Packy McCormick and The Great Online Game

As far as digital writers go, few would argue against a ranking that places Packy McCormick and his newsletter Not Boring atop the heap. His writing, both in long form and abbreviated style on Twitter, has had an undeniably massive impact on the evolution of the creater-sphere as it's blossomed over the past couple of years.

He's a thought leader but not in the cringey way.

From the moment I began breaking down digital writers in this newsletter, Packy was an obvious choice. I resisted until now because it felt almost too easy. But as I was rereading one of my favorite Not Boring pieces recently, I felt like it was a good time to dig in.

Back in May 2021, Packy published "The Great Online Game: How to Win the Internet." It instantly got added to my bookmarks for frequent rereads. Looking back a year and a half later, I feel pretty confident saying it's the single best newsletter I've ever read.

Packy uses The Great Online Game to reframe the way we look at online life. It's not simply a matter of logging on... it's a gateway to everything.

It always garners an added layer of awe and respect from me when I read someone tackling a gargantuan concept while maintaining the ability to distill its core tenets in a concise and entertaining manner. By introducing such a mammoth idea (from scratch) and leading the reader into the essay with those three sentences, Packy sets the table like a pro.

Given the size of the subject matter, it makes sense to launch into things with a table of contents.

This is followed by a mission statement:

"By the end of this post, I hope I’ve convinced you to throw a couple coins in and start playing, but I think I might need to show you that we’re even playing a video game first."

Then the games begin.

To convince readers that we are in fact all participating in a video game, Packy starts with a purposely 'reductive' point, citing this Tweet:

Then he notes: "Hit the right keys in the right order, make money. Work is just an often boring sub-game within the meta-game."

Going deeper, he explains the similarity between Josh Buckley's definition of the 'best games' and the key factors he claims are instrumental for game design.

By connecting the technical pieces required for a traditional video game to the abstract concept of the Great Online Game, all of a sudden things start to become more clear.

Frequent Feedback Loops? ✅

• That's literally the most important facet of nearly all social media platforms. Post -> receive likes (or not) -> Rinse & repeat

Variable Outcomes? ✅

• No matter how good you are at Twitter, writing, etc., you will never bat 1.000.

Sense of Control? ✅

• It's not a game of luck. There's a reason why some have more success than others — whether that's through hard work, talent, or overseas click farms. To some degree, we are all in control online... it's just a question of how much.

Connection to a Meta-Game? ✅

• The most important according to Packy. It's also the least obvious at first. Our connection to the Meta-Game is explained as "your life and your career." Given the importance of the internet in our real, non-digital lives, its impact cannot be understated.

Packy uses the video game theme to take us through these four pillars, starting with a section titled "Meet The Players" in which we are introduced to billionaire shitposter Elon Musk.

"No one plays this game better than Musk. The best way to explain his out-of-body run is that he’s playing a video game with cheat codes."

While Musk may be winning the game, others with far less capital are doing pretty well too. They may play under a pseudonym like Bored Elon Musk, or leverage expertise like Alex Danco, who typifies the idea of the video game-esque nature of social media by constantly leveling up through a series of new communities (levels) and applying skills learned along the way.

After declaring crypto to be the currency of the game, Packy ends by revisiting the points set out above and explicitly connecting them to our collective experience.

He leaves us with advice and a personal reflection on his own journey, encouraging the newly-enlightened reader to "Go Play."