1. IYKYK brand spaces.

Netflix just launched Netflix2, an invite-only finsta for fans who want to get a little closer to the brand (and its lore). It’s fun, lo-fi, and cautiously (un)managed. A community manager’s dream. It’s a space with more freedom: to be real, take off brand masks, to post stuff that doesn’t belong on the main channel. I’m here for it. And I think more brands will follow suit, creating niche spaces to connect with smaller subsets of their audience in unpolished, authentic ways.

Think of it as a social alter ego, where brands can drop the gloss and be messy with the fans who get it. A bit of what A24 has been building with AAA24. Personal, weird, and feels like a secret club you actually want to be part of. More of that, please.

2. Human brainrot to fight the algo.

Did you know that Peggy Gou de-stresses with Nee Doh balls? Or that Francis Ford Coppola only wears mismatched socks? I learned these little quirks in Perfectly Imperfect, a newsletter where cool people share their unfiltered obsessions. It’s kind of like this newsletter, in a meta way. 

In a world ruled by algorithms, it’s refreshing to discover what interesting people are genuinely into. It’s fast, informal, and feels like a byte-sized coffee break with someone unexpected.

3. The wave we’re in.

Ok, I’m going to get a bit darker here, apologies. The other day I rewatched Die Welle, a German psychological thriller (and very creepy at times) directed by Dennis Gansel. It follows a high school teacher who runs an experiment to teach his students how autocracies form. Plot twist: the class embraces fascism, and things spiral fast. 

The film is a haunting reminder of how easily totalitarian movements can take hold, something that feels disturbingly timely. Highly recommend it. Fun fact: the film is loosely based on "Third Wave" experiment, which took place at a California high school in 1967.