~some The Trend Report™ updates~

A rare non-Sunday post with an announcement.

Hello, Trend Report™ readers and angels 🐣

I have a long-coming Trend Report™ update: there’s now a paid tier, baby!! What does this mean? For loyal readers, is anything going to change? Whether you have not-a-lot of money or big-pool-you-can-swm-in of money, how will this affect you?

First off: nothing is going to change. The weekly, classic The Trend Report™ will continue its regular cadence, arriving Sundays at 7:04AM PST. (Don’t ask why it’s at the :04.) (Or do ask??) Your weekly deep dive will be the same as it always has been and always will be.

So…what does paid get you, on a technical level? Two things, which are for two different but overlapping Trend Report™ readers — and are just the start of “paid perks” (or Trend Report PP™).

• WHO IS THIS FOR? If you want curated lifestyle musings and good writing: this is for you.

• WHEN IS THIS SENT? Weekly, on Tuesdays, at some point.

• WHAT IS IT, TECHNICALLY? This is writing “for the girls”: a classic blog, essay, whatever-you-wanna-call-it writing about nothing and everything. This is less “trend” analysis and more diaristic musings and other things on the mind. From how to bleach your hair to deep diving recent books, thoughts on dinner parties to analyzing art, you’ll get a mix of it all. If you were a reader of bygone editorial projects of mine like Los Angeles, I’m Yours or BOY CLUB or 1234KYLE5678: this is for you! Slices of contemporary life, delivered to your inbox.

• WHY THIS? This is because I am a ✨writer✨ and want to live a life where I get ✨paid to write✨ as that is not currently ✨what my life is✨ In a dream world — or the near-distant future — I am writing lifestyle journalism, deep diving stories about wider culture, managing a culture column or two, regularly publishing fiction stories and books, and running an arts and writing residency. These essays make more formal baby steps toward this dream.

• HOW WILL THIS EVOLVE? Ideally, I’d like to start monthly digital meet-ups, perhaps brunch/dinner party style conversations with myself, readers, and friends who want to chat about a certain subject. Another thing I’d like to do is offer writing help, writing guidance, mentorship, etc., on a sliding scale of what, say, persons can afford. I’ve done this for years, for jobs and for friends, which is where The Trend Report™ originally came from: running the same newsletter gratis (Ugh.) for a job while giving writing help to co-workers. This effort is less for-money and more for-love-of-the-game, to build community and help foster happiness and creativity in the world.

• WHO IS THIS FOR? People who read The Trend Report™ for work, to understand the internet or who are trying to keep up with “the news.” If you work in digital, entertainment, or manage an editorial calendar and are looking to understand more granular trends and happenings in culture: this is for you.

• WHEN IS THIS SENT? Weekly, on Fridays, by 10AM PST.

• WHAT IS IT, TECHNICALLY? This email is a tool you can work with at work, in that this is inspiration for “trending” subjects in the literal sense, a la: what people are doing online. You’ll get a more in-depth look at what’s happening online: TikTok trends to act on, niche moments to watch for in the upcoming week, heads up on things that may expire out of the realm of topicality — this sort of stuff. There’s little (personal) commentary here and more linked deliverables of what-you-need-to-know.

• WHY THIS? I have ~years of experience~ working within television networks from Viacom to NBC along with newsroom experience from publications like POPSUGAR and Playboy. I write silly things, yes, but I also have oodles of professional experience strategizing and crafting brand editorial. This aspect of the newsletter is a means to use these skills outside of such systems, offering something more direct-to-consumer versus indirectly-to-stakeholders-who-don’t-give-a-fuck-about-me. Peep my LinkedIn for a full resumé, to understand credibility and enjoy some shitposts.

• HOW WILL THIS EVOLVE? I already have a 👀special exclusive👀 daily Trend Report: Business Edition™ that costs a lot to get — but this price can be reduced if more people are interested in receiving this dispatch. This is a more broad, cultural, internet-first Cynopsis that acts as your daily newsroom, sending you items to act on today and in the coming week, to help make your brand feel relevant. (If you’re interested in getting a sample of this or to try it out, reply to this newsletter — or email me!) There is also an opportunity to create specific-to-you (and your business) Trend Reports™ that curate with a specific goal in mind, while offering guidance and or insights into what’s happening in specific spaces. There are many ways to skin this cat or tap my ass fount of knowledge. You may also have an idea for how we can collab too which, hey, I’m open to them as long as they don’t involve oppressing people or ruining the environment. (“Why is Business Edition so expensive?” you may wonder: good question! The cost matches up to my hourly rate and, because limited people are paying, the price is steeper. The more people who are interested, the more I can lower the price. This effort is not for love-of-the-game but this-is-a-job-and-you-gotta-pay-me.) If you want to see what a typical, daily Business Edition™ post looks like, peruse that here.

Another thing: what about Sustack and the Nazi stuff?

This is concerning, yes, but unlike Casey Newton and his 170K subscribers or Hunter Harris and her 82K subscribers, I have almost 5K. This is not a brag but a reality: I have never had a place on the internet where I “had” and audience and, somehow, things are working for me here. I would be stupid to leave, given that I’ve had nearly 1K subscriber growth in the past quarter. This is to say: my work here is hitting and I am staunchly anti-Nazi and anti-white supremacy who supports the diversity of experiences, ethnicities, sexuality, ability, and so much more — a la, my audience is not “that” nor am I catering to “that.”

The concern I have is funnelling money through the same shit sieve that the Nazis are going through: that sucks. I don’t want to give the platform any coin! But I have to do something, both for myself and to tell them I disagree with their practices. Thus, two promises for you, that all have to do with the number 10 —

1. Substack takes a 10% cut of all payments. To counteract them, I will be donating 10% of my profits to various organizations who are doing work that fosters a better world and counter-acts hate. Every month, I will share the receipt on Notes. Feel free to make requests of places I can donate!

2. Because my audience is fabulous and humble and growing, once I hit 10K subscribers I am out, likely to Ghost. I am currently at 4.8K so we’re about halfway there to bye-bye time. Will that happen this year? No idea! But could it happen this year? Yes, and that kinda sorta frightens me.

I also plan to do a revolving, quarterly updates of Substacks that I recommend, a mixture of fabulous readers and fabulous reads that I enjoy. I’m interested in sharing the little wealths that I have and creating community while I’m here. These measures seem to do that! And, the more subscribers I have, the more we can donate and get the F out of here.

Again, no platform is perfect. Like any group project, someone always fucks something up and or has questionable behaviors: using any platform to host your work — Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, BlueSky, BeReal, etc. — comes with their imperfect baggage that you cannot control. What you can do is take action, to be vocal and counteract such efforts. That’s my plan!

Wooo. I think that is it! If you’re interested in getting a paid account, you can do so now — and do so here. You will also hear me repeat and repeat and repeat that there are paid options regularly in the weekly, normal Report™. Apologies in advance! But your boy has to make a living.

If you are like “FUCK SUBSTACK” — which is valid — we can work something out, perhaps via my Ko-fi: just let me know, by replying to this message. These new entries in the Trend Report™ cinematic universe kick off this Friday and will continue in some form forever (as far as I know??). Please share any thoughts by replying to this email or leaving a comment too. I’m here to help you in life and work, my angels 🩶

Love you all and thank you all for the support! Here’s to a big year for us all, despite the state of the world 🦋