Latest Stories from Charlie
How coronavirus has changed US shopping habits
According to a new study by McKinsey & Company, lockdown has shifted consumer behaviours, with digital marketplaces growing while brand loyalty diminishes. International lockdowns and social distancing have forced most of us to change our day to day behaviours as far as contact with others is concerned. This has had ramifications on the way we shop and has altered our consumer habits significantly. A new study by McKinsey & Company...
The rise of ‘dark social’ is changing brand marketing
Gen Z is one of the biggest drivers of dark social traffic, often blurring the line between private and public social media activity - it’s only set to increase. Dark social is commonly used to describe any online interaction or click that can’t be traced by third parties or marketers. This applies to WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger chats, private emails, or Snapchat photo sending, for example. It means that web...
Banksy’s ‘Show Me The Monet’ sells for almost $10 million
Banksy’s 2005 parody of Monet’s famous work ‘The Water-Lily Pond’ is a commentary on modern commercialism and the subsequent environmental damage. It’s also just made big bucks at auction. One of Banksy’s works titled ‘Show Me The Monet’ has just been sold at auction for $9.8 million USD. It’s the second highest bid ever for a Banksy piece, having only been beaten by his 2009 work ‘Devolved Parliament’ that depicts...
Pope Francis supports civil unions for same-sex couples
It’s the first time a leader of the Catholic Church has properly recognised the legal legitimacy of same sex couples, but it’s not indicative of actual change just yet. Pope Francis has expressed support for same-sex couples in a new documentary called Francesco that recently premiered at the Rome Film Festival. Speaking on camera, Pop Francis states that ‘homosexual people have a right to be in a family’, as well as...
New in-game video series for NBA 2K urges Gen Z to vote
Teaming up with the ‘More Than A Vote’ campaign, basketball video game franchise NBA 2K is releasing a two-part electoral video message to encourage Gen Z to head to the polls. It seems like most tech companies and social media platforms are trying their hand at encouraging young people to vote in this year’s US elections. Snapchat introduced direct hyperlinks to voter registration sites, Instagram has released unique ‘I Voted’...
Digital trends company MSCHF pays TikTok users to ‘kill brands’
MSCHF has released nine TikTok sound bites that you can use to talk smack about big companies and you’ll be paid depending on your view count. It’s the definition of an anti-ad. Obscure digital content company MSCHF has launched a new campaign encouraging TikTok users to create videos attacking big companies that have been accused of abuse, negligence, and exploitative practices. It’s part of a recent company movement to criticise...
How to avoid doom scrolling on social media
2020 has been a rough one, nobody’s denying that, but our incessant flood of bad news stories is actively altering how we perceive the world. How many times in the last few years have we heard the phrase ‘this is the worst year ever’ or ‘I hope next year is better than the last’? Our obsession with negativity and global issues worsening has increased hugely over the last decade,...
Apple won’t ship chargers with iPhone 12 to ‘help’ out the planet
You’ll no longer be able to pick up a standard charger or earphones with iPhone 12. Is it a genuine bid to reduce carbon emissions or a cheeky way to make more money? Apple unveiled the new iPhone 12 this week via an online announcement video. It boasts all the qualities you’d expect from a fresh tech release - flashy specs, 5G capabilities, and a new miniature model at a...
This new AI experiment uses robot swarms to make paintings
We tend to see fine art as the essence of human experience, but AI could soon be helping paint the world’s next masterpieces. I still remember the first time I became aware that the world’s biggest painters have assistants to help them create large bodies of work. It makes sense practically, of course. When looking at art that uses upwards of 50 separate pieces to create sprawling mosaics - like...
‘Earthshot Prize’ is the largest environmental award ever
Prince William and David Attenborough have created the largest ever environmental prize that hopes to encourage new climate change solutions by awarding £50 million worth of grants over the next decade. Prince William has joined forces with famous documentary maker Sir David Attenborough to create a brand new environmental prize. Launched last Thursday, the ‘Earthshot Prize’ will be awarding £1 million to five groups or individuals working on effective climate...
