Latest news with #Oddball
Time of India
11-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Forget attention spans, Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath reveals social media's real crisis. Explains 'Enshittification' driven recession
Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath is challenging one of the most repeated complaints in the digital world — that attention spans are shrinking. According to him, the real scarcity is something deeper and far more damaging to creators and brands alike: curiosity. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Kamath shared research by analytics firm Oddball that paints a sobering picture of what he calls a 'social media recession.' The post was blunt: 'We talk about scarce attention, but maybe the real scarcity is curiosity, and without it, attention is worthless. Agree?' Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program The Social Media Recession No One Wants to Talk About Oddball's data shows engagement rates across major platforms have plunged in 2024 compared to previous years. X is down by 48%, Facebook by 36%, TikTok by 34%, and Instagram by 16%. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Elegant New Scooters For Seniors In 2024: The Prices May Surprise You Mobility Scooter | Search Ads Learn More This slump isn't just a bad quarter — it's a post-pandemic shift. New user sign-ups peaked in 2021 and have been sliding ever since. With fewer fresh eyes on content and existing users spending 10 minutes less per day on average, the audience pool is steadily drying up. — nikhilkamathcio (@nikhilkamathcio) It's Not Just Numbers — It's Trust Oddball's report, which Kamath spotlighted, also highlights another crisis: trust. Just 11% of users say they trust social media today. A majority believe platforms are overloaded with clickbait , plagued by repetitive branded content, and increasingly shaped by AI-driven misinformation. You Might Also Like: Forget BTech. Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath says only one skill will matter to stay relevant in job market in 10 years This erosion of trust has translated into slower ad spend growth, dropping from an annual 36% (2019–21) to just 11% (2021–24). Three out of four marketers now report lower returns on social media campaigns. The 'Enshittification' Problem Canadian-British journalist Cory Doctorow's term 'enshittification' — describing how platforms become worse for users over time — seems to fit perfectly here. Oddball's survey shows that 53% of users feel platforms have become less social and more transactional. The shift is visible in user behavior: according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, teens now spend more time in DMs and Stories than in their feeds, and personal sharing increasingly happens in private, not public, spaces. The Human Cost: Creator Burnout Behind the metrics are overworked marketers and creators. Oddball's findings reveal that 63% feel burnt out, with 42% considering quitting altogether. The pressure to constantly produce 'thumb-stopping' content in a saturated, low-engagement environment is taking its toll. You Might Also Like: Nikhil Kamath's 'lifelong learning' advice is only step one: Stanford expert shares the key skills needed to survive the AI takeover Lessons From the Past Oddball's analysis draws a parallel with the post-2008 slump, when ad spending on social media dropped sharply and took over four years to recover. Many brands that went silent during that time lost nearly a quarter of their value. However, those that stayed visible — focusing on community-building over chasing clicks — emerged three times stronger. Kamath's Bigger Point Kamath's takeaway is clear: if curiosity dies, even the best content will struggle to survive. Brands and creators cannot rely on algorithms or fleeting attention alone. Instead, they need to spark genuine interest, foster trust, and offer something worth seeking out in an increasingly noisy digital landscape. Or as his post implies, in today's 'social media recession,' attention isn't the currency anymore — curiosity is.
Canada Standard
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Canada Standard
NFB animator Co Hoedeman dies at age 84
May 27, 2025 - Montreal - National Film Board of Canada (NFB) The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is mourning the passing of distinguished animator and director Co Hoedeman, who died on May 26 in Montreal at the age of 84. Born in Amsterdam on August 1, 1940, Co was a master of stop-motion animation whose 1977 NFB production The Sand Castle received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. "Co Hoedeman was a master animator, whose long career at the NFB was distinguished by innovative filmmaking and powerful humanitarian themes. He cared deeply for the well-being of children and was also a fierce defender of the importance of public filmmaking. The NFB and the Canadian animation community have lost a dear friend and colleague. Fortunately for us, we have his legacy of beloved works, which embody so much of his unique spirit," said Suzanne Guvremont, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson. Select biography Shortly after directing his early films with the NFB, including his award-winning Oddball (1969), Co travelled to Czechoslovakia in 1970 to study puppet animation and then returned to the NFB to begin a series of stop-motion gems. Tchou-tchou (1972), created with wooden blocks, received the British Academy award (BAFTA) for Best Animated Film. During the 1970s, Co created a series of acclaimed animated films based on Inuit traditional stories, collaborating closely with artists from Nunavut and Nunavik. Following his Oscar win for The Sand Castle , he continued to experiment with a range of techniques and themes. In 1992, he worked with Indigenous inmates at La Macaza Institution to create The Sniffing Bear , a cautionary tale about substance abuse. In 1998, he began work on a beloved children's series about Ludovic, a young teddy bear, available in the NFB collection Four Seasons in the Life of Ludovic . After completing his final film with the NFB, Marianne's Theatre (2004), Co began a busy independent animation career. He collaborated with the NFB on the co-production 55 Socks (2011), a deeply personal project drawing on his childhood memories during a dark period of Dutch history, the Hunger Winter of 1944-45. He would also adapt his Ludovic character into a popular children's TV series. In 2003, the Cinemathque quebecoise and the NFB paid tribute to Co and his importance to Quebec cinema with an exhibition entitled "Exposition Co Hoedeman - Les Jardins de l'enfance." The exhibition was presented the following year at the Musee-Chteau d'Annecy in France. Co was interviewed in 2013 for the NFB online anthology Making Movie History and was the subject of the 1980 NFB documentary Co Hoedeman, Animator . All of his NFB films are available online free of charge at - 30 - Stay Connected Online Screening Room: NFB Facebook | NFB Twitter | NFB Instagram | NFB Blog | NFB YouTube | NFB Vimeo Curator's perspective | Director's notes About the NFB
