Social Media = Digital Poison
Jim Louderback
Creator Economy Sherpa | Award Winning Curator, Moderator & Speaker | "Inside the Creator Economy" Newsletter | Board of Director | Geek
This Week: Just stop targeting kids, OK social?? That’s the big story today.? Also some scary pattern matching as the creator economy approaches 20, a great move from Ludwig and much more.? Oh, and everyone else already covered Apple, so I don’t have to.??
Toxic for Kids: US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy urges the US government to slap stern warning labels on these platforms - like those already on alcohol and tobacco. This “profound risk” doubles anxiety and depression symptoms, and makes adolescents feel worse about their bodies and presumably themselves.? We’ve been adamant about this issue for more than a year here at ICE, and it's past time for real action.? You might pooh-pooh simple labels, but it’s a start, as a similar tobacco label, mandated in the mid-sixties – profoundly changed behavior.? Read Murthy's guest essay in the NYT for more details ($).
New York State Will Ban Addictive Algorithms for Kids:? States aren’t waiting around for the feds.? A new restrictive law designed to protect kids from addictive social media will likely become law in the Empire State.? How the platforms respond to this wide-ranging legislation - as more facts emerge, their options dwindle.? Will your app automatically adjust when you cross state lines – or will this law, along similar ones being considered in California and the US overall, change social apps for everyone under 18.? I hope for the latter, as preying on developing minds with addictive substances – whether physical or digital – is indefensible.
Is Hollywood Ready for the $1,000 Blockbuster Movie?? No, argues top VC Andrew Chen.? The same structural issues that caused the entertainment industry to ignore or downplay creators will once again keep the entrenched entertainment industry from doing more than bolting AI onto existing workflows.? My big concern?? The 20-year-old creator economy is rapidly becoming part of that same entrenched entertainment industry.? As new AI-powered genres and content formats emerge, I fear that nimble new startups and new-look creators will adapt first.? It’s not just about better thumbnails and statistically regurgitated content concepts.? We need to commit to embracing, expanding and re-inventing ourselves?? Unfortunately, I worry that creator-incumbents will fall back on challenge videos and vlogging as the world erupts beneath around them.? I’m an optimist and I believe in all of you!? But it’s time to move beyond automated buggy whips.
AI Fatigue Emerges at Top Creator Event:? I just finished an amazing weekend at Open Sauce in San Francisco.? I programmed and hosted the Industry Day Friday – which was full of great discussions and presentations – and then immersed myself in the nerd-soaked event over the weekend.? The biggest surprise: When the moderator of a session featuring top coding creators asked the audience to vote on an AI or no-AI.? Overwhelmingly the audience demanded an AI-free session.? As one creator shared with me post session, people seem fed up with the same old rehashed discussions. Until something truly new emerges, it might be best to STFU on the GenAI.? Or perhaps start exploring the radical revolution already underway around us.
Now That’s Alignment:? Great to see creator Ludwig making every employee of his Offbrand company an owner.? By converting the company into a worker co-op, each employee now has a stake in the company’s direction, operation and profits.? Expect Offbrand to expand beyond streamer gear and into events and more.? Ludwig also announced a partnership with Jason Hall of Pirate Software to build video games.? It’s an accelerating trend, as creators shift from product and retail and into digital and SAAS.
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And Now for Something Completely Different:? I’m on the board of “Grateful Guitars Foundation”, a non-profit that gets guitars into the hands of needy players dedicated to sharing the groove.? Our annual benefit and fundraiser is August 13th in San Francisco.? See you there??
100% written by me – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!).
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8 个月Smoking is sexy
Multimedia Artist/Educator
8 个月I was thinking the same thing! On top of this, despite public concerns in the 1930s, tobacco companies also used misleading ads, many featuring doctors, to downplay the risks of smoking until a Surgeon General's report in 1964 finally confirmed the link between smoking and lung cancer. This information was unfortunately way too late to have an impact on changing the tide. The same can be said with this warning, that it is way too late in the game to have any real impact. The damage is done. Have a great day!
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8 个月Excellent point on creators and AI, Jim. A lot of the focus and shiny shouting is around Hollywood and creatives at large (and largely justified)... but arguably the more agile cohort of creators will go faster, harder at AI, and yes- don't look forward to plug n play, regurgitated formats and approaches.
Empowering creators to hone their craft into long-term success.
8 个月Totally agree on the toxic nature Jim. I don't hold out hopes for a warning label, as James Creech says, likely to be ignored. But, it could be a useful step to increase awareness and especially get parents to stop and think. I think the platforms need to do better. Simply saying they're not for kids isn't good enough. The kids are there and they know they are. Parents need to step up too. I feel that the potential harm isn't really considered beyond simply thinking the kids are distracted by their phones. Parents need to be aware of both what their kids are consuming - and creating! There's a lot of benefits to social media. And a lot of down sides. We know there are a lot of issues here so action is required. I don't know what exactly, but keeping the conversation in the spotlight is a good start. We can't just let things rolling along as is with one big experiment with the kids of this generation and then hope to pick the pieces up when it all goes to sh*t.
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8 个月Would even go as far as to say that in some ways, social media is even more toxic than tobacco. While you can't get cancer from socials, you can waste your life away, ruin your social skills, place unrealistic expectations on yourself and others, damage or destroy relationships, miss out on life's most precious moments, become anxious and depressed, develop severe body issues... I could go on. The only thing that makes tobacco worse is that there are zero positives about it, unlike socials. But it's getting to the point where the bad outweighs the good.