Strands of Genius: Influencer Marketing & Retouching, Why Community Matters, How The Gap Lost Its Way
Plus, our thoughts on: social media censorship & sexuality and power dynamics over at the SOSG
WRITING FROM | Beersheba Springs, TN
WORKING ON | new workshop design, editing presentations, interviews, and a new business proposal this week
LOOKING AHEAD
April 1-29 | Beersheba Springs, TN
April 29-May 1 | Nashville, TN
May 1-28 | London, UK
May 28-June 6 | TBD: Portugal or France
June 6-24 | London, UK
June 24-27 | New York, NY
June 27-July 12 | Wingdale, NY
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
Our hearts are full after celebrating the birthday of our friends Madison & Morgan! We met Madison in our adult lives, when she still lived in NYC, but long after we had left. Madison and Faris bonded over their love of Star Trek while Rosie would sleep. And then Rosie and Madison bonded over their need to debrief and talk through everything, especially the deep, juicy stuff. She and Paulie love cooking and playing games as much as Faris and I do. This is one of those friendships that was just meant to be. If Faris and I ever renew our vows, I’ll be asking Madison to be a bridesmaid. It’s crazy how you can have such significant friendships develop throughout adulthood, and we’re especially thankful for this one.
Reminder! Today, April 12th, we’re hosting Jenny Chang over at the School of Stolen Genius at NOON ET.
She’s going to be diving into sexuality and power dynamics in music through the lens of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP. Y’all. This is gonna be a good one. STRANDSOFGENIUS gets you 50% off your first month for the School of Stolen Genius. Come see what we’re all about :) Members who aren’t able to attend in person will be able to access the recording following the session.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Wholemeal, being back on the mountain and all the peacefulness that comes with it, Madison & Morgan (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVORITE TWINS!), Paulie, being reunited with Cal & Aly (our collaborators on the Nashville Strong / Dolly Parton we made during the pandemic!), Josh & Elea & Leona, Alex & Collin, Erin & Eric, John Allison, fireplace weather, walks around the block, homemade pasta and Paulie’s balls, ginger sparkling water from Whole Foods (it’s the absolute best!), Vybes, all our new friends & YOU.
S C H O O L O F S T O L E N G E N I U S >> H I G H L I G H T S
// WAP: Women Asserting Power with Jenny Chang | Community Meet Up
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 12:00 PM -1:00 PM ET
More details for members on School of Stolen Genius.
:: THE LINKS ::
WHY COMMUNITY MATTERS SO MUCH AND HOW TO FIND YOURS
Even though in the Western world we position spouses as the be-all end-all, you really can’t rely on one person to be your every-thing. Humans are social creatures and we have an array emotional and psychological needs. According to clinical and community psychologist David McMillan: “To be part of a community, you must feel a sense of belonging (membership), feel like you make a difference to the group and that the group makes a difference to you (influence), feel like your needs will be met by other group members (integration and fulfillment of needs), and feel that you share history, similar experiences, time, and space together (shared emotional connection).” Really interesting read on community and how to find yours. (Vox)
RETOUCHING & INFLUENCER MARKETING
To help combat social media’s “systemic mental health harms,” Ogilvy will no longer partner with influencers who are distorting their bodies or faces. At the same time, the UK government is reviewing the “Digitally Altered Body Image Bill” that would require influencers to disclose whenever they’ve edited their content. Specifics on how it will work in practice, quotes from clients and more here. (The Drum)
SHRINKING THE GAP : HOW THE CLOTHING BRAND LOST ITS WAY
Gap once defined an era of fashion, but recently has experienced steadily decline… Until in 2020 gen Z began bringing it back, through sweatshirts and social media (primarily Tik Tok). This article covers the changes in culture, the way in which the brand reacted, their competitors success, branding and advertising, and of course, fashion. A fascinating read that covers the brand from multiple angles. (The Guardian)
Strands of Genius is currently read by 13,000 subscribers. Support us by sponsoring an issue, becoming a member of The School of Stolen Genius, or encouraging friends or colleagues to subscribe.
:: WHAT WE’RE THINKING ABOUT: SOCIAL MEDIA BANS ::
Sri Lanka is the latest country to block social media, one of 11 Asian countries that have banned social media to counter public protests — and one of 30 Asian countries that have banned social media in general. More generally, Asia has the strictest social media censorship.
Surfshark released a report with more detail, including these four key learnings:
1 African and Asian countries block access to social media the most, while Australia and Oceania had zero recorded cases of social media restrictions.
2 The practice of limiting social media access is usually the product of anti-democratic governments seeking to suppress citizens’ freedom.
3 Social media blocking in most countries is more of an on-and-off occurrence instead of a permanent decision.
4 There are 6 countries with ongoing bans on social media – all of them in Asia.
“The tendency to block access to social media sites is especially prevalent in countries where state authorities own or control the internet infrastructure,” Surfshark said in its report. “This enables the authorities to quickly employ sporadic shutdowns to disrupt the expected movements of the democratic public.”
More generally, a third of the world’s countries have restricted social media access in some way since 2015. In 2022 alone, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Russia and Sri Lanka have blocked social media from their citizens in some capacity.
Whether you’re working on global brands or not, this Surfshark report gives some interesting context to the larger world of censorship.
Join a community of people looking to work smarter, not harder.
Enroll today >
http://schoolofstolengeni.us
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
Know someone who could use some inspiration in their inbox? Forward this email to them! We appreciate you spreading the word.
It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)