The internet has changed the way that we live our lives. No longer do we spend our weekends trudging around shops, comparing prices and looking for deals. Instead, we hop on our phones whenever we want and buy what we need in a matter of minutes.
The internet hasn’t just changed commerce either, it’s had a profound impact on the world of entertainment. Netflix, Prime Video and streaming social media sites like TikTok have replaced trips to the cinema, appointment viewing television and, in the case of TikTok, our free time!
The reason we mention both the internets impact on commerce and entertainment is that there is currently a lot of overlap between the two. In order to stay relevant and adapt to an ever changing commercial landscape, business and industry are having to make sure they keep up to date with internet trends and cash in on them.
This article from Casino.org explains why it is important to continue innovating in their specific industry and it goes some way to explaining why businesses around the globe are investing so much in staying up to date with the latest internet trends. Rather than expanding on the issues raised in that article, we’re instead shining the spotlight on a selection of internet trends that have been exploited by business big and small so far in 2024. Read on to find out what they are…
Artificial Intelligence Advertising
Traditional forms of advertising on television and radio have been typically well regulated. Of course, no advert or commercial is ever going to be 100% open and honest about the drawbacks of their products, but regulatory bodies across the globe work hard to ensure that the information consumers are being told is at least factually correct.
Online things are a little murkier, particularly on social media platforms. Worryingly there has been a sharp rise in what can only be described as immoral advertising in 2024. This advertising utilizes AI to make it appear as though celebrities are endorsing products that they actually aren’t.
One of the most notorious victims of this is American podcast mogul Joe Rogan, who seems to have been targeted by the AI crowd. There are hundreds of AI altered clips showing Rogan endorsing products such as experimental herbal supplements, DIY sauna kits, vaping necklaces and much more.
Whilst this is perhaps the most egregious example, there are even more of companies using AI voice tools to make it sound as though a famous celebrity is endorsing their product. Hopefully, this is an issue the Canadian government can remedy with legislation as if the trend continues, it will erode consumer trust in the marketplace.
(One example of the many deep fake adverts of Joe Rogan doing the rounds this year.)
Hawk Tuah
Twenty years ago, a commercial that even half referenced something approaching smut or inappropriate language would spark uproar. In 2024 thousands, if not tens of thousands of companies have been sampling the infamous Hawk Tuah video to flog their products. For some, this has been using the original clip to gain views before flipping to promotional content of their products. For others this has involved more complex mashups and allusions to really engage with customers.
Affiliate Marketing
Whether it is apocryphal or not, the artist Andy Warhol is attributed with the famous phrase, “everyone is desperate for 15 minutes of fame”. If he could see the current media landscape, Warhol would be feeling very smug about that assertion.
Social media and the internet have provided the platform for everyone to get their 15 minutes of fame and exposure and big brands have cashed in on that. Knowing that they can pay influencers and social media personalities less money than they would to traditional celebrities, brands have targeted this new demographic of ‘celebrity’ to sell and endorse their wares.
Bad Grammar
Social media is a game. It’s a game where unfortunately bad things get rewarded. On platforms such as X outlandish opinions, most often those that demean a minority of people drive content and are ‘rewarded’ with reach and engagement.
On Facebook, polarising political posts that divide people drive way more interactions than positive posts that unite people. In a much smaller and more idiosyncratic way, spelling mistakes are rewarding businesses on video sharing platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
Companies have caught on to the fact that someone is far likelier to comment on a video if they see a spelling mistake than if they are genuinely moved by the content. As such businesses are sharing online adverts that say things like “We’re in the world will you fly to?” or “There selling fast” because it triggers people into commenting.
More comments mean more interaction, which means more views and thus greater exposure for their products (oh sorry, should we have said they’re to make you comment below?)
As a writer, it is perhaps the most annoying internet trend since planking. Let us know your thoughts on the trends discussed above in the comments section below.
