Issue #3: Drone invasions, @world_record_egg, and the renewed value of the apology in the age of outrage
Every two weeks, you'll find a download of the top three things taking up my brain space right now, as well as other stuff piquing my interest from around the internet:
(OK FINE this time it was more like four weeks, mostly due to seasonal drinking.)
1. The drone invasions at British airports were yet another reason for people to feel anxious about emerging tech
In late December, sightings of drones over runways at Gatwick saw more than 1,000 flights cancelled, over 10,000 arriving passengers diverted, and upwards of 140,000 passengers doing what people in airports do best – waiting and being annoyed. Airport officials and the police alike seemed unable to do anything to resolve the situation. They arrested a couple for the disruption, who were detained for more than 35 hours before being freed since they hadn’t actually done anything, before the police reported that the drones may never have existed at all (insert like 20 quizzical emojis here). And then to top it all off, an albeit less dramatic turn of events at Heathrow in early January saw flights halted all over again.
While some used these escapades for meme fodder (as the internet gods intended), the revelation that the sightings may not even be real saw conspiracy theories bubble up around who would stand to gain from a drones-vs-airports hoax. A media-led distraction from Theresa May’s piping hot Brexit mess? The handiwork of eco-terrorists? Or simply bad PR for drones, orchestrated by haters?
Why should brands care?
Hoax or no, Gatwick and Heathrow alike are reportedly ‘investing millions’ into military-grade anti-drone technology; not being prepared for state-of-the-art consumer technologies quickly diminished authorities to roving idiots in the eyes of the public. It was a picture painted by patchy media coverage, which reported on the disruption without being able to provide a whole lot of information on the who, how or why. The outcome was fear and confusion that not only impacted the reputation of authorities involved, but of the tech itself; following these incidents, a YouGov survey found that 48% of the British public see drones as ‘a force for bad’.
Emerging tech dating back to the printing press has arrived with anxieties in tow, but the speed with which it’s evolving has escalated these fears. “In previous times it took technologies ages to advance to the stage where they could become a threat, so we had decades to discuss the transition from old to new,” says Vivek Wadhwa, a fellow at Stanford Law School. “That is no longer the case.”
Whether it’s drones grounding flights, the role of firms like AggregateIQ in the Leave campaign, or the countless privacy breaches of Google and Facebook, the narratives surrounding tech are leaving people feeling freaked out. But given that these technologies are here to stay, being clear and transparent about how they’re used in the public sphere is a social responsibility – for both brands and governments.
TL;DR: The mass use of emerging technologies is inevitable. In light of this, destigmatising – and demystifying – this tech for the masses is an act of social responsibility that brands and governments alike should be participating in.
2. The egg that became Instagram’s most-liked post is a reaction to the pressures of life online
NB: Shout out to one of the smartest humans I knowAlex Quicho for bringing this glorious artefact of the zeitgeist to my attention.
As of mid-2018, Instagram had more than a billion users. But sometimes, its content seems far from representative of its vast user base. Despite the fact women aged 13 to 24 comprise just 19% of its users, its most popular content reflects a demographic that heavily skews towards the young and predominantly female; its 20 most-liked posts are a collage of glossy celebrity shots (the announcement of Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin’s engagement; pregnant Beyoncé) and emotional tributes to those that left us too soon (Mac Miller; XXXTentacion). A full 7 of the 20 were posted by Kylie Jenner.
Until early-January this year, the most-liked post was a picture of Jenner’s then-newborn daughter, Stormi. BUT NO MORE. Someone somewhere opened a new account (@world_record_egg), posted a picture of an egg, and captioned it; “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram. Beating the current world record held by Kylie Jenner (18 million)! We got this.” Obviously, this is now the most-liked post on Instagram, boasting more than 44 million likes at the time of writing, helped along by Jenner’s very own reaction video.
Why should brands care?
Disrupting the systems that dictate what constitutes popular culture is nothing new. In 2009, Rage Against the Machine beat Joe from X Factor to #1 in a rebellion against the conventional trash of the Christmas charts, and in 2016, when the Natural Environment Research Council asked the public to help name its polar research vessel, people attempted to evade the convention of naming vehicles after old dudes by voting to call the ship Boaty McBoatFace (the NERC ignored everyone and named it the RRS Sir David Attenborough, instead, fulfilling initial fears).
What strings these events together is a desire to overhaul the systems that report on – and, in turn, reflect – popular culture. The intention of @world_record_egg is to derail the wider conversation on Instagram. Arguably, it's an example of ‘shitposting’, which is defined by the American Dialect Society as exactly that: “posting of worthless or irrelevant online content intended to derail a conversation or to provoke others.”
At a time when younger generations in particular are required to abide by a series of unwritten rules defining how they should look and behave online – 47% of 18-24s in the UK have felt stressed by body image and appearance – shitposting is a direct rebellion against those rules. In the same sense, @world_record_egg is about rebelling against the ‘rules’ of online life, reminding ourselves that when we band together, we still have some control over online discourse.
TL;DR: Disrupting the systems that dictate what’s considered popular is a satisfying reaction to the pressures online life puts on us daily.
3. The deleted tweets of 2018 are evidence of the importance of the humble apology
For Kevin Hart and James Gunn, 2018 was a bad year. Following the respective revelations that both had posted thoroughly politically incorrect content to Twitter, both have seen retribution on their careers as a result. Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, while Hart stepped from his hosting gig for the Oscars.
While both parties certainly have some repenting to do, the narratives have been particularly messy in that the consequences they’re facing have been in response to tweets that were mostly posted around a decade ago. Not only have studies proven that our personalities completely change as we age, but over three-quarters of us are lying on social media, anyway. Should the likes of Hart and Gunn be getting a free pass?
Why should brands care?
It depends. Plenty of people have managed to evade such brutal repentance for their sins. Following the airing of Surviving R Kelly, Lady Gaga took to Twitter to apologise for her 2013 collaboration with the accused – a track titled ‘Do What U Want (With My Body)’ (!!!!!!). It’s a relic of Gaga’s career that’s not only pretty off-brand, but pretty reprehensible – especially in the current cultural climate.
It was Gaga’s apology that saved her – a post seething with humility and regret that makes no excuses and asks for forgiveness. By comparison, Hart has fanned the flames of his past-self’s homophobic attitudes in his brutal rebuttal of responsibility. Like, literally said: "I passed on the apology.”
Celebrity or no, we live in a time when the past self is a source of anxiety. Even as search engines are required to delete historic content featuring our names on request, the events of 2018 have seen an uptick in articles imparting knowledge on mass past-tweet deletion, stat. This demonstrates that those of us who’re ashamed of our past selves probably outnumber those who aren’t – growth is a part of the human condition. But now evidence of the things we say is likely to remain long after we’ve said them, perfecting the art of apologising is a better bet in terms of winning eventual forgiveness, whether you’re a celebrity, a brand, or anyone with an internet connection.
TL;DR: At a time when our tangible, textual pasts can be dug up at any time, perfecting the art of the apology has never been more important.
Some other interesting internet finds:
‘The Disturbing Truth About Kevin Spacey’s Let Me Be Frank Video’
On Christmas Eve, Kevin Spacey tweeted a totally bizarre video of himself monologuing as House of Cards character Frank Underwood – but really, as himself. Clad in a Santa-sprinkled apron, he seemingly demands to be let off the hook for numerous counts of sexual misconduct on the basis of his talent. Aside from being one of the most sinister responses from those forced to repent for their sins following #MeToo, he seems to have missed the point; if known abusers are prevented from making art, separating art from artist is no longer necessary.
The Atlantic (December 27th)'Black Mirror isn’t just predicting the future – it’s causing it'
'Bandersnatch' has received its fair share of media coverage, but this is the most interesting I’ve come across in terms of exploring Black Mirror’s signature dystopian themes, proposing that the pick-your-own-adventure format could pave the way to more intimate and invasive data collection from Netflix users. While many felt the narrative of 'Bandersnatch' lacked the future-facing anxiety Black Mirror is loved for, perhaps it was there along, channelled through the format, instead.
Quartz (January 2nd)'Kendall Jenner, Proactiv, and the Next Wave of 'Empowerment' Spon'
When Kris Jenner took to Twitter to gush about a “brave and vulnerable” upcoming announcement from daughter Kendall, the internet exploded with speculation (Gay? Pregnant? Mentally ill?!). The reality was something of an anticlimax; a partnership with Proactiv – a skincare brand she definitely doesn’t use. It’s interesting and ridiculous for numerous reasons, including (1) the narrative devices of conventional reality TV moving online, and (2) the selling tactics of conventional infomercials moving online. Basically, Twitter is TV now.
Jezebel (January 7th)‘Famous men and their absolutely deranged sexts’
Jeff Bezos may be the richest human in the world, but he is also exactly that – a human. And – as the notion of schadenfreude attests – the rest of us love it when the most god-like among us prove their humanity. Which is at least partly why the unearthing of Bezos’ weird-ass sexts to his mistress have been received with such glee. He’s not just a philanderer – he’s a philanderer with no game. Excellent!
The Outline (January 10th)‘The New York Times wants to use Amazon’s Alexa to reach new listeners’
Between declining print sales and the growing hegemony of platforms like Google and Facebook, print media has been forced to reevaluate how news is delivered, often in the form of experimental executions that further clutter our oversaturated landscape of online content. The NYT’s upcoming content designed for Alexa – think three-minute daily news debriefs and weekly cultural round-ups delivered in pithy prose – feels like a really smart approach, delivering platform-specific content for particular need states, instead of adding more noise for the sake of more noise.
The Verge (January 11th)