Commentary
"Geniuses differ from ordinary men less in the character of their attention than in the nature of the objects upon which it is successively bestowed." – William James
"In this world there are only two tragedies.
One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." –Oscar Wilde
If you want to get someone's attention, it's simple: ask them about themselves. It was one of the most important premises behind Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People.
And that's exactly what FaceApp did last week. It tapped into two powerful strains of human nature: curiosity about our own future and narcissism. It's as if Dorian Gray met Narcissus.
Social media has always fed the narcissistic side. We thrive on likes, shares, and comments. We hope to "go viral." We keep pressing the refresh button in an effort to get that hit of endorphins that attention brings.
In an image-obsessed culture—particularly one that values youth over age—many people maintain fine-tuned feeds of photos that flatter themselves.
So when FaceApp came along (again—this isn't our first rodeo with them), the lure was irresistible: upload a photo and see what you'll look like in 20 years. Many people fell for it without realizing it's a Russian company with loose privacy standards.
Even more terrifying: this isn't the only place it's happening. More likely than not, your data is for sale because of software you probably installed yourself on the internet browser of your choice. It's likely that this kind of data collection is already happening on Facebook too:
"But FaceApp and Facebook are clearly two very different beasts. One is an opaque tech company operating under unclear privacy regulations and with little oversight on how it uses its technology, and the other one is FaceApp."
The point is: we're warned about situations like this time and again. And yet we still fall for it.
Humans will always take the shortcut, if given the option. But unlike our ancestors or animals, we won't be vigilant about the wild boar waiting for us in the woods.
Especially if we're walking around with a phone in front of our faces.
 | | Curated Stories
"I have gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is my own." – Montaigne
Space Farce
This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing. Related stories:
In what can only be described as a symbol of what we've become, American kids have no desire to be astronauts any more, instead aspiring to be...YouTube influencers. (Ars Technica)
To paraphrase President Kennedy: "We choose to go to YouTube in this decade and do the other things, not because they are hard, but because they are easy."
NASA relies on social listening, tailoring content to specific platforms, and video as their most important tool. Its social media operations encompass more than 537 accounts. Meet NASA's stars of social. (The Drum)
Just a Regular Farce
The Swiss group that's supposed to oversee privacy for Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency says it hasn't heard from Facebook at all. (CNBC)
The long-awaited redesign of Twitter is here. And some people hate it. But this isn't about you; this is about Twitter's ability to more quickly address issues in the future. (OneZero)
Old and Unimproved
America's iconic brands are losing their luster. Consumers are piling into nouveau and generic brands—like Kylie Jenner's Kylie Cosmetics and Brandless—some of which aren't even sold in physical stores. Why? The old guard is slow and doesn't own the only distribution channel any more. (Axios)
Not Quite Contented
An all-out content arms race started on February 1, 2013. We can pinpoint this moment in time because of a new and different way of thinking about content distribution. What happened on this fateful date? (Mark Schafer).
While the analysis here was a bit light (the author found a weak case study for her own question), there are some good quotes from audio industry authorities: Have We Hit Peak Podcast? (The New York Times)
| | Content Marketing World discount available
Are you breaking through the content clutter? Are you amazing your audience? Content Marketing World 2019 is returning with new ideas, new speakers, and more. Learn and network with the best. MONTY19 saves $100 | | | Join me this Tuesday, July 23 at 12:00 pm EDT on Twitter for the #CMWorld live chat.
I'll be discussing content curation (you know, that thing I do here). I hope to see you there! | | | For the Curious Mind
"Curiosity is the lust of the mind." – Thomas Hobbes
The Algonquin Round Table turns 100 this summer. Some of the greatest literary minds of the 20th century dined and exchanged witticisms there. Their work impacted society as well as the literary world. And they left us with many reminders, such as Dorothy Parker's "There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words." (The New York Times)
A personal tidbit: I used to stay at the Algonquin every year, as it served as the unofficial headquarters of the Baker Street Irregulars' annual gathering (I am a member). The Round Table was still there, and its spirit lived on, even in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
I get a lot of inquiries, and I answer every one of them. But there's a way to improve exchanges like this, and make the outcome better for both parties. How to Reach Out to Someone Whose Career You Admire. (Harvard Business Review)
If you'd like to contact me, just hit the button. | | Recommended Reading/Listening
"Let me recommend this book." – Arthur Conan Doyle
| | | I already mentioned this podcast once before, but it's worth a repeat on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. From the BBC comes 13 Minutes to the Moon, a remarkable documentary show that takes us behind the scenes of the 400,000 men and women who made Apollo 11 possible, with archival audio of presidents, astronauts, engineers, and dozens of others that get us to those thirteen critical minutes of the Lunar Module's descent. | | | | Maria Konnikova penned The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It ... Every Time as a way of looking at the fact that even the most intelligent among us can be victims to con men. How is it our instincts don't serve us better? This intersection of history and popular culture gets at the answer. | | | | Just in case you want more links and more stories, I curate everything to The Full Monty on Flipboard. You can follow along there. | | | |
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