What we can learn from these Pride month kickoff videos

Also: Is American homeownership starting to crack?

Today I have for you some nice Pride month vertical video short films, an interesting chart on homeownership, a roundup of hot links and a quick Apple Notes optimization tip.

—Nick Wolny

'Tis the season for multimedia inspo

Really well-produced content, dropped at the right time, is often what gets quality saves and shares.

That seems to be the strategy for Pride month for many activist organizations, and I'm here for it. The Human Rights Campaign is the latest to drop a high-production vertical video on June 1 that blends together filmmaking and LGBTQ archival footage to create a more artisanal, inspiring type of content -- I've linked it below for reference. The Los Angeles LGBT Center did something similar last year and this year with montage-style vertical video campaigns that featured celebrity voice overs.

Pride month is a lot of things these days. It's more prominent than ever, more commercialized than ever, and has always been a political flashpoint. Your inbox is probably bursting with offers for rainbow swag right now, which I feel ambivalent about. When done well, it's an economic driver; when done poorly, it's a corporatized miss.

Consider taking time this month to check out the content these organizations are producing, as it's often one of their most important times of year.

Check out the Human Rights Campaign's video below.

🔗 Watch on Instagram

Analysis: Owning a home more expensive than renting

Interesting piece from Bloomberg last week, which I've dropped a friend link to below.

Common personal finance advice is that owning is better than renting. Last year, a LendingTree survey found that 94% of US adults say owning a home is part of the American Dream. There is sometimes a psychic pressure in our society in which homeownership is a necessary path to wealth, and a benchmark our parents expect us to hit.

For newer homeowners, though, high interest rates have make owning more expensive than renting in the short-term.

Source: Bloomberg

With the former, you certainly build equity over time, which is valuable. But renting can be an asset in a different way; it's often less of a money pit, you're less susceptible to setbacks, and moving on a whim isn't so bad should the situation ever arise.

The result is an acceleration of some aspects of the American Dream. And this might be one of the things contributing to our paradoxical economy right now -- inflation remains elevated and debt levels are rising, yet people keep spending a lot.

What do you think? Give this piece a read, which puts today's rate landscape into context.

🔗 Read at Bloomberg (Friend Link)

Reading is fundamental

Online business industry

Exclusive: TikTok preparing a US copy of the app’s core algorithm, sources say. Last month TikTok said they couldn't do this... 🤔 (Reuters)

SurferSEO released a new topic explorer feature as part of its Spring 2024 product updates. They also released AI features -- who doesn't, these days? -- but I find the Topic Explorer much more impressive. I have a blog post on Surfer if you need a refresher. (Surfer blog)

What makes a good editor?: Mike Wilson annotates a complex story he edited. I loved the UX on this blog post in which we see a teardown of a New York Times story in real time from the person who edited it. (Nieman Storyboard)

Money

DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, lost $300 million of bitcoin in an “unauthorized leak.” Another day, another crypto meltdown. Bitcoin's price hit an all-time high in March. (Reuters)

In a blow to tax e-filing services like TurboTax, the IRS's Direct Free File will roll out to all 50 states next year. (Axios)

I Used ChatGPT to Build My Budget. Here’s What It Missed. (CNET)

The people who spent their life savings on life coaching. (New York Times)

How Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Investment Firms Are Using AI. (Business Insider, from December 2023)

MAMAA

Google explains AI Overviews' viral mistakes, defends accuracy. The company will scale back and adjust to prevent forum responses and satire from being pulled into initial overviews. (9to5 Google)

The International Fact-Checking Network will offer grants in partnership with Meta for solutions to combat AI-generated misinformation on WhatsApp. (Poynter Institute)

Great news — Microsoft is killing off non-editable PDFs for good. (TechRadar)

If Your iPhone Responds Too Slowly to Your Touch, This Might Be the Fix. (CNET)

Fable Studio, an AI Streaming Platform, will let users create animated films from prompts. (Hollywood Reporter)

The viral ‘All Eyes on Rafah’ image on Instagram was AI-generated, but the AI watermark had been successfully removed by members of a Facebook group prior to distribution. (404 Media)

LGBTQ

Napoleons, the “oldest gay bar in Europe,” lost its liquor license, citing illegal workers and unsafe working conditions. (LGBTQ Nation)

FDA told to relax tissue donation restrictions for queer men. Gay men in the US still cannot donate organ tissue, per an antiquated HIV prevention policy; one activist group is trying to get this changed. (LGBTQ Nation

In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass signed a proclamation for Pride flags to be flown at city hall for the first time in history. (ABC News)

Report: 30% of LGBTQ+ Employees Have Refused to Apply to a Position Due to Lack of Support for the LGBTQ+ Community, says a new study from Indeed. (Indeed)