Why Every Coffee Shop Looks the Same (theguardian.com) 67
An anonymous reader shares a report: These cafes had all adopted similar aesthetics and offered similar menus, but they hadn't been forced to do so by a corporate parent, the way a chain like Starbucks replicated itself. Instead, despite their vast geographical separation and total independence from each other, the cafes had all drifted toward the same end point. The sheer expanse of sameness was too shocking and new to be boring. Of course, there have been examples of such cultural globalisation going back as far as recorded civilisation. But the 21st-century generic cafes were remarkable in the specificity of their matching details, as well as the sense that each had emerged organically from its location. They were proud local efforts that were often described as "authentic," an adjective that I was also guilty of overusing. When travelling, I always wanted to find somewhere "authentic" to have a drink or eat a meal.
If these places were all so similar, though, what were they authentic to, exactly? What I concluded was that they were all authentically connected to the new network of digital geography, wired together in real time by social networks. They were authentic to the internet, particularly the 2010s internet of algorithmic feeds. In 2016, I wrote an essay titled Welcome to AirSpace, describing my first impressions of this phenomenon of sameness. "AirSpace" was my coinage for the strangely frictionless geography created by digital platforms, in which you could move between places without straying beyond the boundaries of an app, or leaving the bubble of the generic aesthetic. The word was partly a riff on Airbnb, but it was also inspired by the sense of vaporousness and unreality that these places gave me. They seemed so disconnected from geography that they could float away and land anywhere else. When you were in one, you could be anywhere.
My theory was that all the physical places interconnected by apps had a way of resembling one another. In the case of the cafes, the growth of Instagram gave international cafe owners and baristas a way to follow one another in real time and gradually, via algorithmic recommendations, begin consuming the same kinds of content. One cafe owner's personal taste would drift toward what the rest of them liked, too, eventually coalescing. On the customer side, Yelp, Foursquare and Google Maps drove people like me -- who could also follow the popular coffee aesthetics on Instagram -- toward cafes that conformed with what they wanted to see by putting them at the top of searches or highlighting them on a map. To court the large demographic of customers moulded by the internet, more cafes adopted the aesthetics that already dominated on the platforms. Adapting to the norm wasn't just following trends but making a business decision, one that the consumers rewarded. When a cafe was visually pleasing enough, customers felt encouraged to post it on their own Instagram in turn as a lifestyle brag, which provided free social media advertising and attracted new customers. Thus the cycle of aesthetic optimisation and homogenisation continued.
If these places were all so similar, though, what were they authentic to, exactly? What I concluded was that they were all authentically connected to the new network of digital geography, wired together in real time by social networks. They were authentic to the internet, particularly the 2010s internet of algorithmic feeds. In 2016, I wrote an essay titled Welcome to AirSpace, describing my first impressions of this phenomenon of sameness. "AirSpace" was my coinage for the strangely frictionless geography created by digital platforms, in which you could move between places without straying beyond the boundaries of an app, or leaving the bubble of the generic aesthetic. The word was partly a riff on Airbnb, but it was also inspired by the sense of vaporousness and unreality that these places gave me. They seemed so disconnected from geography that they could float away and land anywhere else. When you were in one, you could be anywhere.
My theory was that all the physical places interconnected by apps had a way of resembling one another. In the case of the cafes, the growth of Instagram gave international cafe owners and baristas a way to follow one another in real time and gradually, via algorithmic recommendations, begin consuming the same kinds of content. One cafe owner's personal taste would drift toward what the rest of them liked, too, eventually coalescing. On the customer side, Yelp, Foursquare and Google Maps drove people like me -- who could also follow the popular coffee aesthetics on Instagram -- toward cafes that conformed with what they wanted to see by putting them at the top of searches or highlighting them on a map. To court the large demographic of customers moulded by the internet, more cafes adopted the aesthetics that already dominated on the platforms. Adapting to the norm wasn't just following trends but making a business decision, one that the consumers rewarded. When a cafe was visually pleasing enough, customers felt encouraged to post it on their own Instagram in turn as a lifestyle brag, which provided free social media advertising and attracted new customers. Thus the cycle of aesthetic optimisation and homogenisation continued.
Umm, in my experience they don't (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe it's the coffee shops I go to, beyond being rooms with a counter and some seating, they all look rather unique. From the Horseshoe in San Francisco to the Coffee Exchange in Providence.
Maybe I just don't go to cafe's that enjoy groupthink on instagram.
Honestly where I am (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think it's Internet Groupthink like the author does though, I think it's more likely that the same handful of interior design companies are making all the furnishings for coffee shops.
Re:Honestly where I am (Score:5, Insightful)
Or maybe it's just what coffee shops are believed to look like. "Central Perk" in Friends looked like a Starbucks, and predated the full expansion of Starbucks. Or, I should say, Starbucks started looking more like Central Perk over time. I remember being in NYC in the 90s and the Starbucks then were more spartan than the TV exemplar.
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Re:Honestly where I am (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Honestly where I am (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Honestly where I am (Score:5, Informative)
Yes! I've also noticed the coffeeshops in Amsterdam are nothing like those all over the US. The menus are different and people just seem more chill.
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Yes! I've also noticed the coffeeshops in Amsterdam are nothing like those all over the US. The menus are different and people just seem more chill.
Maybe it's the brownies.
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Re: Honestly where I am (Score:4)
No one who likes coffee would go to a Starbucks or anything that looks like it.
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No one who likes coffee would go to a Starbucks or anything that looks like it.
"I don't watch TV ... and I love to tell people that I don't watch TV."
- same guy, in the 90s ...
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Same. But I tend to go, very occasionally, to places that do an expert job, not a chain that's worse than my home drip maker.
I drink it black - with enough sugar and cream and flavor shots anything is about equivalent.
Maybe these homogenous shops serve homogenous product.
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Yep, same here. Somebody needed something to write about, it seems.
Old style diners all looked the same (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: Old style diners all looked the same (Score:2)
I was going to say the same thing, maybe because of my associations with the term 'coffee shop". They all had a cigarette machine in the lobby, vinyl booths that were easy to wipe down, rotating pie displays, plus whatever decor was popular when they last remodeled (sometimes never).
Convergent evolution in action. It may be worse now because of all the metrics that reward sameness--but I also think more kindly of glittered linoleum than vinyl flooring with fake saw marks.
Re: Old style diners all looked the same (Score:2)
The old style diners were all the same because thatâ(TM)s what was available in mass production that was required in the financial boom after WW2.
The modern coffee shop where the menu is crayon on a blackboard with the same style font and layout, despite the massive amount of possible variations a blackboard can do is what is âoeweirdâ, especially as its patrons are hell-bent on expressing their own individuality (although all their hair styles and outfits also are the same across the nation)
Re: Old style diners all looked the same (Score:2)
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So it's like (Score:2)
A Pavlovian response?
Addicts are all the same (Score:2)
They like to FEEL they are individuals but in reality they are all the same and their "choice" is just some random noise. Like offering different colors of cocaine provides the illusion of choice.
The optimal solution when achieved will be come out to be about the same thing.
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it's just coffee man, chill out
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It works (Score:1)
If a particular model works and is what people expect, unless your differentiation can work positively towards increasing sales and driving market share, why re-invent the wheel?
This seems more an issue with the market consumer rather than the independent business.
ChatGPT? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't drink coffee, so I don't really have a frame of reference for what coffee shops look like, but this story looks like the kind of word salad that I've seen coming out of chatGPT.
Is this story meant to illustrate the other stories about LLMs replacing jobs by giving us a "story" generated without the benefit of a sentient mind?
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I don't drink coffee, so I don't really have a frame of reference for what coffee shops look like, ...
Ironically, they sell other things too, like tea, sandwiches and snacks, at coffee shops. :-)
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I don't drink coffee, so I don't really have a frame of reference for what coffee shops look like, ...
Ironically, they sell other things too, like tea, sandwiches and snacks, at coffee shops. :-)
I don't drink coffee OR tea. I accompany my wife into Starbucks occasionally, where she gets coffee or a frapp to go. They have some good-but-overpriced cakes and pastries, but nothing that I'm interested in drinking. So I'll sometimes get a slice of poppy-seed lemon cake while I'm there, but I'd never go there - or to any coffee shop - on my own.
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You:
write an article about how all coffee shops are the same
ChatGPT
Title: The Homogeneity of Coffee Shops: Are They All Alike?
Introduction:
In cities around the world, the landscape is often dominated by a ubiquitous sight - the coffee shop. Whether it's a local independent cafe or a global chain, the experience of walking into a coffee shop can often feel remarkably similar. From the aroma of freshly ground beans to the hum of espresso machines and the sight of people hunched over laptops, there's a certain
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The story you're referring to seems to be a creative piece generated by a language model like ChatGPT. It's important to understand that stories or content created by AI models are not produced with sentient understanding or personal experience. Instead, these models use patterns in the data they were trained on to generate text.
In the case of descriptions of coffee shops or any other specific settings, the AI uses its training on a wide variety of texts to create a plausible scenario. These descriptions ar
Carcinization? Or maybe (Score:2)
Hello,
While it may be easy to say it is some kind phenomenon from online pictures ("airspace") shared via social media as the TFA declares, it seems its author did not perform any kind of rigorous study into what the alternatives might be, so let me propose one here:
Perhaps coffee shops are limited by what restaurant supply shops (both online and offline) offer. I would imagine this is a space which has had a lot of consolidation just like every over one over the past decades, so the breadth of what has be
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trends (Score:5, Interesting)
100 years ago, Art Deco was everywhere, it was trendy. Trends happen, and trends change. Nothing new here.
SciFi predicts again (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:SciFi predicts again (Score:4, Funny)
If I ever start a chat with a coffee shop attendant (not happening but let's assume) and another attendant 1000 km away continues the same chat, what's going to happen is I'll start believing in conspiracy theories. Then maybe pull a gun in panic on the next attendant another 1000 km away who suddenly knows too many things about me.
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Don't ever eat at a Morton's. And if you do, don't ever eat at a different one. (They do, in fact, track you that way, through a computerized system.)
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Don't ever eat at a Morton's. And if you do, don't ever eat at a different one. (They do, in fact, track you that way, through a computerized system.)
Major hotel chains do this in a major way. If a customer asks for a wake-up call at 7am once, they're going to be asked upon check-in if they want a wake-up call until the end of time.
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Taco Bell. That is all.
Eh.... (Score:1)
Or... (Score:2)
Alternately, Starbuck's dictated how cafes are supposed to be to the 80,000 branches, and other cafes imitate the same aesthetic.
Re: Or... (Score:1)
Starbucks has a very clinical layout and design. The article is about the coffeeshops with blackboard menus and âoelocalâ coffee that all offer the same menu, the same layout, the same font and everything that would make it quirky and unique at first sight, is very repetitive and makes it look like theyâ(TM)re all owned by the same corporation.
Obligatory (Score:4, Informative)
Why is this on Slashdot?
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Why is this on Slashdot?
If you don't understand the link between nerds and coffee then why are YOU on Slashdot?
Holy word salad! (Score:5, Insightful)
Every Starbucks looked the same because they weren't a cafe, they were a vertical monopoly in the coffee sector. The beans, the syrups, the furniture, the registers, they all had to come from the same place for them to be market-dominant. And the financing behind expanding Starbucks was also behind all of it's suppliers expanding. Now every one of their suppliers dominates their own market. Giving a small network of financial instiutions
Now, if anyone, anywhere opens a cafe and starts sourcing equipment they're going to find that the supplier selling the "starbucks style" stuff is cheaper than the rest because they were inflated with Starbucks' massive scale.
Every cafe looks and feels the same because financialization always lead to anti-competitive, anti-consumer behavior on the part of corporate raiders. I believe in the current market people are starting to see massive brands like Starbucks as being more of a liability than an asset. It's actually a "safer" business model for the corrupt capital behind Starbucks to hide behind their market-breaking suppliers and simply rebuild the industry around them in their own image. Yuck.
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Every cafe looks and feels the same because financialization always lead to anti-competitive, anti-consumer behavior on the part of corporate raiders.
"Anti-consumer"?
If most coffee shop customers didn't want coffee shops to look like that, then they wouldn't look like that.
Trends are a thing, always have been a thing, and probably always will be a thing. And people blathering about "authenticity" will keep on conforming ... to their own trends.
Or as that elf on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer said ... "let's be independent ... together."
Coffee Machine, People, Chairs, Register--Duh! (Score:4, Interesting)
That stated, at Orchard Valley Coffee, a popular Silicon Valley coffee shop, the floor is some more than 50 year old terracotta thing at the bottom of an old building. The windows are burgundy painted wood. There are several kinds of chairs and tables. I don't think it looks much like the Starbuck's down the street; that's part of the reason why people come here.
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In the 1960's I knew 3 coffee houses: The Seventh Seal, The Forum, and the Mediterranean. They were quite different. I'd expect one needs to look at some buiness planner to explain why they're all the same.
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Interesting.
The Orchard Valley Coffee shop looks similar to the One Field Farm Kitchen in Bangalore! Yes, I run this
What? This is such BS (Score:2)
" On the customer side, Yelp, Foursquare and Google Maps drove people like me -- who could also follow the popular coffee aesthetics on Instagram -- toward cafes that conformed with what they wanted to see by putting them at the top of searches or highlighting them on a map."
Well, first, when I search Google Maps for a Starbucks, it is not stacking up results to other coffee shops that 'conformed with what wanted to see'. I see the other listings, I'm just not interested, for they are not Starbucks. These
What? (Score:2)
Can I get a TL;DR? I think this author likes hearing themselves talk.
Re: What? (Score:2)
Because they all serve coffee.
Not where I live (Score:2)
In my city, we have a wide [cafelessaisons.com] variety [instagram.com] of decors [instagram.com] and furnishings [mamieclafoutis.com].
Interesting theory, too bad it's not remotely true (Score:2)
I tried to make sense of the article....I
Come to Thailand (Score:1)
The only thing coffee shop brands here have in common is the brand name and the logo and perhaps a common idea about design.
E.g. Amazon design: one or two ponds with fish, everything full with plants, easy 100 or more species.
A secret corner for sitting behind/under a tree. Typical Thai barrels filled with water and fish, lotus growing out them. A big swing made from a thick wooden log.
The layout is always completely individual, so is the building.
I guess it is how everything is structured here. Stuff is bu
One of my favouries (Score:2)
'Coffee by the Creek' on Princes Highway, Salt Creek, South Australia.
authentic
reverse Turing? Gnirut test? (Score:2)
Does the Turing test still apply if human generated prose falls to such execrable levels that it is indistinguishable from text kludged together by some shitty "AI" ?
It's a room with a single counter and tables (Score:2)
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Yes of course. The author, which maybe ChatGPT, fails to identify how coffee shops could look different. Imagine spending time wondering why gas stations all look the same and fingering some a pseudo-intellectual cultural reason why that is.
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Paul Kelly said it better in far fewer words (Score:1)
"I can order sandwiches in seven different languages
But every fucking city looks the same"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
It may be erroneous to assume ... (Score:2)
Convergent evolution (Score:2)
Convergent evolution is not a new idea.
Duh (Score:2)
Many years I had a conversation about why Chinese restaurants all look the same. The answer was obvious: they all order their stuff from the same Chinese Restaurant Paraphernalia Emporium mail-order catalog. Coffee shops will have their own equivalent.