Erin, Eliza, Taika, or Colin. Which New Zealand social media influencer gives you the best bang for your buck? One recent study reckons it has the answer. According to one well-known specialist agency, $10,000 will buy you anywhere from seven to 20 posts from as many as 14 paid influencers. The variation in posts is … Read more
New Year, new you? We hear that a lot in January. The focus tends to be on the body, but what if you have a shit personality online? What can you do to fix that? Emily Writes can help. I think 2019 should be the year that people who are assholes in comment sections try … Read more
We love to hate the media but it’s social media we should be concerned about, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. This piece was originally published on December 9, 2018 About halfway through Before Sunrise – a 1990s romantic comedy that has the same significance for Gen-Xers as the Vietnam war did to the Boomers and Harry Potter does … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major reforms proposed for governance of schools, mediation coming in bid to stave off Air NZ strikes, and announcement likely on ministerial transparency. A major review of how the school system is governed has recommended sweeping changes. The key proposals are covered by Education Central, and the core … Read more
We love to hate the media but it’s social media we should be concerned about, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. About halfway through Before Sunrise – a 1990s romantic comedy that has the same significance for Gen-Xers as the Vietnam war did to the Boomers and Harry Potter does for Millennials – Jessie and Celine, who are adrift … Read more
Janice Mary has been off Facebook for a month, but it wasn’t an easy road to get there. She writes about her social media addiction. Ten years is how long I was on Facebook. Ten years of habitual, mindless, scrolling day in, day out. I revealed 943 status updates and 628 photos exposing to the … Read more
In her fourth Elleswhere column about life as an expat New Zealander in London, Elle Hunt navigates the lost connections of a 12 hour time difference. I wake up and check my phone. My lock screen is a list of notifications. While I’ve been sleeping, friends on the other side of the world have messaged … Read more
The embattled social network now offers tools that let you see all the ads being served up by any given user of the platform, writes Leroy Beckett Facebook has had a hell of a year. After facing scandal after scandal and the United Nations’ exposure of dangerous issues with the platform, they have rolled out … Read more
If Pauline Kingi has really resigned for poking someone 23 times on professional Facebook, then that’s a real bloody shame, writes social media aficionado Anna Connell Every now and again there are moments in time which make you wonder just what kind of hell-scape episode of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror we’re now living in. The … Read more
The future of screen formats is vertical, if Instagram TV has its way. And that may not be a bad thing, argues Lydia Burgham. Millennials have killed a lot of great things in this world: newspapers, analogue clocks, the music industry, face to face communication – but their greatest scalp of all may be horizontal … Read more
Jamie Curry uploaded a video titled “my sexuality” last Sunday, and in doing so let viewers in on a deeply personal side of herself. Sharing one’s personal life online isn’t a new phenomenon, but for YouTube content creators it’s also a part of their job. Audiences expect to be let in to the creator’s world, … Read more
Facebook knows everything about you, and by extension, so do a million marketers and corporations. And now so do I. Eighteen months ago, in a sudden fit of self-importance, I decided it was time to get myself a Facebook ‘brand’ page. That way I could share some of my blog posts and journalism with whomever … Read more
Ever wondered why some random always leaves the same emoji on your photos? Lucy Revill introduces the ghastly robots of the ‘gram. How long have you spent on Instagram this weekend? It’s a bit of a time suck, right? Well I have good news: rather than manually liking other people’s images or leaving comments, you … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to David Bowes, CEO of insights agency Zavy, which helps businesses understand in simple, visual terms what all this social media fuss is about. ONE: How did Zavy start and what was the inspiration behind it? … Read more
She’s the founder and CEO of beauty-booking app Flossie, controls the agency for social media influencers and sits on the board of Kiwisaver darling Simplicity. So why did Jenene Crossan hit rock bottom? Content warning: this post contains discussion of suicide and suicidal thoughts. I’d been keeping my powder dry on writing this. But today, having … Read more
New Zealand’s blue-chip business newspaper is these days chiefly an online operation, and its owner has plans to boost the subscriber base to 100,000. Against a backdrop of social media grenades and staff disquiet, Spinoff business editor Rebecca Stevenson talks to the NBR’s outspoken head honcho Todd Scott. Todd Scott is a truculent tweeter, taking … Read more
Social media can be an effective tool for police in finding missing persons and suspects. But where is the line and was it crossed this week? Revenge is so many things. It’s a dish best served cold. It’s sweet but not fattening. It’s an acid that burns its holder. Justice is nothing. Justice is just. … Read more
Almost 20 more people have been in touch with The Spinoff to relay their experiences with Dommy Topia, whose actions were first brought to light via Instagram this week. And it’s clear Topia’s been pulling the same tricks for years. Dozens of people have come forward accusing Dominic (Dommy) Topia of scamming them out of … Read more
A video series featuring interviews with young female bloggers, business owners and creatives has been accused of being an elaborate scam by numerous Instagram users, who say its creator used stories of terminal illness and family death to emotionally manipulate interviewees into handing over cash. Scroll down for updates from former NZ Bachelors Art Green … Read more
Ads hawking bogus Ray-Ban sunglasses are springing up all over Instagram feeds. But where do they come from and who is to blame? Don Rowe, who found despite a spotless online record he’d been spamming the bloody things himself, launches an investigation. Like scoffing at some sucker with a cracked phone screen, there’s a certain … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, Don Rowe takes a look at Vero, the so-called Instagram-killer. Vero? That’s an insurance company right? Yes! No! Both! Vero is the self-proclaimed ‘Instagram-killer’, a ‘new kind of social network’, or as I call it, ‘yet another fucking … Read more
A Pride Week campaign by telecoms company Spark brought out the worst in some internet commentators. Spark social media manager Frith Wilson-Hughes explains why she decided to respond. I spent much of last weekend battling folks on the internet. To be honest, it’s not how I generally like to spend my weekends, but this was … Read more
The social media behemoth has become a cacophony of noise and cruelty, and even though it’s integral to Chris Scott’s work as a brand and social comms executive, he’s decided it’s time to hit delete and bid farewell to the Big Blue. Facebook has been a significant part of my life. I’ve used it for … Read more
The intricacies of social media were exacerbating her anxiety, eventually culminating in the loss of a close friendship. So she decided to go on a social media detox. I needed to detox from social media long before I had the willpower to do it. I thought: no need to self-flagellate about my social media habit. … Read more
Rachel Klaver (nee Goodchild) was one of the pioneers of New Zealand lifestyle blogging, gaining a dedicated following for her witty and insightful writing on topics from internet dating to diets. That meant she got free stuff – a lot of it. But was it all really worth it? These days it feels like everyone … Read more
Whether they’re sharing beauty tutorials or performing pratfalls for the camera, social media influencers tend to have one thing in common: they want us to buy things. In a video collaboration between Frame News, Wrestler and The Spinoff, we look at influencers, and the powerful marketing industry behind them. Almost as soon as we had … Read more
A 10-page advice sheet for candidates on using Twitter and Facebook and the rest has surfaced. And Nicky Wagner has helpfully provided a real-life example of what to avoid. Toby Manhire reads the rules. “While there is no substitute for traditional, on-the-ground campaigning during an election, every candidate running for parliament needs to have a social media presence that is … Read more
Saturated with Trump commentary, Danyl Mclauchlan’s brain felt like a tiny teacup with a firehose gushing into it. Here he explains why he decided to refocus his attention away from the floods of content and the ‘ludic loop’ of social media, where, more than ever, the audience is the product. I keep a large stack of books … Read more
This week, Ms. X advises a young woman whose social media stalking is spiralling out of control. Hi Ms X, I have a problem for the digital age: I stalk my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend relentlessly on social media. My very supportive, loving, and trusting boyfriend and I have been together for just over a year, and … Read more