influencers

R.I.P social media influencers, welcome back PR



Metier Sergeant all Day Cabas bag worn by Nicole Kidman in The Undoing

“There is a sense of growing ennui among influencers and brands. Celebrity is key to having those big moments that will live much longer than just an Instagram Story, as is working to place your brand in something that feels part of a cultural zeitgeist or nostalgia for millions. Beloved TV personalities from shows like ‘Dynasty,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ and ‘Sex and The City’ inspire nostalgia in generations while capturing new ones, so this intergenerational and international reach is incredibly attractive.”
Communications consultant, Alexandra Carello, WWD

This is an interesting feature in WWD describing the apparent fatigue with polished Instagram content and highlighting the shift to ‘cultural pioneers’, professional experts and social activists. It also flags the success of product placement in recent style-setting shows like Emily In Paris, The Undoing (featuring the Métier bag*, above and below) and Gossip Girl. (more…)



Quote of the day: Barrett Swanson on the trouble with TikTok content houses



Barrett Swanson on the trouble with TikTik hype houses

“For a moment, I cannot remember who I am or why I am sitting here amid this sea of beautiful young people, all of them desperate for recognition, their whole lives ahead of them, empty at the absolute center. TikTok is a sign of the future, which already feels like a thing of the past. It is the clock counting down our fifteen seconds of fame, the sound the world makes as time is running out.”

Writer and English professor Barrett Swanson laments the empty culture of TikTok influencers in this outstanding long read for Harper’s Magazine (more…)



Are NFTs, digital currencies and ‘The Internet of Value’ really going to change modern life forever?



Beeple NFT art

This month I’ve not been able to move for news and hot takes (pay wall) on NFTs. I don’t know how long they’ve been around but like most media people, I got wind of them after the artist Beeple sold an NFT (essentially a one-off digital file) of a digital collage he had made (pay wall) for $69.3 million. Boom! Suddenly everyone was interested.

I read a succession of articles to get my head around them but I should have just waited. Because Professor Scott Galloway has the ultimate explainer on his recent podcast with smart futurist Raoul Pal. (more…)