Issue 7: The problem with stereotypes is that they are incomplete. -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  

COMMENT 💬

The end of the summer is near. One thing is certain and that is the rest of the year and 2023 will see the creator economy get talked about more and accelerate faster. In this week's issue, the "anti-social media" app, BeReal, continues to see explosive growth. Gen Z loves it for its simplicity, genuineness, and authenticity which helps close friends feel a real sense of connection.

Adobe released its global "Future of Creativity" study with insights into the creator economy. Mark Zuckerberg appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. One of the highlights is how hopeful he is that the growth of the creator economy will translate into a renaissance of people being more creative and how the nature of work will change around it.

Tamil-Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnanm, the lead in the "Never Have I Ever" American coming-of-age comedy-drama television series, talks about stereotypes, women of color, and how she handles her own insecurities.

Events: Starting in September, Spinning Forward will feature an events section in the newsletter. Readers asked and want to know about BIPOC creator events happening in the Greater Toronto Area. An event I'll be covering is Monsoon Sound, which is happening August 27th at The Rose Brampton Lobby. Monsoon Sound is a celebration of South Asian hip hop artists including Roshanie, Siddartha, Keralanka, Tanvir Rose, Spitty, Sikh Knowledge and Hey Bombay. The event organizer is Amrit Singh (aka) Noyzhiphop, an author, rapper, spoken word artist, and community organizer from Brampton.

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Flavian

Publisher and Founder, Spinning Forward

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK 📜

"The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story."

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 2009 TED:The danger of a single story

youtube.com

NEWS: NEED TO KNOW 🔎

Gen Z loves BeReal with Over 10 Million Daily Active Users

Gen Z is obsessed with BeReal, which is described as an anti-social media app. In August, the app surpassed 10 million daily users. The growth of 78,900 percent since March 2021 is remarkable since it had 10,000 users then.

BeReal's tagline is "Your Friends for Real." Each day at different times of the day, friends get notified to post low-quality unedited photos within 2 minutes of whatever they're doing. One reason for the app's popularity with Gen Z is that it's genuine, fun, and mundane. It's a throwback to an earlier Internet when oversharing was hard. It emphasizes being relatable and represents ordinary life with the goal of building connection and community.

BeReal's growth trajectory over the past year happened as Instagram received a barrage of bad press. It was criticized for shifting from its photo-sharing roots to short-form video Reels. Instagram has also copied TikTok's recommendation algorithm which favors strangers over your friends and followers.

Vice describes BeReal as the "only good social media app". Business Insider says "any clone by Instagram won't be able to replicate its authenticity." Unsurprisingly, Instagram is testing a new feature called Candid Challenges that copies BeReal's features. As Business Insider reported,

If Instagram's goal is to lure younger users away from BeReal and back onto Instagram with the feature, I'm convinced they won't be successful. The app is spontaneous and authentic, two traits that are anti-Instagram by nature.

petapixel.com

Adobe Study: 165 Million People Have Joined the Creator Economy Since 2020

Adobe released a new “Future of Creativity” study with insights on the Creator Economy. It covers people who are monetizing their content, goods, and services online by leveraging their own creativity, talents, and passions. The study found that since :

"The Creator Economy is reshaping every aspect of culture and society, from the future of work to social causes to mental health."

The Creator Economy is Growing

More than 165 million people joined the Creator Economy since 2020 across all verticals. Of that, the U.S. accounted for 34 million new creators. Millennials represent 42% of the Creator Economy while Gen Z represents 14%.

The Future of Work

For the majority of creators, content creation is a hobby or side hustle. Six in 10 creators have full-time jobs, although Gen Z and millennials prefer less traditional jobs. 48% of creators are motivated by the goal of freedom of expression. Less than one-third of creators (26%) are motivated by money.

Advancing Social Causes Online

95% of creators take action online to advance or support causes important to them. The top causes for creators are food and housing security (62%), social justice (59%), and climate change (58%). Almost half of all creators believe they can use their creativity and influence online to advance social causes, whether through awareness, voicing opinions, or assisting others who may not have a voice.

Creators and Mental Health

The surprising finding is that the more time creators spend creating and sharing content, the happier they feel. This is contrary to how consumers of social media feel. They report negative outcomes when they use social media more Creators who make daily content and/or spend 10+ hours per week report being happiest overall.

brandinginasia.com

Mark Zuckerberg appears on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast

Mark Zuckerberg did a recent interview on Joe Rogan's podcast covering a range of issues for nearly three-hours. He covered how he spends his time, the metaverse, content moderation mistakes, the growth of Facebook, the role of algorithms, and others.

One topic Zuckerberg talked about was how Facebook and Instagram will build AI systems to recommend better content to people. Both platforms will primarily become a discovery feed of new content and creators. He sees the growth of the creator economy as one of the most positive trends in the last decade. Zuckerberg believes this new economy will remake the economy around the world allowing people to pursue creative paths and alternative ways of work. The interview is a rare opportunity to better understand Zuckerberg's long game and his deep-thinking approach to various topics.

spotify.com

PROFILE: DO WHAT YOU ARE ❤️ 🫶

'Never Have I Ever' Tamil-Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on fame, insecurities and stereotypes

Never Have I Ever is an American coming-of-age comedy-drama television series starring Tamil-Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who plays the lead. The show was created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher and Season 3 premiere on August 12, 2022 with Netflix releasing 10 episodes. The show explores the complicated relationship of a young Indian-American teen has with her family, her culture, and ultimately, her identity.

Growing up in Mississauga, Ontario, Ramakrishnan's dream jobs centered around creativity like animation, theatre, and acting. Ramakrishnan says the show has broken stereotypes and that we deserve realistic characters today.

Asked about getting over her own insecurities, Ramakrishnan says:

"The best way to get over it that I think is the healthiest is being honest with yourself and recognizing that it's ok to be imperfect. And that's ok. .. I'm really very bad at that... In high school, I always felt like I could fix my own problems and I never needed to ask people for help. And then when things actually did get too much and I did need to ask people for help, I didn't know how."

Poorna Jagannathan plays opposite Ramakrishnan as Nalini, the strict, widowed Indian mother, raising her rebellious teen daughter. At 49, Jagannathan says women of color are being recognized on television but fears this moment will pass as it has done in the past. More important, women of color in front of the camera are now being supported by women who are behind the camera. In an interview with the LA Times, she cites a quote from author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete."

“Yes, Devi is an overachieving, nerdy Indian American girl and Nalini is a tiger mom with zero capacity for finding a middle ground. But they are all so much more than that. And that’s what makes this character so fulfilling to play. You see Nalini’s desires, her vulnerability, and her grief alongside her relentlessly strict parenting. You see her as a three-dimensional person — something that American TV rarely affords minorities.”

latimes.com

RESILIENCE HACKS 💪🏾 ✌🏽💯

6 strategies to help you beat decision fatigue

If you're someone who multitasks a lot or a creator who works the side hustle after your day job on evenings and weekends, you may be experiencing decision fatigue regularly. It’s estimated the average adult makes about 35,000 decisions per day. An American Psychological Association survey conducted in 2021 found that:

Nearly one-third of adults—and nearly half of millennials—are struggling with basic decisions, like what to eat or wear. About half say planning for the future feels impossible, thanks to the pandemic. Almost half (47%) of parents report feeling “so stressed” during the pandemic and struggled to make basic decisions. Hispanic, Black and Asian adults report that decision making became harder and that they fared worse in the past two years compared with non-Hispanic White adults.

Decision fatigue is a psychological condition, where a person’s decisions degrade due to mental exhaustion after a long session of decision-making. In their book, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, Roy F. Baumeister, and John Tierney, write that:

"Every decision – no matter how big or small – zaps a part of your mental energy and willpower. Decision fatigue results in poor choices because you've used up what is a finite amount of willpower in a given day."

Here are 6 strategies to overcome decision fatigue.

1. Conserve energy by automating trivial decisions. Automate decisions like bill payments, what to wear or eat on certain days. Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and former President Obama wore the same outfits to work every day to improve productivity.

2. Simplify choices and ask for help. Ask a few people who don’t have anything at stake in the outcome to help make the decision. This can reduce bias and anxiety. Also, look for reduced options since having too many choices often leads to inaction.

3. Eat during breaks. Willpower is like a muscle in the body and gets tired when it is overworked without breaks. Eating 3 meals a day and during breaks rejuvenates willpower and helps us make better choices. Specifically, a low-glycemic diet prevents big spikes in glucose levels and takes longer for the body to absorb. When glucose levels are replenished after a food break, decision-making improves.

4. Make To-Do lists realistic are actionable. Most lists have two shortcomings. The bigger your list, the more conflicting goals you have. Goals that conflict lead to unhappiness and inaction. Minimize conflicting goals. The second shortcoming is To-Do items are often vague and fuzzy. For example, “Do taxes” is complicated while “Call accountant” is clear and actionable.

5. Do small willpower workouts. Baumeister and Tierney suggest doing small workouts to practice self-control and strengthen your willpower. Simple exercises include using your weaker hand when performing certain tasks, finding a workout buddy to go to the gym with, and improving your speech by cutting the number of filler words used like ‘eh’, ‘yeah, ‘yup’, ‘nah’, ‘nope’ and ‘like'. To improve your speaking, consider joining Toastmasters International.

6. Use Self-self regulation technology. With the popularity of smartphone apps and wearable technology, its easier to monitor your behavior and improve decision-making. By electronically monitoring how you spend time, your decision-making and habits can improve in areas like budgeting, spending, weight, sleep, exercise, Internet, computer, and phone time.

wsj.com

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