14th July 2018
‘Abundant capital, rapid change, and growing sophistication are the key characteristics of China’s Internet landscape. So, too, is the guiding hand of the central government’. This is why China’s internet is bigger….and different.
On 7 July Nesta’s FutureFest kicked off in London’s Tobacco Dock for two days of discussions, debates, performances and immersive experiences exploring alternative futures and innovative solutions to the challenges that lie ahead. See here some of the highlights from the festival.
The Economist on Netflix, the one FAANG technology stock that may be headed for a happy Hollywood ending. ‘Alone among the giants, Netflix is a clear exception to a mix of soaring share prices and suspicion. Since its founding in 1997, the company has morphed from a DVD-rental service to a streaming-video upstart to the world’s first global TV powerhouse’.
The danger with ‘Deep Fakes’ – videos in which one person’s face is stitched onto another person’s body. ‘Rather predictably, the technology has already been used to generate a number of counterfeit celebrity… videos. But the method could also be used to create a clip of a politician saying or doing something outrageous.’
From Eye For Travel . ‘Sports travel was named as the fastest growing sector in global tourism by the World Tourism Organisation. The sector is expected to rise over 40% between now and 2021.’
“I am an artistic transvestite, an artistic parent, but that doesn’t stop me from being the transvestite that I was from when I was a teenager fetishising about certain sorts of female roles. I still like to dress up as a housewife sometimes peddling into town, walking around the shops.’ Never a dull moment with the wonderful Grayson Perry, here interviewed prior to the opening of Frockaholic: Grads, Grayson and Gorgeous Dresses exhibition at McCann London.
From the sometimes edgy but often entertaining Urban Dictionary, a recent ‘word of the day’ : ‘Tweetplomacy’ – a noun, using social media sites such as Twitter to manage foreign relations and conduct diplomatic discussions publicly – e.g : ‘the new President’s tweetplomacy may be transparent domestically, but it could also ruffle feathers abroad…..’
15, Comic-Con 2018 panels to be excited for. Including The Predator, Doctor Who, Breaking Bad Reunion and Call of Duty Zombies.
From the always intriguing and innovating (friend of The Filter) @stevexoh – ‘Sound Of Silence’. ‘Sound of Silence is a downloadable pause. An experimental podcast that records the silence that arises between two people. Each episode is less than 3 minutes in length, features a special guest and 2 minutes of shared silence recorded face to face in a variety of spaces.’
A really nice piece and change in strategic direction from Dollar Shave Club. ‘The cornerstone of the campaign is a three minute, 39-second-long video that sees a number of men (and women) going about their own getting ready routines, each of their bathrooms positioned on a soundstage, massive overhead lights flicking on and off throughout —with Sammy Davis Jr.’s classic tune “I’ve Gotta Be Me” playing in the background.’