The real stars are in the sky (Credit: Lance Ulanoff)
Micro-mini-nano-influencer
It’s long been a joke in my household that I’m a micro-mini-celebrity, known to my family, neighbors, and a random collection of others who happen to catch semi-infrequent TV appearances. Such “celebrity” is worth very little.
I was struck, however, by a recent breakdown of online influencers (basically online celebrities with the attendant pull and influence) from the marketing platform Affise.
It starts with Mega influencers, those Kendal Jenner types with global reach, audiences, engagement, and brand deals to keep them in the green for a lifetime. Macro influencers are nipping at their heels with fewer than 1 million followers but just about all the pull. They might also be easier to work with than a Kardashian because they’re not globally famous.
Micro-influencers are what they sound like: People with, say 50,000 Instagram followers who are highly devoted to their content and message. Even though they tend to be more niche, they still get enough engagement to work with brands aligned with their category.
And then there are Nano-influencers. These are my people. They have small but intensely engaged followings. They remind me of the old, controlled circulation publications and newsletters I worked for. No one outside their respective industries had ever heard of them, but they could still charge their subscribers big bucks for highly targeted and insider information on a single industry (or part of an industry).
As for me, I believe I still qualify as a micro, nano, mini, sub-particle influencer. I can live with that.
Another mobile event
As I continue to play with the generally excellent Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, a host of new mobile devices and other technology are set to make their debut this week at Mobile World Congress.
The Barcelona, Spain, based show has grown in prominence over the years as Android has slowly, but surely dominated the world (the platform now has almost 70% of the global market). However, because Apple is generally absent from the show, U.S. consumers often ignore or miss some of the announcements coming out of the busy mobile event.
I remember attending some time ago and was astounded at its size, complexity, and the number of companies vying for pole position in the Android space (phones and mobile-CPU-powered laptops).
This year, though, promises to be a little different. It’s still going to be an in-person event, but it’s unclear how many companies, attendees, and media will attend in person. In any case, I’ll be watching. You can keep track of all the action at my home site: TechRadar.com.
Ukraine
As Vladimir Putin’s forces advance on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, it can all seem like a distant conflict with little to do with trials at home. Obviously, that’s not true. The world is, in fact, a small place.
One way in which billions are connected to Ukraine is through technology. There are thousands and thousands of developers and hundreds of tech companies. Tech exports from the country are valued in the billions. No surprise that Ukraine is known as the “Silicon Valley of Europe.”
Naturally, all that innovation is led by people who are now under direct threat by an invading army. Perhaps it’s hard to feel connected to people who live thousands of miles away from you, but you might just be using a piece of technology by someone created in Kyiv. Perhaps that will give you a reason to care.
Stay safe
See you soon