A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
National Guard: The National Guard’s presence continues to be spotted in DC
James Cook: An agreement between James Cook and the Buffalo Bills has been made for his contract extension.
TSTheLifeofaShowgirl: Users continue to show their excitement in anticipation of Taylor Swift’s new album release.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
It’s Giving Lame Summer
What It Is: Last year, we had Brat Summer. In 2023, we had Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Beyoncé’s Renaissance, and Barbenheimer. But as back-to-school quickly approaches, the album of the summer, trend of the summer, and conversation of the summer remain up for grabs. The biggest trend to take away from summer 2025 is “jet2holiday”. After the last couple of summers being defined by $150 million budget movies like Barbie and inescapable lime green, people may feel burnt out from partaking in macro culture. As Andrew Roth, founder of DCDX, explained best, “This summer is almost an escape from all of that, where people are going offline." While massive trends are seeing a shorter shelf life on social, people are looking to IRL moments to flee the fast-paced internet. Just witness the people flocking to Labubu pop-ups and anticipating which one they get. While these larger conversations and trends have been limited this summer, niche communities are taking up the space and dominating online chatter.
Brand Takeaway: Brands should remain conscious of the possibility that their audience may feel burnt out. This fatigue can be even more exhausting when every brand is trying to occupy space on their feed is activating trend after trend, even when the brand connection is tenuous. With fatigue at an all-time high, brands should seek out niche communities that are true to their brand identity and values. By investing time into reaching those people authentically, instead of trying to be the loudest in the room, you can foster a more genuine brand love.
Examples: 1, 2, 3
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
The Hairprint Theory That’s Driving People’s Identity
Goodbye $165,000 tech jobs for new college graduates
The Tale of a Girl Trying to Find Functional Summer Shorts
An Update on New Apps, CEOs going “San Francisco Sober”, and More
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