The Inauguration
Wednesday’s presidential inauguration brought many things, including, of course, endless memes. Bernie simply existing got turned into a meme...again, and it was probably the most viral one to come out of the event. After this photo of Bernie watching the inauguration (admittedly in a very cute pair of knitted mittens that come with an equally cute backstory) started to make the rounds on the internet, it didn't take long for the senator to be edited into a variety of backgrounds. We saw Bernie at an NYC hotdog stand, among the cast of GLEE, and inside works of performance art. NYU student Nick Sawhney even created a website where users could place Bernie wherever they want—but quickly got flooded with so many users that he ended up with a Google Maps bill he couldn’t afford. So, he’s asking for donations to keep the site alive.
We spend a lot of time talking about the Streaming Wars around here, but it’s probably time that conversation included audio streamers, too. . Apple, according to The Information, is “discussing launching a new subscription service that would charge people to listen to podcasts, according to people familiar with the matter.” Sounds like this is an idea in early stages, but if it happened, this would shake up the world of podcasts in a huge way. In 2020, according to Statista, 25% of podcast listeners said they used Spotify, while 20% said they used Apple Podcasts—but a new service could turn those close-ish numbers upside-down. And it would probably also heat up the bidding wars over superstar creators. . As the podcast giants try to snap up top-tier talent (Spotify just signed Ava DuVernay this week!), the deals just keep getting bigger.
Speaking of streamers, Bridgerton is back at Netflix’s number one spot after the company announced that Season 2 is confirmed and will start filming this spring. The announcement came in the form of a letter written by the show’s mysterious narrator, Lady Whistledown, and revealed that the next season will focus on Lord Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey. The show is projected to reach 63 million households within the 28 days since its Christmas Day debut. And since it’s based on a book series with eight novels, it’s safe to say we probably have a lot more content to look forward to.
And of course, my two favorite TikToks from this week. First, this video that answers the question, “what it would be like to be a bird for a minute?”. And second, this video of a friend group reenacting an iCarly episode that I can't really explain but just has the best vibes.
—Darlene Kenney, Marketing Assistant
