The Dystopic Future of Social Commerce

Scripted, mass-produced influencer marketing has sent the internet spiraling toward a dystopian era of “loser-generated content.” Plus, we share key insights from eTail West, a sneak peek into Future Commerce’s Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, and dissect some disturbing internet finds of the week.The End of the World As We Know It

Key takeaways:

• [04:00] Lemon Balm Tea’s influencer campaign: Meanwhile, on TikTok, a scripted ad for Lemon Balm Tea sparks hundreds of fake testimonials. How many “highest-paid nutritionists” can there really be?
• [14:00] Old men yell at the Cloud: Is the internet dead? TikTok, Twitter, and even LinkedIn algorithms are riddled with bots and unchecked scripted influencer marketing.
• [32:00] The Word of Mouth Index: FC+ and Fairing collaborate on a one-of-a-kind index – available to all FC+ members now.
• [33:00] eTail recap: Future Commerce’s seven sessions included a keynote from Phillip on time capsules and what they represent for commerce and culture. Brian closed out eTail with three sessions in a row on ___
• [35:00] Overheard at eTail: A lot of concern around tariffs, anticipation for Target’s earnings (not looking good), and other fears around national commerce. 
• [45:00] Obvi’s viral organic ad: An Arcads.ai employee brags about the efficacy of a recent Obvi TikTok marketing a weight loss supplement. The 14.1-million view video likely drove over five figures of revenue, but critics claim a lack of legality and raise an important question about AI marketing regulation.
• “It’s the grossest way to market.” – Brian
• “Social is bought and paid for and sold.” – Brian
• “The greatest reach I’ve had on Twitter happened when I left a benign comment on Kieran Culkin’s Oscar speech and thirty people made fun of me.” – Phillip
• “Cultural production is downstream of commerce and commerce-driven social discourse happening on the internet.” – Phillip
• “There are two ways people pay attention to things: If they’re funny or if they’re hot.” – Brian

In-Show Mentions:

• Insiders: Alex Greifeld’s The End of Outside
• Order your copy of LORE
• Steph Liu on X
• Word of Mouth Index - designed in partnership with Fairing
• Barry Hott on X

Associated Links:

• Check out Future Commerce on YouTube
• Check out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and print
• Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world
• Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

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