Upstream #209
lost boys ??, new pitch ??, eruption ??, what kind ??♂?, basquiat ??????.
Well. How the hell is it? Busy few weeks here. Sheesh. But?sunshine is magic?isn't it. Went for lovely run up?Lugnaquilla. Which was right nice. And a very?nice and nostalgic gig?too. Good times. I’ll shut up now. Ok. Let’s go.
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”?
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote
culture // lost boys ??
Conor McGregor met Donald Trump this week in the oval office. Maybe they talked about video games. Or fighting. Or briefly about rape convictions, racism, or misogyny? Who knows. But it was significant only as a signal of what society, or culture permits. It’s unfortunate that all the great people that could have had that time were overlooked ahead of that shit sack. But the signal was worse. There's already a global issue with young men.?This UK research on the Lost Boysshows how young men (outperformed academically by girls their age) are increasingly drawn to conservative, traditionalist or right-wing political movements, whilst young women become ever more liberal and left-progressive. Which is mirrored in countries across the developed world. It’s one reason why?fewer teens believe in romantic love anymore. Maybe another is the?widespread Porn addiction?(that goes unchallenged). As Galloway says, "We are what we pay attention to”.?Or another maybe a?metastasising gambling addiction?(again mostly unspoken). Half of 18-24 men said that men are too often shown by the media as?“a bit pathetic”. Young men need better male role models, to show up, more often. Let’s step up for them.
brands // new pitch ??
Great brands are magic. They help businesses charge more, and attract more customers, more often. Like magic. But lately brands in many categories are under pressure, particularly food. Private label now takes more share than branded goods, and is growing faster. The?“is it worth it”?challenge for food brands is very real. Many, with shrinking margins, are seeing stronger growth in self-care, supplements, and skincare than in traditional food categories and?are getting out of food?altogether. Shoppers are willing to pay more for that stuff. Not for the basics. Unilever recently appointed a new CEO to drive growth. They’re selling their ice cream division and for the rest (as new CEO Fernando Fernandes announced) they want to create?“desirability at scale”. Desire is key. Mattering. Preference. To achieve that, on top of an increase in their marketing budget their?spend on social will be up from 30% to 50%, and that they’ll work with 20 times more influencers.?Which is quite a thing. Half of their marketing spend on your phone. This feels significant. Same game. New pitch. Different rules.
creativity // eruption ??
It’s an odd time isn't it. I mean there’s all this, as well as that. And it’s also an odd time for creativity. We've never had more tools and possibilities, and yet, as Matt Klein said?"Amongst creative surplus, we have creative stagnation”.?This New York Times piece was good. It talks about the?“dimming of our imagination”.?A circling. A sameness. How a tech hegemony has produced a cultural hegemony. Algo loops, that serve what’s popular and sticky, or?this kind of AI slop. But how stagnation, just like this, can lead to explosive change. How the Renaissance sprung from war and the Black Death, the Harlem Renaissance from segregation and poverty, and the 60’s counter culture from the conformity and repression of the 50s. Maybe as it says,?when human creativity seems defeated, it’s just gathering strength?below the surface. Waiting to erupt. Maybe an army of smaller creators are about to change everything. There’s always hope. Meanwhile on planet earth, enjoyed?Spike Jonze’s Air Pods work, and the?KFC Hail Gravy?thing was very good. Hardly a creative eruption, but onwards march.
technology // what kind ??♂?
Denmark?won’t be delivering letters anymore. Like bankruptcy. It happened slowly. Then all at once. Similarly I’ve only touched physical money just few of times in as many months. Big change, and disruption feels close. But as with all technology and subsequent disruption, it’s very useful to ask?"what kind of disruption” will it be??As Benedict Evans wrote?"Everything is probably disruptive to someone - online travel booking was very disruptive to travel agents but (for the sake of argument) didn’t change the fundamentals of the airline business, and generative AI will probably be much more disruptive to (say) profession services companies than the cement business. But in each case, it’s always easier to shout ‘disruption!’ or ‘AI!’ than to ask what kind”. Lots of CEO’s are wildly shouting?‘AI disruption!’, which is why there’s?a massive gap in AI adoption between CEO’s and employees. This chat with Tyler Cowen and David Perell about?how AI is changing and will change the world of writing, was great. Practical and useful tips on using AI for writers. So instead of thinking about how disruptive AI will be, better to listen and think?“what kind of disruption will it be”? For me?
Five random (ish) things:
Watching // basquiat ??????
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an incredibly prodigious creative talent. You’re definitely not him. But, this piece on the things you can borrow from his work ethic was neat,. Which are:?1. Source Material.?Find the best source material to start from. Feed from it.?2. Steal like an artist. Look around. Find the best of the best. Rob from it.?3. Have a message?(a guiding ideology). Let it guide you and your work. Choose what serves your message.?4. Speed.?Work so fast, you don’t have time to think. Keep the tape rolling. And finally?5. Study, memorise and internalise.?Fill up your cup with the creative expression that exists. Become a student of life. It’ll spill out of you in your work.