I was going to post some boring stuff about a cyber security tool that will probably destroy the world (according to the NYTimes), but chose the article about teens and tumblr instead.

It’s pretty “stupid adult peeks into fetid writhing mass of teen culture, is surprised to find some things of worth”, but I love deep looks into online culture. The article is both the pinnacle of cringe-y adult misunderstanding:

Lilley is tall and lanky, with dark brown curly hair. Greenfield is shorter, with glasses and honey-brown hair. They both wore plain polo shirts. Summer had just ended, and there was a pool in the backyard, but they were quite pale. After studying their mannerisms and hearing Lilley’s repeated allusions to Greenfield’s math skills and superior memory—he was briefly a mechatronics engineering major—I determined they were nerds. They were witty and warm and very smart, and I liked them immediately, but they were total nerds. It surprised me, because nerds are often defined by an inability to read social interactions and respond in a way that makes them cool, confident—relatable. So I gently asked Greenfield how he was able to make these minute social observations that hinge on complex emotions being expressed in subtle facial expressions when, perhaps, this was not his strong suit in real life. His answer: internet research.

As well as a demonstrate of how kids are growing up with an innate understanding of digital marketing:

The outrage clicks were so powerful, Lilley and Greenfield decided to experiment with “negative attention.” Haters are more loyal than fans, so they promoted the bad hacks. The worst hacks brought in thousands of followers, and that’s how Lifehackable built the bulk of its audience. “Tom knew what was happening, and so then he was more incentivized to actually not do his job right,” Lilley said. “And in sucking, he succeeded.”

And later

Lilley was disgusted by the thought of “trying to build a personal brand by sacrificing your content.”

It’s great and you should read it.

https://newrepublic.com/article/129002/secret-lives-tumblr-teens

Ever see street fashion and want to remember to add it to your wardrobe. Now creepy Pinterest will help you!

Take a picture of a stranger and Pinterest will help you shop their clothes. Totally not weird! You hate it… but you know you’ll use it.

One Twitter user called it a “shazam for everything”!

Why it’s hot:

Technology is allowing us to do all the little things we’ve always said “I wish my phone could do X.”

With the advent of home delivery meal kits like Blue Apron and the recent sale of Whole Foods to Amazon, there has been much talk about food delivery. While these companies target Americans who can afford healthy and interesting meal combinations, there are about 13% of Americans who are unsure of where their next meal with come from. The non-profit, Feeding Children Everywhere, has created a simplified version of the pre-portioned meal kit which they are calling Fed40. Users can sign up on the Fed40 app or website for 40 shelf stable meals within one business day. They must provide their address and how many family members live in their residence. The best part is that it’s free!

They are currently offer one meal, Red Lentil Jambalaya. This meal can be shipped without an ice pack, which saves on shipping costs and can easily be adjusted at home to include additional spices or ingredients.

Feeding Children Everywhere thinks of this solution as a stop gap, and wants to encourage participants to take advantage of their local federal and state support programs. If participants sign up 4 or more times for this program they will be contacted to ensure they are aware of all the other support services in the area.

Why it’s hot: Feeding Children Everywhere has taken a home delivery meal kit craze and turned it into something that can serve the sizable population of people who are lacking resources in this country. While the program aims to address this problem, the organization also acknowledges that there is still more than needs to be done to support these families. Therefore they can also act as a hub where participants can learn about the other support programs in their area. However, there still seem to be some issues that go unaddressed. It would be interesting to conduct user research to gather insights about how people would use this service, how it improves their experience and what pain points are still unaddressed.

As Facebook approaches 2 billion monthly users, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed a new mission statement, to “Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”

Zuckerberg announced the change today at the Facebook Communities Summit for top Group admins where it announced new Group management tools. “For the last decade or so we’ve been focusing on making the world more open and connected. But I used to think that if we just give people a voice and help some people connect that that would make the world a whole lot better by itself,” Zuckerberg admits. “Look around and our society is still so divided. We have a responsibility to do more, not just to connect the world but to bring the world closer together.”

Rather than have the new mission be just a philosophy, Zuckerberg says Facebook is turning it into a goal. “We want to help 1 billion people join meaningful communities. If we can do this it will not only reverse the whole decline in community membership we’ve seen around the world… but it will also strengthen our social fabric and bring the world closer together.” Right now Facebook considers there to be only 100 million meaningful group members.

Why Its Hot

Given Facebook’s issue with “fake news” and inconsistent enforcement of community guidelines, it will be interesting to see what changes they implement as part of their new mission statement. There are many, many communities in the world and they tend to clash with one another. How will Facebook “bring the world closer together” while also keeping abusive, harmful, and “fake” content offline? And how will they determine that content?

Additionally, how do ads fit in? We’re already seeing 15 sec. ads on just about every video. Will Facebook put its mission statement ahead of their bottom line?

It may have been hard to keep track of all icky news around Uber in the last 6 months (I know I for one went down the rabbit hole after the explosive Susan Fowler blog post in February and have been following the fall-out closely ever since).

In case you haven’t been keeping as close a tab, Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down on Wednesday this week after pressure from the board following Eric Holder’s report on the company– proving that all it takes for the bros of Silicon Valley to get their act together is just a little gentle scolding from the US Attorney general.

WIRED wrote a helpful timeline of the last few years’ mishaps and exposés here, in “A Brief History of Uber’s Many, Many Screw Ups”:

https://www.wired.com/story/timeline-uber-crises/

WHY IT’S HOT

It’s cringeworthy to say the least. And it got me thinking about company culture overall, and how tech giants who have grown quickly and exponentially with little oversight or accountability can manage culture and the right way to do so. With all of the recent talk about Amazon’s retail (world) domination, it’s worthwhile to note that Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick based his company’s values on the leadership principles of Amazon. But while Jeff Bezos obsessively tends to the churn-and-burn culture of Amazon, Kalanick let the “always be hustlin” ethos of Uber run amuck. It remains to be seen if Uber’s 180-day plan can make a sizable shift in its company culture in any sort of meaningful way.

Companies like Uber, Amazon, and Google aren’t just services, retailers, or manufacturers. They are fundamentally upending our economies, our policies, and our daily behaviors. What is the “right” company culture for companies that will continue to influence so much more than just their employees’ 9 to 5 – and shouldn’t we care?

Instagram has added lenses and father’s day stickers, similar to Snapchat.

The new lenses include a road trip filter, old man filter, dog filter (cough cough Snapchat rip off), a bear filter, sleepy time filter, and rainbow filter. Most filter are animated and bring the 2D lenses to life.

This is me as a dad, driving through my hood.

The update is available now! So hope on Instagram stories and take these new features for a test drive.

Why its hot?

• Its only a matter if time before they start offering sponsored filters/lenses to brands.
• It’s pretty crazy how much Instagram stories copies features from Snapchat but no one really cares because Instagram stories is doing so much better. Brands are going to be where their fan base is and a majority of brands have grown their following on Instagram.
• It will be interesting to see where Instagram takes this with brands.

BONUS! Eater NYC justput out some really great article that I thought you could all benefit from…

• Where to get $1 oysters (heck yes!): https://ny.eater.com/maps/dollar-oyster-deals-in-nyc-mapped
• 27 Best Happy Hour specials in NYC (dont have to tell me twice): https://ny.eater.com/maps/happy-hour-nyc-best
• Best ice cream in NYC rated. (you scream, ice scream): https://ny.eater.com/2017/6/15/15808630/new-york-ice-cream-ranked

Gaming videos are a head-scratcher. Why watch someone play when you could just … play? To find out, we asked gamers directly. This new research uncovers four key reasons people watch gaming content. For brands marketing to gamers, knowing these motivations can enable more meaningful connections.

1. For the community—to be part of something larger than oneself

2. For the inclusion—to feel accepted

3. For the fun of it—to escape

4. For the desire to improve—to learn new skills

Why It’s Hot: The implications for brands are real. Gamers are a highly influential audience with major purchasing power. But to truly connect requires knowing a bit more about why people are tuning into game-related video content.

Related article: Why Gamers Should Be Part of Your Audience Strategy 

AI isn’t just for setting reminders and asking general questions like with Alexa. We’re starting to see talking bots that specialize and focus on narrower tasks.

Not sure if you’re ready to have a dog? Get Lola on Google Home and see if you’re up for the task.

The whole point of Lola is to make people aware of what it’s really like to be a dog owner — random non-stop barking and all — before they take on the full responsibility. The bot will even throw in a joke every once in a while to keep you entertained.

The bot is not about selling stuff, it’s about training adults and kids before they adopt a dog. Lola will tell users it is going to run around in circles and chase a butterfly while they try to go for a run, and details other weird things dogs do on the regular.

• This bot shows us that bots can/will become more task-specific in the way apps have become more tailored to individual needs.

Bonus: Watch this video of a goldfish controlling a hammer.

OR this orchestra covering Daft Punk

While spray-on tans have been around for years, spray-on skin seems to be on the horizon. RenovaCare has developed a “Cell Mist” that sprays stem cells onto burn wounds. This process is more effective in regrowing skin that functions as the original skin did and is much less painful and faster.

Why it’s hot:

• It’s less painful, faster and more efficient than skin grafting. Overall a great development for burn victims.
• We tend to focus on tech gadgets made of metal and microchips, but this example reiterates what advancements in medical tech can do.
• It’s interesting that they chose a spray gun to dispense the stem cells. I wonder what the design process looked like and what other options they considered. What other types of designs will we see and this type of technology evolves?

Sometimes repurposing an asset for social isn’t as cut and dried as a quick video edit. 

Care.com, a website for sourcing home help like childcare, senior care, housekeeping and pet care, ran a video ad on Facebook. To the audience they served it to [twice] it came off tone deaf. It’s a Facebook spec-friendly version of a longer length commercial. The captions that appear over the video read, “Look at Mom and Dad. Cleaning the house on a Saturday, instead of playing with me.”

What did they do wrong?

• The ad appears to tactlessly leverage a pouty, sad little girl to guilt parents into hiring a housekeeper. Does guilt really inspire action and create a positive brand connection? It’s a risky gamble, especially in social.
• The Facebook edit fails to consider how the content comes off without the context of of the longer-form commercial. Repurpose with care.
• They ran the same ad before, and got the same response. Then changed nothing, and ran it again (without responding to community comments). Maybe they targeted the wrong people?
• The ad goes against the advice and values they push in their own web content – as directly pointed out by viewers of the ad. 
• There’s also a typo. Oops.

Why it’s hot: It’s not that hot, but I saw this ad twice and it bugged me enough to keep me thinking about it. It annoyed me as a parent, sure. But it annoyed me more as a content strategist. Not sure how much was spent on this, but the investment could have had way more impact and positive feedback.