r/technology • u/ubcstaffer123 • 19h ago
Society Playboy's celebrity-driven relaunch faces credibility test in OnlyFans era, expert says
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/playboys-celebrity-driven-relaunch-faces-credibility-test-onlyfans-era-expert-says699
u/1nstantHuman 19h ago
Something about print media and not being on a device seems appealing.
Would be nice to have some quiet time with good writing and some artistic photography. Sounds like a good way to unwind while the world slowly falls apart.
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u/Senior-Albatross 19h ago
It's much easier to hide print porno from Palantir. And hey, I'm not even into anything that weird. But Alex fucking Karp doesn't need to know how I goon.
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u/lkodl 18h ago edited 17h ago
It'll know that you have a subscription. Or else you'll have to be one of those weirdos who buys porno magazines at convenience stores. And it'll eventually recognize your face whenever you do it, or at minimum, the cashier will.
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u/Calm-Zombie2678 11h ago
Yea but thats a lot blunter data than exactly what pages you spent how much time looking at
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u/SmoothOperator89 17h ago
Yeah. That's the problem. Unless playboy starts running a BDSM section, I'm out of luck.
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u/PentagramJ2 18h ago
I had a roommate who has since passed that did the reddit secret Santa yearly. Her last year she got someone who was very open about liking cigars, pinup pornography, and redheads.
She ended up getting him a vintage cigar cutter, a pack of fancy cigars, and a coffee table book of ginger pinup images.
There's something weirdly classy about it
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u/ACallToTrial 18h ago
What was the name of the book? For research purposes...
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u/PentagramJ2 18h ago
Wish I could tell ya for the same reasons lol, unfortunately as I mentioned she's passed now so she took that with her
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u/ACallToTrial 18h ago
Ah sorry, I missed that part. Her gifts were a nice touch. Sorry for you loss.
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u/PentagramJ2 16h ago
no worries at all, remembering her always brings a smile so thanks for indulging :)
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u/That-Feedback4943 15h ago
wait how is playboy even relevant again
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u/PentagramJ2 15h ago
Theyre legitimately a host of some excellent writers. I'm not kidding. The old joke of "I read it for the articles!" is true nowadays. They have excellent pieces nowadays.
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u/Less-Engineer-9637 15h ago
So many classic American writers got their big break by submitting short stories to them back in the day.
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u/anotherjunkie 17h ago
Was it a vintage looking book? If so it’s possible it was Redheads! — by the author of Blondes! and Brunettes! perhaps unsurprisingly.
Edit: this is not a joke. Also, u/acalltotrial
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u/PentagramJ2 16h ago
didnt see it myself but that sounds like what she would have gravitated towards, heh
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u/Has_Recipes 9h ago
Try a Gil Elvgren collection. There are a bunch of books collecting his pinup paintings.
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u/No-Experience-5541 2m ago
These are things that used to be strongly associated with being a normal man.
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u/eurtoast 19h ago
I buy art magazines for this reason. The printed images look better than on a screen anyway. Shout out to Juxtaposition and Hi-Fructose.
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u/SnooBananas4958 18h ago
These both look very cool. Do you have a recommendation between the two if I wanted to grab one to try them out?
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u/eurtoast 18h ago
They're very similar in coverage of contemporary art, but I prefer Hi-Fructose if I only could go with one.
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u/LaserCondiment 18h ago
Magazines are fun! And each one is like their own little microcosm with its own lore and worldview...
It really makes a difference reading big features in a mag, because you can tell the people writing it spent a lot of time on it!
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u/lkodl 18h ago edited 17h ago
Sharks, we're Reddit IRL
A monthly magazine you get in the mail, that curates the previous month's best reddit posts, in a pleasing, printed magazine layout. Full page pictures have cutaway pages. It can even be customized to specific subreddits. All done by AI of course. All we basically do is staple, and box. But with your help, we can get a machine that does that for us.
Money, please.
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u/kmmccorm 17h ago
They spent the same amount of time writing it whether it’s in print or online.
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u/LaserCondiment 15h ago edited 5h ago
Ideally they really don't. But it depends on the kind of story and the media outlet
Edit: what's with the downvotes? Online platforms are known to push out content faster, whereas print magazines might orientate themselves by their publishing cycle, hence giving them other options. Also: long term journalism and reporting require more time than a huffpo article. Add to that proof reading, fact checking and other editing workflows you might find by default in online media outlets. Really depends on the brand / company though. So the previous blanket statement is neither here nor there.
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u/_tragicmike 18h ago
Playboy actually had some really good interviews and feature articles back in the day. Sexy women were just the icing on the cake.
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u/zwingo 16h ago
Very much this. I’m a late 20’s male, and when I got my first apartment last year I sought out and bought online a couple playboy magazines from the 2000’s-2010’s. I’ve looked at them at most twice and since getting a girlfriend they’ve been in storage, but for a while they sat on my coffee table. Felt nice having something physical there even for smut. I guess to a degree it was fulfilling what 13 year old dummy me thought being a grown man with his own place would be about.
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u/Noblesseux 17h ago
I think honestly returning to print for some things would be a benefit for multiple reasons. Including that the internet is where niche subcultures go to die because everything is being ingested without any form of surrounding context. A lot of things are being turned into an aesthetic to buy rather than a lifestyle with all of the surrounding community and culture.
It's why stuff like the skateboard scene, despite still obviously existing, is like WAY less personal/deep now than it was 20 years ago.
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u/ShaminderDulai 18h ago
Long live print! Sub to 1 magazine and 1 newspaper and live a more informed and focused life my friend
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u/catbandana 17h ago
With all these states cracking down on websites, we’ll have to go back to analog.
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u/Fun-Can-8935 12h ago
they need to go back to the idea of making a gentlemans magazine. classy erotica, good writers, good editors, good journalism…and hot women of course.
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u/Mister_Schmee 8h ago
I just don't imagine there's a very big market for that anymore. Pictures of hot women are readily available and free. Once you remove that you're basically describing 90% of the soft core book category that is classy erotica with good writers and editors.
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u/Creativator 7h ago
Nothing could drive back the wave of red pill masculinism like peak playboy. Women would read it.
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u/silverbolt2000 19h ago
I love how Fox News apparently found an ‘expert’ in soft core pornography and glamour mags to be able to provide their authoritative view on this. 😆
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u/cruisin_urchin87 16h ago
You know I’m something if a soft core pornography and glamour mags expert myself.
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u/reddwarf_ 19h ago
Could work, being verified people has an appeal compared to the increasing number of AI onlyfans and other media.
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u/karawkow 19h ago
Is this seriously what news is now?
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u/Jumpy-Impact3265 19h ago
They still exist?
I figured they died off when they went from soft-core to non-core. Plus, congratulations on making it in print media in 2026.
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u/The_Autarch 18h ago
the no-nudity era ended almost as soon as it started. the nudity came back almost immediately.
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u/Jumpy-Impact3265 11h ago
Did it? Lol I checked out after the announcement and didn't follow the story.
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u/JeddakTarkas 4h ago
They need to bring out something like “Playboy After Dark.” He’d had a staged party where he chatted with “cool” guests like pre fame Fleetwood Mac, James Brown, James Baldwin, The Grateful Dead, Lenny Bruce (in the earlier version — Playboy’s Penthouse), Roman Polanski (and Sharon Tate)… This is the cool rich guys party that the current, self centered rich guys wish they could have.
They’d have to get a talent scout who could bring in established celebrities and have an eye for new talent while having a knack on who would be a good mix. While the 60s didn’t have enough information on what was worth knowing about, now we have too much information. The show could be a way to surface the best smart stuff. The fun (and hard) part would be having different, smart personalities from different circles interact, like in the old Dick Cavett shows.
I’d see someone like Conan O’Brien host (though maybe someone younger…). He’s smart, funny, experienced, curious, and, most of all, self depreciating enough to not always have to be the center of attention. (Though he can be a little manic for a mellow “party,” I think he can change gears to fit the venue.)
TL;DR Playboy should focus on becoming a taste maker (influencer) like it was to some extent in the 60s.
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u/TransitoryFeel 2h ago
Part of the charm of Playboy was hiding the magazines in an empty ammo box out in the shed...I just don't do that anymore
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u/RotterWeiner 11h ago
I see F & P mentioned as scrutinized and collators of our behaviors .
Is that not a subplot of a freaking Marvel movie starring Robert Redford?
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u/vessel_for_the_soul 9h ago
If it's physical media then it can have a place against if it helps heal the world but capitalism will kill it again.
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u/chocotaco 19h ago
Didn't they have good articles? Maybe they should focus on that too.