@puppycodes
To some of us she is @puppycodes, to some of us, in real life, she is Alice Barker. Either way she is a hot hacker with a good heart and the fastest fingers in the West.
Why did you choose the handle @puppycodes? Do you like puppies?
I've always felt a spiritual connection to puppies. I find myself relating to dogs more than people in everyday life. I guess I really love the basics, eating, sleeping, sex, loving hoomans... I've lived a lot of my life online and puppycodes has been my identity for some time.
What is your name in real life?
Alice Barker…But I see the digital world as real life ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Where do you live and what is your day job?
I live in LA. I'm a hacker who contracts with companies to secure their systems, test vulnerabilites and create software. I also am a co-founder of support.fm, a non-profit bail fund for trans and gender non conforming people in jail and detention. Another project i've been working on is called Navel Live, it’s an augmented reality live streaming company here in LA.
What account do you consider to be your archrival or toughest competition on instagram?
I don't generally see my Instagram as competitive. I don't really care about how many followers I get or anything like that. It started as a catalogue of content that I wanted to save to show my friends and laugh about and its mostly still that with the occasional selfie/nude thrown in.
Archrivals? If I had to generalize it would be, straight white cisgender men...or credit trolls who want me to tag them for posting their stuff. To be honest I don't have time to figure out where it came from and I’m not profiting off of any of it, so my general philosophy is if you post something public on the internet (a technology made of copies) then its fair game to be reposted...A couple times though I have taken content down because I learned it was leaked without that person’s consent, the last thing I want to do is hurt anyones feelings or make them feel unsafe.
Where do you source your material? Is it a secret?
I developed a web scraper that automatically searches the internet for content based on keywords that interest me. The program dumps images and videos into a folder on a server and I look through it and post stuff I like. I don't know the source of any of the content and I like it that way. I feel like I can look at it with fresh eyes...keeps things weird.
How many hours a day do you think you spend on the gram?
Lol, no comment.
If you had the choice (and had to choose) of deleting your account or not having electricity for a month, which would you choose?
I look at screens for work, for pleasure, for pain. Not having electricity for a month would probably be good for me.
Images courtesy of ALICE BARKER
interview ASHLEY MUNNS
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