1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,320 Hey everyone and welcome to Mini Scroll, the daily Internet 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,920 culture podcast bring you the biggest stories from social 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,480 media, the creator economy and the digital space every Monday 4 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:11,400 through Thursday and sometimes Fridays. 5 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,440 My name is Annabelle and I'm your Wednesday Mini Tech Scroll 6 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,280 host and also the deputy editor of the Australian youth digital 7 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,320 media brand Centennial World. Welcome back to Mini Tech Scroll 8 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,800 for another week. I don't have much to say at the 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,120 top of this week's episode apart from the fact that this week we 10 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,240 have a close friend newsletter going out. 11 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,520 We publish this newsletter once a month and it's basically like 12 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,280 a content club. Lauren explained it on Mini 13 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,080 Scroll yesterday. But basically we just have a 14 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,920 TikTok, an article or any piece of content that we put forward 15 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,800 to you guys and we share our analysis on in the newsletter. 16 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,680 And if you guys comment your thoughts or send us Adm or 17 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,280 whatever, we'll also include your thoughts. 18 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,000 So I will link the TikTok we're discussing this week in the 19 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,840 description as well as inside it at the end of the episode. 20 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,640 If you guys have any opinions that you want to share other 21 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,640 than that, Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe. 22 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,560 I know we'd literally ask you guys every week, but we really 23 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,120 appreciate it when you do. So my first story for today is 24 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,880 that eBay has officially acquired Depop. 25 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,080 This story actually broke last week, but it was after I 26 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,440 recorded mini text scroll, so obviously I couldn't include it. 27 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,400 I'm sure we all know what Depop is, but it is definitely one of 28 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,120 the most popular secondhand clothing resale apps, and it's 29 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,440 especially popular among Gen. ZI spend so much of my life just 30 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:36,640 window shopping on the platform. Like for real. 31 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,240 I just love it. Even though Deep Up really only 32 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:43,160 gained mainstream cultural appeal maybe in the past five to 33 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,800 seven years. I would say it has been around 34 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,920 since 2011, and it was founded by Simon Beckman and Maria Raga. 35 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:52,280 At the time that it was launched, there really weren't 36 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,280 that many platforms that were bringing together buyers and 37 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,880 sellers like the way Depop has. What really made Depop unique 38 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:04,640 was that it leaned into a social fast ethos and community, which 39 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:08,280 definitely helped it grow a significant user base, including 40 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,520 some of our favorite Fashion It girls. 41 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,760 I feel like every fashion influencer also has a Depop 42 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,960 account where they sell clothes. So it's clear that Depop's 43 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,600 popularity only grew over the years, which eventually led to 44 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,400 Etsy acquiring the platform in 2021. 45 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:27,160 According to reports at the time, Etsy had bought Depop for 46 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:33,200 a total sum of 1.6 billion USD. And if we think back to 2021, 47 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,320 this was really the peak of COVID, the peak of lockdown. 48 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:40,600 So really everyone was online shopping and selling, whether 49 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,200 they were trying to sell as like a side hustle or they were just 50 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,720 cleaning out their wardrobe. Etsy's acquisition of Depop was 51 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:51,120 described as a way for Etsy to access data and understand the 52 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,480 purchasing habits of younger users. 53 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,840 According to stats that were floating around at the time, 54 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:02,000 around 90% of Depop's millions of active users were under 26 at 55 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:03,680 the time, so that made them a Gen. 56 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,560 Z Etsy, by contrast, had a bit of an older average user, with 57 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,480 the seller's median age estimated to be around 39 in 58 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,200 2021. So that was millennials, older 59 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,120 millennials. So while Etsy could learn about 60 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,960 Gen. Z through Depop, Depop could 61 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,320 learn from Etsy as well, as they were set to scale, as Raga told 62 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,640 the Financial Times in 2021 quote. 63 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,600 Many of the challenges that we are going to go through as a 64 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,000 business are things that Etsy has gone through before. 65 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:36,120 Etsy has made massive improvements in terms of search 66 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,960 and discovery and this is something that we can definitely 67 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,200 learn from. And under Etsy, Depop did do 68 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:43,920 quite well. I mean, we're all still using 69 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,880 the platform and it did operate as a standalone brand 70 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,400 independent from Etsy, and it also initially retained its 71 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,320 existing offices and leadership and management team. 72 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,160 But after five years, Depop has been acquired once again and 73 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,040 this time by eBay. So eBay has agreed to buy Depop 74 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:07,720 from Etsy for about 1.2 billion USD in cash, which is a $400 75 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:12,440 million loss for Etsy. And this loss may be partly due 76 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,680 to the growing popularity of other fashion resale platforms 77 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,959 like Vinted and Threder. According to the BBC quote, the 78 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,240 mass appeal of Vinted has had an impact on Depop's value. 79 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,840 As Vinted made investments into global markets and improved its 80 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,840 tech platform, more sellers gravitated towards it. 81 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,040 And that was commentary from retail analyst Catherine 82 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,040 Shuttleworth. Having said that, though, 83 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:39,240 there's clearly still value in Depop, and ebay's decision to 84 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,840 acquire Depop was similar to that of Etsy. 85 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,000 As the statement reads from the brand's quote, the addition of 86 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,880 Depop will accelerate ebay's C to C strategy by deepening its 87 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,080 reach with younger fashion forward consumers and expanding 88 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,120 its presence in one of the most dynamic areas of resale. 89 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,080 As part of eBay, Depop will benefit from ebay's global scale 90 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,560 and suite of capabilities, including its financial 91 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,920 services, shipping solutions, and trusted experiences. 92 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:06,560 That being said, I can definitely see how the 93 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,560 acquisition of Depop tracks for eBay because the company has 94 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,560 really been working hard to position itself as a place for 95 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,880 youth audiences to go and purchase items from. 96 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,200 Like when we think of last year's Met Gala, for example, 97 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,240 Emma Chamberlain and Chapel Roan were just some of the 98 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,160 celebrities that were wearing items credited or sourced from 99 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,040 eBay, and those are major Gen. Z IT girls slash celebrities. 100 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,560 This whole idea of eBay repositioning itself as a youth 101 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,880 brand was covered recently, and the police don't make me focus 102 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,760 Substack as the author Georgia wrote quote a few months ago, I 103 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,440 was talking about why eBay would want to or should acquire Depop, 104 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,080 expanding its US footprint, obviously, but also tapping into 105 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,320 a younger resale customer base at a moment when eBay is trying 106 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,200 to reposition itself. But I'm sure the bigger win is 107 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,200 access to Depop's customer behavior and cultural data, 108 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,560 especially as eBay tries to carve out a lead in the emerging 109 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,800 US live stream commerce market. So yeah, I just thought that was 110 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,360 a really good point, especially with the live stream angle 111 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,000 because that is obviously catering towards younger users. 112 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,400 But All in all, it does really just seem like the resale market 113 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,400 is consistently gaining popularity and the space is 114 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:22,400 continuously innovating and perhaps becoming overcrowded, 115 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,560 but I'm not that mad about it. Speaking of collaborations 116 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,880 though, that brings us to our next story and I need to cover 117 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,040 everything that's going on with Sub Stack and Polymarket. 118 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,440 This has caused so much conversation on my social media 119 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,600 over the past few days, but basically Sub Stack has come 120 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,640 under fire after collaborating with the platform. 121 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,240 And if you've never heard of Polymarket, that is fair. 122 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,720 Let me explain. The platform is basically 123 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,840 described as quote a global cryptocurrency prediction 124 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,480 market. So when you go to the platform, 125 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,920 you have to connect a wallet and then you can basically make bets 126 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,200 on the outcome of mostly current events. 127 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,760 So when I had a look at the site while I was researching for this 128 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:07,080 episode, it included topics like the situation in Iran as well as 129 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,680 any potential US Supreme Court decisions that were coming down 130 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,800 the pipeline. So it is kind of a form of 131 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,720 gambling where you are betting on the outcome of specific 132 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,880 events and making predictions. And if it sounds weird that Sub 133 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,400 Stack is collaborating with this platform, don't worry, you are 134 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,320 not alone. The companies announced that 135 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,200 they would be collaborating last week. 136 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,920 And as the post on X Read quote, we are excited to announce our 137 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:35,840 exclusive partnership with Sub Stack. 138 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,080 Starting today, Sub Stack authors can natively integrate 139 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,440 data from the world's largest prediction market. 140 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,680 Journalism is better when it's backed by live markets, so this 141 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,120 post definitely alluded to how the companies will be working 142 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,000 together, but Sub Stack has offered more information on how 143 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,960 the collaboration will look in practice. 144 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,680 According to the Sub Stack support website, writers can 145 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,120 quote integrate market prediction data by embedding 146 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:06,040 Poly market events on notes or articles, and readers will 147 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,440 essentially be able to see real time changes in the widget. 148 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:13,160 So I would say that the response to this collab has been pretty 149 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,080 overwhelmingly negative. I thought I would read some of 150 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,280 the responses under the tweet to just give you a bit of a 151 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,240 picture. As one user wrote quote, this is 152 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,200 unethical and disgusting. Polymarket is an illegal 153 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,520 gambling platform that allows insider trading on genocide, 154 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:32,159 wars, pandemics, and violence. It is the dark web of modern 155 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:35,000 tech run amok. And as another user wrote, 156 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:38,400 quote, nothing says editorial integrity like letting the 157 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,600 betting odds write the headlines, which is honestly 158 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,120 true. Anyway, I thought Kate Lindsay's 159 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,800 commentary on this partnership for the embedded newsletter was 160 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,920 really interesting. She spoke about how much of 161 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,360 digital media these days is about really doing anything for 162 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:59,200 money and just staying alive. And that was pulling mostly from 163 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,000 her career so far and anecdotal experience. 164 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,800 So with that context, she is, quote, familiar with doing 165 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,120 anything you need for a company to succeed. 166 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,960 But she did have a particular issue with the way Holly Market 167 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,400 shared the announcement, particular the line quote, 168 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:19,720 journalism is bettled when it's backed by live markets, which is 169 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:23,120 quite a statement to make. As she wrote, quote, it's a 170 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,600 statement from a company trying to appeal to a moment of genuine 171 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,400 crisis by retroactively claiming to have a relationship with it. 172 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,640 I'm supposed to believe that a sub stacker embedding the odds 173 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,680 for will Jesus return in 2026 into their post will somehow be 174 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,960 the turning point for media after a 30 year decline. 175 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,120 And that is very true. And I have seen many people 176 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,360 share similar gripes with the partnership, noting how it just 177 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,880 seems at odds with the purpose of Sub Stack, or at least the 178 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,680 perceived purpose of Sub Stack, which was democratizing writing 179 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:59,200 and publishing. It has really become a place for 180 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,120 riders to share their experiences, their truth. 181 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,240 But with this partnership, it's kind of encouraging riders to 182 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:09,320 lean into market positioning instead of analysis. 183 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,800 And I thought how Jay Mandel wrote this for the Marketing 184 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,120 Accountability Council on Sub Stack really hit the nail on the 185 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,440 head. As he wrote quote, embedding 186 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,360 tradable odds into conversations about politics, AI, or economic 187 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,640 instability feels like monetizing the anxiety economy 188 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:28,360 rather than calming it. And that isn't even to mention 189 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,760 the gambling aspect, which has become increasingly influential 190 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,800 in Internet culture over the past few years, especially with 191 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:36,960 streaming platforms like Kik, for example. 192 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:40,720 And to make matters worse with this partnership, this isn't 193 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,480 even the first time that Sub Stack has been criticized for 194 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,240 who it supports or who it aligns itself with. 195 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:51,280 Let's say a couple of years ago, Sub Stack came under fire for 196 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:55,360 the platform's response to Nazi content that was circulating. 197 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:59,680 Hundreds of Sub Stack authors went on to ask the platform why 198 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:02,680 it was platforming and monetizing, quote UN quote, 199 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,120 Nazis. Sub Stacks Co founder Hamish 200 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:09,720 McKenzie did go on to explain the platform's position in a 201 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,680 note as he wrote quote. I just want to make it clear 202 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,400 that we don't like Nazis either. We wish no one held those views, 203 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,640 but some people do hold those and other extreme views. 204 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,800 Given that we don't think that censorship, including through 205 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:25,720 demonetizing platforms, makes the problem go away. 206 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,160 In fact, it makes it worse. This whole exchange and response 207 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:33,600 did end with a lot of writers choosing to leave the platform. 208 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,880 And I do wonder, since Substack has recently gained all this 209 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,280 cultural capital in the last year or so, I don't even know if 210 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:44,000 all of these new users would be aware of everything that went 211 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:46,320 down here. So I am definitely interested to 212 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:50,680 see how current users of Sub Stack will react to this new 213 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:54,000 collab, especially at a time where Sub Stack has been 214 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,720 marketed as a social media platform that differentiates 215 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,400 itself from the rest because it's maybe more quote UN quote 216 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:05,320 authentic or values driven or just more meaningful. 217 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,480 But yes, if you guys have any strong opinions about this 218 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,920 partnership, I'm definitely curious to hear what you guys 219 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,120 think. That brings us to our next story 220 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,280 for today. And unfortunately, it is AI 221 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:17,000 related. I really thought we could get 222 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,600 through one week without mentioning anything about AI, 223 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,160 but unfortunately that is not the case because I wanted to 224 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,440 talk about this Gucci campaign that is making the rounds 225 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,640 online. So the fashion house has started 226 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,480 posting content promoting its Primavera fashion show coming up 227 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:36,000 on February 27th. And it is quite a big deal 228 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,760 because it is Demner's first fashion show for the house as 229 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,440 the creator director of Gucci. And for context, he was formerly 230 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:45,960 the creative director of Balenciaga. 231 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:48,400 Anyway, that's just a bit of context, but some of the 232 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,400 pictures that were posted included labels that said, quote 233 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:55,080 UN quote, created by AI. And I thought I would explain 234 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,880 some of these images to you. So the first included an older 235 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,080 woman in what seemed to be a train carriage, restaurant type 236 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:04,160 thing. I don't really know. 237 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:07,800 And she had all of these men looking at her as she was 238 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,400 standing in the middle of the aisle in in the tables. 239 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:14,240 Another one was an older car that was kind of glowing in a 240 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,320 Navy background. It was pretty plain. 241 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,320 And the last one that I thought was worth describing for our 242 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:23,360 audio listeners was an image that had two people sitting on 243 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,920 the hood of a car with a neon Gucci sign in the background. 244 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,080 This one might have been the most egregious because I had so 245 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,000 many users commenting that it looked like GTA. 246 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,600 As you probably would have guessed, though, many social 247 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,560 media users were not happy with Gucci using AI to generate these 248 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,600 campaign images. I saw so many comments along the 249 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,800 lines of quote UN quote, who approved this or quote UN quote, 250 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:51,280 This is how you ruin a brand. Now, we often talk about AI use 251 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,880 and entertainment, beauty fashion here on Mini Tech. 252 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,920 In fact, I think the last time we spoke about it was probably 253 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,120 like 2 two weeks ago when I was talking about that Ariana Grande 254 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,880 Vogue Japan cover. But a lot of the conversations 255 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:09,320 we have about it are how the industry reacts to AI usage, as 256 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,880 well as how this kind of technology is taking away 257 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,280 opportunities for creatives. And of course, that is likely 258 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,600 true in this case as well. But I think the case of Gucci is 259 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,160 especially interesting because it feeds into a different 260 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,920 discussion that has been going super viral lately, thanks to 261 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,840 Eugene Healy. He was actually also a guest on 262 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,560 Touch Grass last week. So I definitely recommend you 263 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,280 guys to check out that episode. But Lauren also spoke a little 264 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:36,040 bit about this topic there because he's making this whole 265 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,760 content series about how luxury is quote, UN quote, dead, and 266 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:44,280 how the idea of luxury has kind of moved beyond material goods 267 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:48,240 to more behavioural practices like being chronically offline 268 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,480 or going analogue. Because it really is a privilege 269 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:52,960 to be able to do that. And part of the reason that he 270 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,840 believes that luxury has quote UN quote, died is because of how 271 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,800 the Internet has made everything super accessible. 272 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,520 We can pretty much search up anything we want to see and the 273 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,960 results will pop up. We see influences doing their 274 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:09,040 Ootds with luxury goods every second scroll basically. 275 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,360 So it's just really not as inaccessible as it used to. 276 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:15,720 And I was talking about this with Lauren, and I think you can 277 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:19,760 kind of make a similar claim about how luxury is changing 278 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,400 here. When we see luxury slash 279 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,400 designer fashion houses using AI in a campaign, it kind of 280 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,440 suggests that luxury has arguably become less about taste 281 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:35,000 or bespoke or handcrafted designs and exclusivity. 282 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,960 That just isn't what AI is made for or represents. 283 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,760 Instead, we kind of have these luxury brands leaning into 284 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:47,400 futurism and tech to signal that they are still trendsetting and 285 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,280 ahead of the masses. Continuing with Gucci as an 286 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,840 example, earlier this month it was reported that Gucci was the 287 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,240 first luxury house to launch a sponsored AI lens on Snapchat. 288 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:01,560 And last week, Gucci posted videos of a mannequin that 289 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,600 repeatedly attempts and then fails to plug in a charging 290 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,600 cable into the wall. And other videos showed this 291 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:11,880 mannequin keying a car and repeatedly knocking on a door. 292 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,480 And what this means is definitely up for 293 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,200 interpretation, but it feels like it could be some kind of 294 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:23,360 commentary on automation or being a fashion house in an AI 295 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,360 driven world. But either way, it is kind of 296 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,840 leaning into tech in one way or another. 297 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:33,040 So if we see users understanding and experience of luxury 298 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,240 becoming more behavioural, perhaps the brand's approach to 299 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,440 luxury is also changing by leaning into tech and that whole 300 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,440 futurist aesthetic. I'm definitely curious to hear 301 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,120 what you guys think about all this though. 302 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,400 That brings us to our last story for today and it is a quick one, 303 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,360 but I did just want to mention a platform update that is just 304 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:52,960 rolled out on Australian Spotify. 305 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,080 So prompted playlists are being introduced to premium listeners 306 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,360 in Australia as well as the UK, Ireland and Sweden. 307 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:03,400 And this feature basically allows a user to type in a 308 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:07,280 prompt and then Spotify will create a personalized playlist 309 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,200 for you. And this will draw on your 310 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,800 listening history as well as what might be popular in music 311 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,319 at any given time. It is currently in beta and it 312 00:17:15,319 --> 00:17:18,000 is being rolled out as I've already mentioned and it is only 313 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,480 available in English currently. I thought this was because we 314 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,760 have seen over the years how much Spotify leans into 315 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,280 personalized playlists and how users engage with it. 316 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,200 One of the most obvious examples of this is probably Dayless, and 317 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:36,200 these obviously often come with kind of insane playlist titles. 318 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,760 And for years there's been discourse online whether Spotify 319 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,400 makes these titles crazy on purpose so that users share 320 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:47,080 them, or if it's just what kind of auto populates. 321 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,920 Either way though, day lists have definitely become one of 322 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,720 the most culturally relevant features offered by Spotify. 323 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:56,080 Now I want to look at what my day list is right now. 324 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:58,320 You guys are going to get insight into my music taste, 325 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,760 which is actually funny because you guys are often commenting 326 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,880 about what artists I like and I I see it and I appreciate it. 327 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,240 My day list, if anyone was wondering is currently Club 328 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,440 Classics Strut Wednesday morning. 329 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:12,600 So clearly that is a lot of brat. 330 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:17,320 And also we have some Beyoncé, Pink, Panthers, Adela, Addison 331 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:19,960 Ray, you guys get the vibe. I think you guys know by this 332 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,040 point. Anyway, back to prompted 333 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:23,840 playlist. They've also been billed as a 334 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,440 way for users to better understand the algorithm when it 335 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:28,760 comes to music discovery on Spotify. 336 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,240 Over the past few years, we've definitely seen music discovery 337 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,800 on the streaming platform be led by AI, especially with features 338 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,000 like AI DJ. And that is probably something 339 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,800 that will continue moving forward, especially as Spotify 340 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:46,600 really leans into other facets of audio, whether that be audio 341 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,680 books and podcasting. Well, I guess brings us to the 342 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:51,680 end of Mini Tech Scroll for today. 343 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,400 I really hope you guys enjoyed. Lauren will speak to you guys 344 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,440 for a regular mini scroll tomorrow, but also a new episode 345 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,120 of Touch Graph went live this morning so you guys should 346 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,320 definitely check that out. And also don't forget to leave a 347 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:06,560 comment about the close friends TikTok. 348 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,640 I really feel like I'm just asking you guys to do a lot, but 349 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,760 we really appreciate it Anyway. Thanks for listening. 350 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:14,560 Bye. Has anyone else noticed this 351 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,400 specific brand of creator where you can't really tell who 352 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:19,720 they're making videos for but it kind of feels like they're 353 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,560 trying to sell you something? I called them billboard creators 354 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,480 and I'm curious why these accounts exist and why they're 355 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,480 so extremely popular. I think Dixie is sort of the 356 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,440 first modern variant of the Billboard creator because she 357 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,600 was thrust into a really unique situation, having to find a 358 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,080 talent after she was already massively famous, but ultimately 359 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,640 it seemed like the public was not willing to forgive her for 360 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,560 experimenting, so her team retreated back into the very 361 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,080 profitable realm of advertising. Since then, Dixie has posted 362 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,480 basically nothing except her ads, but millions of people 363 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:53,320 still watch them, which makes me think her main appeal has less 364 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,160 to do with the content she's creating and more to do with the 365 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,880 sensational level of fame. She for some reason, Haley 366 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,440 Kalil, also known as Haley Bailey, is kind of another 367 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,120 blueprint for this. She aggressively follows trends 368 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,160 and is an expert on making you think. 369 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,120 She thinks what you think. And she's had huge success by 370 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:13,000 capitalizing on the offense or people that the masses are 371 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,360 paying attention to. This is danger as a sort of pop 372 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,960 culture fairy, like you know something has entered the mass 373 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,640 cultural consciousness once Haley Bailey makes a video about 374 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:22,520 it. Most often, her videos are skits 375 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,720 recreating viral moments or typical videos regarding the 376 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,640 predominant opinions you'd find on any viral post comment 377 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,520 section. Nick Lunk and her boyfriend Sam 378 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,960 Guys are proud examples of this. They do trend videos, they 379 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,080 hardly ever speak to the camera, and they always look extremely 380 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,560 beautiful and put together Despite having 45,000,000 381 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,720 followers. It's difficult to discern what 382 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,640 type of person Brooke is on TikTok other than relatable. 383 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,600 In fact, it seems like being relatable is the core objective 384 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,600 of all non sponsored content. Building a fan base off of 385 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,120 impersonal content that encourages your audience to 386 00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,200 project onto it makes it extremely easy for brands to 387 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,280 slot in and use you as a billboard. 388 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,440 They can borrow your followers because those followers have no 389 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,080 consistent expectations of value communication. 390 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:08,760 The sensation of it all, the fame that these smiling, 391 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,600 friendly people hold, is what keeps the audience interested in 392 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:12,960 them. But when you really think about 393 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,240 it, these billboard creators aren't selling their own 394 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,360 personal brands to connect with sponsors, they're actually 395 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:21,760 selling you their followers. It's extremely similar to how 396 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,240 social media companies started selling their users attention to 397 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,440 the highest bidder. Billboard creators grow their 398 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,840 following for the same reason that social media platforms grow 399 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,080 their user base, because more followers equals more dollars. 400 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:37,120 Centennial World Podcast Network operates on Gadigal land. 401 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,400 We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the 402 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,560 traditional custodians of this land, and pay our respects to 403 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,360 elders both past and present.