We Love the Internet 2022/25: The Influencer creep edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• It’s TikTok’s world. Can TV live in it?
• The Open Secret of Google Search
• Inside The Washington Post’s Social Media Meltdown
• ‘Duke Smoochem 3D’ creator Dan Douglas on capturing Britain’s weirdness
• Game Design Mimetics (Or, What Happened To Game Design?)

Reference points:

• Filmot
• Big picture competition 2022

Longer reads:

• Influencer creep
• The rise of the internet’s creative middle class
• How harmful is social media?
• The numbing rise of IPTV
• A trip to the GaryVee convention, where everyone is part of Crypto’s 1%

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• Our 10 Year Anniversary

Things to look at/read:

• The End of the Millennial Lifestyle Subsidy
• Who decides what the drink of the summer is?

Animal corner:

• His little legs look soo silly when he goes up on his tippy toes
• One of the only ways to get him to drink water
• Lincoln got his tonsils out
• when your friends want a photo with you but you dont

Tweets of the week:

• the morgue gets a pop up every day that its mcafee is expired
• You’re not a history buff if you can’t name all 6 wives of Henry VIII
• and you could have it all my empire of Bert
• What connects them all?
• Incredible what they can do nowadays
• this is the best breaking bad meme i’ve ever seen holy shit
• Lol whose name is Toblerone

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• Teenage justice
• The follower

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We Love the Internet 2022/24: The How DALL-E could power a creative revolution edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• How DALL-E could power a creative revolution
• How The Internet Became a Doom Loop
• AI Trained on 4Chan Becomes ‘Hate Speech Machine’

Reference points:

• Cyclic references finder
• Every Language Everywhere All at Once

Longer reads:

• The Internet Encyclopedia of Memes
• FaZe Clan’s Grand Plans
• Inside the $100K+ forgery scandal that’s roiling PC game collecting

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• I Am The World’s Fastest Crawler
• The tiny island in New York City that nobody is allowed to visit
• Nintendo Sound Effect (acapella)

Things to look at/read:

• A single photo can change the world. I know, because I took one that did.
• One Direction fangirls created the internet as we know it
• What would it mean to treat guns the way we treat cars?

Animal corner:

• A year ago today I took a photo of a cow
• A friend just sent me this video of a cockerel and I am WEAK. I also feel seen
• Giant Great Dane Moose Head THUMP!
• Play time I guess
• i love her so gd much
• I cackle every time I watch this
• only linkin park knows how i feel

Tweets of the week:

• These are my people
• can someone who is good at puzzles help me to get out of this building? I was expected home hours ago
• Spaghetti is weird
• And the sky is gray
• Enough is enough with early riser privilege

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• The ‘Megan Stalter Character’ Is Its Own Comedy Genre Now
• Pride and Prejudice and Fire Island

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We Love the Internet 2022/23: The Woes of being addicted to streaming edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• People are getting tired of the ‘TikTok music formula’
• Why advertising will never die
• The Obsessive World of Digital Music Collectors
• An Eater Critic’s Night Out With a TikTok Food Influencer
• It’s Time to Bring Back the AIM Away Message
• Summer Blockbuster Season Is in Full Swing—On Television

Reference points:

• 48+ ways you can do something about the news
• Five things I’ve learnt about horizon scanning

Longer reads:

• The Woes of Being Addicted to Streaming
• How GDPR Is Failing
• What’s Up Next at Netflix?
• The Surreal Case of A CIA Hacker’s Revenge
• The Daily Wire Spent Thousands of Dollars Promoting Anti-Amber Heard Propaganda
• Substack’s founders dive head first into the culture wars
• The Woes of Being Addicted to Streaming

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• We tracked what happens after TikTok songs go viral
• Sneaking Up Egypt’s $58 Billion Skyscraper
• I bought a York City turnstile at auction. It’s the best £300 I’ve spent
• Exceptionnelle démo de beatbox par MB14
• Cast of The Good Place react to Season 1 Finale Ending
• I Built a Secret Tiny Cabin that has Wood Stove Heating
• My supercut tribute to video stores

Things to look at/read:

• The Incredible Shrinking Car Dealership
• Why do action figures all look like they’re jerking off?
• The rise of the corporate emo
• Brittney Griner And The Labyrinth Of Wrongful Detainment
• Why Fangirls Scream

Animal corner:

• Having a sister is the worst
• Dinner time with the gorillas
• My favourite video ever
• Very smart

Tweets of the week:

• Prince George looks like he’s sending Louis on with five minutes to go to try get a winner, while William gives him the instructions.
• He helped them move all their amps and stuff
• my mom just ended my life
• Academia changes a man…
• I SAID we supposed to be saving our money!!!
• They are them
• what’s wrong babe? you haven’t touched your shrekfast yet

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• American Rasputin
• Even if you beat me
• Atomic Bombast: ‘Wu-Tang Forever’ and the Apex of the Most Monumental Rap Group of All Time
• The audacity of despair

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We Love the Internet 2022/22: The TikTok Boom edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• TikTok Boom
• Who Owns 4chan?
• How TikTok’s Irreverent Humor Became Hollywood’s Indispensable Tool for Reaching Gen Z
• Spotify vs Netflix – Contrasting the User Interfaces
• An Anonymous TV Writer Offers An Inside Look At Why Special Effects Seem So Bad Right Now

Reference points:

• Pop Culture Has Become an Oligopoly
• deuxmoi’s digital trail

Longer reads:

• TV at Unprecedented Scale: How Dick Wolf Rebounded to 198 Hours of Drama a Season
• “We’re going to disrupt”: A year inside GB News
• How goes the revolution?

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• The Water Margin – A 1976 Mash-Up
• Is This the Best Modern House in the World?
• First and last drinks
• don’t let this die

Things to look at/read:

• Are We In The Most Boring Era Of Celebrity?
• How My Meme Made It To ‘Moon Knight’ And Basically Became Marvel Lore
• The Smash-and-Grab Economy
• What Did Medieval Peasants Know?
• Why Do Harry Styles Fans Hate Olivia Wilde?
• The Rich New York Women Who Love Their Fake Birkins
• Searching for the Notorious Celebrity Book Stylist

Animal corner:

• Ants vs. Chili Sauce Time-lapse
• Hi Todd!

Tweets of the week:

• TOP GUN MAVERICK was so good that I showed up first thing this morning to enlist
• I don’t understand how a snake even begins to organize a trip like that.
• I like my men like I like my Edwardian townhouses
• exactly like paris

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• Chaotic Nightclub Photos
• The young Yankees fan who lost his autographs
• Why is it so hard to control our appetites? A doctor’s struggles with giving up sugar
• London’s lost ringways
• Who owns Einstein? The battle for the world’s most famous face
• “I’m Tired Of Being Accepted”: John Waters Is Only Getting Grosser
• Exposed by a Strava Kom: The Many Lives Of A Fake Pro Cyclist

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We Love the Internet 2022/21: The Rise of the sadboi big man edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• Warner Bros. Discovery
• The 19th-Century Hipster Who Pioneered Modern Sportswriting

Longer reads:

• How Squid Game Turned Rage and Desperation Into a Radical Hit

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• This is the greatest walk-up song in the history of baseball
• Magnetic Vibrations
• ZPM: The Kickstarter Failure That Revolutionised Espresso
• I Built the ENTIRE Universe in Hardcore Minecraft!

Things to look at/read:

• The rise of the sadboi big man
• Dwight Schrute was a warning
• A PGA Tour Spectator and His Beer Went Viral — Now He Has His Own Official Merch
• New York’s next great pizza feud is here.
• The surprising afterlife of used hotel soap

Animal corner:

• Kevin sure does love cupcakes
• learn how to relax
• who wants a sandwich?
• Disco divas coming @cha
• I’m no detective but…
• i am losing my mind over the kitty grabber

Tweets of the week:

• FPL budget allocation 22/23
• Academia summed up in one photo:
• “Do not use as a chopping board”?!?
• well if that’s what it takes, good for him
• All summer long
• I love my job
• standing by the fridge looking weird as fuck gotta be one of the funniest photo genres

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• The last phone boxes: broken glass, cider cans and – amazingly – a dial tone
• Inside LA’s Homeless Industrial Complex
• The Magic of Alleyways

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We Love the Internet 2022/20: The Trends are dead edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• Trends are dead
• Facebook Doesn’t Know What It Does With Your Data, Or Where It Goes: Leaked Document

Reference points

• Earth clock

Longer reads:

• Unsettling Futures – Brandon Sanderson, fame, and the failure of the Long Tail
• Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• Haboob: A Decade of Dust
• Risky Red Bull Plane Stunt Goes Wrong
• The final dance in Dirty Dancing, but they’re dancing to The Muppet Show theme tune.

Things to look at/read:

• UK Is About to Become Stagflation Nation
• Simpsons Forever

Animal corner:

• This is how I was my monkey
• i cannot handle him
• I’m no detective but…
• Alway pack your sausage
• My Nepthew having some fun!!

Tweets of the week:

• how it probably happened
• THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN
• This is the greatest email I’ve ever received
• came up with a great new slogan for snacks
• Massively proud of my daughter who just received a badge for (checks notes) walking to a nearby chip shop and eating some chips
• When PE teachers have to teach a bit of Geography.
• This is what a collapsing society looks like

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• He Planned a Treasure Hunt for the Ages — Until He Went Missing
• A child star at 7, in prison at 22. Then she vanished. What happened to Lora Lee Michel?

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We Love the Internet 2022/18: The Why American teens are so sad edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• Spilling Silicon Valley’s secrets, one tweet at a time
• What to Do About Tudum …
• Amid Streaming Boom, Some Companies Love Linear TV

Reference points

• Why American Teens Are So Sad
• How ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ Fuels Extremism And Fear
• Gen Z spends half its waking hours on screen time. Here’s the good and bad news for Hollywood

Longer reads:

• The Power of the Still: The Photography Behind the Scenes

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• How an Architect Redesigns NYC Streets
• I ate like Tom Brady for a month

Things to look at/read:

• The Secret Art Gallery Where Millionaires Buy Dinosaurs and Rare Objects
• A decade ago, Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘Cumberbitches’ ruled the internet. Where are they now?
• How Homeownership Changes You

Animal corner:

• Taste test! I’d say he loves it
• I ❤️ pepino
• glass tables are confusing!
• What did he say back

Tweets of the week:

• One of the greatest owns in history
• Delighted to announce that my plane was showing THE LAST DUEL but the closed-captioning was from KNIVES OUT
• who the hell is kevin

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• The Karen Who Cried Kidnapping
• Notes from the underground
• ‘People Probably Want to Kill Us’: The Oral History of Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’
• A day in the life of (almost) every vending machine in the world
• When Mary Jane Kissed Spider-Man

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We Love the Internet 2022/17: The Getting to grips with the c-word edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• Netflix’s Bad Habits Have Caught Up With It
• Netflix’s Big Wake-Up Call: The Power Clash Behind the Crash
• Movies and the Internet
• Inside the Implosion of CNN+

Reference points

• Horrible edge cases to consider when dealing with music

Longer reads:

• Getting To Grips With The C-Word
• The 101 Best Movie Sequels of All Time

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• My Heart Will Go On (but it’s Smash Mouth’s “All Star”)

Things to look at/read:

• Happy St Patrick’s Day: This is the rule of pints
• The Ubiquity of the ‘Pumpkin Spice of Dogs’

Animal corner:

• I have to go diving for this man once a month he’s officially banned from pool areas
• How Ants and Bees Broke the Game

Tweets of the week:

• Head of Engineering | Head of Sales | Head of Design | Head of Product
• If “surf and turf” didn’t rhyme, no restaurant would have the courage to let you order a steak and a lobster together as if it were one meal.
• Man steals moon.
• nothing couldve prepared me for this video
• it goes like this the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the tokyo drift.

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• The Real Yacht Rock: Inside the Lavish, Top-Secret World of Private Gigs

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We Love the Internet 2022/16: The Memento millennial edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• This is as good as movies are going to get
• Back to the Future of Twitter
• Google’s New Tech Can Read Your Body Language—Without Cameras
• Confessions of an Information Hoarder
• The Miserable Lives of Cyborg Truck Drivers

Reference points

• Communicating complex research
• Earth reviews
• How many people are in space right now
• Wordle, 15 Million Tweets Later
• The 125 Best Books About Hollywood
• Instagram Has Verified 35 Virtual Influencers

Longer reads:

• Memento Millennial
• His software sang the words of God. Then it went silent.
• The internet’s meth underground, hidden in plain sight
• The Schism Breaking Apart the “Prepper” Community

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• Are you the asshole?
• Tracking Devices Reveal Where Recycling Really Goes
• How to Cut Michelin Star Onions

Things to look at/read:

• ‘That’s it? It’s over? I was 30. What a brutal business’: pop stars on life after the spotlight moves on
• Slobbing out and giving up: why are so many people going ‘goblin mode’?
• On Rap’s Linguistic Twists and Turns
• Why We Use “lol” So Much
• Around London In 12 Dragons
• The 12 most unforgettable descriptions of food in literature

Animal corner:

• Cat pushes turbo button on dog
• Bulldogingles
• What a good boy
• Baby llama is only five hours old
• rbf cause he’s not getting any pizza
• The way I would commit federal, and international crimes to be able to do this for 5 minutes

Tweets of the week:

• The five stages of grief, as represented by butter substitutes.
• I’m rewatching all of Friends with my 14-year-old daughter. We are on season 2. Here is a running, but incomplete, list of all the things I have needed to explain to her:
• bringing her home to the master and commander sheets

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• The Untold Story of Disney’s $307 Million Bomb ‘John Carter’: ‘It’s a Disaster’
• Size Matters: Inside the Politics of Festival Posters
• The queen of crime-solving
• The pied piper of psychedelic toads
• Teachers In America Were Already Facing Collapse. COVID Only Made It Worse.

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We Love the Internet 2022/15: The 21st century fake accent matrix edition

Part 1: For the day job

Things to think about:

• The Game-Defining Rivalry of ‘Elden Ring’ and ‘Horizon Forbidden West’
• ‘I don’t let my wife use it’ – great TV theme tune composers savage ‘skip intro’
• DALL-E, the Metaverse, and Zero Marginal Content
• Abbott Elementary Is the New Model for Network-Sitcom Success

Reference points

• The 21st Century Fake Accent Matrix

Longer reads:

• Why the past ten years of American life have been uniquely stupid
• What happened to Starbucks? How a progressive company lost its way

Part 2: For the lunch-break

Things to play with/watch/listen to:

• How This Woman Mastered Jump Rope
• Port of Amsterdam – Timelapse
• Why there’s no one inside this Spider-Man suit
• Why London’s “Harrods Of The East” Didn’t Quite Go To Plan

Things to look at/read:

• Yours for $200m: why Warhol is now worth more than Picasso
• 9 ways to imagine Jeff Bezos’ wealth

Animal corner:

• Never fail to cheer me up
• Thinks he’s in the grand national
• Pt. 2 of Goose vs. Orange, who’s the champion?
• Moose is in a race for fastest puppy chow eater in the world against himself
• It gotta be dipped
• Guys in their 40s taking selfies…
• Duck Loves Showers So Much, Her Mom Takes Her To A Real Waterfall

Tweets of the week:

• Man wtf?! I swear nothing surprises me anymore.
• Due to a small hole at my curtains, my room sometimes turns into a camera obscura.
• You out yo mind to think I ain’t learning his dance to do at the next event. He went off
• getting back from the shops and noticing you left the kitchen light on

Part 3: For the weekend

Longer reads:

• The Goodman Experiment

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