Total strangers talk shop in Manhattan
May 30, 2013 7:17 AM   Subscribe

The Talk Shop is the world's first conversation salon. An artist opened up a space in Manhattan where patrons spin a conversation wheel to talk with total strangers.
posted by rageagainsttherobots (24 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
My understanding of C17th and C18th coffeehouses in England is that they operated more or less like this. It was understood that everyone would participate in conversation with each other regardless of whether or not they were acquainted and to a surprisingly large extent regardless of whether or not they were social equals. Plus coffee!
posted by yoink at 7:22 AM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]


Salons had a similar purpose.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:27 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


This is a statement on how lonely and pathetic living in NYC can be for introverted people.
posted by tarpin at 7:35 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


This appears to be paywalled.
posted by boo_radley at 7:44 AM on May 30, 2013


...the world's first conversation salon...

lol
posted by DU at 7:45 AM on May 30, 2013 [5 favorites]


Do the people who might actually want to talk to strangers really need a venue and a wheel to spin?
posted by uncleozzy at 7:46 AM on May 30, 2013


chatroulette
posted by bukvich at 7:47 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


They just put up the paywall on the Talk Shop WSJ article. You can read a copy here.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 7:47 AM on May 30, 2013


Do the people who might actually want to talk to strangers really need a venue and a wheel to spin?

It strikes me that going to a place like this ensures that the people who do want to talk to strangers are guaranteed a roomful of strangers who actually also want to talk back.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:49 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


Now if only I could get strangers NOT to talk to me on the subway!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 7:54 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]




This is a statement on how lonely and pathetic living in NYC can be for introverted people.


Whhhhhaaaa? NYC is great for introverts! No one expects you to do or say anything! Scowling while avoiding eye contact and fuming? TOTALLY NORMAL. No one talks to you EVER and if they do you can assume they want something and ignore them and ignoring people isn't rude, it's just what everyone does. Plus, you you manage it right, you never have to leave your apartment! Everything is available via online delivery! Groceries! Booze! Drugs! Sex partners! There is no better city in the US to be a complete asocial hermit in!
posted by The Whelk at 8:05 AM on May 30, 2013 [14 favorites]


Haven't these people ever heard of bars?
posted by jonmc at 8:07 AM on May 30, 2013


No one talks at a bar they're too busy reading their phones.
posted by The Whelk at 8:08 AM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]


Yes, but bars are loud.

I SAID BARS ARE LOUD
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:10 AM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]


YOUR CAR IS PLOWED?!?!
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:12 AM on May 30, 2013 [14 favorites]


Do the people who might actually want to talk to strangers really need a venue and a wheel to spin?

Do they need it? No.

But speaking as a stranger who isn't always receptive to engaging in impromptu conversations with people I don't know, especially about topics which are complicated/controversial/emotionally loaded , I'm glad that I now have somewhere to direct these people to.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:22 AM on May 30, 2013


This reminds me of why I enjoy the dining car seating on Amtrak. Food's good, you sit where they seat you, and you may or may not have an interesting conversation with the random person or persons with whom you must dine. Sometimes, when it's not interesting, it's so psychedelically dull that you start to hallucinate, and that's okay, too. Other times, it's just nice and convivial and pleasant.

Because I'm oddly shy for someone who writes about all the subjects I write about, and because I have a fear of private speaking, such paradigm-shifters can be useful.
posted by sonascope at 8:47 AM on May 30, 2013 [1 favorite]


spin a conversation wheel to talk with total strangers.

How ironic that we're talking about this here...
posted by HuronBob at 8:48 AM on May 30, 2013 [3 favorites]


Haven't these people ever heard of bars Metafilter?

FTFY
posted by HuronBob at 8:50 AM on May 30, 2013


This just seems odd. Trying to recapture the "community spirit" found in Sandy (or in my experience, the blackout of 2003, transit strike, etc.) by setting up a tent with a conversation wheel just seems... I dunno... weird and forced.

I did thoroughly enjoy the togetherness which seemed to naturally flow from those disrupting events which affected the entire city, and enjoyed the camaraderie that seemed to be prevalent everywhere during these situations that I got to experience. To my perception, it seemed about the only positive thing to have come from 9/11, the instinct as New Yorkers to come together in trying times.

That said, as an ex-New Yorker, I would not step within 20 feet of this "salon."

chatroulette
posted by bukvich at 10:47 AM on May 30

"Now with 100% less masturbation/dong shots!"

And apparently it's already over... the "about" section says this was only in operation from April 1 to April 13.
posted by Debaser626 at 8:52 AM on May 30, 2013


Yep, he probably live in an "intentional community" too.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:17 AM on May 30, 2013






"So, we're recording all the conversations that happen at TalkShop..."

And letting everyone else listen to them, I presume.

(Sounds like something Mark Zuckerberg would do.)
posted by markkraft at 11:36 AM on May 30, 2013


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