my review of “Paper of Wreckage” 🗞️ www.columbiaspectator.com/arts-and-cul...
columbiaspectator.com
Review: ‘Paper of Wreckage’ delivers a juicy, comprehensive history of the New York Post
Salacious headlines, a no-holds-barred approach to subject matter, and distinct cover pages—if you know New York City, then you know the New York Post. But, as argued in the recently released book “Pa...
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
elf bar vape with bluesky logo
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
is it really worth it bluesky butterfly meme
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 27/04/2023
memes incoming
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
WHERE ARE MY OOMFS!
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yasmin @ycsm1n.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
what posting on here feels like
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yasmin @ycsm1n.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
what trying to get twitter mutuals to follow you back on bluesky feels like
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Luiz Rocha @coralreeffish.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Wow! This place is growing fast lately! I wonder why 🤣 So, I’m a fish biologist and curator of the fish collection in the California Academy of Sciences. My research is centered on ecology, evolution, conservation and taxonomy of coral reef fishes. Deep reefs are the next frontier.
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 27/04/2023
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
hello other website
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Blue Heron Farm @blueheronfarm.bsky.social · 04/07/2024
Today in Jeremy's salad: romaine, strawberry tops, cactus, roses, and geranium
A salad plate filled with the things mentioned in the skeetLarge sulcata tortoise chomping a cactus paddle in half
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 06/07/2023
Threads feels like the mall.
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 02/07/2023
The Reddit CEO watching this: holy shit they should only be able to see 6 subreddits a day
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 01/07/2023
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 01/07/2023
hey
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 28/04/2023
i think my bluesky will just be a spam of all the weird memes i’m too scared to share on twitter
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 28/04/2023
this picture has gotten me through some tough days ngl
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 27/04/2023
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 27/04/2023
memes incoming
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 27/04/2023
hi @bolau.bsky.social
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🖤 envy 🖤 @envy.bsky.social · 27/04/2023
😔😔😔
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Kristin Merrilees @kristinmerrilees.bsky.social · 26/04/2023
a lot of posters here…
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fí ꩜ @fiii.bsky.social · 17/04/2023
grounding techniques.
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