Five things worth sharing from the last week or so, brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Ali.
1. George Orwell – little did he know!
We are obviously several decades beyond 1984, but do you ever feel like someone is watching you from afar, keeping an eye on your every move? Well they are – and they’re doing it legitimately.
The big tech companies have more data about us than you might believe. Security Baron has released this infographic which shows just what the big six companies (admit) to knowing about us and it makes for rather uncomfortable reading.
2. Dolce and Gabbana Gaff in China
The Italian fashion duo Dolce and Gabbana, this week ran into troubled waters in China.
Having released several rather derogatory promotional videos prior to their fashion show in the country, you may have thought Stefano Gabbana would have apologised for the lack of tact and eaten a big slice of humble pizza. But no. He created more controversy by then making disrespectful comments about China which the company’s press office then blamed on hackers.
Since then a number of high profile celebrities and models have cancelled their appearances and the show had to be cancelled, creating what has turned out to be a fairly serious fashion faux pas.
3. Choreography crisis for Fortnite
The new ‘F-word’, meaning a two week period of time, is bound to get any parents’ eyes rolling these days due to the sheer hold that the game has over most of their offspring, in part, due to the addictive in-game dance moves that can be purchased.
However, in the US, a rapper ‘2 Milly’ has accused Epic, the company behind the game, of stealing his dance moves. He claims, “Everybody was just like, ‘Yo, your dance is in the game,'” referring to the Milly Rock move, renamed ‘Swipe It’ in the video game.
He’s pursuing the case in the law courts but said to CBS, “I don’t even want to bash them for all the millions. Know what I am saying? It’s not really like that. I just feel like I have to protect what’s mine.”
Epic apparently declined to comment but the dance is no longer available to be bought!
4. Gwynie’s Goop Goodies
So farcical is the Christmas list produced by Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle company, that it’s no longer clear whether the joke is on us or them anymore. Either way, it’s become a new cultural marker that signifies the start of the holiday season.
Carefully chosen items have been added to 12 individual lists including ideas for the ‘One Step Aheader’ and the ‘Wellness Junkie’. There’s even a ‘Ridiculous but Awesome’ gift guide which includes a ‘Muse for a day’ gift experience at Saatchi Art with a $150,000 price tag, a monthly crystal subscription, and for the person who really has it all, an entire Spanish village. You can just imagine the hilarity that ensued on Twitter.
5. ‘An Ode To My Former Owner’
In a clever publicity stunt, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, played a piece of music commissioned by East Midlands Trains to launch its new Found It! service. The ingenious piece consisted of 11,304 notes – exactly the same number of lost items found on East Midlands Train last year.