Michael Abata

Lil Nas X embodies Gen Z in his scrappiness, in his fluency in internet culture, and in his unapologetic self-expression. Lil Nas X speaks Gen Z culture fluently; he even helps create it. He effortlessly memes and tweets and posts to social platforms constantly, forging connections with fans and ensuring his own virality. More than any other Gen Z... See more

Following the July 1 release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, hordes of (mostly) teenage boys have documented themselves online as they orchestrate viewing events at movie theaters in their finest 8th grade graduation garb.The groups show themselves pulling up to their local movie theaters in full suits, dress shirts, and sometimes sunglasses, and... See more

New media technologies are rapidly emerging. Looking back on the past few decades of media, it’s clear that the content that catches hold plays a foundational role in sculpting how we live and think and interact. As the technologies with which we create and communicate change, cultural transmission will change in tandem.

Nike on Friday opened its latest store concept, Nike Style, in Seoul, South Korea. The athletics giant in a blog post described the store as a “remixed expression of sports retail culture that blurs the line between physical and digital.”

Nike Style has tech baked into it. QR codes throughout the store allow shoppers to open augmented reality... See more

Last week, Niantic (the makers of Pokémon GO) announced Lightship, a developer platform for localized augmented reality. AR will transform how we communicate. Virtual reality, for its part, also continues to pick up speed. It’s been overhyped for a decade, but I expect we’ll look back and realize the hype was deserved all along; it just came too... See more