The Return of Remix Culture and Web 2.0: From Pharrell Williams to the New Features of Social Networks.
Social networks are returning to the "social" essence of their beginnings. And audiences are following.
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In the early days of social media, remix culture & “Système D” were the norms. This French expression translates to "DIY" or "do-it-yourself", and refers to a resourceful and improvisational approach to problem-solving or creating something using whatever means are available. Indeed, everything had to be built. Platforms were in their infancy, and we were not yet in an economy where the influencer market was valued at several hundred billion euros.
The first bloggers were fundamentally in a collaborative mode: searching for a developer to fix a bug on WordPress, a photographer for fashion blog needs, a location for a video shoot, etc.
Bloggers exchanged links in their posts, which improved their SEO (remember PageRank?). The first YouTube Rewind (in 2010) gives a glimpse of that period: a culture of remixing, (re)editing, where parody and a form of virality led to global phenomena.
The ice bucket challenge, viral Diet Coke x Mentos videos, and millions of song covers are part of the history.
A remix philosophy that is making a comeback.
All the latest announcements from Meta (especially for Instagram or Threads) seem to draw inspiration from the early days of Web 2.0, which made user interactions so simple.
Since last week, images from almost any user can be transformed into "stickers," a simple function aimed at automatically cutting out an image to then use it in Stories. A way to continue enriching people's creative resources by encouraging conversational use (visual collages to express an idea) and facilitating the "remix" of a sharing feature.
Why facilitate this remix culture and expose oneself to risks in terms of intellectual property? Because the time spent on social media has plateaued for over a year. Therefore, the only strategy to continue monetizing users is not to increase the time spent but rather the intensity of usage: doing more in fewer minutes to embed the platform even more deeply into people's lives therefore digital liveness.
The only strategy to continue monetizing users is not to increase the time spent but rather the intensity of usage
The "remix" tools democratize what was previously the domain of creative technicians. Entry barriers in terms of hard skills (such as using editing tools, photo retouching, augmented reality...) are breaking down, favoring the valorization of a good idea above all. This is clever for the platform (making viral phenomena possible) and good for creators or remixers (valorizing their brains).
Remix in fragmented cultures
This remix trend also helps nourish increasingly niche communities, cultures that intersect like ships in the night. What makes certain individuals more influential than others in these communities has changed a lot in the past two years. We return to the fundamentals of influence: the ability to generate change with one or more people. According to the latest Highsnobiety report "New Luxury New Rules," the top three criteria explaining why someone is influential relate to this remix culture.
Legitimacy gained within a community or niche.
Recognition of their exceptional creativity.
Their role as pioneers, inventors.
Implicitly, I like this quote from the artist Sputniko!: "If you have a dream that no one follows, then it's an empty dream": building this influence takes years, requires rallying individuals around oneself—in real life—and, at some point, this foundational work pays off, as it is ingrained in a fabric of relationships, projects, and evidence.
Web 2.0 might be making a comeback.
The words of Pharrell Williams interviewed by Margaret Zhang (Vogue China) and Yiling Pan (Vogue Business China) shed light on the strength of this Système D and remix culture in the long term:
“I work with 55 different departments, over 2,500 soldiers. I call 'em soldiers. But this is like a love movement. But you have to conduct, you know, it's like a huge orchestra, you know? And my job is to make sure that like everything is in harmony, you know, and to weed out any of the dissonance and just make sure that like it's a harmonious thing and that we move as a unit (…) It's very different than it was 30, 40 years ago. You know, everything was like in a vacuum. But now, like I said, because of the internet, it's different. If you're really talented, they will find you. Somebody will find you, somebody will get behind you. And I just, I mean, you know, just being over here and just seeing everything that's going on, man, it's really your time. It's your time. Like nothing is stopping you, nothing. Nothing can dim the light. And by the way, the light that I'm referring to is the light of the universe. Right? You know, we know that, you know, there's a day and a night, but the sun does not set. The Earth is just spinning. Right? And when you know that, you realize the sun is always shining. So it doesn't matter if it's nighttime and you can't see, it doesn't mean that the sun is not shining in your direction. So once you know that, you realize you don't need the light or the acceptance from. The world at large. Like just shine and be bright and be magnetic. Be great.”
Pharrell Williams - Vogue - January 2024
Event of the week: Journal du Luxe Intelligence
Self-promotion: if you want to see me live, join me tomorrow, Wednesday, January 24, at 11:30 am (CET) live on LinkedIn with a beautiful panel on the theme "WHAT’S LUXURY IN 2024?". I will talk about kindness, the ultimate luxury in social networks. Register now, already over 1000 participants!
Impressive Links
Why do all coffee shops look the same? Blame the algorithm, according to The Guardian. Bewildering.
Squeezie and his gang have just released the documentary "Thanks Internet" on Prime Video. A fabulous dive into the beginnings of YouTubers and the rise of geek culture in France.
Have a great week! And feel free to share this newsletter with your friends or colleagues, or 'like' it if you enjoy it! Cheers from Paris!