TWITTER BOT WARFARE & ABBOTT ELEMENTARY X SCHOLASTIC
To state the obvious: Wow, gas prices are high. And it looks like they’ll stay that way for a while: CNN is saying things will stay this way through Labor Day. The whole situation is a stark reminder of our collective reliance on fossil fuels. Tesla is reportedly already seeing a surge in orders this week, compared to last. But just in case a new/expensive car with a wait list isn’t in the cards for you, here are a few hacks to help you use a little less gas when you do have to drive.
This past Tuesday was International Women’s Day, and as typical of these mostly marketing holidays, a lot of companies took the opportunity to tweet about it. This year, someone created a Twitter bot to see if these companies put their money where their tweets are, sharing the gender wage gap for every company that tweets about IWD. While it only tracks UK-based companies, the findings are pretty interesting. The bot quotes each tweet with the facts comparing men and women’s pay, using the government’s service that makes this data public.
I think we at this company have made our stance on ABBOTT ELEMENTARY clear (we love it), and today I am giving you one more reason to watch. The show is partnering with Scholastic (who we also love) to give underfunded schools free book fairs. The events are taking place next week, with each kid getting two free books and each teacher getting 10. No viral TikTok required.
Disney Plus announced that it will be introducing a cheaper ad-supported subscription option later this year. This comes as the company is only about halfway to its goal of reaching 230 to 260 million subscribers by 2024. Hulu, HBOMax, and Peacock all currently offer various ad-supported plans. So, we have to ask:
Are you willing to watch a few (or more) ads to get content for free—or cheap?
-Yep, these streamer subscriptions are adding up
-No, I can’t sacrifice my ad-free binge-watching
And finally, this week, I was fortunate enough to stumble across this powerful reading of poet Brenda Shaughnessy’s I HAVE A TIME MACHINE. I also loved this video explaining Agnes Denes’ amazing public art piece in the middle of NYC in 1982, and this (very cinematic) video of a snail that feels like a whole movie in a few seconds.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
