Have you ever ridden in an Uber with a driver whose musical tastes match yours exactly and you loved everything on their playlist?
There's a chance they judged you at first glance and fired up a playlist based on a generalization. Well, that's what happened if you were riding with TJ Jones anyway. In a viral tweet, Jones explained, "So I just started driving for Uber and Lyft and I’ve been getting a lot more compliments on my music since generalizing my passengers by 1 of these 11 playlists."
Basically, he made a set of playlists with titles like "quiet ppl," "heady bros," and "basic 20-30s." Then, whenever he picks up a new passenger, he quickly generalizes them into one of those 11 groups and presses play on their playlist. Honestly, it sounds a little judgemental and fucked up on the surface, but he's been getting nothing but compliments. Based on this tweet, which has 130,000 likes and counting, people are feelin' the playlists. Turns out people don't mind being judged as long as the playlists are good and match their tastes.
If you're what Jones perceives as "quiet ppl," you'll be serenaded by a mix of Frankie Cosmos, Local Natives, and Sufjan Stevens. If you're a "heady bro" on the other hand, a blend of Nirvana, Tame Impala, and Mac DeMarco will soundtrack your ride. Sounds about right, to be honest.
If there are over a million Uber drivers in the US, it's unlikely any of us will be blessed with the chance of riding in Jones' car, but we can creep through his public Spotify account and see these playlists for ourselves. Which of the 11 generalizations are you? Look through a few of our favorites below.
Quiet People:
Heady bros:
30+:
Early 20s female:
