Conversations with People Who Hate Me

On the internet, nobody seems to remember you’re a real person. That’s especially true for Michael James Schneider, an artist whose work you’ve probably seen online. Commonly referred to as “Balloon Guy”, Michael uses mylar balloons to spell out pithy phrases he then posts on the internet– and people both love and hate him for it. In fact, it can seem like Michael’s haters outweigh the fans, at least online. In this episode, listen as Michael explores what could possibly be behind all the anonymous trolling that has turned him into one of Twitter’s “main characters”, and how anonymity affects the kinds of conversations we can have with one another. This is an episode of “Conversations With People Who Hate Me”, another podcast from the TED Audio Collective, hosted by Dylan Marron. Listen to more wherever you’re listening to this.