Hinge Cringe and Tribeca Tweens

after school weekend edition

Welcome back to After School Weekend Edition. Think of the Monday-Thursday letters as the CliffsNotes; this is the extended version for paid subscribers. Thanks for reading — your support makes this possible! 💫

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I don’t love when writers break the fourth wall and ask their readers for feedback like I’m about to do — it reminds me of the early days of blogging when everyone had a blog but no one knew what to write about so they’d ask their imaginary readers; you remember that, right? — but I’m going to do it anyway:

Are you more interested in reading about 1) internet culture or 2) brand marketing?

I’m obsessed with retail/fashion/beauty/trends, so that coverage is not going anywhere, but I’m also as interested in, say, why a Gilmore Girls' coffee cake cookie recipe is going viral on TikTok or how often men think about the Roman Empire (i.e. internet culture) as Burger King attempting to extend its viral Whopper jingle’s shelf life with remixes or Vitaminwater teaming up with Fortnite to push its zero-sugar offerings (i.e. brand marketing).

Youth culture shapes so much of everything these days! All of these stories are worth examining and all of it has larger implications in business and society, and one day I might have more bandwidth/brainspace to cover it all, but until then:

Also! I’m always eager to hear your feedback, so please do hit me up with thoughts.

Today we’re talking about:

• Next-gen digital media appears to be thriving!!!

• The classic handbag brand pivoting to young consumers

• The Boston clog’s influence on Birkenstock’s IPO

• Staud’s livestream shopping debut

• The luxury brand coming for teen boy gamers

• Gen Alpha beauty

• Glossier just can’t stop shipping!

• CeraVe’s genius creator content play

• Neutrogena’s educational TikTok strategy

• The beauty pop-up at TikTok’s favorite coffee shop

• Pedal pushers’ inevitable resurgence

• The new it Ugg boot (is ugly)

• TikTok's professional baby name consultants

• Chain mail’s return

• Why Gilmore Girls is trending, again

Plus everything else that happened this week in brands, trends, and internet culture. This letter is very long, so click view in browser to read the whole thing!

Before we jump in, my favorite TikTok of the week:

@paigeinnycday in a life! #parentrunnedacc

Tiktok failed to load.

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