A brief overview of what is currently trending in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Taylor Swift: Swifties are ecstatic as Taylor revealed her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Wednesday’s New Heights Podcast with the Kelce brothers.
Drake: The rapper is seeking to expose allegations from Kendrick Lamar’s past as his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group escalates.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
Review-Based Platforms as Social Communities
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What It Is: Community-driven platforms like Goodreads, Letterboxd, and most recently, Beli, are growing in popularity among social users looking to rank and review their interests from their favorite books to the best restaurants. Goodreads has been around since the 2000s and has been able to evolve to keep its longtime, loyal users. Letterboxd skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic and now finds itself deeply embedded in contemporary film culture and commentary with their signature “Four Favorites” interview series. Now, more review-based platforms are becoming rising alternatives to more mainstream social platforms, functioning as digital diaries or scrapbooks for users who want to document their pastimes, set goals related to their hobbies, express their opinions freely, or connect with others who share the same passions — all without the onslaught of algorithm-served content on Instagram and TikTok.
The Brand Takeaway: Such platforms are seeing success, especially with Gen Z, because they cater to specific interests and prioritize the audience’s opinions over following trends and metrics, resulting in more rewarding forms of connection for users. Younger people are seeking dedicated community spaces to discuss their passions and are turning to tailored online communities to fulfill their need for connectivity. Brands can lean into nurturing their audience’s interests and elevating their voices through community-first approaches like encouraging and sharing user-generated content, creating forums for dialogue between community members, or leading with messaging that invites discussion and debate over promotion. Creating spaces that enable and celebrate individual self-expression can pay off in the long run, strengthening the audience’s connection to the brand and fostering more passionate brand advocates.
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
Lana Del Rey and Ethel Cain may be the next musical feud.
Even the Los Angeles Rams had something to say about episode 6 of The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Can’t wait for the Love Island USA Season 7 reunion? Andy Cohen is dropping hints.
The Ice Age franchise is now canon in the Alien universe!
Limitless with Chris Hemsworth Season 2 - Disney+, 8/15
The Rainmaker - USA, 8/15
Nobody 2 - Theaters, 8/15
Americana - Theaters, 8/15
Highest 2 Lowest - Theaters, 8/15
Night Always Comes - Netflix, 8/15
Star Line - Chance the Rapper
Wishbone - Conan Gray
Love is Like - Maroon 5
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