3 Olympians captivating online audiences heading into the games
+Lifelong career advice and the cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week
quick summary ⚡️
The 3 Olympians who have captured our attention on socials
Why Instagram Shops ads are so annoying, TikTok’s Instagram guru and more in the cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week
The 4 questions to ask at every step of your career
Inspo for letting go
ones to watch: olympians
Curated by Megan Collins, Cultural Anthropologist, Generational Expert and contributor to the MTD blog
The summer 2024 Paris Olympic games are kicking off at the end of the month. A culmination of countless hours of training and competition, the games also offer a global stage for glory and recognition. The olympics have the power to turn champions into heroes and increasingly, career influencers (see: Shawn Johnson’s YouTube channel and Ilona Maher’s TikTok). As we prepare for the mind-blowing athletic feats, heart-pumping competition, and underdog stories that tug at our heartstrings we wanted to highlight 3 Olympians and burgeoning stars who we’re following extra closely. Sure, we’re eager to see if they take home the gold but we’re also interested in the Olympics’ impact on their social media careers and celebrity profiles.
Summer McIntosh
Summer McIntosh’s Instagram bio is a list of brands she works with: @redbullcanada, @tagheuer, @lululemon, @aircanada, @funkitaswimwear. If that doesn’t foretell her potential as the next big athlete-influencer I don’t know what does. At only 17, the Canadian swimmer is already a two time Olympic athlete. At 14 she became the youngest member of team Canada of all time. When she qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo she won the 200 meter freestyle with a personal best!
Noah Lyles
American track star Noah Lyles is already making waves and the games are barely getting started. The Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist recently went viral when he flashed a Yu-Gi-Oh! card at a race. But turns out there’s more to this stunt than meets the eye. Lyles told the press that he likes to give each of his races a theme to keep things fun and Yu-Gi-Oh! was his theme for trials. Let’s just say we cannot wait to see what themes he comes up with for Paris.
Hezly Rivera
Joining an otherwise veteran gymnastic squad, 16-year-old high school junior Hezley is Team USA’s youngest qualified athlete. As such, she’s a bit of an underdog who managed to clinch the final spot on the team and if there’s one thing people love in sports, it's rooting for the underdog. When it comes to her social media strategy, Rivera is already stepping into the spotlight. Perhaps thanks to her training she knows the importance of teamwork and loves to employ a collab post with her impressive partners such as inside gymnastics magazine, @teamusa, and @nbcolympics to name a few!
more on the MTD blog
💎cultural gems💎
The cultural moments and news that caught our attention this week:
YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T GET AN INVITE TO THIS PARTY, the cut
“The Fourth of July has come and gone, but the stream of Instagram photos leaking out of Michael Rubin’s annual White Party is — fortunately for us — never-ending.”
TIKTOK SHOP IS ANNOYING ON PURPOSE, vox
“Rui Ma, a tech analyst at Tech Buzz China, says there are reports that internally at Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, they believe that 8 to 10 percent of the app experience can be commerce-related content before users start leaving, “supposedly based on a combination of mostly hard data and some management intuition,” she tells Vox over email.”
MEET THE 19-YEAR-OLD GETTING PAID TO RATE INSTAGRAM PROFILES, nbc news
Evan Smith refers to his TikTok account as “the instagram bible,” with over 500 videos in his “instagram rating return” series, where he rates the aesthetics of people’s accounts and offers advice.
HERE ARE 12 VETTED ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS WORTHY OF YOUR SUPPORT, the cool down
12 organizations to give to if you want to better the environment, curated by friend of MTD, Anna Robertson.
tips
This sage advice comes from Katherine Barna, a Comms + Brand pro whose story will inspire you to look at your career a little bit differently.
“The questions and searching never really stop, of course. Having a nontraditional background and a non-linear path, I’ve definitely had my share of self-doubt. My resume on face value– from acting to classical music, media to social media, entertainment and a brief foray in proptech and now autonomous driving tech– is not exactly typical, but it rounded out my perspective in the most incredible way. Now my nontraditional background is something I consider my greatest asset. And the questions I ask myself day to day are: ‘What can my outsider perspective offer? How do I hold onto those eyes?’ The journey to get here has hardly been straight, but it’s given me a hell of a view along the way.”
head to the MTD Blog for Katherine’s story x connect with Katherine here
inspo
Let go of what you can’t control 💨
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