#3 Easter is underrated, if only it didn't move dates.
Week 18 April 2022
Easter has to be one of the most underrated holidays. No pressure to see loads of people, don’t spend days in the car or overdoing it *too* much with food or drinks. A couple of days leave and before you know it you’ve got loads of time off and the weather is always decent, good times. As someone said to me; “if it didn’t change the date all the time it would be up there with your Christmass' or your New Years”. I agree.
I took my first time off in 2022 this long weekend and got some sea air. Time off really is so important, but as we go into Q2 I feel I should have taken more time off before now. Lessons learnt. I’m talking to my team as I say this too.
But #content and newsletters don’t wait for anyone so here is edition #3. Slightly leaner because, Easter but also because, Substack data.
1. 🔗 How to plant a meme
This is one of the most remarkable and perhaps important reads I’ve come across in awhile. An 18-month investigation (?) not sure that’s the right word, to infiltrate and positively influence radical online Gen Z communities. This piece is so interesting because 1) the way Gen Z is being radicalised and 2) how nudge theory, in essence, is at the heart of meme setting culture. It’s a wild ride.
There needs to be so much more discussion/education on what the internet and culture norms are. The horse has perhaps bolted Governments and most adults have zero clue. If you are interested in the internet, digital culture and Gen Z this is a *must* read. I had to read it in instalments so don’t rush, save it for later and read when you can.
2. Meta will charge creators fees of up to 47.5% to sell virtual wares in its metaverse 🔗
Remarkable really. If you believe in a creator future or not or if you believe Web3 gives creators ownership or not, this kind of news item for Meta is not going to be good either way. Optics folks, op-tics.
The devil is always in the detail and indeed, we’re not comparing apples and apples by saying creator fees to sell virtual items say vs streaming. But it’s a bad headline and story that people in the space will remember only the headline of
3. 🔗 Gen Z TikTok brands are changing how we shop
TikTok seems to be a topic a lot of you are interested in. This headline will come as no surprise, fashion has always shifted around the young and the cool. But what is remarkable about the internet, TikTok and creators is that it has led to the democratisation of ideas/business.
How do two TikTok Driven brands Djerf Avenue and Stitch, thrive without huge teams and wholesalers?
Tldr: Hype, Popups, scarcity, creators.
1 quick Twitter thing.
I’m sorry, last week I said it would be the last time I mentioned Elon and Twitter, but I lied. Twitter is such an important platform for culture, news, sport and the internet, so I couldn’t leave it there.
So, you all know what happened. I won’t go through that. But here are some extra layers of context. My bet is that he still won’t take over. The Poison Pill strategy *should* see him off, like Netflix x Icahn in 2012.
🧵 And a long, long thread 🧵. 👇🏼
1 quick web3 thing.
Biggest story I came across this weekend was well, this 👇🏼
It doesn’t actually sound like a hack to me, it’s literally using the protocol against itself and ultimately code does what code is coded to do, right? It’s another terrible headline and just seems so silly. The great thinking below is worth a read. Also, it was called “beanstalk”! I mean come on. Optics again…
Odds and ends, basic links. Little commentary, just pure linkage, in wine terms, low intervention links.
The Boneyard Principle: Why the Next Big Thing will Emerge from a Failed idea and how subtle UX improvements can make a half-a-trillion dollar difference. TikTok runs because Vine walked. - I loved Vine, a different time.
WhatsApp Communities features are coming - A smart move, bit late. Good feature to get the low hanging fruit of people/communities who need slightly more feature-rich but don’t want to go full Slack or Discord.
When Google and Facebook purchase a company, VC investment in that sector drops 40% within 3 years.
Great thinking on all those toxic positivity Instagram accounts. Humans are so funny.
I love Patreon, think it’s great. How journalists in Ukraine turned to crowdfunding site Patreon to finance coverage.
The Metaverse Could Radically Reshape Fashion. - Funny thing is I saw a Scandi brand about 6 years ago making digital fashion, lot of this is more mature than many think.
Have we reached Peak Streaming? UK households cancelling services. Unbundle, then bundle, unbundle then bundle. Same as. Also, when did Netflix make a truly great show? Squid Games? Oh and Netflix are releasing a game and TV show called Exploding Kittens, a smart IP move.
Lolz as the simplicity of it. How megafans gamed Spotify to help create Brazil’s first global chart-topper - Metric reset coming?
Adieu.
A leaner but also more linkful Substack, thanks for reading. Next week will see the return of gaming things and perhaps more Substack shares, I’ve gone down a Substack rabbit hole and just can’t enough. Let me know if you prefer more links or more commentary.
Bonus.
New Thor Trailer, yes I am a big Marvel fan.