8th August 2020

Unsettling. An engaging infographic from NYT. ‘The devices owner was easy to trace, revealing the outline of the person’s work and life. The same phone pinged a dozen times at the nearby Secret Service field office and events with elected officials. From computer screens more than 1,000 miles away, we could watch the person travel from exclusive areas at Palm Beach International Airport to Mar-a-Lago. This is how to track President Trump.

Is QAnon the most dangerous conspiracy theory of the 21st century? ‘Perhaps the best explanation I’ve heard for the movement’s popularity comes from Adrian Hon, the chief executive of the gaming company Six to Start and a designer of alternate reality games or ARGs. Unlike video games, alternate reality games aren’t played on a console — they use the world as their storytelling platform. There’s no one particular medium. The story takes place in real time and seems to exist in the world.

This is Histiography. Where every dot is a historic event from Wikipedia (a scrolling infographic).

Nice model, from Think With Google. How people decide what to buy lies in the “messy middle” of the purchase journey.

Interesting stuff from Genius Steals – a deck on the Anatomy of Metaphors; ‘the ultimate guide to creating a powerful metaphor’. And here…from NYT is your brain on metaphors.

A visually engaging deck with some great insights. Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling.

Could this be a new buzzword or actually ‘a thing’. The Gig Economy Is Failing. Say Hello to the Hustle Economy. ‘The Covid-19 pandemic crushed vast swaths of the economy, slashing consumer demand, closing businesses, and vaporising millions of jobs. But it’s been good to the nascent sliver of the digital economy that helps people channel their existing skills into sellable services and products.’ (HT @here_forth)

The top 50 marketing campaigns, on video games.

We discussed the Barbados example last week, but it looks like more destinations are getting in on the act. From Wunderman Thompson – ‘Vacation season is upon us—but so is a global pandemic. The tourism industry’s solution? Long-term quarantine retreats.‘

A cheat sheet for Coyote and Roadrunner. 

Nice. Shedinburgh fringe festival to be streamed from sheds. 

Finally, no newsletter next week as am off on staycation with the family. Normal service will be resumed in a fortnight :o)