Borkowski Weekly Media Trends 18-02-22
Big Jet TV | Kanye West's IG Meltdown | Tinder Swindler
Big Jet TV goes down a storm
As storm Eunice made UK landfall on Friday, meme-watchers joined weather-watchers on high alert and were rewarded with the viral phenomenon of a large chunk of the nation living out the storm vicariously through a niche aviation media outlet: Big Jet TV.
Communications professionals will often advise clients to become a leading voice in a niche market and then work on making that niche more accessible to a slightly wider audience exponentially until maybe, one day, the mainstream will turn its gargantuan head towards the little corner that you dominate. For example, look at how the general public embraced Francis Bourgeois' trainspotting or Gerald's big veg.
Big Jet TV did just that. Technology has given planespotting a new vogue as a great British pastime allowing the YouTube channel to carve out its own little enclave in the media market. Today it got its big break when it transpired that the most universal and culturally ubiquitous illustration of the might of Storm Eunice was watching plane after plane make a wobbly landing at Heathrow airport. Even with the jeopardy of the storm, the footage alone would have been a bit dry had it not been for the secret weapon, presenter Jerry Dyer, whose commentary, part Partridge, part aviation nerd, part the Apprentice's Thomas Skinner sent social media wild for big jets.
The channel topped out at around 200k live viewers, figures even certain televised rolling news channels would envy, and saw a glut of new subscribers. Brands won't be far behind, and even if we have to wait until the next storm before they once again dominate mass public consciousness, Big Jet TV is a fine example of how even the most esoteric interest, if communicated effectively, can be a viral sensation.
De-bunking Kanye West’s Social Media Meltdown
These days, Kanye West's social media meltdowns are more entertaining than enormous cultural events like The Superbowl after he trended on Twitter, out-muscling the game and reactions to an iconic halftime show that featured the likes of Eminem, Mary J Blidge and Dr Dre.
Ye posted a swarm of memes two hours before he took his two children to the Super Bowl, targeted at his ex Kim Khardasian and her rebound Pete Davidson in typical Ye fashion. The now-deleted posts were in all caps harassing the pair ranging from private exchanges with Kim to threatening Pete "Skete".
Whilst this behaviour isn't surprising, it is profoundly concerning how one-sided it is. The Kardashians don't have a clean record when handling drama; the fact that Kim is acting like a stable adult and responsible parent is a troubling sign for Kanye. And while we don't know what's going beside the scenes, you'd like to think Kanye has a team behind managing these outbursts or trying to help him.
Ye has surrounded himself with Yes Men who fear that Kanye will immediately cut them off if they disagree with him. We saw an example of this when Kid Cudi spoke out against Ye...
It's unclear how sincere these outbursts are. Kanye tends to stoke as much drama as a promo for a new album. So while we wait for Donda 2 (which he won't release on streaming platforms) and his 3-part documentary (already out), he likes to draw as much attention as possible. And while he begins to make amends publically, his abusive actions are laughed at and not taken as seriously as they should.
Whilst Kanye has bipolar disorder, it's unclear whether he's behaving because he's ill or aware of what he's doing and nefariously promoting his art. It's troubling, but as long as we're laughing, who cares right?
The Tinder Swindler: Reaching for the Stars
Simon Leviev, the breakout star of Netflix's Tinder Swindler, is doing well. After being officially banned from dating apps such as Tinder and Hinge, he hired Gina Rodriguez, Hollywood's D-list celebrity talent manager of choice, to represent him. In the absence of readily available cash sent to him ordinarily by enamoured Scandinavian women in their late twenties, Leviev decided to branch out to Cameo, a video app that is yet to ban him. For £146, one can purchase a personalised message from the Swindler wishing them "a great and magnificent day" or giving general blessings.
The man who scammed multiple women for an estimate of 10 million dollars was sentenced to prison three times: first time in Finland, for three years. After finishing his sentence early, he travelled to Israel, where he got convicted again but managed to flee the country. Finally, once three of his victims came together to report him to the police, Interpol seized him in Greece in 2019. Famously, Leviev's sentence of fifteen months ended after just five months spent in prison, apparently because of the early day's Covid-19 panic. Neither of those convictions was related to Leviev scamming the women for large sums.
Despite getting an agent and expressing interest in creating a dating show, it is questionable whether he will actually be able to convince any producer to work with him. While his drive to keep up the momentum is admirable, Leviev remains a triple-convict and a fugitive in multiple countries. His Cameo account has currently only 51 fans, and his main currency remains being a meme. Even truly brilliant PR might prove unsuccessful in selling a personality in such a precarious legal position, who will have countless lawsuits coming his way as soon as he makes any money at all.