Issue #012: The downfall of Bee Better, Tarte, fast-fashion & other controversy.
PLUS news summaries re: The world's first AI treaty, FORM's $21M milestone, & Oura's new aquistion.
EDITOR’S NOTE <3
Home for a NY minute 🏙 Catch me if you can…
PS If you are new, you can learn more about my business story by clicking here.
👀 WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THIS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER »
Extra, extra, read all about it! The ScrollSavvy Newsletter features the latest in business, law & the creator economy… pulling back the curtains showing BTS of my business… sharing savvy tips to help you not get screwed… & creating community thru common personal interests.
🎧 PLAYLIST THIS WEEK »
The playlist to ease your transition from summer to autumn.
💭 MOOD THIS WEEK »
My favorite time of year… fall fashion in NY.
Not my dad’s photo, but reminiscent of the postcards he collects & sells at flea markets.
Lots of Hot Pilates to celebrate my home studio’s 10 year anniversary this week. They’ve been a major part of my life since day 1 and I love seeing how much they’ve grown (yet the faces remain familiar).
Skip’s bday this week :)
HEADLINES »
Just the tip… (of the iceberg, get your head out of the gutter)
💸 IN BUSINESS »
Form reaches $21M and 60,000 subscribers.
Form, my favorite fitness app, celebrated a huge milestone this week. (Forbes) “Launched with a $48,000 investment by its founders Sami Spalter and Sami Clarke, the still-bootstrapped brand regularly turns down offers of outside investment.” (Id.)
Uber partners with Waymo, Google’s self-driving company.
After testing the self-driving concept in Phoenix, Uber plans to expand to more cities, like Austin & Atlanta, with this new partnership. (Uber
Oura acquired metabolic health startup, Veri.
Recently, the FDA cleared over-the-counter glucose monitors. (FDA) This opened up a ton of opportunity for metabolic health monitors, like start-up Veri, to help users monitor their blood sugar & understand how their nutrition choices fit into the overall picture of their health. (Tech Crunch)
On the topic of health & weight management…
Kourtney Kardashians’ brand, Lemme, launches a GLP-1 product (AKA, their own natural version of Ozempic). (Healthline) As with anything attached to the Kardashian name, there are critics. (Daily Mail)
📜 IN LAW »
Is AI going to survive US regulation? Or could we not survive without it?
US proposes requiring reporting for AI cloud providers. (Reuters)
An international AI treaty?
Last week, the US, Britain & EU signed the world’s first treaty on AI to protect “human rights of people affected by AI.” (Reuters)
… Or two?
Also last week, the US, China & 90+ other nations met in Seoul to discuss the use of AI in military. (Tech Crunch)
US government takes action on fast-fashion.
For years, fast-fashion companies like Shein & Temu have skirted US tariffs. This is because they price items so low that it meets the de minimis exemption. In other words, companies don’t have to pay tariffs on shipments that cost less than $800. (White House)
“A shipment is eligible for the de minimis exemption if the aggregate fair retail value of the articles imported is $800 or less. De minimis shipments enter the United States with less information than other imports and are not subject to duties and taxes.” (Id.)
“Over the last ten years, the number of shipments entering the United States claiming the de minimis exemption has increased significantly, from approximately 140 million a year to over one billion a year. This exponential increase in de minimis shipments makes it more challenging to enforce U.S. trade laws, health and safety requirements, intellectual property rights, consumer protection rules, and to block illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and synthetic drug raw materials and machinery from entering the country.” (Id.)
🤳🏽 IN SOCIAL MEDIA »
Tarte is at the center of yet another brand deal controversy.
This week, Tarte made headlines for gifting certain influencers Hermes bracelets… while others got $20 necklaces. (People)
We talked about past Tarte troubles in Issue #005 of ScrollSavvy.
Kennedy Eurich spilled the tea & called Tarte out in her recent TikTok. According to Ken (one of the influencers who got the $20 necklace, but who has also been invited to at least one Tarte trip), Tarte doesn’t pay its creators; it pays in gifts. But it has a “hierarchy” of gift-giving, which Ken called out.
The downfall of Bee Better.
If you’re on TikTok & you love social commentary, you have probably seen a video by Bee Better. This creator has gone viral multiple times for his hot-take case-studies on creators like Mr. Beast, Nara Smith, & recently… Vice President Kamala Harris. He had a few thoughts on her personal branding “shortcomings” & how they would affect her policies.
Well, the internet had a lot to say about that video in response… especially because they uncovered that his family’s business, AirBoss, was awarded a $96 Million “no-bid” deal from President Trump. Highly recommend watching this TikTok video, as the creator breaks down the issue with receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots, everything.
FEATURE »
📸 A quick update on rage-bait, and why it works »
A few issues back, I did a case-study on rage-bait & how it works.
After 4 (albeit, inconsistent) years on TikTok, I learned that the key to going viral is to post a controversial topic that inspires a lot of commentary in the comment section. My 4 rage-bait videos have totaled between 1 million & 2.4 million views, & to this day, I still get a ton of notifications for comments on these videos whenever I open my phone.
Anyway, flash forward to this week, and I see this article about rage-bait on Threads.
Well, not exactly… the article is actually about why questions prompt more engagement on Threads.
But part of the article mentioned a case-study by Business Insider reporter, Kate Notopoulos. You might recognize that name from Threads.
Apparently, “Business Insider reporter Katie Notopoulos recently conducted an experiment in “rage baiting,” in which she posted a range of controversial queries on Threads designed to spark user responses.” (Social Media Today). “Posts with a lot of comments look to be more heavily weighted when it comes to what shows up in your Threads feed. That’s over re-shares and Likes, with the experiment seemingly suggesting that the Threads algorithm is geared towards incentivizing discussion over everything else.” (Id.)
So why is this the case on Threads, a text-based platform?
Meta, like various other companies, is currently hard at work developing its own generative AI models, with its AI chatbot now a key focus of its broader push to bring AI to the masses.
In order to fuel AI bots, developers need human inputs, and ideally, human-generated conversations that include direct questions and answers.
That’s why Reddit is considered such a valuable data source for large language models, because much of Reddit’s content consists of question posts, which then spark a range of actual, human answers, replies written by real humans that can train LLMs in how people engage.
(Id.)
And did you know that earlier this year, Reddit struck a deal with OpenAI to use its content to train AI ChatGPT? This significantly boosted Reddit shares. No wonder Reddit went public.
So next time you leave a comment… make sure it’s something you’d want spit back out at you in 5 years when AI takes over the world.
GOSSIP COLUMN <3
… AKA personal updates. Sit down with your favorite morning cup cuz I’ve got some tea ☕️
Has anyone else watched The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? Is the consensus that Whitney is insufferable? OK, just checking… but not trying to bring any of her mean girl energy here, so we’ll leave it at that.
I’ve been busy with lots of custom contracts & trademark clients. Exhausting, but empowering. Yet, I know that not all client relationships are easy. That’s why I share anonymous stories in my annual Spooky Series, a month-long content campaign where I talk about the topics that are too taboo for people to admit (like how to handle nightmare client situations). Got an anonymous tip? Send us an email at nina@thecontractguru.com.
I’m back in NY just in time for the start of fall, but only for a week. Any guesses where I’m going next? This week will be a whirlwind as I try to fit in apple picking, lots of Pilates classes, wellness co-working spaces, dinner with friends, networking pulse-check lunches with my lobbying crew, & teaching my 77 year-old dad how to type a Word document for the 104289582th time.
OBITUARY »
We are no longer tolerating:
Gray hairs. I’ve had one single strand for the last 2 years, but recently I found 2 more. Say it aint so!
Men who attack your character for having a life outside of them. (I totally relate to Jen as she was tormented by Zac in "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." It was haunting how similar he was to someone I dated… word-for-word, bar-for-bar, I’ve heard alllll the lines before when I’d go out to dinner with un-sanctioned friends, or focused on my business instead of cooking 3 meals a day & pouring him water whenever he asked.)
Not reading. A stupid mistake cost me 4 hours at the airport, as I lost my gate-checked bag. They didn’t tell me to wait for it at the gate.
CLASSIFIEDS »
I’m looking to hire someone to help me with legal research. If you are a law student or recent law grad, please email nina@thecontractguru.com with your resume (& subject line “SCROLLSAVVY SECRET MESSAGE”).
PS… Got an opportunity you want to share? An event coming up? Looking to hire someone? Send a description & if it’s a fit for my audience, I will post it here in the classifieds section.
BRAIN FOREPLAY »
🍳 WEEKLY WORD SCRAMBLE »
MMROON
THAU
DSOA
VWESI
What’s the one thing these all have in common? Answers next week.
Last Week’s Answers = Drama, Property, Design, Sunset… Theme = Selling Sunset
THAT’S IT FOR THIS WEEK <3 THANK YOU FOR READING!
See you next week!
xx Nina