[nonostantement #138] - ai & disinformation / dueling on tiktok / paying to follow influencers
NOW with MORE nonnas making pasta!
Welcome to nonostantement:
a weekly newsletter with righteous, dishonest and unique stuff found all over the Internet.
Hi, Joele here, writing this email containing all the best links I have found all over the internet during last week. I am writing you from Barcelona and I work as a Digital Strategist (you know, online branding and advertising strategies, that kind of stuff).
Let’s listen to this track from the amazing Blade Runner soundtrack all together, shall we?
If you like this newsletter you can now offer me a virtual coffee to show your support :)
Venice Syndrome, François Prost
#THEDARKSIDE
AI is the next big thing (or the current one, you could say). It will make our life better, while “stealing our jobs”. It will create new possibilities while destroying old ones. It will change the way we perceive reality and truth, if we ever had the chance to actually do that. What will happen when it will be used to create disinformation and propaganda campaigns?
A simple but not easy question: How Facebook and Twitter became the favourite tools of dictators around the world? “For all the deletions, fact-checking, and monitoring systems they produce, social media will remain easy to exploit as tools of disinformation for as long as gathering subscribers is at the heart of their business model.”
Speaking of which: How a Chinese network of fake Facebook accounts influenced online debate on South China Sea, US politics. Love this bit: “[…] the Chinese operation might want to infiltrate online communities on both sides of the political spectrum. Facebook found posts in Southeast Asia that both praised and criticised China, while content in the US also showed divergent views on Trump and Joe Biden.” - that’s exactly what I usually discuss in some of my talks, often citing the outstanding work of Adam Curtis about non-linear warfare [that is a Video link].
#MUSIC
When SEO techniques meet Spotify, artists with crazy names like ‘White Noise Baby Sleep’ born. They are basically spammers and they use search-optimized names to end up in your searches and in your playlists (that’s how they make money).
Yes, I know… this could be just a publicity stunt. But let me believe for just a second that music artists could do their thing just for fun, jamming and dueling on TikTok with no business involved, just vibes and creativity.
#PHOTOGRAPHY
Venice Syndrome spots the similarities between Venice and 2 replicas of Venice (a chinese replica in Hangzhou and Las Vegas)
I have seen this picture quite a lot. Last time this same week, always with a new - and false - caption telling us why this monks were praying (this time, the coronavirus). How Quickly False Facts Can Spread for Viral Photos
How some photographers had to deal with social distancing and changed their work in new and unconventional ways. A bit late in the game, if I can brag for a second… let’s talk about that time I helped creating and directing the world’s first pandemic remote photo shoot - as reported in nonostantement [129] six months ago ;) .
Would you like to know what New Yorkers are typing on their smartphones while walking? We got you covered, with the photographer peeking at your phone, showing us their not so private screens.
#SOCIALMEDIA
Pasta con Nonna Nerina, I LOVE this project. You can stream this original Italian grandma making pasta, you can book your private pasta making class, you can buy the right tools (with a convenient amazon referral link). One little doubt: is this an anti ageism project or a nonna exploiting one? What do you think? Let me know by replying to this same email!
As you may have realized, nonostantement is based on Substack, a “place for independent writing” helping newsletter creator like me growing their projects (by the way you can help me directly by offering a virtual coffee here). The platform is growing so fast that someone thinks it is doing to blogs what TikTok did to Instagram.
Advertising revenue are plummeting for influencers and their online reach suffers with the same issue all other users have (being limited by the platform itself, giving more space to profiles paying for their visibility). Some of them are trying new ways to make a living out of social media, like creating brands to sell directly or “membership clubs” where you pay to watch their content. So the question is, would you pay to follow an influencer?
That's it for now.
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