🏈Clemson: College football is back and already getting the internet whipped up into a frenzy. Nationally-ranked Clemson (9) was already the subject of an upset by Duke which led to Duke fans storming the field in celebration.
✏️#FirstDayOfSchool: School is also back this week, at least in the northeast. Students in other areas of the country who have been back in the classroom for the last two to four weeks would like a word.
👀The ADL: The Anti-Defamation League is at the center of controversy on X after Elon Musk amplified antisemitic accounts voicing their desire to ban the organization from the platform.
Burning Man turns into Burning Mud
What it is: Burning Man is a week-long festival held north of Reno, NV annually, in which gatherers come to express 10 core values through art, music, community and sometimes, drug use. Burning Man was started as a larger cultural movement away from rigid societal norms, established in 1991 under these core priniciples; radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy. While Burning Man was once thought of as a place for outsiders to find solace, some believe it has now turned into a playground for societal elites; highlighted by the internets reaction to Supreme Court litagator Neal Katyal attending this years festival. This years event was especially scrutinized as it kicked off with climate protestors blocking the entrance, protesting the emissions created by the newly constructed city before they were removed by police. Following these events, heavy rainfall canceled the back-half of the festival as the dry lakebed began to moisten and form mud, stranding attendees who were instructed to conserve food and water until weather had cleared and vehicles could leave the site. Some attendees even had to walk 6 miles through mud just to hitch-hike; most notably DJ Diplo and Comedian Chris Rock.
What brands can learn: Burning Man is still going through evacuations and likely will be for the next week, as the internet continues to watch in real-time as climate changes impacts the ability to travel in and out of the dry lakebed. We are still working to understand the full impact of the flooding at the festival, and the irony of the climate change protestors being removed is not lost on the internet. The reaction to the events at Burning Man this past weekend highlight how societal events can evolve from inception, change what they represent within society, and be commodified by the exact area of society they were trying to escape. It's a lesson in "not everything is for everyone" – brands should constantly be evaluating where they should show up and if they are welcome there, much like the elite into this week-long counter-culture event.
Examples: 1 // 2 // 3
💰Cost of living is now impacting romance: A new dating trend sees men asking for refunds when they don’t see a "return on investment." Yikes.
🎵Spotify's data shows that Gen Z loves sad songs. The kids may be ok, but their playlists are brutal AF.
🎂Beyonce's Rennisance World Tour saw Diana Ross pay tribute to Bey on her birthday.
🎞️Miley Cyrus is going through 30 years worth of personal videos on TikTok. The series has already racked up 20 million views.
😭Crying in my local Margaritaville: Singer Jimmy Buffett died 4 years after being diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer. RIP.
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