The Biggest Influences and Meme Making

Hi!!! Welcome!! This is a newsletter that has taken the IRL weekly trends briefing, and transformed into the written word. All this information is a weekly digest of current news, trendy soundbites and sharp insights so that you can quit reading and still sound smart. Gathered from articles, newsletters, reports, and TikTok: It's like Blinkist for culture.

Long Form

Powerpoint is cool now

Powerpoints have become a centrepiece for social occasions over the past few years, heavily popularised through videos seen on TikTok. People are presenting what their job actually is, convincing their parents to let them go to a concert or presenting a random niche topic all over TikTok. This behaviour has quickly made its way offline, to nights now being hosted for people to present random niche topics that they enjoy. According to the article, the first signs of this activity began even in 2012 with a night called “Drink Talk Learn (DTL)” and the pandemic accelerated people's use of workplace technology turning these talks into more of a norm. It’s exciting to see small ideas, turn big as a way to build connection and community amongst people.

Teen Girls Are Spending Big. She Tells Them What to Buy.

Demetra Dias is a 17-year-old who charges $20,000 for a video and has caused brands to sell out their products faster than ever before. There are articles and reports, believing that the Influencer bubble will pop - and it definitely will, but understanding the root of Influencer culture means that it will only adapt, not die. This article speaks to how brands are going after young girls, to help sell things to young girls, not a new concept but the scale has changed. I often talk about the perfect recipe for success online and its foundation is finding the balance between inspiration and aspiration and in a complicated way, it’s ‘easier’ for young girls to do this. 

Some extra reads that feel super relevant, about the online world of personalities. The Widening Gap Between Influencers and Creators & Radical haterism with TikTok’s brutally honest agony aunt

Making Memes for the Global “Oat Milk Élite”

A fun read that is about “Oat Milk Elite” and other hyper-local meme accounts, that are pretty much roasting anything and everything that happens in that specific City and/or Suburb. There are versions of these meme pages all over the world, and their success lies in being relatable and poking fun at people you resent, people you aspire to be or exactly who you are - there is a very fine line between them. We are all constantly searching for moments to feel seen, and memes are such simple ways to do that which are quite deep if you have a second to over-analyse them. The article speaks to how these pages are also viewed from an outside perspective, from people who don’t at all live in Amsterdam for example (where Oat Milk Elite is based) as it’s interesting to see what is happening in the different parts of the world, online. 

• An overflow of content won't solve the enshittification of sports marketing — pretty much sports marketing is creating too much content, and it’s negatively impacting engagement. Brands should spend more time focusing on quality, rather than just churning for the sake of churning. All brands should take this approach, and also figure how you can make that inevitable churn work a but more creative.

• Nike: An Epic Saga of Value Destruction - Ex-Nike employees are going viral for breaking down exactly why the business is going to fail and this exact LinkedIn article is making the rounds as to why.

• Brands want to collaborate with ‘on the street’ creators—how one influencer agency is responding — they (influencer marketing company, Linqia) are officially capitalising on the already capitalised ‘vox pop’ style content and turning it into formal partnerships…

• 2024 Wellness Report — a bit dense, but good report that gives insight into the lives of 10,000 English speaking Lifesum users and their approach to wellness

• Are you a fiend for charts? Well you’re in luck, here are the 10 Charts That Capture How the World Is Changing

• essie’s multi-objective campaign uses Shuffles to nail it with Millennials and Gen Z (thanks Vit) - a nice case study into nail polish brand essie and how they used Pinterest’s Shuffles feature to engage with young ppl.

• Nobody Reads Ads (a blurb from the website, but it’s a great summary! soz) A small archive of old and new print & outdoor ads + ONE thing each ad does well. Curated and snackable copywriting breakdowns by Miguel Ferreira. Advertising is so obsessed with itself, it really much be how it has existed for so long.

• Before Bum Bum Cream, 80 Years of Teen Beauty Trends - an actual timeline from 1940s- now on the history of teen beauty trends!! Beauty is fascinating, as is knowing that teen trends have almost always existed.

• This AI friend is going viral, knowing that it was originally called ‘Tab’, tells me everything I need to know about it.

Short Form

• Podcast recommendation from Chloe by MØRNING! Is creativity in crisis?

• This video of someone sharing their opinion of how culture creation happens organically, but people think they need to smack a label on themselves and then they can contribute. Super interesting! Seen it already in a few newsletters

• Don’t know what a ‘morning shed’ is? Here is a TikTok of a woman doing one that will deinfluence you, and educate you.

• The flatlay is so back, and the engagement of this video is proof of that

• Beast Games aka Mr Beast’s Amazon show has a lot of people speaking about the horrible conditions the contestants were in. It’s messed up to see what is happening, and so little consequences.

• This random TikTok trend popped up on my FYP, and it’s people singing “just give me my money” in a group and then not laughing when the last person does it. I think this is the original, and I don’t fully get it but that’s ok because that’s the internet for ya!

• Very fun website that does Tarot Card Rituals!! Such a good way to give people a taste of a service, without having to spend any $$

• Including this video, in case you don’t know the language of ‘face card' declining’ (and ily Simone Biles)

• People are obsessed with the shooting this year at the Olympics - for their aura and outfits.

• Summer Friday’s did a beach cleanup event, and it’s a nice reference of a brand activation doing a good thing.

• Speaking of brands, as I’ve mentioned a few times, influencer trips that engage with real fans and communities are going to thrive and this reference from REFY is exactly that.

• As mentioned last year, tanning is in!!! We are in a 0 consequence, yolo world. This person literally has an app to track their tanning

• Muffin-gate from the Olympics is so wholesome.

• Proof that influencers have the craziest impact - Keith Lee completely changed the future of a restaurant

• This weird hand trend is showing up more and more

Weekly Question

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. The history, culture, diversity and values of all Indigenous people are recognised and respected. I pay my respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present.

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