Mike's List 237
Mike's List 237
3 Ways to Beat Disinformation, Twitter "to do" ads, TV cars, and puzzle-related infotainment
The 3 Ways to Beat Disinformation
Disinformation, misinformation and fake news is everywhere. Millions of people are walking around with a completely distorted view of how the world works because they live in an information bubble dominated by lies.
The reason is that the liars are more motivated than the truth tellers.
The Russian government is motivated to sow division in the West because bringing the world down is a cheaper way to compete than bringing Russia up.
Conspiracy and fake news sites are extremely profitable. Fiction writing is cheaper than reporting.
Social networks profit from anything that keeps eyeballs glued to screens. And fake news, conspiracy and lies are the superglue of content.
And so a huge, two-digit percentage of the public lives in an alternative info-universe.
Yesterday we got a master class in how to fight the false narratives. (Paid subscribers only)
Mike's List of Brilliantly Bad Ideas
1. Advertising from your to do list
Modern life is an endless war between our two roles in the industrial economy: producer and consumer. Let's give another point to the producer self. A new macOS app called Hijack Your Feed replaces Twitter ads with your to do items. Shun ads that push you to buy, buy, buy. And replace them with your own self-flagellating commandments to work, work, work!
2. Buying cars from the TV shows of your youth
Everybody loved low-budget, car-based action TV shows from the 80s. And now you can buy the actual cars. One auction house is selling one of the six Chevy vans created to promote the series The A-Team. And another auction site is selling one of the K.I.T.T. cars made for the tv series, Knight Ridder — this one personally owned by David Hasselhoff. (As a bonus, if the price is high enough, the car will be personally delivered by The Hoff.) All proceeds for both auctions go to charity.
3. Rubik’s Cube-related infotainment
Rubik’s Cube is partnering with Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content to make both a feature-length movie and also launch a TV game show based on the Rubik’s Cube. Both sound challenging to watch.
Mike's List of Shameless Self Promotions
1. Buy my book, GASTRONOMAD!
2. Share the Mike's List joy — forward to a friend!