We will see a shift in the way people play, work, learn or simply hang out in 2021. Some of this connection will move into the Metaverse, a digital place where people seamlessly get together and interact in millions of 3D virtual experiences. Early iterations of the Metaverse emerged in the 1980s with VPL Research’s DataSuit and Linden Lab’s Second Life in 2003. However, it started to feel very real in 2020 as several platforms have been envisioning – and building – their own versions of the Metaverse. Read more (Wired)
Tag Archives: social media
China’s TikTok Is Banning Users Who Brag About Their Wealth
The purported aim of the ban is to promote “rational spending” and “a civilized lifestyle,” as well as build a healthier community on Douyin, according to the notice. A spokesperson for the platform told media that flaunting wealth “pollutes the social atmosphere (on Douyin) and is particularly harmful for the mental and physical well-being of minors.”
The recently announced cleanup has actually been underway for weeks. Since the start of this year, close to 4,000 accounts that shared content related to the six now-forbidden categories have been given the boot, the statement said. Read more (Sixth Tone)
A plan to redesign the internet could make apps that no one controls
Dfinity wants to allow the creation of apps that can run on the network itself rather than on servers owned by Facebook, Google or Amazon. Can it succeed where others have failed? Read more (Technology Review)
“I’m not a cat” Semiotics and The Treachery of Images
The Red Pill Is Radicalizing Without Substance
The Matrix launched a movement of embedding the symbolism of the red pill so deeply in society that Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump referenced it on Twitter several decades after the original film’s release. Their exchange departed from the original free-spirited Matrix by both referencing the so-called “alt-right” implications now associated with the red pill. “Take the red pill,” Musk tweeted in May 2020, seemingly implying to his followers that they need to wake up to the dangers of government overreach and paradoxically adding a red rose emoji—even though that icon is more closely associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. Ivanka retweeted the sentiment, adding a perky “Taken!” for emphasis. “Fuck both of you,” Lilly Wachowski responded, reflecting what must be a deeply entrenched frustration with how the red pill metaphor has evolved. Read more (Bitch Media)
Chinese-speaking Clubhouse users are creating “silent rooms”
Clubhouse is blowing up in China, but many Chinese-speaking users aren’t talking. Instead, they’re using it to network. One chatroom is named “Silent Room 2: No talking on the microphone, just checking bios and following each other” in traditional Chinese script. It’s attracted over 1,700 participants, including the famous Taiwanese singer and actor Aaron Yan. Even with over 80 people set as speakers or moderators, the room is dead quiet. Read more (Protocol)
Perfect storm: have the influencers selling a dream lost their allure?
There are signs that the move away from the artifice on social media is growing, though. Dazed Media – the parent company of Dazed magazine (formerly Dazed & Confused) – published a report on youth culture last year that declared “the end of the influencer”, with only 6% of their audience swayed to buy something when it was posted by an influencer with over 100,000 followers. “No one – but especially Gen Z – likes to be lied to, and influencer culture feels so vapid and meaningless, especially with the pandemic,” says Izzy Farmiloe, strategy director of Dazed Media. “Buying stuff is not what’s important right now. It’s all about people who stand for something, beyond just trying to promote and push a product.” Read more (Guardian)
Influencer Culture Is Changing. Who Influences Us Now?
In all areas of life, the pandemic has altered perspectives, shifted priorities, seen the collapse of institutions and structures built on sand, unearthed exploitation, and exacerbated pre-existing problems. Celebrities and influencers were not exempt; the rich and famous — the very same that told us a pandemic disproportionately affecting BIPOC communities, low-paid frontline workers, and the vulnerable was “the great leveler” — tried to send inspiring messages to a global audience that was grieving. Read more (Refinery29)
Fake Famous doc turns random people into influencers
building on our discussion around Black Mirror’s Nosedive
The GameStop Fiasco Proves We’re in a ‘Meme Stock’ Bubble
What the new dynamic between Redditors and Wall Street reveals about the stock market in 2021 Read more (Medium)
