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- Cost of Community and The Portal
Cost of Community and The Portal
Izzy White
May 17, 2024
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.
Algorithm References
The internet has been a bit weird this week and these references reflect that…
Ice Spice is showing up on NYC Metro Cards. I love when people/brands/celebs etc. show up in day-to-day places, and it adds a fun element to a not so fun thing.
A wholesome Dublin - NYC portal reference - who the portal should be used. Rather than the weird stuff that’s been happening recently.
Strawberries = Viral apparently on TikTok, with this random person eating way too many strawberries leading to 103million views and counting. Kinda suss that the lighting doesn’t change over the 12 hours he’s apparently eating.
We’re back to no car/can’t drive slander and this TikTok sent by Duncan is the perfect example of this.
More Mark Zuckerberg content from his birthday party - man is so odd.
Articles
Lots of articles this week that are worth a skim at the very least!!
Bumble’s new “rebrand” is not working out how they intended - shocker. Their recent campaign has put them in hot(ter) water, as it has very weird and tone-deaf energy. Many TikTok people are calling out why it’s distasteful - mainly that it didn’t take into account the reason that many women/people are celibate. And more than that, I know that for some people, Bumble is the reason they are celibate. The brand has apologised and has promised to donate to Domestic Violence charities and causes but it further brings to like the complicated nature of dating - especially dating when it’s between a man and woman.
Each week a new reference to a special club comes up, and this week is all about members-only clubs. This can range from a SOHO house situation, all the way to Equinox’s 40k a year membership. This article touches on the more exclusive clubs, ones that are peak New York and don’t allow photos. The main takeaway from the gossip-filled article is summarised in this one line - “All the responses taught me that these clubs fill voids, most commonly an almost juvenile yearning for friends under the guise of the word community.”
We’ve officially got Gen Alpha spending habits data that isn’t just linked to Roblox, and no surprise that the information is similar to how Gen Z was spoken about. For example, they’re acting like it’s a unique revelation that children influence the buying power of their parents and that Gen Alpha. In moments like this, it’s easy to focus on what Gen Alpha are doing but remember that young people are still young people - there more nuance beyond their generation label.
Lil Extras:
Skin Deep - Chloe sent through this AMAZING report that I am still working through reading that off visuals alone is worthy of a read!
Everything Is a Journey Now - I love any content that critiques wellness, self-help culture and this article talks about how everything is a journey
Why Gen Z Is Bringing Matchmaking Back + Campus startup Linked Up aims to play cupid for class crushes - Dating is always a hot topic, and these are just a couple of examples of how “Gen Z” is apparently doing it differently
How FELLR is using Tracksuit to set strategy that gets consumers fizzing
Weekly Question
Thank you for getting this far. I look forward to hanging out with you all next week!