Well, 2022’s internet is coming to a close and what a year it was for us.
We fell in love again (or maybe for the first time) with corn, we watched a head of lettuce outlast a British Prime Minister, we witnessed our beloved Elmo get gaslit by a rock (Tracks for Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year), someone on TikTok made a sauce that was pink and maybe bad, Julia Fox did… you know whatever that whole thing was, the Try Guys became the Tri-Guys, we all nearly broke our devices trying to see if Harry Styles actually spit or was it just a poorly timed light reflection, Jennifer Coolidge became a new mother to a slew of memes, and a very rich man bought a website that may or may not help keep this newsletter running.
On that last point, we were also at the whim of what felt like a high-speed ever-changing and ever-evolving internet. We navigated new platforms, competitive new features, and said goodbye to some things we loved and maybe some things we didn’t.
And through it all, we had fun! This year was for the silly geese. We saw a dramatic shift in what our audiences found funny and entertaining causing them to reexamine their relationship with the internet and what they’re getting out of it. From us and from their feed, audiences demanded authenticity, and we don’t think that’s a passing phase. Gone are the days of perfect content, we are now in the era of humility, humanity, and simply Being Real.
This year has shown us that brands can have just as much fun on the internet as who they’re talking to, as long as they aren’t taking themselves too seriously. Our audiences smarter than ever, especially when identifying if a brand feels forced. The best way to continue to get the most out of who is interacting with our content is by becoming or continuing to be our most authentic selves (brands), and simply having more fun. We should embrace the silly goose mentality. Weren’t we always taught to just be ourselves anyway?
Where we go next in internet culture is, just like any other day, always in limbo. As we wait for the future, here are some of our favorite wrap ups of the 2022 internet.
We’ll see you silly geese in 2023!
-The CTF Team
The best internet moments of 2022 according to Mashable
Time’s most viral 2022 moments
The NY Times breakout stars of 2022
Eater’s Best NYC dishes of the year
Bon Appetit’s official breakdown of the best moments in Internet Food Culture this year
Entertainment Weekly’s Best Books of 2022
The Guardian’s Best TV Shows of 2022
Bon Appetit’s favorite cookbooks from the year
Vulture’s best podcasts of 2022
Best memes of 2022 according to Complex, Vogue, and Mashable
Thanks for reading! Today’s issue was created by Shelby Jacobs. Want to subscribe? Reach out to Steph Caruso and Shelby Jacobs.