We might still be in a chocolate-induced coma from Easter but while we’re flying high why not let us take you on trip down memory lane, sell you a dream of a tech free life and how you can enjoy a time for reflection in the middle of a busy city street.
So put away that unfinished easter egg and tuck into this week’s OUR TAKE instead.
GETTING PAID TO GO TECH FREE?
Product review website, Reviews.org is inviting participants to take part in a 24-hour digital detox in return for $2,400 (€1,700) or enough to score you a new high-end smart device. The catch? There doesn’t seem to be one, except that you must disconnect from all personal technology for 24 hours — no mobile phone, no TV, no video games, no computers and no smart watches or wearable tech. Imagine – 24 hours to think. Participants must share screen-time records to prove their abstinence and they will get a $200 care package to stock up on whatever tech-free kits they need, like a typewriter and stamps. After a year of what feels like living life through a laptop screen, I say sign me up! In fact, everyone in our office is going to try this out next week.
But believe us, the irony of telling you about taking a Digital Detox through the medium of Our Take, sitting on our shiny new website, shared on our Instagram and delivered straight to your inbox via email is not lost on us.
https://hypebeast.com/2021/3/reviews-24-hour-digital-detox-covid-19-screentime
THE FUTURE OF MUSIC IS HERE – AND IT’S 15 SECONDS LONG
It feels like only yesterday the music industry was up in arms about the impact of Spotify on music sales, yet now the true impact of Tik Tok on the music industry is coming to light. The app has been influencing trending songs, dance moves, and even holding concerts throughout the pandemic and a new study from Uswitch shows just how much of an impact TikTok success can have on an artist, simply by someone else using their music.
Looking at the top earning artists on the platform, they found that artist Popp Hunna had made £25,351 in 90 days from TikTok viral success. They also found that the popularity of their song on TikTok videos boosted their Spotify followers by almost 7,000 in one month. Fleetwood Mac recently re-entered the charts after the viral success of Nathan Apodaca’ Ocean Spray skateboarding video as well as expanding their reach a new and younger cohort of music fans.
What I find most interesting is the symbiotic relationship between Spotify and TikTok in building an artist’s profile and generating a dual revenue stream which in the last year, and the absence of a live entertainment industry, is all the more crucial for making a viable living.
https://www.techradar.com/news/tiktok-is-changing-the-rules-of-the-music-industry
ZEN & THE CITY
Anything to be said for another walk? Why yes! While the last year gave us more than our fair share of up and downs, re-openings and lockdowns, one thing remained a constant in our lives – our beloved and sometimes loathed daily walk.
This piece from the Guardian offers a fresh perspective on how to the old French noun flâneur meaning to stroll, amble or saunter can take on a new meaning in the time of Covid. Empty thoroughfares and deserted city streets can become a backdrop for inspiration, pause, and reflection if you read the city, keep notes and take sketches – and of course, go deviceless (no counting steps). While we all miss the hustle and bustle of the city streets, I think we would still like to keep those moments of quiet in the future. It could be our last chance to enjoy our cities in this way…
REELING IN THE YEARS
Finally, if you’re not entirely fed-up watching the events of our recent past being etched into the history books with hyper speed, then set your telly-boxes to record from Sunday April 11th because it was announced this week that Reeling in the Years is back. This time with the 2010-2019 instalment.
From cheering on a rising star in Katie Taylor, the birth of ‘Fake News’ & Fidget Spinners (remember them?) to watching in sheer amazement at the popularity of Mrs Brown’s Boys and celebrating the milestone that was the marriage referendum. It comes at a perfect time to as we slowly begin to re-emerge into society and as avid culture watchers, we’re particularly looking forward to reminding ourselves of all the brilliant things that happened and helped shape the ‘Before Times’.
https://www.rte.ie/culture/2021/0406/1208149-reeling-in-the-years-2010-2019-inside-the-new-series/