[KC] DEBRIEF WK9, FRIDAY 2022/03/05
DIGITIAL TITANS
_Epic games. Bandcamp is Joining Epic Games I’m excited to announce that Bandcamp is joining EpicGames, who you may know as the makers of Fortnite and Unreal Engine, and champions for a fair and open Internet.
_TiktTok. Attorneys general from at least eight states have launched an investigation into TikTok to determine if the popular social media app has violated state consumer protection laws by not doing enough to keep its young users protected from potentially harmful effects to their mental and physical health. A bipartisan group of state attorneys from Massachusetts, Florida, Kentucky, California, New Jersey, Tennessee, Vermont, and Nebraska has taken the lead on the probe."This investigation of TikTok will focus on what TikTok knows about its platform, its algorithm, and its impact on young people," Connecticut attorney general William Tong said in a news conference Wednesday. "Whether it knows that it causes harm to young people. The types of harms it is aware of and what it’s doing about it."The investigation is looking into the potential mental and physical risks of children using the platform, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance and used by more than a billion people a month. The probe will focus on the methods TikTok uses to boost engagement by young users and increase their time spent on the app.
_The YouTube-ification of TikTok is almost complete. TikTok wants to do longer videos. If it’s done right, that could bring in more ad revenue. TikTok knows how to get people hooked. But the platform still can’t generate the same kind of money creators can make on YouTube. Experts think its foray into 10-minute-long videos could change that. The platform has gradually raised the maximum length of a video from 15 seconds to one minute, to three minutes, and now to a whopping 10. Social media experts aren’t surprised by the uptick; the platform has still managed to keep users around, even as its videos get longer. Plus, longer video formats include more space for ad slots and let creators spend more time promoting products, allowing the platform to profit more from ads and shopping.
_Roblox. A 13-year-old girl has been safely returned home after she was allegedly kidnapped by a man she met through the children's gaming app Roblox. Police said they arrested Howard Graham after discovering he had convinced the young girl to leave her home in Kansas - after just two days of speaking on the app. The 33-year-old has been charged with sex trafficking, kidnapping, and rape. Roblox allows players to game with friends or strangers. With around 150 million monthly users, it is one of the most popular children's games in the world. Mr. Graham and the young girl first met on the app on 18 February, Police Cpt John Ivey said at a news conference. Two days later, investigators said the teenager snuck out of her house in the city of Topeka and was allegedly picked up by Mr. Graham who drove her to his home in Clayton County, Georgia - some 900 miles away. Over the next few days, police said they believed she was sexually assaulted "many times". Police said eventually the girl sent a message to her mother through Roblox, giving the address of a general store where she had been taken. Officers tracked down and arrested Mr. Graham at his job on 1 March. "We're truly lucky we found this young girl and she was alive," Mr. Ivey said. Police said they were searching Mr. Graham's belongings to determine if he had targeted other children. Roblox's mission, according to its website, "is to bring the world together through play". But the company has faced criticism for the explicit content that sometimes appears on its app.
PEOPLE, MEDIA, CULTURE
_Kanye West Teases Forthcoming Stemwear Clothing LineLiterally integrating music and fashion. The Instagram post from the multi-hyphenate artist reveals a mock-neck white top with a Stem Player-like device at the garment’s center. The device showcases a circle of blue lights as opposed to Ye’s Stem Player, which has a multicolored plus sign design. The post’s caption reads “Stemwear coming soon,” which offers very little information about what’s to come from the project. Last month, Ye released his seventh studio album DONDA 2 as a Stem Player exclusive. Developed by YEEZY Tech and Kano Computing, the unique device allows for complete song customization and the ability to split a song into stems. Whether it be vocal, drum, bass, or sample isolation, the Stem Player allows for a versatile listening experience. With the current success of the device, it looks like Ye is taking a literal approach to integrating music and fashion. Check out the post above for a Stemwear sneak peek with more updates coming soon.
_It’s not just gamers and crypto dudes buying digital fashion. Digital fashion has gone from a niche to an emerging industry. As technology and knowledge improve, so does the data-backed understanding of what people want to buy and wear virtually. Vogue Business gets the exclusive On Roblox, people want digital casualwear alongside their rainbow flames, and Fortnite fans are three times more likely to be Supreme fans compared to other gamers; The Sims community meanwhile is far more interested in Converse and Aeropostale. On top of that, people who buy digital fashion aren’t all gamers or young male crypto enthusiasts; many are women, and many are interested in shopping virtual stores. New research in the Screenwear Paper, released today by Vice creative agency Virtue Worldwide, working with digital fashion marketplace The Dematerialised, sheds light on how people engage with personal style in the virtual realm. With the broader fashion industry looking for opportunities in the metaverse, new data shows not only what people want to wear in other worlds, but also how much they are willing to pay, including data from virtual store creator Obsess, and gaming platform analysis from Geeiq. Digital fashion is a key component to how people shape virtual identities, and while moving from niche to hotly hyped, experts say real uptake by brands depends on separating fact from fantasy, especially as brands evaluate if digital apparel can manifest into a potential revenue stream. The results show a picture of an emerging consumer group that includes women who aren’t necessarily crypto collectors. Research also indicates that they expect that half their wardrobe could be digital in five years.“We have a lot of predictions and ideas around where things are heading, and now we have the data to back it up,” says Morten Grubak, global executive creative director of innovation at Virtue Worldwide, who created the sellout digital fashion collection for Norwegian fashion retailer Carlings in 2018. The project is regarded as one of the most influential early digital fashion collections, and in 2019, won the highest prize at Cannes Lions. The survey of 3,000 people across eight global markets (US, UK, Germany, Mexico, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and UAE) is notable for reaching people who didn’t all identify as tech enthusiasts or early adopters. Half are millennials and the others are Gen Z or Gen X, evenly split between men and women (with 1 percent non-binary). Of those surveyed, 82 percent have already purchased some kind of virtual item and one-third had already purchased digital fashion. “We deliberately surveyed people who are interested in a range of industries, including media, fashion, tech, gaming, and art and culture, and identified themselves as non-rejectors of new trends,” says Karinna Grant, co-CEO of The Dematerialised. Young men are dominating Web 3.0 purchases, according to recent research from e-commerce tech provider Scalefast, who found 61 percent of virtual goods or NFT purchasers in the US (not limited to digital fashion) are male. More than half are between 18 and 34 years. That’s not the case for all platforms. Charles Hambro, CEO of Geeiq, which analyses games and metaverse platforms based on social media followers, says Zepeto’s social media audience is two-thirds female and 70 percent are younger than 24. Based on accounts Zepeto’s followers follow, they’re also interested in luxury fashion brands. Geeiq research found that followers are 13 times more likely to follow brands including Prada, Gucci, Fendi, and Balenciaga. Fortnite’s audience is 88 percent male, and the majority is older than 24. (Each has recently partnered with fashion brands to showcase and sell digital fashion.) And, withinRoblox’s various spaces, the audience can vary though 70 percent are 24 or younger, and the majority (70 percent) are male. Aeropostale, Gap, and Forever21 are among the brands with the most affinity.
_ AI model detects mental disorders based on web posts?
_these shoes do not yet exist: first NFT sneakers 100% generated by AI Created in berlin by the developer Niels Garve, AI sneaks is the first sneakers in NFT, 100% AI-generated. inspired by the possibilities of combining new technologies with creative areas, AI sneaks develop sneakers with the use ofartificial intelligence, designing unique futuristic models that do not yet exist. using thousands of existing sneaker models and a self-written code, the designer recreates them in original versions and different designs. the collection contains 10 AI/2D sneaker designs in a limited edition of eleven pairs for each design.
_War in Ukraine
//Ukraine’s Volunteer ‘IT Army’ Is Hacking in Uncharted Territory. The country has enlisted thousands of cybersecurity professionals in the war effort against Russia. Putin’s attack on Ukraine has been met with fierce resistance throughout the country’s towns and cities. As Russian forces have moved closer to Kyiv, lawyers, students, and actors have taken up arms to defend their country from invasion. They are not the only ones: Volunteers have also flocked to join a Ukrainian volunteer “IT Army” that’s fighting back online. At around 9 pm local time on February 26, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced the creation of the volunteer cyber army. “We have a lot of talented Ukrainians in the digital sphere: developers, cyber specialists, designers, copywriters, marketers,” he said in a post on his official Telegram channel. “We continue to fight on the cyber front.”
//Ukraine crisis: Crypto exchange boss rejects Russian user ban. The boss of one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges has ruled out restricting ordinary Russians from using the service. Binance founder and chief executive Changpeng Zhao, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Many normal Russians do not agree with war." Major cryptocurrency exchanges have been asked by Ukraine to block Russian users. One financial expert warned the war could become a "crypto conflict". In a tweet sent on Sunday Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minster Mykhailo Fedorov asked major crypto-currency exchanges to block the addresses of ordinary Russian users, not just politicians.
//Tiktok in Ukraine. The app has become so influential in this conflict that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to "TikTokers" as a group that could help end the war, in a speech directed at Russian citizens. (Reuters)Ciarán O’Connor from ISD, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, has published an article on #Propaganda: Russia State-Controlled Media Flood TikTok With Ukraine Disinformation. Quote: This dispatch offers a first look at how state-controlled media outlets like RT (formerly Russia Today), Sputnik News, and RIA Novosti, among others, are using TikTok’s features to spread disinformation that describes Ukraine as the aggressor, frames its soldiers and political leaders as Nazis, and promotes false claims about the conflict.
//Global brands continue to refuse cooperation with Russia and its citizens. We tell how the French fashion house will support Ukraine How Balenciaga supports Ukraine / Photo: Balenciaga, Collage: TodayH&M and many other companies are closing their offices and stopping working with Russia. Balenciaga also joined them. True, so far the French brand has deleted all its posts on the official Instagram account, leaving only one – with the flag of Ukraine.
//Ukraine invasion: Russia restricts social media access. Russia has limited Twitter in parts of Russia, Twitter has confirmed. In a statement, the company said "We're aware that Twitter is being restricted for some people in Russia and are working to keep our services safe and accessible".On Friday Russia restricted Facebook after a clash over "censorship".Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor accused Facebook of violating "the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens".Facebook said it had refused to stop fact-checking and labeling content from state-owned news organizations. Internet connectivity watchers at NetBlocks say there is a total or near-total restriction on Twitter in Russia.
_Aglet app. KC member David Bloom: Interesting news release, in part for what’s being announced (sneaker-focused virtual/physical world and game) and in part for who’s behind it (Amazon)
BRANDS
_Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods. That was the question a cheerful Amazon employee posed when greeting me last week at the opening of a Whole Foods Market in Washington’s Glover Park neighborhood. She blithely added, “You can also begin shopping by scanning the QR code in your Amazon app.”Let’s go for the palm,” I said. In less than a minute, I scanned both hands on a kiosk and linked them to my Amazon account. Then I hovered my right palm over the turnstile reader to enter the nation’s most technologically sophisticated grocery store. For the next 30 minutes, I shopped. I picked up a bag of cauliflower florets, grapefruit sparkling water, a carton of strawberries, and a package of organic chicken sausages. Cameras and sensors recorded each of my moves, creating a virtual shopping cart for me in real-time. Then I simply walked out, no cashier necessary. Whole Foods — or rather Amazon — would bill my account later. More than four years ago, Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13 billion. Now the Amazon-ification of the grocery chain is physically complete, as showcased by the revamped Whole Foods store in Glover Park
_Puma registers ENS domain, changes name to Puma.eth on Twitter. The sports company added the ENS domain name to its growing collection of NFTs, joining Nike and Adidas in the metaverse. Puma is the latest in a growing list of major brands to purchase a decentralized URL and reveal their nonfungible token, or NFT, by changing their Twitter handle to Puma.eth. The German sportswear brand registered the domain name with the Ethereum Name Service or ENS.
MMMM OF THE WEEK
_ Ukraine Jack Sweeney first attracted public attention after starting a Twitter account devoted to tracking Tesla founder Elon Musk's private plane. Now the teenage college student has a new pet project involving another set of billionaires: publicizing the movements of private jets owned by Russian oligarchs. "It would be pretty cool to see one of their planes seized," Sweeney, 19, told CBS MoneyWatch in discussing his Twitter account, @RUOligarchJets, or Russian Oligarch Jets.
_This dad’s internet jammer might land him in the slammer. A French dad desperate to block his kids from spending too much time on social media went off the rails when he unintentionally cut out the entire town of Messanges’ internet, France Bleu Gascogne reported. The unnamed papa faces up to six months in prison and a hefty fine for disconnecting the town’s internet with a scrambler, which is illegal under French law. The patriarch purchased the jammer to block connection to the web in his home between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. when his children would be addictively scrolling social media, authorities said. Unbeknownst to him, though, the device blocked not only the internet in his house but to the entire town of Messanges, a popular vacation beach in southwestern France.
OFF-TOPIC
_WERTELOBERFELL’S shield against AI since it was first developed in the mid 20th century, CCTV (closed-circuit television) has become a ubiquitous sight in towns and cities across the globe. according to a report by industries researcher IHS markit in 2019, there are now 1 billion CCTV cameras in the world. however, these days modern CCTV doesn’t just record video footage, it also uses artificial intelligence with human detection and facial recognition algorithms to track our behavior and our emotions. To protect people against this increased surveillance, german design studio werteloberfell has collaborated with a team of technical partners to create apparel that messes with AI algorithms. the team’s first prototype takes shape as a glowing poncho called ‘ignotum’, which is Latin for ‘the unknown’.
_A Vibe Shift Is Coming Will any of us survive it? One morning in June, while I was puffing away on my stationary bike — fine, a Peloton — pretending I had enough time to get my body ready for the “hot vaxx summer” that never really was, my friend Ellen messaged me: “Okay, please let me know if this person is dumb. But this stressed me out this morning.”She dropped a link to something titled “Vibe Shift,” an entry from a Substack called 8Ball, which turned out to be the weekly newsletter of a trend-forecasting consultancy founded by Sean Monahan. Previously, Monahan had helped found the now-defunct art collective K-HOLE, known for giving a name to the 2010s phenomenon of normcoreand succinctly explaining why all of a sudden everyone was wearing New Balance sneakers and dad jeans. In other words, he’s someone who has made a career of translating cultural trends for a larger audience. A vibe shift is the catchy but sort of too-cool term Monahan uses for a relatively simple idea: In the culture, sometimes things change, and a once-dominant social wavelength starts to feel dated. Monahan, who is 35, breaks down the three vibe shifts he has survived and observed: Hipster/Indie Music (ca. 2003–9), or peak Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, high-waisted Cheap Mondays, Williamsburg, bespoke-cocktail bars; Post-Internet/Techno Revival (ca. 2010–16), or the Blood Orange era, normcore, dressing like The Matrix, Kinfolk the club, not Kinfolk the magazine; and Hypebeast/Woke (ca. 2016–20), or Drake at his Drakest, the Nike SNKRS app, sneaker flipping, virtue signaling, Donald Trump, protests not brunch.