Issue 13 - Beware of the Clueless 👀

Welcome to issue thirteen of the Eco Punks Gazette, the baker’s dozen issue. That means somewhere in this issue there’s a bonus. Here’s a hint:

If you’re new to the Eco Punks, welcome! We’re here to serve and stimulate you, so please let us know if there are subjects or topics that you would like us to cover. We can always be reached by replying to this email or contacting us via email, [email protected] or [email protected].

Upcoming Event

Dec 19th at 11am EST - The Power of Open Source

Fellow eco punk and President of the Mozilla Foundation, Mark Surman, will be joining us for an open discussion reappraising the power and role of open source, both as a concept and as the software the enables our connected world. Whether AI, IoT, health tech, farming, EVs, green energy, and smart cities, open source can and should play a role. Yet is it? Is open source living up to the potential and promise set decades ago?

An Open Source AI Alliance?!

Speaking of open source, some big players are coming together to create a coalition of the willing when it comes to countering the power of Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and their prodigy, OpenAI. Notably absent are any Canadian organizations.

Wondering Who Musk is Talking To?

Is there a method to his madness?

Although we’d much rather discuss other topics and people, we recorded an episode of our podcast (available on your platform of choice) on Elon Musk and his latest performance at the Deal Book conference of the New York Times last week:

No public figure should ever display Musk’s behavior or insult others in public by repeatedly telling them to go and fuck themselves.

The line in the sand that was supposed to not be crossed has been trampled over a long time ago, and this erosion of our conduct has to stop.

As punks we will unironically do what we can to maintain a certain level of dignity and respect for our fellow beings. But we also recognize a need to brace ourselves for a generally hostile 2024.

The Latest Iterative Death of Advertising

Yet what if Musk is not entirely wrong. What if advertisers are not just leaving his festering platform, but are disappearing all together? Too good to be true?

“What’s your favorite commercial right now?” or “What’s your favorite ad at the moment”—remember those questions? If asked today, most would answer “I don’t know. I don’t have one.” Even the least materialistic people used to have a favorite ad.

Exposure to ads is decreasing since we can choose ad free environments, but the eroding quality of advertising is also a factor. “Presence and display over content and appeal” drives retargeted surveillance ads in the darkest and most remote corners of the internet. 

And then, the other day, we heard Scott Galloway reading out an ad for amazon ads on his podcast. An ad for an ad, how meta. Could it be that context and environment are now the message and more important than the original advertising message? And if that is the case, what does that mean for TCFKAT (the company formerly known as Twitter)? 

Growth in advertising exclusively happens at TikTok, Meta, Google and Amazon while the 5 large global agency networks’ stock values have been trending down for years now. What does this mean for advertising and advertisers, how does one “build and manage brands”, as fellow punk Jens likes to refer to it, in the age of seemingly shallow display and visual presence? And does anyone even still have a favorite ad? Do you remember one? Anyone? Where’s the beef?!

We will keep a close eye on the developments in the advertising and marketing space and look forward to discussing the subject in more detail in the upcoming podcast . . .

Beware of The Clueless

Perhaps part of the proof that advertising is dead, is the presence of the undead in the commercial landscape. On the one hand we know that influencers are playing a growing role in advertising and endorsements, yet on the other hand, we know that influencers are decreasingly human?!

Aitana Lopez was created by The Clueless agency, a Barcelona based outfit that seeks to offer brands custom models and influencers to drive their campaigns. Aitana is their most successful, here’s an example of their Instagram:

Yet the deceptive part of this story, is that this AI construct is not making money by partnering with brands. Most of the coverage of the agency and this stunt leaves out how the revenue is generated. Sadly, it’s the oldest scam on the Internet: porn. The agency makes money selling nudes of this AI, which while reasonable as a fantasy, is in this instance manipulative, since they don’t make it clear that Aitana is made up.

Will others follow this formula? Definitely, as it is not difficult to do:

Notable Punks: Miho Nakata

Miho Nakata is a Japanese Ultra runner who broke the 24hr world record last weekend, managing to accomplish 167.996 miles (270 km) within 24hrs, beating the 4 year old record held by American Camille Heron by only 246 meters. That’s a 8:34 mile split and 5:19 per kilometer. Why don’t you try this at home, let’s say for an hour, and tell us how it went? Just kidding, please do NOT try this at home.

Why is Nakata the notable punk of the week? First of all, because . . . running so long and so far is quite the punk move. Plus, take a look at the picture in this article here - seems it was quite a rough, less than ideal day weatherwise, as well:

Setting new benchmarks for ourselves is what we all should aspire to, and the way the article describes that camaraderie amongst female ultrarunners—especially Camille Heron’s heartfelt joy over losing the world record to a competitor—is refreshingly heartwarming and hope-inducing, too. Finally, as the article mentions in closing, ultrarunning seems to be one of the endurance sports in which female athletes regularly leave male athletes behind in an impressive demonstration of gender equality, and apparently Nakata plays a big role in that, too.

Kudos, Miho Nakata, what a punk indeed!

Worth Watching: Slow Horses

Gary Oldman plays a flatulent spy in the British spy thriller Slow Horses, currently streaming on Apple TV, and his performance is nothing short of spectacular. The show, now in its third season, is based on a series of books written by Mick Herron. The narrative revolves around Slough House, a unit for rejects and screwups within the larger MI5 intelligence service. Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the seasoned spy master who is in charge of the slow horses as they’re pejoratively called.

The show itself is fast paced, with lots of plot twists, spycraft, and sharp dialogue. Where it seems to capture the moment is the pervasive feeling of incompetence and dysfunction. Not the spies of Slough House per se, but rather everyone, the society and institutions as a whole. Perhaps as long covid lingers in our bodies, we’re all kind of slow horses these days.

If you don’t have Apple TV, there are free trials available, and their content library is small enough that you can watch a show like this and others well within the free period. For more on where that punk Oldman is at, this is a great video from the British Film Institute:

We’ve created a Signal group for Eco Punks to share links, ideas, and get a friendly reminder about salons and events. If you’d like to join us on Signal, email [email protected]. If this is the first time you’ve heard of Signal, or if you’re not already using it, this video will bring you up to speed and explain why Signal is the choice for Eco Punks:

And here’s your bonus! Thanks for reading 💕💕