The following articles were featured in Get Bright, GLOW’s weekly industry newsletter. Appearing from most to least recent:

Issue 243 (September 11)

CELEB FOODS

Issue 242 (August 2_)

It’s Been a Big Week for Twitter

Here’s the scoop, in just over 280 characters.

  • “Retweets with comments” is so last week. Twitter is changing this category to Quote Tweets and putting them next to retweets, making every quote tweet just one click away. We’re not sure if this is going to be good, bad, or just chaotic, especially considering Twitter users’ tendency to roast tweets using this feature. 

  • Twitter is adding context to trending topics to help people learn why a topic is trending. If you’re one of the 500,000+ people who tweeted “Why is this trending?” in 2019, or you’ve ever wondered why a celebrity was trending and had to Google the answer, this update is for you.

  • People and brands are posting pictures of themselves from January 2020, back when they were, in their words, blissfully unaware. This tweet from Netflix Is A Joke hits especially hard.

Lastly, if you want to see an edit button, wear a mask. It may not have worked last time they tried, but it can’t hurt. (Until then, mask up and double-check your spelling.)

Conscious Corner: PowerPoint Activism

Slideshows are everywhere. From your Explore page to your friends’ Instagram stories, these carousels help break down a wide range of the world’s current issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, and mail-in voting. Vox recently referred to this phenomenon as PowerPoint Activism, and the easily-digestible format has only grown in popularity since June.

On the surface, these slideshows are a quick, simple way to learn about many of today’s biggest social justice issues. And they are, up to a certain point. There’s only so much information you can fit in 10 squares. (People have needed more space to analyze episodes of Game of Thrones.) As such, there’s danger of oversimplifying the complex issues that these Instagrams tackle. 

At the same time, the threat of misinformation shouldn’t be ignored. Most are meant to inform, and some accounts, such as So You Want To Talk About, cite verified sources with their PowerPoints. Despite this, the ubiquity of the designs makes it easy to spread false information. For example, one Canva design has been used at least 200,000 times: while one slideshow with that format could include their sources and have extensive research behind it, the other could be spreading blatant lies. Because of the design similarities and Instagram’s algorithm, the false PowerPoint could become just as widespread as the well-researched PowerPoint. Yikes.

So what should we do? Read the PowerPoints — but don’t stop there. While Instagram slideshows are a great first step, they shouldn’t be our only step. Seek out slideshows that have verified sources, and make sure to do your own fact-checking and research on social issues before you hit share.

Issue 241 (August 2_)

Meme Of The Week: Mentally I’m Here

Physically, we’ve been in our homes (or at least social distancing and wearing a mask). Mentally? We’re all over the place. 

Twitter’s newest meme showcases the many places we’ve been escaping to [mentally] from the comforting to the abstract. Some choice destinations include the baseball scene from Twilight, superhero academy Sky High, in the clouds with the Care Bears, Scooby Doo’s Spooky Island, and many, many locations from Spongebob.

Even entertainment brands are hopping on the trend. Networks such as TNT have participated, and shows such as Outlander and Desus & Mero have used clips and screengrabs from their series to show where their heads are at. Their success shows that it’s okay for brands to be more vulnerable in these unprecedented times, and it doesn’t hurt to make your fans laugh while doing it. 

One thing’s for sure: mentally we’re somewhere far far away.