Victoria Song
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vicmsong.bsky.social
Victoria Song
@vicmsong.bsky.social
Senior reviewer and author of the Optimizer newsletter for The Verge. I write about wearables, health tech, the wellness wild west, and other gadgets. Previously: Gizmodo, PCMag, Yomiuri Shimbun.

Signal: @vicmsong.14

Grand poobah of the penguin brigade.
Like I wanna go back to drunk raccoon trashing liquor store chaos and not… the fascism shaking hands with tech billionaires chaos.
February 13, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Yesterday I was walking home and I did an unprompted George Costanza laugh after reading a headline and that’s like, level orange chaos threat warning.
February 13, 2026 at 9:58 PM
I also like the Oura ring. This piece is more about how wearable tech is regulated and how some companies use "wellness" as a catch-all to avoid regulation.
February 13, 2026 at 4:14 PM
The only way I see it happening is if they find the use case that is so convenient, so appealing to the average person that the theoretical convenience is "worth" the privacy trade off.

So far, I haven't seen that use case for smart glasses.
February 13, 2026 at 4:04 PM
The number one thing I hear from readers is "Nah, no thanks. Not from Meta" and dude, who can blame them when stories like this come out.
February 13, 2026 at 3:53 PM
We recognize it's impossible for ordinary people to donate to every single GoFundMe that comes across their social feed. Especially as layoffs increasingly become the norm. But even a signal boost on social media helps and we'd be grateful for those too.
February 11, 2026 at 3:27 PM
You know, once the air doesn’t feel like it’s stabbing the inside of my lungs while slapping my face.

And I LIKE winter running so you know it’s bad.
February 9, 2026 at 1:28 PM
I too sometimes end up working in my exercise gear 🥲 I’m not looking forward to building back the fitness I lost but I am looking forward to how clean my brain feels after a run. I miss it.
February 9, 2026 at 1:27 PM
But then not being able to run, my best stress reliever, just adds to the health issues. Worst catch 22.
February 9, 2026 at 1:23 PM
I’ve had so many health issues lately and kept having to delay my return to running. And then when I was finally ready the stupid snow and frigid temps have conspired to delay me further :(
February 9, 2026 at 1:22 PM
I lasted 4 minutes and quit. Indoor workout it is today.
February 9, 2026 at 12:05 PM
I fear I will never be warm again.
February 9, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Everything about this adaptation legit made me go “I don’t think we read the same book…”
February 7, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Nooooo
February 6, 2026 at 9:51 PM