Five things on Friday #374
The Champions League Final, opting out of Meta's AI training, a bunch of great videos... and more!
#374
Things of note for the week ending Sunday June 2nd, 2024.
INTRO
Hello hello.
Welcome to the 374th edition of FToF (on Sunday).
Full disclosure: I went to the Champions League Final at Wembley yesterday and my head and my throat are SORE (so forgive typos, yeah?.
I think you could count on one hand how many times I’ve mentioned THE FOOTBALL in the past 12 years or so of Five things on Friday but I’ll be honest, when PlayStation rings you up and says ‘Hey, do you wanna come hang out in our sexy hospitality at Wembley?’ well… it’s hard to say no, y’know?
Anyway, it was MEGA.
Loads more photos and videos on my Threads.
A HUGE thank you very much to PlayStation UK for inviting me along and hosting. I had the best time and I’ll be thinking about it for a LONG time afterward.
That was my weekend. How was yours?
Quick spot of platform admin: apologies to the Android/Gmail users among you that may have struggled with reading last week's edition (the web version works fine btw). I was messing about with what was and wasn't possible with some embeds and I think I left some markdown in there somewhere. As it turns out, it was a Buttondown error that has now been fixed! Hooray. Good job as I was this close to resending last week’s edition.
If you do find any errors on the email version you receive you will always find the web version at fivethingsonfriday.com (just in case your dog eats your emails or something).
What else can I tell you?
Oh yes! Here’s some stuff I have done recently and/or will be doing in the future that I’ve made promises to tell you about - aka ‘This week in James’:
First up: the charming Jess MacIntyre of brand consultancy Mac + Moore invited me to be interviewed as part of their ongoing series ‘Future Moves’.
AND IT WAS VERY LOVELY.
You can read the write up of the interview over on the FUTURE MOVES Buttondown page (nice platform choice, pals). For what it’s worth, I really enjoyed this interview. Mainly down to Jess who was not only a brilliant light of conversation (it wasn’t all one way, honest) but also had clearly done her research - which meant the questions took me to a few places I hadn’t been to for a while. Thank you, Jess.
NEXT. Carolyn McMurray of WORD TONIC has asked me to come along and give/be a part of the next WORD TONIC MASTERCLASS.
Carolyn says:
Are you a GEN-Z copywriter? Do you want to level up your skills and be surrounded by people who are ACTUALLY your own age? Join Word Tonic; we're a community of 800 global gen-z copywriters who do sh1t-hot copy masterclasses with people like James (hi, we love you James) and lots of other fun stuff like weekly briefs, challenges, AI workshops + more. Sign up here (we're cheaper than a Justin Bieber toothbrush).
To be absolutely clear: I am not a copywriter. I am a writer and a planner and Carolyn thinks the stories I can tell and questions I can answer (about my career, about strategy, about writing generally as a discipline) will be of value to the gorgeous Word Tonic community. One hopes at least.
Maybe see you there?
And finally, I am still very much GOING TO AUSTRALIA in August to speak at STATE OF SOCIAL in Perth. Will I see you there? Do you know anyone in Perth I should meet? Tell them and then tell me! Thanks x
AND FINALLY (we’re nearly there, honest).
An extra thanks this week to whisky comms consultant (friend, nice man, and FToF reader), James Bunting, who after reading about a whisky tasting I hosted a few editions back (FToF passim, #366) earlier this year, took it upon himself to mail me a mini-tasting of his own.
1. If you’re of a peaty disposition, I can strongly recommend the Ardnamurchan (rum cask release) and The Compass Box Peat Monster (pictured above, right).
2. If you work in whisky, or just want to know more about it, speak to James (he organises tastings too).
-
PS. Everything in the ‘This week in James’ section above came about due to this newsletter. Directly or indirectly. So if you’re sat there thinking ‘Should I start a newsletter?’ Just go ahead and do it - amazing things can happen x
—
I THINK THAT IS EVERYTHING. Shall we get to the things? LET’S.
TO THE THINGS!
THING 1. THE CHAOTIC SECRET BEHIND UNNECESSARY INVENTIONS
I think I’ve spoken to you before about Becca Farsace - just how good she is at her craft (hello… EMMY AND WEBBY AWARD WINNING) and how effortless her video content seems to be.
Anyway, this is a new thing from her - covering behind the scenes process on and with other popular creators. Kicking off with Matty Benedetto, the man, the face, the moustache behind UNNECESSARY INVENTIONS.
One: Farsace is just a brilliant host and guide.
Two: this is 9mins or so and eminently watchable YouTube - and absolutely worth your time.
THING 2. THE PASSION ECONOMY IS A SCAM
The above named article, ‘The Passion Economy is a scam’ by Joan Westenberg is a solid rebuttal to side hustle culture - why it exists and why it is so relentlessly pursued.
Additionally, Threads user and visual designer, Glavis Loh, put together these supporting images (including the one above) to go alongside it and further illustrate why we where we are.
Both are worth a look.
THING 3. THIS WEEK IN… GAMING (LINKS)
Nothing massive this week but a few stories and links of note:
Here is an excellent overview and list of a whole bunch of Cosy Games. FWIW, this is useful if you like gentle games and/or want a nice way into gaming.
The FT takes a at look at the £2.2bn private equity bid for Keywords Studios (has the market bottomed? I’m not so sure)
‘In the gaming industry, immersive integrations are winning the battle for marketing dollars — for now’ - a decent read this.
Regular FToF guest appearer George Osborn (and author of the consistently insightful VGIM newsletter) published a fantastic interview with Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins about Higgins’ background in video games and why that has helped drive Bellingcat's ongoing fake news debunking success.
Have I ever told you where I get my PlayStation credit from? ShopTo have a decent sale on ATM.
This is a decent look at data behind why people subscribe to games’ subscription services. Worth a look for trend spotters...
What is James playing?
Well, I've put Helldivers 2 down for a bit and I finally finished Animal Well (properly). Breakout hit of the year for me and I’m certain will appear on many people’s GotY lists later this year.
And also, thanks to THE FINAL SHAPE releasing for Destiny 2 next week, I've decided to get back into the game and into the swing of things which me. The previews are looking goooooood.
Legit started Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night/Rondo of Blood last week. Originally out in 1997, I picked up the PlayStation compilation re-release for all about £3 and am enjoying the simplicity of it.
What are you playing?
THING 4. 50 YEARS OF THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
I think I missed this when it originally dropped at the back end of last year but for some reason some clips from it were bubbling up in my feeds this week and, me being me, I went to the source and found the whole thing.
And I’m so glad I did.
This is wonderful.
THING 5. HERE’S A QUESTION, DO YOU WANT YOUR FACEBOOK CONTENT TO BE USED TO TRAIN META’S AI SYSTEMS?
Yeah… I don’t.
And if you feel the same then you should probably exercise your right to object.
Obviously, Meta being a USER-FIRST company with USER NEEDS at the absolute CORE of everything it does you would expect this process to be super simple and easy.
Right?
RIGHT?
Oh no no no no no!
The process for you to ‘object’ (not say no, by the way - you have to object and then Meta decided whether or not it will honour that objection) is:
See/receive an email or a notification (see mine, above) and click on it.
This then takes you to another page that explains, badly (hello dark patterns), you have the right to object (while telling you to ignore it) - but Meta, with no explanation, chooses IF this is honoured. Click the RIGHT TO OBJECT hyperlink.
You’re then on a form to fill in and submit (just a few details).
Then and only then can you submit your objection (you can go directly to the objection page right here). Along with a few more details, of course.
THEN you have to wait for an email code to confirm it’s you (you are logged in btw).
Get the email code (only live for an hour), submit and… you’re done.
After that, Meta then gets back to you to let you know if your objection will be honoured.
Because I don’t want my updates, content, photos, videos, and basically anything I’ve ever uploaded to any of Meta’s family of apps, I have chosen to opt out.
The good news is:
So yeah, that’s not easy or intuitive and actually, not even a user choice. Just a vague/opaque ‘Yeah, we might, we might not…’
Nice.
Read more here about how to object (especially if you’re an artist or content creator) and don’t ever let anyone at Meta/Facebook etc tell you users are important.
E V E R.
x
BONUS SECTION
THIS IS THE BONUS SECTION. BONUS LINKS THAT BUMP US OVER FIVE THINGS BUT DUE TO TIMING AND SELF-IMPOSED WRITING RESTRICTIONS ARE LIMITED TO PITHY COMMENTARY ONLY.
ENJOY.
Kicking off right away with a fab piece from another FToF frequenter, Bruce Daisley: ‘No one is listening to your boss’ wisdom’. The TRUTH. HE SPEAKETH.
Marshall is on similar form in regard to just how Return to Office (RTO) mandates are not working. I heard this week about a company introducing an RTO feature and that applies to everyone except the C-Suite. Equality!
Looks like they’re building a UNIVERSAL STUDIOS in the UK. Wow.
The creators of BLUE EYE SAMURAI spoke to Deadline about this incredible show to life (have you watched it yet? WHY NOT?)
Marketecture is pretty damning on Google’s AI efforts.
Speaking more of AI, remember when Sam Altman was fired? Yeah, about that.
Metaverse things these days feel like punching downwards but honestly this looks terrible.
Hugh Jackman being told by Ryan Reynolds just why he thinks the world of him is actually quite moving.
I will never tire of this Willy Wonka letter of note.
Next time someone says ‘They still don’t know how they built the pyramids’ you can say ‘Well, actually…’
I’m coaching friends with job hunting at the moment (if anyone is hiring strategists, get in touch) and this debate about how to optimise your CV to get around Applicant Tracking Systems (aka ATS) is probably worth a look, even if you’re only considering reflecting on your own one right now.
This is fairly old but I still LOVE Steven Soderbergh talking about George Miller and MAD MAX FURY ROAD - “I just watched Mad Max: Fury Road again last week, and I tell you I couldn’t direct 30 seconds of that. I’d put a gun in my mouth. I don’t understand how [George Miller] does that, I really don’t“
The Economist on Gary Lineker is interesting.
YOU ARE REACHING THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER. MIND THE GAP.
Right. I’m signing this thing off. It’s 1306 on Sunday afternoon and I guess I should make some lunch.
Thanks to all of you that wrote back in response to Thing 5 last week. I’m sorry that so many of you are under stress (and duress) with the places you work (or in some instances - the awful people you work for). The only person that can change the situation is you. No one is laying awake at night thinking about your next career move.
So if you want change, you need to will it into existence.
You can do it.
I trust you.
Until next time,
Whatley out x
PS. Campaign of the decade? Jokes.
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