21st July

From Hyper Island. ‘You’ll talk about this tomorrow – Changes of Tomorrow’. Including – What is human?, East vs West, Machines, and Educating vs. Learning.

Still with East vs. West, this is a really interesting piece from The Economist. ‘The last reason to watch this unfolding battle is geopolitical. America and China are vying for digital supremacy. The fight between their tech champions in other markets will inevitably have political overtones. Chinese technology is sold by firms that will work with the authorities. That may tip the scales in their favour in countries with less democratic regimes. Online data provides the fuel for artificial intelligence; deciding if they flow into Chinese computing clouds or American ones could have consequences for how dependent countries become on one superpower. The battle between the FAANGs and the BATs is a commercial one. But its outcome could put…countries in one camp or the other, increasing the risk that the world eventually splits into two techno-blocs.’

‘IGTV launched last month as a vertical video version of YouTube, with users able to upload pre-recorded video up to 10 minutes long – or up to an hour for the coveted influentials and those with large followings. Every Instagram user has their own IGTV channel to post this content. For a generation increasingly eschewing linear TV for digital streaming options, it’s yet another way to consume and create video. With a new platform comes the recurring decision for skeptical publishers: How much should they care? And in the case of a new platform from Facebook, there’s every reason to be wary.​’

Fabulous commercial for the Reykjavik Marathon. “You Better Run” is dense, engaging work that features 13 locations in the country and a frenetic string of cinematic Easter eggs, leaving it to viewers to sort out all the references. Some of the classics include North by Northwest, Sleeping Beauty, The Graduate and Goodfellas.

‘Memes cross your feed aggressively. They arrive without a “Share Now” or “Please RT” call to action. They make their way across the internet to your brain because they’re designed to travel.’ This is how brands can use memes to connect with consumers in a new way.

Do you do much business internationally? Struggle with making sure people from around the world have a synchronised start time for a conference call? You should try living on an island in the middle of the Pacific. This video explains some of the many, little known time zones and the sometimes obscure reasons for their positioning.

From The Guardian – ‘ Ever wonder why women shown shaving on TV adverts are already completely hairless? Breaking with decades of tradition, Billie, a US razor company, depicted women actually removing their body hair. This is the first women’s shaving ad, EVER, to feature body hair.

What silicon valley companies can learn from Standard Oil, US Steel and the East India Company.

Love this. A designer turns Neymar’s dramatic World Cup falls into a free font.

We claim not to be watching but we all really are. This is how producers manipulate Love Island to make the best storylines.