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Our Algorithmic Grey-Beige World
I start my morning going through nearly 250 feeds that flow into my “reader” app. Today, two quotes stood out in my early morning reading.
“The main purpose of my work is to provoke people into using their imagination. Most people spend their lives housed in dreary, grey-beige conformity, mortally afraid of using colours.” — Verner Panton, Designer.
“Writing is hard. And I’ll also say, writers are born, not made. The more you teach someone how to write the more you risk squeezing the creativity out of them. We don’t need me-too, we need unique.” — Bob Lefsetz, Writer
Both were saying the same thing, albeit about two different aspects of culture and society. And they were only echoing Oscar Wilde’s erudite observation from 1891.
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” — Oscar Wilde, Novelist
Wilde is one of my favorite writers because he was so eviscerating and devastating in his observations, no matter the cost. He said that just before the Victorian society destroyed him for refusing to conform to its sexual norms. Individuality and the ability to stand outside has always come at a price. That is why people don’t want to stand out. They conform.
Psychologist Rollo May, observing 1950s America: “The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.” May diagnosed this when McCarthyism was literally hunting down anyone who thought differently.
Four quotes, separated by over a century, say the same thing. And yet, what Panton, Wilde, and May couldn’t anticipate was how technology would industrialize conformity. Wilde saw people living as mimicry in 1891. May diagnosed conformity in the 1950s. Both described social pressure.
What used to require shame and ostracism is now baked into the internet’s economic infrastructure. The algorithmic reality of technology platforms has codified conformity into the human condition. And it is very profitable—the real late-stage capitalism. Things are going to get worse with the new AI, that leans into the “mid” as a default, built entirely on the notion of conformity.
Today, open YouTube and every single thumbnail looks the same. Shocked faces, specific color contrasts, carefully positioned text overlays. Same voice. Same cadence and energy level. And videos have roughly the same lengths. The algorithm rewards these patterns with distribution and punishes deviation with obscurity.
Creators choose grey-beige conformity because it works, and the algorithm rewards sameness. My carefully curated list of creators has devolved into sameness. Whether pen reviewers, photographers, music bloggers, history tellers, or science bloggers—it is clear they are praying at the feet of the gods of algorithms.
Spotify has done the same with subtle algorithmic music. Don’t tell me you don’t hear that “Spotify sound” in music production. Songs engineered to be short, to provide an instant dopamine hit. The first 30 seconds have to hook listeners before they skip. After that, who cares? After all, Spotify pays the same for 30 seconds or three minutes. Everything is now made to belong on a Spotify playlist.
Spotify, let’s face it, is still in kindergarten compared to Instagram and TikTok. Those two have scaled, metastasized, and gamified conformity to a whole new level. The grey-beige aesthetic is what gets distribution. Color, weirdness, genuine imagination get algorithmically ignored. Match whatever narrow aesthetic the platform currently amplifies, or else move on to the backwaters. Those who think they’re being creative because they’re “creating content” are just living at the whims and fancies of the algorithm, painting by numbers in templates already defined.
As Wilde said, their creative output is just a reflection of the algorithm, their “content” a mimicry, their creativity just a joke. The sad part is that Instagram and TikTok’s ability to unleash conformity at global scale impacts the offline world as well.
It was a trend first noted in 2016 by (now) New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka in his piece for The Verge, “AirSpace.” To jog your memory: AirSpace is a phenomenon where Airbnbs, coffee shops, and co-working spaces across the world look identical. Reclaimed wood, industrial lighting, minimalist furniture, the same Edison bulbs hanging over the same avocado toast. Every coffee shop became Sightglass circa 2008. The goal isn’t uniqueness. It’s matching what performs well in photos and gets bookings.
It is ironic. The whole point of Airbnb was that each location was supposed to be quirky and unique. If I wanted sameness, I would prefer the bland efficiency of a J.W. Marriott or a Hyatt. At least I don’t have to make my own bed and get freshly laundered shirts by end of day.
Silicon Valley amplified this blandness. It is the people. It is rare to find people who are interesting, unique, and have strong enough opinions to have convictions, especially public ones. This lack of imagination is reflected in the dress code of the Valley.
Steve Jobs inspired many to wear black turtlenecks. Mark Zuckerberg jumpstarted the uniform of grey hoodies. And who can forget the half-a-decade-long orgy of mediocrity and lack of taste: Allbirds, those wool sneakers that became the unofficial shoe of tech, as if an entire industry collectively forgot how to dress themselves. The mimicry wasn’t about fashion. It was actually a simple signal: I belong to the winning template. It was farthest from it. In my essay, Sometimes a Shoe is not a Shoe, I wrote:
Right through the mid-nineties, non-conformists dominated the technology industry. The first uniform for the valley was: no uniform. It was a place where misfits fit together. The emergence of the internet was the start of conformity. …. As the technology industry became the cultural zeitgeist, it became necessary to advertise to the world that you were part of the tech set. And the easiest way to do so was through a uniform.
The Silicon Valley doyens mimicked Jobs’ turtleneck the way courtiers copied Louis XIV’s walk. Same impulse, faster cycle. What took Versailles years now takes months, thanks to Instagram.
The algorithm spots the trend. Temu gets to work. The factory produces it, the platform (Instagram and TikTok) distributes it, all before the original gets cold. The industry that built the algorithms couldn’t escape the algorithmic thinking. Even their own look has become content optimized for recognition. Zuck wears a big thick silver chain over his black T-shirt? Six months later, every founder worth their pre-seed dollars sports the look. Make that three months.
Back in 2007, I wondered about the commodification of social interaction. I mused about a future where human connection became a product to optimize. Nah, I didn’t expect this. We’re living in the endgame. Algorithmic reality doesn’t just commodify interaction. It standardizes imagination. The algorithms squeeze creativity out of millions by showing them exactly what “works.” We don’t get unique. We get infinite variations of the same.
And yet here we are. Our algorithmic gods are our teachers, tastemakers, and economic incentive all at once. Fall in line, and get paid. What May called courage banishes you to a world of lower distribution, fewer views, less income. It’s safer to wear the cloak of grey-beige conformity.
Even supposed refuges aren’t safe. Take fountain pens, a hobby I love and collect because they are an expression of a very unique art form. I am very deliberate in my likes. I wrote about this in my essay, “Designing a Life.” Just as my photos, my playlist, and my wardrobe are a reflection of my inner self—likes, loves, and desires—my approach to hobbies like fountain pens is the same.
Even in a hobby where hundreds of variations of pens are released every year and infinite inks are made available, I see people being so uncreative and becoming part of the “herd.” And you quickly realize that a lot has to do with the QVC-like charms of Instagram. It is so easy to be swayed by the sameness-disease.
I fight everyday, to not be swayed by the machines, and let my taste over ride the blandness I see around me. I have fallen victim a couple of times.
I’ve been really enjoying people watching on the subway in NYC and not being on my phone. You get a chance to really notice the sameness of the majority of the people and appreciate the interesting characters that still pop up now and again in real life. Talking to humans truly makes you realize the gift that is individuality and I find myself refreshed more when I do take the risk and wear something colorful and in my own style.
Great writing as always, Om!
Imagine that in New York of all the places! It used to be the most amazing place for trying to find interestingness. Now you see the “mid” everywhere. Aren’t you glad you are not in a single industry town. Everyone is is “mid” middle of the road thinker/manager/role-player.
This is OM, and this is so Good! The flow is real, a stream of consciousness which resonates to be read again and again.
Thank you. That is awfully generous of you.
Best thing I have read all year. Yeah. It’s early. But this will continue to inform and fuel me for quite some time
Thanks Dana. I appreciate it.
ibm 1914 “think”
apple 1997 “think different”
current social media 2026 “copy/paste”
Succinctly put
Very few articles make you think, reflect, and then continue to think about their central premise. This is one such article. Exceptionally good! The kind that makes you want to read more and reflect more.
Thank you!
This was a thought-provoking read, for which I’m grateful.
One of the “gifts of cancer” is to be freed to care less about conforming and more about seeing and hearing the creation around me. People,birds, trees, light. Turning off the machines, and therefore the algorithms ,can feel subversive but so freeing.
Thanks for taking the time to write this. Spot on.
I think this so often and sadly it applies beyond aesthetic or taste choices. The norming and conformity spans a wide spectrum from blindly following parenting decisions to being apathetic towards current politics.
This is the ugly truth. We are becoming more monotonous with the help of such technologies’ upliftment. Sometimes I ask question to myself a question, are we progressing? really are we? Where are we heading?
Alex Murrell wrote much the same (the irony!) a few years ago… https://www.alexmurrell.co.uk/articles/the-age-of-average
Great post though Om, I most enjoyed reading it.
Om, happy new year. Been a while since I’ve commented on your posts, and this is brilliant. Really hope you keep writing like this. You’re saying what most people are too afraid to say.
I’ve got two genuine questions.
Who are the actual examples? You’ve laid out the conformity problem brilliantly the Airbnbs, the TikTok thumbnails, the tech uniform everyone’s wearing. But I want to know who’s actually resisted it. Who’s built something real and distinctive that works without playing the algorithm game? Not the people writing about inefficiency for their audience, but real people and companies doing something different. I want to know who they are.
And second: you’re right that being different means getting buried. But most of us can’t afford that. You can’t spend a year wandering about hoping something clicks when you’ve got bills to pay and real responsibilities. So how do you actually do this? How do you stay off the treadmill when the treadmill is what keeps things functioning? Do you have to build your platform first, get some security, and then afford to be different? Or is there another way?
I genuinely want to understand this.
A dear friend forwarded this post to me and I enjoyed reading it. Civilizations are cyclical, as with most human and natural processes – this one, the grand US Experiment, is most certainly in its final dying phase. No past civilization has escaped their inevitable decline and demise, and neither will we. One characteristic sign of the end game is the rise of social conformity – group think, group costumes, group behavior, group buying trends…ripe for authoritarianism, the loss of individuality!
So, it is hardly surprising that we see it here and now, and unfortunately, significantly accelerated and spread by social media. I always taught my children, now all adults who actually think (!), to never be “ordinary”, to not conform – I think they are more alive and live more vibrant and fulfilling lives because of it.
I don’t agree, however, that being different always results always in being relegated to the sidelines. While the algorithms on these authoritarian platforms will attempt to force such an outcome, I think there is enough hunger for anything that is unique and provocative that one should not only produce such experiences, but find ways to go around these platforms. This is certainly not an easy or convenient process, and may not guarantee success, but the rewards, the sense of personal satisfaction can be tremendous. Don’t let the Conformity Gods win!
Conformity is just another word for comfort zone. I’ve just completed a BA in Creative Media and the Final Project for one of my courses required us to use “trending” formats for IG and TikTok posts. Anyone who has studied art history knows it’s nothing new for art academies to force conformity on students and I repeatedly made it known that this requirement infuriated me, and why. But with education being so tied to getting a job, very few students are willing to step outside the comfort zone that is prescribed for them.
When you mention that you have 250 feeds going into the reader app, what reader app you are using or what’s the setup?
Cheers!
I use Feedbin as a central resource and then Reader (by Readwise) to read longer pieces. Feedbin is perfect simple and easy and worth paying for.
Wonderful post, Om. The notion that technology industrializes conformity is well put.
Thanks Andrew. I suppose this is only going to increase in times to come, as AI only helps reinforce the whole conformity.
Interesting observations. I’m in Boston, and when I go to the mall, I’m blown away by the differences among the people I see. Almost like no two are the same.
It is amazing that you get to experience that diversity. It must be something special to behold. I am certifiably jealous.
Very good article, which I have shared with other intelligent people [sic], but I have one complaint: As a non-conformist 60+ person who despises social media and will have none of it (other than watching curated YouTube) and who has never set foot in Silicon Valley, I swear by Allbirds – I can see six different pairs from where I am writing this – “Touche pas à mon pote!”
First of all, thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. I appreciate it very much. As for Allbirds, well, if it works for you, then who am I 🙂 I am thrilled that they are for you. Them as a uniform for Silicon Valley, well, that I will definitely judge!
Brilliant writing Om, always love your perspective. Embracing what makes us unique can be a longer harder road but ultimately the most rewarding and authentic.
Frank, Being authentic and true means trying to live differently. And with intention. It is going to become increasingly challenging. As I said earlier, no matter how much you try, the world is getting more and more optimized, both online and offline.
Great post, Om. Anyone with any kind of writing taste has been hit hard the last few years by the ‘industrialization of content’, and it’s grim looking into the future (outside of a strong, deeply human feeling that there will be a reaction to counter this rooted in ‘radical authenticity’, etc). There are echoes in this post of what’s discussed in Adam Mastroianni’s ‘The Decline of Deviance’ (https://www.experimental-history.com/p/the-decline-of-deviance), in which he discusses various theories as to why ‘deviance’ (at least in the particular way that he defines it) has declined across the world. It’s a different theory entirely than ‘the internet and algorithms’, but I couldn’t help notice the parallels in terms of homogenization of culture (echoed also in another commenter’s mention of ‘The Age of Average’ by Alex Murrell). I also find ‘The Age of AI Face’ by Nikita Namjoshi (https://nikitanamjoshi.substack.com/p/the-age-of-ai-face) to be another relevant signpost of this unfortunate state of affairs. And my favorite piece of ‘evidence’ as to this trend of ‘the world being captured by the Algo’ is this Thai restaurant named ‘Thai food near me’: https://x.com/phenoatypical/status/1939042376703762548
Michael
Those are very good articles for me to read. I appreciate you sharing them.
And thanks for reading them.
This is a thought provoking piece. Today everywhere, everyone and everything is same. Even the rebels, outcasts are conformed to similar intent. Being different is considered as a social disease, so you have to become indifferent. Even if it comes at a price.
Long time reader, first time commenter. Like all great journalism, this is both damning and a spark for change. I recently deleted a post with only 200 views, and then was on a call with two people who both mentioned it. Not sure it is the end game solution, but ignoring the ‘metrics’ that platforms insert to drive behavior and focusing on understanding your own goals, and measuring your own outcomes is at least a coping strategy
Thank you Russell for reading and giving attention to this piece. Your comment is a good way to think about how we should deal with the “metrics” and everything else. Sadly, it is easier said than done.
I still have stats on my blog. I do check them at the end of the week and not during the week, as it allows me to not think about things too much. I should turn off stats on my blog, though.
As always, a great post Om. Unfortunately it resonates so strongly because all of us are homogenized. As much as we may all think that we are individuals and unique in our own way, we are all captured. Some of us succeed more than others but at the end of the day, if we are honest with ourselves, we so rarely dance outside the lines. You almost have to withdraw from society to truly deviate and even then, you’re not alone. I’ll keep the good fight going as long as I can but we aren’t winning it.
Paul,
I would love to agree, but I won’t and I can’t. I know enough people (and that’s just me) who are remarkably not cut from the same cloth. They are not bland in the algorithmic sense, and every one of them has one thing in common — a predominance of offline life and curiosity, that goes beyond what the algorithm feeds them.
We all have to make an effort to be unique and not be same-same. It is virtually impossible to do so because of algorithms.
I couldn’t agree more Om that there are people who by nature are not bland and have never fallen under the spell of algorithms and feeds. Nevertheless, we all play by society’s rules and some deviate more than others. I side with the “others” who choose not to play by the rules and think you and I both strive to be part of that group. Yet, both privately and professionally we are bound to an extent to play by the rules. I find that these rules, in general so pervasively written, determine far too much how we have to behave to have any chance to succeed. We aren’t allowed to dance too far outside the lines. This is the only point I am trying to make. We can only avoid bland to an extent but I am up for the good fight.
Struck a (generational) chord. Thanks from Peter at 60yo in Stockholm
I am glad we are all on the same page. Thanks for reading and commenting Peter.
Deeply felt this! It’s wild how we’ve traded “weird” for “optimized.” Your point about the “Spotify sound” and the “AirSpace” aesthetic hits home—it’s like the whole world is being filtered through the same bland preset.
The pressure to “paint by numbers” just to be seen by the algorithm is the ultimate creativity killer. It takes real guts to stay colorful in a grey-beige digital landscape. Thanks for the reminder to keep our tastes human and our hobbies weird. Stay unique!
Thanks Bock, I appreciate your feedback. We all need to really work hard at not trying to be bland.
So very nice to see your well-honed prose sliding into my Reader several times this new year.
That made me chuckle quite a bit, oh yes, more turquoise pens, filled with turquoise ink from a copying Italian maker. In many ways, it serves to keep me from getting burst of “acquisition syndrome”. I’m more moved these days by an interesting filling system, or a feature that none of my current ink-slingers sport.
Hi Doug
Thanks for the note and your feedback. I hope you continue to take enough time away from IG and enjoy your pens. IG, at best can and should be used as an information-resource, with knowledge that it is being shared to sell you something. Once you get that idea, it becomes less than necessary habit.
Cheers
Well written and very apt: the pressures for conformity are strong and omnipresent, except on one’s own website. Thinking about this, on hero photos and what it exactly is that I want to achieve (with my website), I came to the idea of the human connection, saying Hello with a smile.
I wrote this piece on it, may it put a smile on your face, too:
https://willem.com/en/2026-01-10_hello-video/
If you have the time, this thinking was sparked into being after seeing my little girl interacting with Fairies in the Dutch theme park Efteling. It hit me that the human connection is so important, and exactly that is ‘muted’ in the modern grey-beige world.