Big Things Podcast
A weekly show where we talk about the big things we're watching in marketing, social media, pop culture and sports. We also talk through signals we’re seeing that could inform the future of digital marketing.
You can catch the podcast every Friday wherever you listen or watch it on YouTube. Be sure to follow us on Instagram or TikTok for updates on every episode.
Big Things Podcast
Is It Too Soon to Talk About Football? X Causes Chaos (E21)
We’re unpacking the latest in sports and social media: Unwell Hydration signs a deal with the NWSL, and Instagram is testing a new algorithm. Plus, we explore the frenzy of NFL free agency and what happened when X went down. Is it too soon to be talking about football?
More from us:
- Mitzi Payne @mmmitzi
- Mike Payne @mmmiiike
Timestamps:
- 03:40 – Decision fatigue: It’s real, let’s talk about it.
- 08:30 – Mitzi is making her 17-year-old self proud.
- 10:00 - Thing 1: NWSL signs a sponsorship deal with Alex Cooper’s Unwell Hydration.
- 13:50 – Can makeup brands and NWSL athlete relationships be authentic?
- 23:10 – Thing 2: Instagram is testing a new blend algorithm creating a shared feed for you and your friends.
- 36:30 – Is LinkedIn the hottest social media platform?
- 38:00 – Thing 3: X went down on the first day of NFL free agency causing chaos.
Show notes:
- The SCAN 👀 CLUB 2025 Trend Report: https://scanclub.substack.com/p/what-digital-audiences-want-in-2025
Big Things with Mitzi (@mmmitzi) and Mike (@mmmiiike).
For more from Arcade, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @helloarcade. https://www.arcadearcade.ca/
Production by Morgan Berna, editing by Oliver Banyard.
Welcome to Big Things. I'm Mitzi. This is Mike.
Speaker 1:This is our show where we talk about the big things we're watching in marketing, social media, pop culture and sports and we talk through the signals that we're seeing that could influence the future of digital marketing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, today we're going to be talking about three big things. The first one is that Unwell Hydration sponsors the NWSL, instagram is testing a new blend algorithm and X was down for the first day of NFL free agency.
Speaker 1:Stressful.
Speaker 2:Was it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't know where to get all my updates.
Speaker 2:Is that like the only place?
Speaker 1:that's like the place for sure, and then it's funny because it disperses from x to other places like reddit and some of the like fantasy news alert apps and stuff like that, but x seems to be like ground zero for breaking news.
Speaker 2:I did hear or I did read that X is the number one news on X's sports related news.
Speaker 1:I get all my sports stuff on Instagram. There's tons of politics on X too, but I think sports is what keeps me there.
Speaker 2:I didn't realize I'd be talking about NFL so soon. It's only been like two weeks off.
Speaker 1:No what.
Speaker 2:It's only been like two weeks off. No, what yeah.
Speaker 1:No, the Super Bowl was like Like six weeks.
Speaker 2:No, not six weeks, four weeks.
Speaker 1:I guess it hasn't been that long, you're right, more than two, less than four.
Speaker 2:It's been like two weeks.
Speaker 1:Crazy. It felt like.
Speaker 2:But you miss it, don't you?
Speaker 1:It felt like a whole season, a whole off season, no we're not that close but yeah, it'll go in spurts, Like we have free agency right now, and then it'll quiet down after this week and then late April is the draft, so there'll be a bunch of stuff around that and then it'll be quiet for a bit during the off season and then, like, training camp will start up and, yeah, fantasy drafts will start happening and things like that yeah, I feel like this.
Speaker 2:This is like kind of we're kind of feeling that ramp up too, because we have two sports clients this year, or sports team clients, and now it's kind of like really revving up because the season starts for both of them in April.
Speaker 1:Yeah, their seasons are like, are kind of during the off season of some of these other leagues, like the NFL and the NBA, so it's crazy. It'd be crazy. Yeah, we're both tired today. I feel like we got to bed a little bit later last night and, um, we're scrambling a little bit more this morning but, yeah, we're going to get through it. That's the. That's what life is like having a podcast while you're running an agency.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the thing that I'm experiencing is decision fatigue. I was listening to a Mel Robbins podcast this morning and she talks about decision fatigue and like all the decisions that you make the average person makes in a day it's like 35,000 or something or something and if you she listed these like five symptoms and if you feel one of the five, then you're probably experiencing sorry, you're probably experiencing decision fatigue and scientists say that it's like an epidemic, like a decision fatigue.
Speaker 1:so because we're all trying to do way too much right.
Speaker 2:So some of the five symptoms which I like experience all of them. It's like all, yeah, it's like procrastination when you see something you know you should do it, you just kind of don't do it. Avoidance when you are trying to like do something that you know that you like to do, like it could be even like a social thing, there's no reason to avoid doing it, except that it involves you making decisions.
Speaker 1:I was literally just talking to Oliver about this before the podcast, because we were supposed to have a boys wing night tonight and I was in my head I was like maybe I just shouldn't go because. I have like too much on my brain.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I just feel tired from what I'm processing. But then he was like you got to still do it Totally. And then fatigue, fatigue, which is like you got to still do it totally and then fatigue.
Speaker 2:Fatigue which is like obvious, like you're just tired, or like you, you, or even like avoidance is like, oh, if you don't like wash the dishes and stuff, you're just like I'll do it tomorrow, whatever. Like that's all part of decision fatigue and I can't remember what the other ones are, but I was like, yep, that's me. To every single one yeah so, anyways, I was listening to her podcast and I really like Mel Robbins, but wow, does she make a meal out of her episodes.
Speaker 1:She's like Like it's a lot to digest.
Speaker 2:No, she, she just like, really like, spends a lot of time gearing up for her like points. So she's like here's your five like step no brainer evening routine. That's going to solve all your problems when it comes to decision fatigue and it's going to change the way that you wake up in the morning and you're going to be able to handle a very busy day. So she'll be like that's what the episode's about, but then, like, leading up to that, she'll really like dance around getting to those five points.
Speaker 1:That drives me nuts. That's such a tactic.
Speaker 2:But I kind of respect it, because there's definitely times where I show up to this podcast where I'm like, okay, this is the thing I want to talk about. Do I have a perfectly executed like thing to say, like I'll get there, but it's, I feel like it's not just about saying the one thing, cause that that'll take 10 seconds.
Speaker 1:It's about saying all the things that lead up to the one thing and that makes an episode. You know, yeah, but you can tell it's a tactic. When they're kind of like, they're making it feel like they're about to say the entire time.
Speaker 2:I do feel like Mel Robbins is sincere, like she'll say things like by the way, if someone sent you this episode, make sure you thank them. It means that they care about you. It means that they want you to win. It means like 20 different things. You know and it's sincere, but you know, like you're sitting there listening to 20 things, that this one person feels about you who might have sent you this podcast. Like it's still time before you're leading up to the main point.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I feel like she's a very good podcaster nice, we probably have some things to learn rather than we do criticizing the podcast I've never listened to yeah, and she'll also be like and, by the way, everything's backed by science, in fact, research like she'll, it's like so many things before the first thing you know, but Like making the argument before you make the point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Well, I just want to say that I've had decision fatigue before and been stressed and had too much on my plate, and you've been very gracious and you've helped me out a lot, so I'm here for you this week.
Speaker 2:That's nice.
Speaker 1:I know that you feel the same thing and I'm here for you yeah, one of the things on your brain is you're speaking at a university class later this week.
Speaker 2:That's exciting yeah, right now I'm like why did I say yes?
Speaker 1:I always feel like that too. Whenever I agree to like speak or teach at something, I'm like it sounds so fun and glamorous when you're asked to do it and then when you actually have to prepare for it, it's like how I know and jury's out if I'll even like it Like I feel, like I'll feel I'm glad, I'll be glad I did it after I'm done it.
Speaker 2:But it's a lot of like pressure to do it and like stress until it's done, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so like, why do we do this? I think it feels like pressure to you because you do a really good job of everything you do.
Speaker 2:You're really Well, that's nice.
Speaker 2:You put a lot into making sure what you say and do is valuable, so Well, I just want it to be good and it's fun, like I am doing it. It feels like it's in Edmonton where I grew up and I also like couldn't get into U of A, like I didn't have the grades to get in. So it feels like okay, like if I'm invited to speak there at a class, like I should do it just for that, just full circle, just to make my 17 year old self proud. So it's like not even about me, you know, it's about her huh and your 17 year old listener.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, there's no one listening. Do we have any of those? No, I don't know.
Speaker 1:We talk about a little bit of pop culture, so maybe they have other options, if you are listening or watching are 17 years old. Just drop a comment or send us a DM, just so we know no they're not listening.
Speaker 2:They've got other. There's other pop culture things to listen to than us.
Speaker 1:We're just some elder millennials.
Speaker 2:We're good for the people that you know need us right now, but not the 17-year-olds.
Speaker 1:Just millennial core.
Speaker 2:I wonder what 17-year-olds are doing right now.
Speaker 1:I thought they were listening to this. Actually, they're not listening to this.
Speaker 2:Think about you know, our neighbor.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's not listening to this, she's not listening to this. Legit.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:She doesn't want to talk to me.
Speaker 2:No, oh for sure. She barely talks to me, she barely makes eye contact. Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1:She is driving her car. She's more interested in our daughter than us, our six-year-old.
Speaker 1:Well, for the cash, she's a babysitter, so Right, fair yeah sitter, so right, yeah, respect to her respect yeah, it's okay, we don't need the 17 year olds life is stressful a little bit, but that's just reality and it's also because we chose to record on a Tuesday instead of a Monday and it's crazy how much of a difference that makes. But we're just figuring it all out like everybody else, we're just getting through yeah you know what, so is everyone yeah, should we get through thing one? Let's do it. Okay, you take this one.
Speaker 2:Okay, the NWSL, which is the National Women's Soccer League, has just signed a sponsorship deal with Unwell Hydration, which is a big deal. They just signed a season long sponsorship with Alex Cooper's new beverage brand, unwell Hydration, bringing the Call Her Daddy podcaster into the league's efforts to reach younger women, and Cooper will appear at games promote the league as part of the deal, which costs Unwell Hydration just over $3 million, according to a person familiar with its terms. That's such a funny descriptor.
Speaker 1:That's such a news pull quote.
Speaker 2:Totally. It's the first partnership for the brand since its introduction as a brand last year, so I was really excited to see this. I know that I've been on the show. I've clowned on a few like sponsorships and brands that have been partnering with different women's leagues, but I do feel like this one's a good fit, so that's why I wanted to talk about it One, I mean the first one is like Alex Cooper, who is the head of Unwell Network, the host of Call Her Daddy, incredibly popular and successful podcaster and businesswoman. She used to play Division One soccer in college, so she has a history with the sport and she's talked a lot about her collegiate soccer career. She's interviewed a lot of like professional women's soccer players on her show, so she's done a lot for the sport, um. So that's why I feel like this is really nice to see, because it feels like a full circle moment for her. In the like announcement video she talked about like how much her life changed when she stopped playing soccer and how she's always known that she would be back and involved with soccer. So I love to see it.
Speaker 2:The other thing is it feels like you know, it's a drink, it's a hydration drink. It's supposed to be like kind of like an electrolyte drink that's like multi-purpose and branded for women, so it feels like it's not a yucky like category. Like. The thing that I think has really like given me a bad taste in my mouth is when I see makeup brands or things like that, where it's like kind of counterintuitive to the actual thing they're promoting, which is women's sport and performance. You know it's not so. That's why I feel like this partnership is amazing and it's really cool to see. The same goes like Serena Williams. She made news I think it was like a week ago or something because she's now an investor for the Toronto Tempo, which is the women's basketball team in Toronto. It's brand new. It's starting its first season, which makes so much sense.
Speaker 2:Serena Williams is like the world's number one athlete. She's an incredible performer, she understands the business, she knows what it takes for these women to like advance in their sport but also in life. I also love that the WNBA is like one of the fastest growing brands in the world, so she makes sense for this partnership. She also has, like her husband, who's a very vocal advocate for athletes for you know, more broadcasting and visibility of athletes. He's the one who told us where he was, like a big signal for us, where he talked about, like the. The thing that everyone's going to be watching in the next few years is sport, because it's so anti-AI, it's real, it's authentic, it's like you can't produce it. Like these things you can't like, manipulate and create. So I just I love them. Her being a part of you know the WNBA.
Speaker 2:The other thing, as I was reading an article about Unwell Hydration, is that I saw that Elf Cosmetics is also going to be a sponsor and it was really interesting to see the way they worded it. In this article, which I think was the Wall Street Journal, they said the NWSL also signed Elf Cosmetics another brand popular among young women as a presenting partner of its annual challenge cup. So it's like listen, I get why these makeup brands are getting involved. It's an opportunity to like, get in front of a bunch of women. It's their main market.
Speaker 2:I just do feel like it's still counterintuitive to the thing that they're sponsoring, which which is performance and like. Makeup, in my opinion, is like. It's like sports should be the place where you don't think about that and like yes, you can wear it and yes, if you want to, and you're excited, like about it and it's part of your expression, cool, but it just like. I just don't like it being like a big brand experience because there's women there, you know, when they're here to like watch amazing, incredible athletes perform without the pressure of looking or wearing makeup or doing whatever they need to do to like fit their prescribed version of beauty, you know yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:I don't, I don't want to just play the devil's advocate, but do you think that, like, at this level of um, athlete, you know, like, you're not just a, you're not just a performer or like, or athlete, you're like a, you're a brand, you're a holistic brand entity, you know, and I I kind of wonder if, like, something like makeup, is part of an athlete, one presenting themselves as like an aspect of their brand, but two and you would know about this better than me but potentially make helping them to feel like they're better prepared to perform at the level that they need to perform at, because they feel and look good.
Speaker 1:You know, like I think even yeah, in men's soccer, for example, like a lot of those guys have like crazy tattoos and crazy hair and like hair dye, and it's a lot of. Even like in football and basketball, it's a lot of like the tunnel walk and what they're wearing and other forms of presentation. So what do you think about that?
Speaker 2:I think it's different because, yeah, I think it's different because, like, there's definitely there's beauty in like not maybe it wasn't the perfect word, but there's like, there's something to like self-expression and like, you know, putting on what makes you feel good, and I think, but there's a difference between that and the business of beauty, which is like, sure, maybe if you're like romanticizing it, it's like a wonderful thing to have products that help you feel beautiful, but at the end of the day, these are businesses that are trying to make more revenue and they're seeing that there's a lot of women gathered for to watch other women perform, and I just think that it's like it's not that simple. Like I think that there may be, it makes sense for the business, but I just don't know if it makes sense for the sport to like be backed by these makeup brands, which feels like, like knowing that, like I think I said this in a previous podcast episode but like knowing that there's like girls watching the sport and like the more that WNBA advances, the more opportunity it gives for other girls to get into the sport. I just think it's like a little counterintuitive to see that like it's it's like Sephora's trying to get them in the door, you know right. So it's not impossible. But I do think there's like some great examples of like really nice, natural, like um authentic relationships between makeup brands and athletes.
Speaker 2:Like Ion Alana Manor whatever she's like the rugby player that won the gold medal. She was like very popular. She just blew up during the Olympics and she was on Dancing with the Stars. She's just like really having like a medium moment. She's amazing, a great role model for so many people and has done so much to advance the sport of rugby. And she has been known for wearing this, this like certain um Maybelline lipstick and she wears it.
Speaker 2:She's like she's like a badass athlete, like she's strong, she's like athletic she's an incredible performer and then she wears a red lipstick and that's she wants to. Like that she you can be all these things, you know. It's just like a, a small thing that she does. And then you see a lot of girls like I saw a video of her doing a walkout and they they get to walk out with, like younger girls and a girl who flew to New Zealand to walk out with her or to watch the game that she got picked to do a walkout. She had the same exact Maybelline lipstick because she saw her wear it. So I feel like there's, like you know, nice partnerships like that. I've also seen Maybelline's actually doing a pretty good job.
Speaker 2:Now that I'm talking about it, I saw a video of this like older marathon runner, she's like in her late sixties I think, where she just looked like an older woman and her kids, like who are adults, were cheering her on running the New York City Marathon, which is a marathon you need to qualify for, and she they found her. They're like yelling for her. They're like, mom, mom, you're doing it and she like the first thing she says. She's like look at my lipstick, it's Maybelline and sheine, and she hasn't moved at all and it was so cute because like that to me, feels like authentic and real. It's not like trying to make a business and capitalize on these like women, you know, it's like a natural, like integration to these athletes lives, right, you know, I don't know, there's's like it's hard to force.
Speaker 2:Right and it's hard to like. Like put two words. What's the line? It just there's one there.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, that makes sense. Well, I think the the unwell hydration partnership seems pretty cool. Also, when I was reading about it, alex was talking about how a lot of people perceive I also when I was reading about it, alex was talking about how a lot of people perceive Gen Z as not wanting to participate in like live experiences and just wanting to be at home on their phones. And she's like that's just not the case, like we just want to feel like there's an incentive for us to be there and that will feel included and welcomed part of what the reason she's excited about this partnership is she wants. She feels that the NWSL um is a place that Gen Z can feel welcomed and excited to participate in, and she's also proven that she's good at getting people to offline events like through some of her speaking tours and things.
Speaker 2:And she throws parties at college campuses.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and she um has had athletes on her show like female athletes and it sounds like the viewership around those have kind of proven that there's a Gen Z audience thirsty for more of that type of content. So when we're talking about the idea of like something that feels really natural and aligned and like kind of props up the type of experience that this sport should be, it seems like this partnership is doing that totally.
Speaker 2:Another interesting thing that I found from that article, too, is that they interviewed the commissioner of the nwsl and they said the big strategy for the league is to sell tickets to game by promoting the stadium atmosphere as more welcoming to young female fans than other male dominated sports events, which I think is like so smart and I'm excited to see more content around that. I know we've seen, like the NFL games, for example, there's so much content about, like going to an NFL stadium watching a game as a woman and getting like booed because you're wearing the wrong Jersey or just like feeling unsafe and things like that, so I'm excited to see them like do more around that. Like what does that look like? You know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah for sure. Do you think like how do you anticipate that might look like? Is that through like creators like Alex Cooper, or is it just through like the organic growth of female viewership around female sports?
Speaker 2:I imagine that they're going to see like games look so fun, like it could be through content, it could be through influencers. It's going to be less. I think, from what I read, it's going to be less about the viewerships on people, of people watching the games at home, but more so like you need to be in the stands to see this live, you know. So, whatever that looks like and and making that experience amazing and and safe and fun. You know, whatever they're going to do with that like.
Speaker 1:I think that could be an opportunity for more brands to participate in even like pre-game stuff, like I wonder what that would look like because even like the football example, like tailgating- that's like a pretty families go to it, but it's a pretty like male dominated kind of experience where, like people are jumping through tables and like barbecuing and right, drinking a bunch of beer, you know. So I'm curious to see what kind of like pre-game experience can be crafted around a younger female demo.
Speaker 2:I do feel like the NFL has some work to do there yeah which I hope they do more of that too yeah, for sure we get into the next one yeah thing too.
Speaker 1:Instagram is testing new blend feature to share reels with friends. So Instagram is live testing a new feature called blend, which creates a private feed for recommended reels with friends. So Instagram is live testing a new feature called Blend, which creates a private feed for recommended reels for you and a friend. You can think of it like a combined algorithm that creates similar to Spotify Blend playlists, but for Instagram Reels instead.
Speaker 2:I've never heard of Spotify Blend playlists.
Speaker 1:Yeah, me neither, but apparently it's like a type of playlist that you can share with your friends. That's kind of like a mix of your interests, cute, or maybe with your spouse or something like that. I met a spokesperson told Mashable in an emailed statement that the platform is testing the ability to opt in to a new Reels experience where you can blend suggested Reels between friends in a DM chat. They didn't give any information about the timeline, but said that they're testing with a small group of people to start and they'll roll it out from there. So, basically, rather than sending reels to each other, which has become the most common form of interaction we've heard most area and other people talk about that consistently over the last year but how the chat is kind of where all the activity is happening Um blend is going to show you all of the reels that you and your friend would be shown individually within a single stream, or, if you want to do this, instead it'll show you reels based on your specific chat. So it kind of gives you.
Speaker 1:There's a screenshot that showed kind of the options that you have and those were the two main things where it was either you get a stream of what your friend would be seeing based on their interests, or a stream based on your collective, what you've shared collectively in your DM thread, which I think the second one sounds more interesting Like. I don't really have any reason to tune into your personal algorithm and see all the content that you would see, but I think it makes sense for me to see the more content based on what we're sending to each other If we're like like engaging in that way. You know it feels like more of a temporary thing.
Speaker 1:I'd want to tap into at certain times.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Or if you're you got a long distance friend, you know like your best friend from growing up, and you're, it's the evening and you've put your kids down to bed already and you're kind of just sending funny stuff back and forth as you're doom scrolling. You know that's a fun opportunity to tap into a shared algorithm, but it's not necessarily something that you'd want all the time right um.
Speaker 1:So all in all, it's an effort to maximize sharing behavior and kind of amplify this move towards dm activity, rather than trying to still pull people out of the chat and on into comment sections and leverage the popularity of reels by formalizing a shared experience approach, which also I think was interesting because it taps into a trend that we've been talking about, which is that people want shared moments, um, so it kind of gives people a better opportunity to intentionally create those together, rather than just waiting for the right thing to show up in your own personal algorithm.
Speaker 1:I wanted to like, first off, this story is interesting, and I think it's it might be like one of the first times that Meta is actually giving us something that we actually want or need, but I thought it was fun timing because last week on the show we were talking about ideas very similar to this, like the idea to be able to like toggle between different kinds of algorithms, maybe not unlimited ones, but two or three different types One, obviously, that's like your personal interests and based on your browsing um habits, but then others too based on what's what you're doing in the DMS with certain groups of friends, and so it was just really fun that it showed up this week for us as a new story, as something, a new feature that they're testing right after we talked about it.
Speaker 2:I'm hoping they give you some credit, cause it was literally like you're. You're like what if they did this? And this is literally what they're doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I feel like it's been in the cooker for longer but it was just funny timing, because we talked about it last week just kind of impromptu.
Speaker 2:But yeah, yeah, I'm still like unsure if I'd like this. I'm like back and forth, because I just don't need like. Yes, it's fine to like send each other dms about stuff, but doesn't that, if you're, if you see a piece of content and you send it to someone, doesn't that signal to the algorithm that that's more of the stuff you want already? So why do you need to go somewhere else to get more of that content when your your own algorithm should already start feeding you some of that?
Speaker 1:My perception is that you sending something to a friend doesn't necessarily have a major impact on your personal algorithm, because that might signal to meta that that's in content that your friend's interested in you know, so I think my perception is either that that's the case already or maybe they're changing.
Speaker 2:They're going to make changes for that to be more the case, and then you have the option to have an algorithm algorithm based on that content or maybe they're getting a lot of people complaining about it like they're like, they're like, they're like me, they're like hey, I saw this. Like people are starting to like send stuff to friends or spouses about something that they know they're interested in, but then it changes their algorithm too much.
Speaker 1:Now they're less interested in their algorithm because of that, so that discourages people sending things to each other because they don't want it to influence their algorithm yeah. Maybe yeah, Cause if you just love dog content and so I send you dog content whenever I see it, then I just inevitably end up seeing way more dog content. That.
Speaker 2:I'm not interested in Dog is a terrible example because that could never be me. But yeah, yeah, beyonce content.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, totally, I don't need more Beyonce content in my algorithm, but I know you like it, so I'm sending it to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so maybe they're trying to like organize and like separate the two. Yeah, I think we need to ask ourselves an important question At what point is it too much algorithm Like? At what point is like, is your whole social media experience like algorithm dependent? Like it just feels like, it just doesn't feel very. It feels like we're losing the plot, you know Cause.
Speaker 2:Then it makes me think that, okay, say your goal, like, for us as social media marketers, our goal is to build more engagement, awareness, um, like credibility to our clients and like you measure that through the way people engage with social content and impressions and all that or whatever. But then it feels like, ok, like it's kind of a luck of the draw, like followers don't count anymore, people aren't really looking at you know how do you like get to that? It's kind of like, it's like a bit harder, besides having great compelling content. But like, the stuff that gets shared isn't always great compelling content and sometimes like, like, like clickbaity things or things that like make you want to like get in the comment. It's not like valuable. Maybe I'm just getting jaded.
Speaker 1:No, I think everything you're saying is true. Maybe I'm just getting jaded. No, I think everything you're saying is true, I think. But I think we're past the point of no return with algorithms Like it is that way because social media isn't a it's like an attention economy you know.
Speaker 1:So, whether it's clickbait or valuable content, um, for one reason or another, people are paying attention to it and that's the thing that's that's causing your content to be served to more people. So, what you mentioned as you're talking like the, do followers matter anymore? I feel like they matter less than ever. We've already, we already see that on some platforms more than others, like Facebook, for example Um, because, like, they've really deprioritized followers there. But I feel like that may just be like an early signal about other social platforms too, and TikTok as well. Like you can grow your following, but that doesn't even mean that those followers are going to see your content.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's algorithm based, so I think ideally, people read that, as I need to create really valuable compelling content. We know that there's still going to be clickbait kind of like like um, engagement, farming content, but I think more and more people are also having a like a negative reaction to that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:I see it especially on threads like people troll each other so much in threads, comments of like this was obviously an engagement farming tactic, you know? Um? So just like how people are starting to react towards content that they perceive to be AI produced, in the same way I think people are reacting negatively towards clickbait and engagement farming content as well.
Speaker 1:So, hopefully there's just an organic move towards. We all just value valuable, interesting content that's obviously got a lot of intention behind it, or humor, or like something that we want, and then the algorithms can be at least as good as they can be yeah.
Speaker 2:My question is, though like how much of that kind of content do maybe I'll ask myself, do I engage with? Like I like thoughtful, intentional, like the stuff that I'm like sending people. It's like newsy or shocking or funny, you know so it's just like what an interesting place we're in, where it's the strategies for getting people to do anything with your content is like watch it the bare minimum.
Speaker 1:It's like it's tough yeah, I think when you're talking about sending content to other people, often it's like shocking or funny, um. But I think when you think about saving content, usually that's valuable, like I'm gonna. I want to revisit this later, whether it's like a longer piece of content that I need to watch or read or something that I want to glean something from, or a resource that I can use. So there is that side of it as well, but I think it's like off the cuff. I feel like it is telling us that it's more about quality content over quantity, like is it though.
Speaker 1:I think so.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Cause you even see the people that are posting like two or three times a day and engagement isn't high.
Speaker 2:No for sure, but I don't know if it's all quality.
Speaker 1:Well, it's not, but I'm wondering if that means that brands should lean into quality over quantity, like instead of posting every day.
Speaker 2:The only thing that sucks about that is like it's you get one shot in the dark for it. You know.
Speaker 1:But you also then get to like allocate more resources to each individual piece of content.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one shot in the dark additional resources, and then what if it flops? That's the thing that sucks, that's the risk.
Speaker 1:But the content that you're posting two or three times a day could be flopping too, and you're just like running, but it's less effort. You're sprinting to keep up with that pace. Totally, yeah, Like I saw, Kid Super and Puma just did a collab and they did to promote the collab. They did basically like a short TV series made for social around Kid Super interns. And it was kind of funny but also really cool and visually interesting and that did really well and it was like a unique way to approach a brand collab.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And you know that's something that only had a few pieces of content to like make up the whole. But it had a great moment to drop the collab rather than feeling like they needed to churn out a ton of content. That was like shocking or just like every other brand collab, like cool models wearing the shoes or whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, totally I think. I think the key is to be funny if you can.
Speaker 1:Funny or like creative.
Speaker 2:Not sure about creative though.
Speaker 1:I see um one account that I really like Outlander magazine. They post a lot of content about interesting up and coming brands and I feel like the level of creativity and like attention to detail in the content that those brands are sharing is what's getting it, getting them attention. They're not necessarily funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's interesting, though, cause I feel like I see a lot of like really incredibly creative people not getting attention to like for sure, creativity is an important part of you know, building a brand that actually has like something to it, not just getting a few eyeballs on you and then it's like fleeting right you know, I think the scourge of the creative, though, is that they struggle to be consistent, oh for sure.
Speaker 2:Just building a business for themselves that doesn't suit everyone, that doesn't suit creators who they're profiting off of, and it just feels like they're asking so much of people and you know, whether it's creators, whether it's marketers, whether it's brand, they're asking so much of people to get content seen and that's so frustrating, like and it's you know it can be a really powerful tool and that's why we do the work that we do, but it just feels like a platform that gives you not much back.
Speaker 1:Takes and takes and takes.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I agree with you there. So maybe it's less of like answering this question about like what's the right meta algorithm, and maybe we need to zoom out and say maybe we all need to move off of meta yeah so where should we go? Linkedin linkedin.
Speaker 2:There's potential there, it's just kind of cringy potential apparently 99 of people on linkedin don't post, so to be a one percent thought leader, all you need to do is post I think I was seeing some content from some sub stack creators about LinkedIn.
Speaker 1:Leah Haberman was one of them, but there's a couple others talking about how LinkedIn has changed significantly and it's um. Video is like the content type that's performing really well right now, but people still perceive LinkedIn to be what it was before.
Speaker 1:So, adopters of LinkedIn right now are still early adopters, but many of these kind of like creator thought leaders are pointing towards that platform as like the kind of algorithm that we're all asking for, the kind of cringe, like professional content that it always has been in the past, to more of the type of place that we're all trying to get from x or what it used to be, or threads, or blue sky or places like that, and even instagram and tiktok, now that it's also a platform that supports video really well yeah so another one that I think is interesting is pinterest, but of course the one that we talk about the most is YouTube.
Speaker 2:Yeah, youtube, that's a place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so maybe just think about the type of content that is natural for you to share, that you're excited about, and ask yourself out of those three, like LinkedIn and Pinterest, and YouTube and even Substack. I think that's a big area of opportunity. Which one should you try?
Speaker 2:For sure, all three.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:If you have the space and the bandwidth. Okay, let's talk about thing three. I can kick you off, but you can take it from there.
Speaker 1:Tee me up.
Speaker 2:Okay, so X is down on the first day of the NFL free agency. Nfl free agency frenzy started this week, monday, the 10th. I love that you have the time At 12 p frenzy started this week, Monday, the 10th.
Speaker 1:I love that you have the time at 12 PM Eastern standard time.
Speaker 2:Well, it was just the time was relevant because X went down.
Speaker 1:Okay, got it. So it went down first at like, I think, 6 AM in the morning and then again at 2 PM. So it was like right, as things were heating up towards the start of free agency, it was down, which caused chaos.
Speaker 2:Okay, but why like? Why is that? Chaotic, because, because maybe like free agency, first of all, is when a bunch of players whose contracts are up or soon to be up are available yeah, and before this period, teams aren't allowed to like legally negotiate with free agents. Okay.
Speaker 1:So the teams have to wait until this moment to be able to formally negotiate and make offers to free agent players Got it.
Speaker 1:So that's why it all starts to happen at once and there's also a bit of a rush, because all these teams want the best players and there's there's a certain group of players that are higher quality or higher tier than others, and all of these teams have needs that they need to fill, and they only have so many draft picks for the draft, and they only have so much money, right, isn't there a salary cap? There's salary cap, and then there's also they only have so many draft picks.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So they have to figure out how do we fill all the gaps we have in our team between free agent signings and also the NFL draft.
Speaker 2:Right, and drafts are also kind of like if you're lucky to get that person, but you kind of everyone kind of knows who's going to be a first round draft pick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because the NFL combines happened already and, like every NFL team, has scouts that are watching college games. They're even watching high school games, going to class with them so well ahead of of players entering the draft Teams know like what kind of caliber or what players that they have their eyes on.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then, based on the team's draft position, which draft picks they have in each round, then they kind of have a sense of which players will likely be available there, so they got a plan, yeah. Yeah, but then they only have so many picks. So maybe a team has four or five picks in a draft. Some might have more, some might have less. They might have a dozen positions that they need to fill to feel excited or confident about their team heading into training camp.
Speaker 2:And by training camp.
Speaker 1:It's almost too late. You can still be making trades or signing players off waivers, but those are lower caliber players on waivers.
Speaker 2:Like, all the good people are taken.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you want your team to especially players that are going to contribute in the season. They need to be part of training camp. So if they're, missing part of training camp before they join. It's almost too late. Team culture yeah, and also preparation, like learning the playbook and everything.
Speaker 2:Is it in the NFL's interest for X to be down during the first day? No, just curious.
Speaker 1:No, because it's not just fans that are paying attention to these updates that are happening in real time. It's the players' agents that are looking for these updates and it's also front office staff of these teams that are trying to make free agent signings. But sometimes they'll see on X that a player that they're talking to signed with another team before they hear it from the agent or the player. So, like it's, that information is crucial and we're getting it at at the speed of like these deals actually going down so how are they getting that information on x?
Speaker 2:like someone's just leaking it?
Speaker 1:yeah, it's like as soon as like, there's a verbal agreement between an agent and a and, like a GM of a team, even before there might be ink on paper, they're texting insiders being like the deal's done.
Speaker 2:Got it. Yeah, that's I feel like in another life. It'd be fun to like work in that side of the business.
Speaker 1:It'd be fun but it'd be very stressful. Like you see, some of these NFL insiders and they're like glued to their phones constantly. They're traveling all the time. They if something happens at 3 am, they're getting a text next to their bed and they have to get up and like, make it happen so they retain their relevance right, yeah so that's why it mattered that x was down, um, and because of that, a lot of these insiders were basically telling their audiences like we're going to be posting on threads and instagram today.
Speaker 2:So I mean meta so maybe it's in meta's best interest incentivized and elon posted that they were on.
Speaker 1:The reason of the outage was because of cyber attacks on x's servers. So he was like it could be a like sophisticated hacker group. It could be a sophisticated hacker group, it could be a country. He was like we're still trying to figure out what the intentions were and who's behind it.
Speaker 2:Crazy.
Speaker 1:But it went down early in the morning. Then they were back up again and then it went down again early afternoon.
Speaker 2:So someone's up to something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, someone's up to something. I feel like it's more of like a politically motivated thing, likely, but who's to say interesting. So all of us got our updates on Instagram and threads. I was mostly using threads just because I feel like the type of the type of information is better just like quick text updates than like having like the perfect Instagram photo for this new signing you know, Um, also, some of the insiders are specifically with ESPN and they use the opportunity to push the ESPN app as the place to get their breaking news updates.
Speaker 1:Um, but obviously that's well not. Obviously. I perceived that to be a paid platform, but maybe there's a free option. Anyways, there's some really notable moves already yesterday that had me on my fantasy football apps trying to figure out do I have any of these guys? Do I need to pick any free agents up before?
Speaker 2:other people do. Okay, so you're paying attention to this for your fantasy league.
Speaker 1:Partially. Yeah, I'm bought in because I want to see my actual like team that I cheer for get better players, but I also um leading up to the nfl draft, I want to make sure that I have the best players available.
Speaker 2:Um, so free agency is relevant for that, so you're in it to win in this season yeah, every season play to win. You know me that, even board games with our six year old. Yeah, that's true, you are in it to win it.
Speaker 1:Okay, so tell me about some notable moves sam darnold, who had a kind of bounce back season last year with the minnesota vikings, um signed with the seahawks who had just traded away their quarterback geno sm Smith, to the Raiders Does.
Speaker 2:Sam Darnold is a quarterback.
Speaker 1:He's a quarterback. He was originally drafted in the first round to the New York Jets and had a couple brutal years at the Jets. Man, not entirely his fault. Like it was a bad coaching staff.
Speaker 2:That's what everyone says about the Jets. They're always looking for someone to blame.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they are all to blame. And then he went to the panthers and he didn't do very well there, um. And then he eventually ended up with the vikings and had a great season, um. But then they had the vikings had drafted a rookie quarterback last year, so they're viewing that rookie as their future so they let sam go and he signed with the seahawks to replace geno smith for 100.5 million dollars over three years over three years which is a lot.
Speaker 2:It's not as much as like the top quarterbacks, like josh allen just signed for, I think, 250 million wow I think no going to it might have been more getting a deal for 100 million million when you're not that good like that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but there's only 32 teams in the league and there's only one starting quarterback on each team, you know, compared to like three or four starting wide receivers and a couple running backs and whatever eight offensive linemen or whatever it is you know. So it's the position that's in highest demand. So even if you're not elite as a quarterback, like in the top five or top 10, if you're in the top 32 you're getting reasonable money because you're you're starting it on a team so 100 million.
Speaker 1:For sammy justin fields, who has a similar story. He was drafted to the bears and played a couple seasons there with mixed results, but then they drafted a new quarterback. He went to the steelers last year he's also a quarterback did pretty well, then got replaced by russell wilson for the second half of the season.
Speaker 2:He just signed with the jets hey, that could be my team this year two years 40 million dollars.
Speaker 1:So that's his opportunity to kind of have what the kind of season that sam darnold had last year with the Vikings. It's kind of a prove-it season, and if he does well, then he'll get much more than $40 million.
Speaker 2:It's funny that they only signed two years. The Jets are so like trigger shy because they signed Aaron Rodgers for one year and he like first play first game, just like.
Speaker 1:He was signed for two.
Speaker 2:He was signed for two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because remember he missed a whole season with his Achilles injury.
Speaker 2:No, I thought it was like he missed that whole season. Would he stay on for a second, because I thought he only signed one.
Speaker 1:Oh, you might be right.
Speaker 2:I think I'm right.
Speaker 1:You were pretty close to that story.
Speaker 2:I was very close to it.
Speaker 1:And then Mike Holtz got Daniel Jones. He's similar he was with the Giants, had mixed results over a few years, was supposed to be good. They paid him a lot of money but then he ended up not doing that well, so they released him. Now he's with the Colts to compete with Anthony Richardson, their young quarterback, and I'm not super hopeful about that. But it could be worse.
Speaker 1:We could have aaron rogers totally davante adams star wide receiver, who's getting kind of old at this point. He went to the rams. Naji harris went from the steelers to the chargers. He's a running back. Javante williams, another running back, went to dallas cowboys and your boy, kyle uschuk, got released by the 49ers huge news.
Speaker 2:My instagram was all blown up because kyle uschek, husband of kristen uschek, founder of off-brand brand and just amazing designer, her husband got released from the 49ers. Who was like, who was there since like 2017 or something? Yeah, he's been a 49ers staple and it officially breaks up my two favorite wags like friendship in the NFL, which is Claire Kittle and Kristen Juszczyk. So now that, like their husbands, aren't on the team, well, it's just well on the same team, on the team still.
Speaker 1:Yeah, george. Kittle's still on the team, but they're not on the same team anymore yeah it's just so sad yeah, the 49ers are really dismantling the whole team yeah, they haven't even reached an agreement with Brock Purdy yet, so if they don't he could go to another team because his contract's up as long as what's his face. Christian.
Speaker 2:McCaffrey's still there.
Speaker 1:I mean, he's getting old too and he's had injuries, so he could have a bounce back year. But he could have another disappointing year where he just plays a few games and otherwise he's on injured reserve right.
Speaker 2:I'd be remiss to not mention that. We do know that. Uh, travis Kelsey is going to be coming back for another year. There's a lot of rumors that he might be retiring after his last year. But you know you can't go down a loser like I think. He has one more Super Bowl in him in him and then he'll retire 49ers are going down as losers.
Speaker 1:They got so close to the Super Bowl twice in the last few years and because of injuries and stuff and a variety of factors, they just didn't get it done and now they're just tearing the team apart.
Speaker 2:So who's going to be my team? Not to make it about me, but it might be the Jets.
Speaker 1:I think it should. If the 49ers sign Brock Purdy, I think you should stick with them, but if he also walks, I don't know.
Speaker 2:I'm like really sad about Christian Juszczyk not being there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's tough.
Speaker 2:So it might change.
Speaker 1:You mean a Chiefs fan.
Speaker 2:Everything. No, I can't be a Chiefs fan. I don't like. I only like Travis Kelsey. I only like Jason Kelsey, but he's not even playing. I know he's my favorite player.
Speaker 1:You're just a fan of ESPN now, not even a specific team.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, I do like Russell Wilson and I think he's a good dad, so I could cheer for his team.
Speaker 1:We don't know what his team's going to be yet either.
Speaker 2:Right, so we'll see. Right now, the rumor is that Aaron Rodgers is going to sign with the Steelers. I can't be going on that train again, like Aaron Rodgers did us so dirty.
Speaker 1:It might be the Jets.
Speaker 2:It might be the Jets.
Speaker 1:Aaron Glenn. Now they signed Justin Fields, a young, like likable quarterback. Who's his girlfriend?
Speaker 2:Is he dating anyone?
Speaker 1:Probably. I don't know, check it out. Yeah, check it out, get back to us, okay, anything else you want to say about football um, you know, it feels a little soon to be talking about it yeah, but I'll try to ease off on the football content unless there's really something notable like this to talk about cool so pin in nfl until the NFL draft.
Speaker 2:Nice. I will keep you posted on who I'm going to be cheering for this season.
Speaker 1:Okay, She'll get back to us. Well, thanks everyone for watching. Make sure you check out the video version of this on YouTube. It's pretty awesome. Shout out to Oliver and the team for producing a great video episode. But you can keep listening to us on Apple and Spotify and all those other places If you really just prefer to have us in your ears. Make sure you follow on Instagram and Tik TOK, drop a like or a comment, send us a DM. Let us know what you like, what you don't like. Maybe we can share an algorithm together with this blend feature, but other than that, we'll catch you next week. Thanks for riding with us.
Speaker 2:See you later. Should I slap the gong?
Speaker 1:Slap the gong. Oh, it's not the right way, oh, no.
Speaker 2:That's such a weird way to say it. Slap the gong.
Speaker 1:I feel like I say it like that every time no, you don't.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you're like slap the gong, Hit the gong.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Ring. Hit the gong, no Ring the alarm. How should?
Speaker 1:I say it Slap the gong is weird Dong the gong. No, no, no.