Like a Prayer Muppet Meme

A bit of the internet:

WNBA’s 2025 Schedule Rollout | As the WNBA breaks records in viewership and attendance, WNBA teams are riding on that momentum to build anticipation for the 2025 season. Through fun shade and rival city references, each team is getting creative with dropping its schedule for the season. We've seen NFL teams like the Chargers and Rams get creative with releasing their schedule, and likely an emerging trend more organizations will hop on. Below are a few of our favorite videos:

Starting a Sentence & Stopping Prank | Who doesn't love a harmless prank? People are hilariously starting to tell a story to someone and then stopping mid-sentence and watching the other person's reaction. They are usually left extremely confused, wondering why they stopped telling the story when the juicy parts were yet to be revealed, which leads to the prankster jokingly gaslighting them like they don't know what they're talking about.

Like a Prayer Muppet Meme | We listen, but we don't judge. While this meme isn’t part of that exact trend, it captures a similar vibe, sharing mistakes, dark humor, or haunting thoughts—paired with this Muppet meme set to Like a Prayer.

Wicked Trends Galore | Wicked has been everywhere and if you haven't seen the countless updates and content from the movie, you are either living under a rock or your screen time is impressively low. Some trends taking over social this week include the following and we’ll keep monitoring to see if more arise as this movie continues to dominate the box office.

• Defying Gravity challenge, where people (including Sabrina Carpenter) are testing their vocal abilities to hit the note Cynthia Erivo so effortlessly nailed, resulting in some pitchy results from non-singers.
• Book scene of Ariana Grande dancing to her musical number has been reenacted countless times by users attempting to nail the dance and participate through their genuine love for the new film.

What brands are up to:

Doordash was on Kai Cenat's stream? ?? | ICYMI - Kai Cenat hosted his second Mafiathon, a continuous 30-day broadcast that captivated millions and set a new Twitch subscriber record. All your faves were there: SZA, Lizzo, Sexyy Red, Bryce James and many more. Aside from the star-studded guest list, DoorDash's partnership and integration with comedian Druski during the live stream was subtle, but clear: Doordash has everything -- from takeout to PS2s, even microwaves. The brand's partnership with Druski is a great example of trusting creators/influencers to deliver your message in their own way and most importantly, in a way their audience wants to see.

Comment for Recipe | New York Times Cooking has recently adopted "ManyChat," a tool that automatically sends direct messages to users who comment specific keywords on their posts. While smaller recipe creators have been using this tactic to boost engagement and drive clicks for some time, it's notable that the NYT Cooking team is now consistently leveraging it as part of their posting strategy.

Thank you, Sweetgreen | Sweetgreen is stepping in to support Food Access LA, which manages eight farmers markets in Los Angeles that are at risk of closure. By covering operational costs through 2025, Sweetgreen aims to keep markets in areas like Atwater Village, Compton, Crenshaw and Watts open, helping local farmers and independent businesses thrive despite challenges like economic uncertainty.

Cash App FTW | Scoring concert tickets has been a mess lately. With the world's largest ticketing service provider, Ticketmaster, constantly under fire, it primes another competitor to enter the room: Cash App. The brand has been the official presale provider for Drake, Sabrina Carpenter and now Kendrick Lamar and SZA's joint tour. It's likely an attempt to not only steal share from Live Nation and Ticketmaster but to become a brand that is a mainstay in culture.

Collabs of the Week | Highlighting some brand collaborations we saw this week:

• NYT Cooking x Instacart
• Native x Dunkin + Native x Jarritos
• Madhappy x Joe's Stone Crab
• Dove x Crumbl Cookie
• Skims x North Face

Platform News:

Meta Updates:

• Threads now enables users to follow profiles and view posts from other fediverse servers like Mastodon and Flipboard, advancing its goal of full interoperability across the open social web.
• Threads is testing post-level analytics to help creators track detailed performance metrics.
• Meta has introduced new updates to its Broadcast Channels:

TikTok Updates:

• TikTok's updated "Donation" feature allows creators to support non-profits through personalized fundraisers and shareable stickers.
• TikTok has partnered with Nielsen to provide advertisers with cross-media insights, allowing them to compare ad performance across digital, CTV, and linear platforms using Nielsen ONE.

YouTube Updates:

YouTube has rolled out several new updates this week:

• Videos under 3 minutes are now automatically classified as Shorts.
• New tools for editing externally recorded content.
• Community Posts now feature improved quizzes, text styles, and AI-generated images.
• BrandConnect has been integrated into YouTube Studio.
• Updates to the Inspiration Tab include AI-driven content suggestions, customizable ideas, and AI-generated thumbnails.

X Updates:

• X is introducing parody and fan account labels to address impersonation issues.
• X has introduced a new analytics feature for Premium users, displaying the engagement split between followers and non-followers.

Extra Credit Scrolling:

• ??wtf is going down in the microwave
• ?? “Brain rot” has been named 2024 Word of the Year by the Oxford University Press
• ??Meet Pantone's Color of the Year
• ?? Beyoncé Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century by Billboard
• ??Away ?? Winners of all the look-alike competitors
• ?? Roblox just launched its own Discord competitor
• ??Giraffes might be endangered now
• ?? Pinterest Predicts: 20 bold trends for 2025

Thanks for reading Internet Ghosts!