Daily Archives: April 27, 2022

If you want to edit video for Instagram, you have a number of options for doing so. However, the first thing to establish is what kind of video youre planning to post. Instagram has taken a while to figure out its video offering, and you currently have a few options for where and how you can post videos.

Currently on Instagram you have three main methods of posting videos Stories, main feed posts and Reels. Until recently there was also the long-form IGTV app, however Instagrams parent company Meta announced that it would be shutting down IGTV as of March 2022, due to lack of interest and a desire to simplify the platforms video offering. So, for now, these three it is. (Well, you can also go Live, but since were talking editing here well leave that alone for now).

In this guide, well take you through each type of video you can post on Instagram, explain the requirements and how best to edit and optimise your videos for each one.

For more powerful video editing options, check out our guide to the best video editing software, as well as the best free video editing software if youre on an extremely tight budget. Also, bearing in mind that Instagram works best when youre using your phone, our guide to the best video editing apps might also be helpful.

The easiest way to get started posting your video on Instagram is to hit the + symbol at the top right of the screen. This will take you to the menu where you can select what type of content you want to post. The top three options will be Post, Reel and Story. Select which one you want to post, and you'll be taken directly to the editing and uploading interface.

So, let's look at each one in turn.

An Instagram feed post is the simplest way to share a video. The in-app editing functionality here is quite limited, meaning that if you simply want to share a video on your feed, you may want to edit it beforehand in a separate app or program. Here are the key things to remember.

Set the dimensions: You can post a video in Instagrams traditional square format, or in the dimensions it was originally shot. When selecting your clip from your gallery, click the two-arrows icon on the bottom left to toggle between these options.

Remember the time limit: Youve got a maximum of 60 seconds when posting video clips to your Instagram feed.

Trim and add filters: In-app, you can use the uploader to trim your video clip, or to add one of Instagrams famous filters (though they are a bit pass these days). If you want to add music, text or effects, youre best off either doing it beforehand or using either Reels or Stories, as the post editor doesn't offer this functionality.

Instagram Stories are short, ephemeral photos and videos that show up at the top of a users feed, and disappear after 24 hours. Originally introduced to compete with Snapchat, Stories have since become a key part of the Instagram experience. Here are some tips for editing Instagram Stories.

Think in 15 seconds: An individual Instagram Story is 15 seconds long. If you upload a longer video, itll automatically be split into multiple stories, but this can make for a disjointed experience for the viewer. You can individually select parts and remove them to isolate a 15-second section, but the breaks may not be where you want them. Its best to plan in advance and trim your clips to 15 seconds or less before upload your phones native video app will likely be able to handle this.

Stay vertical: Instagram Stories are almost exclusively viewed full-screen on a phone display, so portrait format dimensions (1080 by 1920 px) are what you need to be thinking in. If you do have video thats a different orientation, you can always zoom in manually in the interface like you would with a photo, but remember that this will have an impact on the quality.

Remember what you can do in the app: The Instagram app makes it easy to add simple things to your Stories. You can overlay text, add music (the app links up with Spotify), rotate video, zoom in, move the video around the canvas, add a background, overlay photos from your gallery, and more. If you have simple tasks like these in mind, the easiest thing to do is probably handling it in-app.

and what you cant: The Stories interface isnt much for colour correction. There are Instagrams well-known filters named after cities, which you can access by swiping left or right in the Stories interface, but honestly these are pretty lame. For simple colour correction or stylish presets, youre best off looking into an app like Adobe Premiere Rush.

For more on Stories, see our Instagram Story tips guide.

What Stories were to Snapchat, Instagram Reels are to TikTok. These are short clips that can be posted to the main feed, or continually scrolled through just like TikToks.

Create in-app if possible: You can add pre-recorded clips to a Reel by tapping the camera roll icon at the bottom left, but unlike TikToks, Reels dont let you add many effects to these clips. You can add text, stickers and music in a similar interface to Stories, but the more advanced stuff is fenced off unless youre shooting in-app. Simply tap the centre button to start recording, or use the clock icon to start a recording timer.

Set the length: Reels can be set to 15, 30 or 60 seconds they dont have to be exactly these prescribed lengths, but they cannot exceed them.

Use transitions: In the Effects panel (accessed by tapping the stars icon), you can find some useful Transitions to get you from one clip to another. These include effects like Warp (whip between clips when you turn your head left or right), Spin (trigger a spinning transition by tilting your head), Zoom (tap a section of the frame to transition by zooming in on that area) and more. They can be really handy for stitching clips together smoothly.

Save effects: The effects interface on Reels is a big sprawling mess. If you find an editing effect you like, save it using the bookmark icon so that you can easily access it again.

Align your clips: Once youve added your first clip, youll notice a new icon on the left-hand menu bar. This is the Align tool selecting it will bring up a ghost overlay of the end of your previous clip, which you can then align the next shot to. This is useful for smoothly transitioning between clips.

Want to know more about Reels? Check out our full beginner's guide to Instagram Reels for more tips.

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How to edit video for Instagram: quick tips for Stories, Reels and Posts - Creative Bloq

TAO is an apt title for Shads latest album. Thats because few of his showbiz peers are equally enlightened. Ahead of the 22-date TAO tour (kicking off April 29) the rapper not only discussed spitting lauded and timely rhymes about gig economy gauges and addictive tech for that LP. And he didnt just look back on being part of the Peabody-winning docu-series Hip-Hop Evolution, or consulting on the ambitious upcoming Black Life: A Canadian History. He also gave zen-likenot to mention rarecomments about his tumultuous 2016 exit from CBCs flagship arts program q.

Whats more: the MC also told us about letting such yin and yang fall out of harmony while (very hilariously) standing his ground against one of the most (perhaps misguidedly) popular platforms in music. To paraphrase Shad belowthere are times for Taoism, but sometimes rappers are better served by The Art of War.

Youve been praised for rapping outside your sonic comfort zone on the TAO favorites Slot Machines and Work. One overlooked track: Body (No reason). Its bedrock-hard beat changed my idea of what a typically jazzy Shad song could be.Well, I love music that has an excitement to it. And that can be of any genre. Dom Dias, whos done a lot of different work with a lot of people, sent me that beat. And I quickly told him, Its dope, let me rock on this one. Especially when I think of a full-length album, I love making the track list dynamic and full of surprises.

I wanted it to feel exciting, not just in the lyrics but also have an up energy in the vocal delivery. So a lot of the bars are just train of thought, me going in on this hard beat. But also making sure I touch on real things, especially the threads throughout the album about technology and what that does to our relationships with each other and ourselves.

What are some of your favourite lyrics on that song?There are some bars in there about a specific situation I had with genius.com where, I think I said it better in the lyrics than I can in conversation, but it was a strange, convoluted situation. How can I explain this clearly? I love the idea of a fan community around lyrics. Like, I love that. And I love fans uploading lyrics to Genius, and annotating, and all that.

But what I dont like is the site itself, the company, promoting that its an official source. And making money off of that. Because its not official. Its a fan community site. I think, in an insidious and disingenuous way, they try to pass themselves off as an official source. And one way they try to do that is verifying artists in this fabricated clout system.

They wanted to verify me, and I said, I dont want to be verified. And Im not going to work for you for free to correct my song lyrics on your site, so that you can promote yourself as an official source. At least get the lyrics right. Youre a lyrics site! At least invest in that.

So I touched on that in the song.

That went over my head as a listener. But Im so excited to hear that Shad beefed with Genius.[Laughs] It wasnt even beef! Its a parasitic business model. You want artists to do free labour for this system of clout, that you invented. In order to, you know, make all this revenue. It seems very [pauses] shady. So I asked to be unverified. And after a long time, they complied.

How did that feel in the end?You know, its one of those things where you think: What did that accomplish? And the truth is: probably not very much. But on principal, I was like, Yeah, I have to do that. And whatever, its not a big deal. But it is emblematic of Internet culture, and Internet business, where people are trying to get rich quicker, without actually caring about their work.

That makes me think of your song Work, where you rap suckers work for money. You should make your money work for you. What made you want to write about labor?I knew I wanted to make a song about work. So I sat down with Skratch Bastid, who Ive collaborated with a bunch before. And I pulled up this drum break by this Vancouver prog group called We Are the City.And Bastid was really into it. Again, like Body, its a very different track than what Ive been on before. But it was really fun to put together, because it was a mix of a couple of different influences. It has this prog, industrial element. And it has a very 80s, Rick Rubin production side that Bastid and I are fans of as well, but that I havent dabbled in much. So it was cool to try and figure that mix out. That sound made me think it was the song I was going to write about work to. And those lines almost wrote themselves.

It sounds clich but: music has given me so much. Ive learned how to work hard. How to persevere. How to be more courageous. How to be more myself. Its given me everything.

What challenges lie in changing your sound on these new songs, and then bringing that fresh dynamic to the stage for your upcoming tour?The real challenge is putting the new songs beside some of the older ones people will want to hear, so that the set list will make sense. Thats something Ill have to puzzle out. But Im pretty excited to play these new songs, and be in a room with the fans again. Normally, Im more nervous before a tour, in a healthy way. You should have a healthy respect for what you do, and that should make you prepared. But its been so long since Ive been out on the road to play for my fans thats overriding the nerves this time.

Youve worked on plenty of things since being on the road last time. One upcoming project is Black Life: A Canadian History, which you talked a bit about during another recent interview. Can you tell us why its exciting, and why it has the potential to be meaningful?Theres not a lot I can say about the specifics of what it will be. It hasnt been filmed yet. But its an eight-part documentary series about Black history in Canada. Its exciting because theres never been anything on that scale, on that topic before. So its really going to be something else, at least thats the hope and plan. Theres a lot invested in it. Itll cover three or four hundred years of Canadian Black history in one series. And they are making it with an eye toward being an educational resource. But also ensuring its beautiful and artistic. Its got some pretty huge ambition. And Im pretty comfortable with how its going to play out. The plan is for it to come out sometime next year.

And has that process helped you learn some exciting things about Black Canadian figures, that you might not have known otherwise?Ive looked at some treatments so far. My role is as a creative consultant, to give some feedback to the producers and directors. The first episode I read about is about slavery. And that was really illuminating. Because we dont learn a lot about the history on our soil, and Canadas relationship to the slave trade globally. I learned so much reading through that treatment. And I think its going to be pretty mind-blowing for Canadians. And I think the plan is for that to be the first episode.

That subject matter will be interesting, considering how holier than thou some Canadians can be when comparing ourselves to the States, despite recent news. How does it feel to be a part of something thats taking such a much-needed harder look?I think it will give a complete picture. Theres the narratives that we got growing up, in our society. They may be truthful, but not the whole truth. Or in some cases they are total distortions. But I think the doc will bring to light some issues that were not often taught. Like when I was reading in the treatment, I didnt know 80 percent of the stuff I was reading. The research is so good that it brings the stories out in individual cases. Not just statistics, but real Canadian Black people and families and their stories. As we all know, family stories are complicated. Migration stories are complicated. Many Black Canadians at that time mightve come to Canada, then mightve gone back to the States. We have a narrative here that Canada was a safe haven. And some of that may be true. But there were a lot of people that went south looking for freedom, because conditions were difficult for Black Canadians. All that to say: it will give a more complete picture of our history.

I cant wait to see it. It sounds like youre at an interesting place, having lots of successful projects on the go. It makes me think about your career arc.I remember being excited to hear you host q. You got Norm MacDonaldto open up like few have. Later, I had a lot of empathy, because it seemed both challenging and like you were getting a lot of criticism. When Hip-Hop Evolution got the Peabody, did you feel any sense of triumph?Ive always been fortunate to have interesting stuff to work on. With q, obviously I was let go. But I enjoyed it. And I found the work to be meaningful, and I had a good time doing it. And with Hip-Hop Evolution, same thing. I feel lucky to have, and continue to have, purposeful work. And Im also thankful for the lessons. Through q, and Hip-Hop Evolution, and TAO, and the album before it, A Short Story About A War, I feel throughout my career, even before that, I feel like Ive learned so much. It sounds clich but: music has given me so much. Ive learned how to work hard. How to persevere. How to be more courageous. How to be more myself. Its given me everything.

It looks a little bit different to me from the insideless like peaks and valleys and more like this continuous, I dont know, this continuous magical journey. Im sounding really cliched! But thats how it feels, from when I first started making music, like Im embarking on this wild ride thats teaching me everything I know.

Thats a very wise way to look at things. Can it be challenging to have that perspective after being let go from q, for example? Or are there other sources of support to maintain that upbeat perspective?Ive always been fortunate to have really good people and relationships. And a pretty strong spiritual foundation. All that gives me perspective, throughout the successes and failures, on what I am ultimately trying to do. That doesnt change. And what I mean by that, with my music or q, or Hip-Hop Evolution, my goal is always the same: be true to the work, and try to make a contribution.

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Shad Talks TAO Tour, the Problem With Genius, and His q' Departure - Complex

Emma Raducanu wins the 2022 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award. The 19-year-0ld lived one of the biggest dreams of her career in 2021. To everyones surprise, she won the 2021 US Open. Winning the title, she wrote her name in the history books by becoming the first qualifier to go ahead and win the womens singles crown at a Grand Slam.

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The win in no time made Raducanu one of the most looked upon young players in womens tennis. Keeping her breakthrough performance in mind, Raducanu was honored with the prestigious award.

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The Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award honors players who have just started climbing the ladder of success. The award recognizes players who have achieved a big milestone in their formative time. Raducanu was no different. The current World No. 11 proved to be the most deserving winner for the award with her title-winning performance at the 2021 US Open.

Honoring Raducanu with the award, the Laureus Award took to their Instagram handle, uploading a post. The post featured Raducanu holding the award, giving an acceptance message. In the message, she expressed her thankful gratitude towards the Laureus Academy. She also asserted that she still has a lot of work to do.

She said, Thank you so much to the Laureus Academy for voting. It means so much to receive this award and I really want to congratulate my other nominees. I feel like its been a really great year for me but Ive still got a lot of work to do. Thank you very much

The celebrations werent over yet. Going further in the video, Raducanu received a special message from one of her career inspirations, Li Na. The Chinese grace became a member of the Laureus Academy in 2016 at Paris. Since then, she along with 59 other members have been voting every year to pick the best sporting talents.

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With Raducanu winning the Breakthrough award this year, Li Na extended her wishes to the Brit player. She said, Hey Emma, Li Na here to say congratulations. Im happy as a member of the academy that my colleagues and I have chosen you as the winner of the Laureus Breakthrough of the year.

Just like many other young players, Li Na has been an inspiration for Raducanu as well. Receiving a congratulatory message from Li herself undoubtedly left Emma speechless. Replying to Lis message, Raducanu said, Wow! Thank you so much Li Na. It means a lot to get this message from you. Youve been a huge inspiration to me all of my career. I remember watching you. So thank you so much.

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On the tennis front, Raducanu is currently trying her hands on the clay-court season. She kicked off her clay-court tour campaign with a quarterfinal loss at the Stuttgart Open. She will next appear at the Madrid Open scheduled to start on 28th April.

Watch This Story: Influential and maverick commercials by Serena Williams

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Youve Been a Huge Inspiration for Me Emma Raducanu Is Ecstatic After a Huge Surprise From a Grand Slam Champion Celebrating Her Laureus Award -...

Eugenie Bouchard has been out of the professional circuit for more than a year now. However, even though she had been out of the tour, it hasnt stopped her from enjoying her time off-court. Over the gone-by weekend, the 28-year-old was in Las Vegas. She was there to attend the 8AM Golf Invitational hosted by American actor Justin Timberlake.

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The event was a celebrity-studded affair, having the whos who of the sports world. Attending the event, Eugenie gave a glimpse of the same through an Instagram post. While enjoying the celebrations, Bouchard shared a hilarious moment during the celebrations on her Instagram story.

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Giving a glimpse of the ceremony, Bouchard took to his Instagram, uploading a story. The story was a reshare of Golf presenter and Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantsev Dixon. The story featured Kira, Eugenie, former LPGA tour player Jeehae Lee, current LPGA Tour player Michelle Wie West, and the 8AM Golf Head of Brand, Ashley Mayo.

The women were posing for the camera when the event host Justin Timberlake jumped in, photobombing the girls. Kira shared the video on her Instagram story, captioning it OK but JT (Justin Timberlake) were trying to take a girls pic here.

Having a laugh, Bouchard went on resharing the story on her account while captioning it with some laughing emojis.

Following the story, a few hours back, Bouchard put up an Instagram post, giving a sneak peek at the girls day at the golf course. The post was a collection of visuals featuring Bouchard, Michelle Wie West, Kira Dixon, Jeehae Lee, along with American actor Chace Crawford, and actress Kathryn Newton. She captioned the post, Golf Course Files.

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Eugenie Bouchard has been out of the tour for more than a year now. She last played at the 2021 Monterrey Open, suffering a first-round loss. Post the loss she revealed about her tore subscapularis in her right shoulder. Undergoing surgery in June 2021, she was forced to stay out of the remaining season.

After much patience, the former World No. 5 recently entered the court to start her comeback training. Furthermore, a few weeks ago, she also played a few exhibition matches with Alison Riske and Sofia Kenin. Keeping the two factors in mind, it wouldnt be wrong to say that fans can expect a comeback announcement by Bouchard anytime soon.

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Watch This Story: Top five moments of Rafael Nadal at Monte Carlo Masters

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WATCH: Eugenie Bouchard Shares a Hilarious Video of Justin Timberlake While Attending the 8AM Golf Event - EssentiallySports

Lord Hannan of Kingsclere is a Conservative peer, writer and columnist. He was a Conservative MEP from 1999 to 2020, and is now President of the Initiative for Free Trade.

My friend David Gauke wrote a provocative essay for ConHome on Monday. He began with the uncontentious assertion that the rule of law is central to what we are about as a country.

He then went on to argue that this Government has a problem with the rule of law, citing three examples of its supposedly cavalier attitude: Partygate, the Northern Ireland Protocol, and the Rwanda asylum plan.

Ill come to the three charges in a moment. But first, I hope we can all agree with the Gawksters opening proposition.

Central to the identity of the United Kingdom is that it is (to quote the seventeenth-century radical James Harrington) an Empire of Laws, and not of Men. The people in charge dont get to make up the rules as they go along. Laws are general, equal and certain.

That principle guarantees our liberty because it ensures, as John Locke put it, that we are not subject to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, arbitrary will of another man.

The rule of law is what distinguishes free societies from despotisms. It is arguably Britains greatest export, our chief contribution to the happiness of mankind.

For precisely that reason, almost no one admits to being against the idea. When governments bend the rules in their own favour, they naturally claim that they are acting in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the law.

Gaukie is quite right, then, to put each case under the microscope. A country needs constantly to interrogate itself, to invigilate its standards, to hold its leaders accountable.

So lets do precisely that, starting with the Partygate affair.

We keep hearing that it is an example of one rule for them [i.e. politicians] and one rule for everyone else. But endlessly repeating that accusation does not make it true. There is no evidence that the Prime Minister or senior civil servants have been more leniently treated than others in their position. Quite the contrary.

How many keyworkers have been fined for having a drink in the office? How many nurses, for example, have been prosecuted for sharing pictures of themselves with cakes, or uploading TikTok routines?

To the best of my knowledge, none. And quite right, too. It would have been preposterous to charge a group of workers who were already sharing indoor space under rules designed to reduce unnecessary meetings let alone two years after the event.

To complain about people being separated from sick or dying relatives strikes me as fundamentally dishonest. There were indeed harsh rules in place rules which I condemned at the time, unlike many of those who now shed crocodile tears about their effect.

But those rules applied as much to Boris Johnson as to the rest of us. He went unvisited when he was in hospital. He could not spend time with his mother (who died not long afterwards).

The fair comparison is with what other keyworkers did while at their offices. On that basis, if it reallywas one rule for Boris, it was in precisely the opposite way from that which his critics intend.

On the Northern Ireland Protocol, things are more complicated. The Government has an overriding duty to uphold the Belfast Agreement, which depends upon power-sharing. If the Protocol remains unmodified, that deal will collapse, because Unionists will not agree to serve in a devolved government.

The two treaties pull in opposite directions and, if the tension becomes too much, the Government will have no choice but to give priority to the Belfast Agreement, which has been the basis of peace in Northern Ireland for a generation.

Yet it is not clear that dropping parts of the Protocol would amount to abandoning the rule of law. As Peter Lilley argued not long ago on this website, the Protocol was always intended to be temporary, and contains provisions for its own replacement.

It would not be the first treaty to lapse or to be overtaken by events. Where now is the 1729 Treaty of Seville, the 1836 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, or the 1907 Pact of Cartagena? When an accord is overtaken by events, or repudiated by one of the signatories, the rule of law does not collapse.

Ireland, for example, abandoned the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty in stages, cutting its residual constitutional links to the UK, declaring itself a republic and leaving the Commonwealth. Did that mean the end of the rule of law in Ireland? No. It was accepted that a treaty signed under duress had ceased to be valid.

As far as the Rwanda plan goes, we dont yet have full details. But there is nothing wrong, on the face of it, with two countries reaching an agreement on the processing of asylum claims.

Nor is there any obvious human rights violation.Whereas an immigrant aims to get into a particular country (and I am in favour of immigration into the UK), a refugee aims to get out of a particular country.

As long as asylum-seekers do not face persecution or oppression in Rwanda and, for all the low-level racism now being aimed at that country by Leftists, no one has shown that they would they might as well secure sanctuary there as anywhere else.

Yes, we should be watching carefully. It is human nature to care more about outcome than process. We need only look at the United States to see how easily a law-based republic can start to treat elections as contingent, something to be challenged automatically by the losing party.

But, precisely because we live in a world where the rule of law is fragile, where democracies decay into dictatorships, where armies cross borders in anger, we need to keep a sense of proportion.

Britain remains one of the good countries. When Ukrainians say that they want to break with their past and live in a normal country, it is our model or something very close to it that they have in mind. Lets not devalue what we have.

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Daniel Hannan: No, the Government has not abandoned the rule of law - ConservativeHome

Ron Charles

THE WASHINGTON POST Even in an era of boundless hype, Jennifer Egans The Candy House has a legitimate claim on the title of Most Anticipated Book of the Year.

This is, after all, a sequel to A Visit From the Goon Squad Egans astonishing demonstration of literary bravado that swung through 2010, grabbing a Pulitzer Prize, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award. The Washington Post named Goon Squad one of the best books of 2010, and, later, other publications called it one of the greatest novels of the decade.

Egans creativity was so magnificent that commentators focused not on the storyline of Goon Squad but its multifarious forms, her confident array of perspectives first, second and third ranging through time and around the world, crescendoing with a 70-page PowerPoint presentation! It was a novel of such peacocking swagger that only its knockout triumph saved it from looking obnoxious.

Well, here we are more than a decade later, and even if you were a fan as I was the intervening years are likely to have beaten those characters from your memory. As someone in that earlier novel observed, Times a goon, and unfortunately, Egan is in no mood to help out, which means youre likely to be as baffled as dazzled by The Candy House.

The music that ran through Goon Squad and gave the novel its melody is far harder to hear in these new chapters. Also, 12 years later, readers are less likely to be awed by literary experimentation. A chapter of tweets earns no love now. A second-person narrator? You shouldnt have.

But if The Candy House is less uniformly successful than A Visit From the Goon Squad, it still contains terrific parts. The opening story reintroduces us to Bix Bouton, now a tech mogul whose social media company has made him very rich.

Exploiting the discoveries of an anthropologist name Miranda Kline, Bix monetised algorithms that explained trust and influence to build a luminous sphere of interconnection. Now, in his early 40s, despite his fame and vast wealth, Bix worries that he has no vision beyond the one hed nearly exhausted.

Its a fear that gives him a haunted, hunted feeling as he struggles to divine what should happen next.

We eventually learn that Bix went on to invent a program with the ironic name Own Your Unconscious, which completely reshaped human culture. Egan explains: By uploading all or part of your externalised memory to an online collective, you gained proportionate access to the anonymous thoughts and memories of everyone in the world, living or dead, who had done the same. Its a clever parody of the Faustian bargain weve made with social media, relinquishing our privacy for access to the comments, likes and images of others. The Candy House ties this sci-fi brain technology back to Napster, that revolutionary largely illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing platform that let people share their song files and their most intimate musical tastes with everyone.

Who, Egan asks, could resist gaining access to the Collective Consciousness for the small price of making our own anonymously searchable? In the world she imagines, most people sit down for a painless mind-dump on their 21st birthday, never fully reckoning, in our excitement over our revelatory new freedom, with what we surrendered by sharing the entirety of our perceptions to the Internet. Its the candy house from Grimms fairy tales: the sweet, free bounty that comes with a horrible, unforeseen cost.

Thats the last time we see much of Bix, which is a shame, because hes a singularly fascinating character. Making him a Black man was an interesting element of Goon Squad, but its one that Egan seems uninterested in pursuing.

What, after all, might America be like if our all-pervasive social media were shaped by the dreams of an African American? Much of The Candy House takes place in a future influenced by Bixs revolution, but the novel rarely contends with the implications of that premise for Bixs life, the tech industry or the world shaped by it. Instead, Bixs skin colour remains about as relevant as his hair colour.

Partly, this is simply a matter of the books structure, which insists on constantly fracturing and abandoning its forms, themes and characters. But as other chapters leap to other lives, we see people who do resist the Webs mind-absorbing candy.

Alfred Hollander, for instance, is so desperate for authenticity that he randomly screams just to discombobulate passing strangers for a moment. Theres also a whole cadre of eluders.

Theyre separatists bent upon hoarding their memories and keeping their secrets. And radicals who can afford it hire fiction writers to impersonate them on the Web so that they can live outside this sphere of supposedly benevolent surveillance.

Miranda Kline, the anthropologist whose research on affinity and trust laid the foundations for Bixs social media revolution, may be one of those mysterious radicals. In a chapter narrated in the plural first person, one of Klines daughters explains, The omniscience of the Collective Consciousness is what the eluders want to escape so desperately that theyre willing to leave their identities behind. Some liken eluders to trapped animals gnawing off their own legs as the price of freedom.

While Goon Squad gave readers the celebrated PowerPoint chapter, The Candy House offers a spy thriller conveyed in aphorisms tweeted in the second person. A decade ago, Egan actually posted this whole thing on Twitter, and then she published it in the New Yorker.

The chapter contains such observations as, The fact that you feel like youre dying doesnt mean that you will die, which reassured me during some particularly frustrating sections of this book.

Somewhat more effective is a chapter constructed from a great thicket of nested email conversations. But here again Egan presumes a lot on her readers ability to know what shes talking about. It would have taken so little additional information to make this more inviting that I cant help feeling the author was overindulged by her editor.

The chapters that work best embrace their radical forms more gently or even mock them. One of the best is about Chris, the adult son of Bennie Salazar, the music producer who served as the axle of Goon Squad. Now an adult, Chris works at a shadowy software company trying to translate every element of every story into a mathematical formula.

Through a series of awkward encounters, Chris falls into a cerebral comedy of absurdity in which he realises that he has shifted from being the Protagonist to being an Enabling Sidekick: Toward the end of The Candy House, we come back to Bixs 28-year-old son, who rejected his fathers work and wealth. Hes a struggling fiction writer who knows that we dont need some new development of social media to access each others minds.

We already have these ancient things called books that allow us to feel the collective without any machinery at all.

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Dasha smirks at the camera and says in a baby voice: Hi, I missed you all. It is 11 March, a few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, and the blond 19-year-old Moscow-based influencer with 126,000 Instagram followers is posting to her stories. I wasnt on social media for over a week and I want to talk about my news and the news of the world, she says.

After taking a weekend trip to a friends dacha in the countryside, Dasha posts videos of her friends laughing, making pancakes or playing party games. The atmosphere is warm, the alcohol flowing. The next tile shows Dasha looking solemnly at her phone. I was constantly watching the news to understand what was going on in the world and one thought wouldnt escape my mind she writes. Next tile: Maybe I should leave Russia? in bold red letters. In smaller black text underneath, she elaborates: At least for a little bit of time, until the situation calms down and we have a better understanding. There is a question box for followers to answer: What do you think about this?

Does Dashas concern about world news extend to criticism of Putins war in Ukraine? Not exactly. Later, she clarifies for her followers that what prompted her to consider leaving Russia is the potential hit to her income now that the Russian government is blocking access to Instagram. She also worries that the military situation might mean someone called Denis, whom I take to be her boyfriend, could be conscripted into the army.

On her TikTok page she appears to briefly participate in a trend associated with nationalist messaging. In a video featuring the Soviet folk song Katyusha, Dasha writes: I hope my position is clear and adds the Russian flag and heart emojis. She later deletes the video.

Russia is home to a thriving community of influencers and content creators, who live a life of luxury compared with the average citizen. Among the most popular is Dina Saeva, 22, who has more than 7.6m followers on Instagram and 24.5m on TikTok, where she posts short dance routines to viral songs and sports an ever-changing fashion aesthetic (including dressing as a goth, an e-girl and a Kylie Jenner-esque Insta baddie). Like many of her peers, she references designer clothes, travel and her latest ad campaigns. Dinas friend Rahim Abramov became the countrys highest-paid TikTok creator in 2020. He made his name with comedy skits on Instagram, often with his grandmother, but now his reel features music, fancy cars, custom clothing and sponsored posts. Blogger Nastya Ivleeva, who also grew her platform by posting relatable, humorous videos, is a bit less flashy, though still incredibly wealthy thanks to 18.7m followers on her main Instagram profile, 8m on her personal one and 4.4m on YouTube. She hosts popular talkshows there, presents on TV, vlogs about her life and does arty campaigns with brands such as Prada.

Until Russia invaded Ukraine, it seemed nothing could get in the way of these young peoples fame. There is a huge audience for their content: 63.7% of Russians aged 16-64 use Instagram, and 46.6% are on TikTok. But as the war spills over into online spaces, the influencer landscape seems to be losing its gloss. For the last month or so, I have been following dozens of these social media accounts to get a deeper insight into the minds of young Russians. I wanted to find out about the influencers feelings on the war, the limits to their freedom of speech and how they are reacting to a deluge of sanctions and social media restrictions. How is the pervasive atmosphere of fear, denial and discontent affecting them and their young fanbase?

Russia first restricted access to Instagram on 14 March. The government decision followed a confusing week in which it appeared that Meta, the social networks parent company, was relaxing its hate-speech policies to allow posts condoning violence in response to the invasion of Ukraine. It then clarified that this applied only to posts made in Ukraine. A week earlier, TikTok had suspended livestreaming and the uploading of new content to its service in Russia while it reviewed the safety implications of the countrys new fake news law. The legislation can result in up to 15 years in jail for those spreading false information about the special military operation, as Russia calls the war; or calling for sanctions. Later in March, Russia banned Instagram and Facebook altogether, citing its extremism laws and describing the platforms as carrying out extremist activities, cutting off 80m users.

When war was officially announced, views among influencers were divided. Instagram food blogger and socialite Veronika Belotserkovskaya became one of the first to be charged for her Instagram posts, which investigators said contained knowingly false information about the use of the Russian armed forces. On her feed, she posted vibrant pictures showing the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, and openly mocked propaganda based on Russias pro-war Z symbol.

Others, including Ivleeva, posted a black square on their feeds with the caption No to war or called for peace. TV presenter Ivan Urgant also posted a black square to his 10m Instagram followers, with the caption: Fear and pain, no to war. That night, his late-night show on the major state-owned Channel 1 was taken off-air and hasnt returned. Urgant flew to Israel with his family, later explaining it was a holiday. Other influencers carried on posting as before, only briefly mentioning the situation. A few, such as Abramov, took a break from posting, only to start again weeks later. Still others openly supported Russia in the war, expressing patriotic sentiments in lengthy captions. Some of the most loyal came from outside the country, with Dubai-based Russian influencers such as Sonia Plotnikova writing: We will deal with all hardships! Russia is the strongest country This whole situation will bring us all together! We have become even bigger patriots.

Although restrictions on western social media platforms have undoubtedly reduced their reach, Russians who know how can still access influencer content by using virtual private network (VPN) services, which create a secure encrypted connection that hides the browsers location. And the platforms are still being used by pro-Kremlin domestic users to spread misinformation and propaganda. TikTok has been named one of the worst, thanks to its vast user base and minimal filtering of content. The proliferation of accounts in which young people speak to the camera, seemingly parroting pro-Kremlin statements, has led some to wonder if they are being paid to do so. With many identical videos, often word for word, almost like bots, they make for dystopian viewing. These younger influencers, it seems, have become a tool in Putins propaganda war, to quash unrest and political discontent.

A Vice News investigation revealed something of the workings of this coordinated campaign. A secret channel on the messaging app Telegram reportedly directs influencers on what to say, how to capture videos, which hashtags to use and even what time of day to post content. In one case, content creators were reportedly instructed to use an audio track featuring Putin calling for all ethnic groups in Russia to unite at this time of conflict. The same phrases crop up regularly, such as: The freeing operation in Ukraine is necessary and Children deserve a peaceful sky above them. A few of these videos have since been deleted.

On TikTok, videos under hashtags such as #RussianLivesMatter have hundreds of millions of views. The folk song Katyusha makes regular appearances, with videos of users juxtaposed with images of Putin, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov or even Jesus, captioned: Who will help the Russians? or holding their Russian passports to the camera, with the caption: I hope my position is clear. Other posts use the mirror TikTok filter: on one side, the user stands under the word Russia; on the other, under Donbas, the coal-rich region on the border of eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian sentiment is high. The background track is Brother for Brother; influencers beat their chests with their fists, lip-syncing: We dont leave our own.

As recently as April, young people could be seen holding signs or showing text on their phones with Russophobia, Donbas, Hate Speech, Cancelling, Luhansk, Sanctions, Info Wars, Nationalism and Russian Lives Matter. The videos, and TikTok dances in which young people use their hands to form a Z sign, are tagged under #RLM.

Yevgeny Kuklychev, a senior fact-check editor at Newsweek magazine, who tracks Russian-language misinformation, has seen similar online behaviour in response to internal protests before, specifically in February 2021 after the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was imprisoned. This coordinated campaign extended to Instagram, Facebook and the Russian social network VKontakte. Last year was the first time we saw that among TikTokers and Telegram channels and influencers, Kuklychev says, adding that details on their operation were leaked by users who declined to take part. They shared the online job offers; either someone reached out to them, or they found an ad that offered people small payments a few dollars per video. Back then the talking points were to denigrate Navalny and his supporters, and the overall message was that people were tired of talking about protests.

Kuklychev says a disordered dispersal of online information has been the predominant strategy used by the state to quell dissent. The idea is to put so much information out there that people are confused into apathy and inaction. Another strategy digital astroturfing refers to generating pro-Kremlin messaging or events that can be amplified online. One example was the Putin rally For a World Without Nazism, held on 18 March. Viral content was made of protesters, Putins speeches and other musical performances. Youre also seeing the Z sign and schoolchildren being led outside to make that shape which means organised flash mobs. Its essentially rallying students or state workers to pseudo organic gatherings, Kuklychev explains.

Though this type of content has outraged those who see it as propaganda, users supportive of the government line will continue to interact with it and share it, no matter how obvious the staging. The aim is to polarise Russia even more and its working.

Masha (not her real name), 25, a teacher from Moscow, says the climate online has made her more conscious of how she behaves: I archived all my photos on Instagram so no one can place me anywhere. Ive tried to make my accounts as impersonal as possible. She says shes lucky to be surrounded by family and friends who are against the war, but being exposed to so much pro-war propaganda has made her realise she is living in a bubble. Looking at some of the TikTok videos, I was honestly taken aback: Ive never come across posts like this in my feeds.

She has been particularly frustrated by influencers escaping Russia and showing their patriotism from abroad. Suddenly it turns out everyone knows someone who has a visa or the necessary documentation to just leave at any moment. It feels incredibly disheartening maybe I wont get the chance to travel any more, and its rubbing salt in the wound seeing other people do it.

Katya (not her real name), 22 and from St Petersburg, senses the information war is stoking paranoia and anger among the wider population, and tearing people apart. I have a friend who was never into politics, but recently I opened her Instagram page and saw a post where she says that, now, Russians should be more unified than ever, she says. Shocked by hashtags at the end of the post saying We are for peace and We dont abandon our own, Katya sent it to a mutual friend: He was, like, this is 100% sponsored, because there are other posts like this one. While not surprised that influencers and celebrities are engaging in pro-Putin propaganda, Katya didnt expect to see people she knows doing the same: One woman published a post where her husband shaved the letter Z on the back of his head. And she put a very patriotic caption underneath.

During the final hours before the Instagram ban, Russian influencers reactions flooded my timeline. The loud and charismatic video blogger Karina Lazaryantz laughed about the platforms closure, posting a last-minute comedy sketch. She pointed out that her university degree might finally come in useful, if she has to get a new job. Fashion blogger Karina Nigay livestreamed her tears while declaring: Instagram is my life. Singer and TV presenter Olga Buzova recorded a video in which she, too, cried about losing her audience. Most posted links to their Telegram channels and VKontakte profiles in a bid to transfer their fans. That said, business as usual has become a far harder image to sell as international companies cut ties with Russia, brand deals with Prada, Hugo Boss and even Dominos Pizza disappear, and the reality of sanctions sinks in.

In the early days of the war, some influencers such as Gusein Gasanov, the YouTube star best known for his comedy and random acts of charity videos in which he rewards ordinary people for good deeds were posting guidance on how to use VPNs or what services were best on Telegram, in a desperate attempt to keep things as they were. Though clearly gutted to lose their platforms, not a single content creator I came across blamed the government for cutting access to Instagram; perhaps they were too scared to speak out.

Its depressing. I started my Instagram account 11 years ago and its 50% of my income, says Karina Istomina, a popular DJ and influencer based in Moscow, with more than 400,000 followers. She has been on the cover of Marie Claire Russia, appeared in advertorials for Swarovski crystals and Calvin Klein, and hosts a web series on mental health. Her page is also filled with photos of herself and long captions of self-help advice. Recently these have focused on the concept of radical acceptance, but she has also written about burnout and sobriety. Of course, there are people dying right now and other problems are far more outrageous, but it feels like I have lost my job. I hope we will find a way to monetise our content again after some time, she says.

Nearly a month into the ban, how are Russian influencers coping with the new social media rules? Some people are in psychotic hysteria and screaming that everything is falling apart; some are just trying to adapt to a new world. My daily routine is the same as it was, Istomina says. Friends abroad keep texting to ask if there is any food in the shops. Yes! We have food, sugar, other supplies! But everything has risen in price.

Telegram is by far the most popular app for Russian influencers looking for a new home. It can be used as a messenger app and to create channels where people can post videos, photos, voice notes and polls. Overall, the platform is a lot less visual, making it harder to sell a lifestyle or an aesthetic than on Instagram. Dina Saevas 170,000 Telegram followers pale in comparison with the millions of followers on her other accounts. Even Buzova, one of Russias biggest media personalities, hasnt been able to hit 1m on her Telegram channel, despite posting constantly, and temporarily deleting her Instagram account with more than 23m followers.

Yet Russian influencers are doing all they can to monetise themselves, pushing song promos, ads for homegrown fashion brands, promoting non-fungible tokens and other peoples channels; some are even posting get rich quick schemes on new, less regulated platforms. Saeva is hosting cash competitions on Telegram to grow her audience, while others, such as Lazaryantz, have turned to posting about western pop-culture news, memes and personal videos. No one who wants a future as a mainstream influencer in Russia is explicitly talking about the war, unless its to discuss which international brands are leaving or which countries are banning Russian nationals.

Given their relative mobility, its perhaps no surprise that some influencers have decided to skip the headache of internal social media restrictions and leave Russia altogether. Even Buzova, who since the war has repeatedly played her 2017 song My People Are Always With Me over her Instagram stories, went for a long holiday with her mother in Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. She posted videos of herself at the beach, enjoying camel rides and eating at expensive restaurants to entertain her followers during a difficult time. She is back now and has resumed normal output.

Initial rumours of martial law, closed borders and military conscription sent hundreds of thousands of people with anti-war views off to catch any available flights out of the country. The Kremlin denounced those who left as traitors. Among them were content creators whose material wouldnt work in a changing Russia, including Grigoriy Mastrider, who has a talkshow discussing literature, philosophy and art on his YouTube channel, which has 200,000 subscribers. Naturally, these themes veer into politics, and he has been unable to hide his criticism of Putin and the government.

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This is not a special operation but a real war, in which many people are dying for no reason, he says in one of his videos. This war was started by a person we didnt elect, but its a situation we will all have to deal with as a consequence. From a hotel room in Turkey, Mastrider told his audience some creators are pivoting to target an international base by switching to English or having an English-language mirror account. Yes, I do have plans to work on English-speaking content, but my main focus will still be on my Russian audience, I wont abandon my country, he reassured viewers.

Where could the Russian government go next in tightening its grip on social media? Kuklychev thinks there may be more restrictions to come. Weve seen the clampdown has been gradual and the tightening of the screws incremental, which has eventually led to a complete lack of freedom. Its a boiling frog effect. The government has so far given the extremist label only to western social media platforms, not to individuals who use them. But who is to say this wont change?

That would be the worst-case scenario for social media users such as Masha, who hopes loopholes to access social media channels and news outlets via VPN wont get taken away within Russia, especially as international platforms provide an alternative stream of information about the war in Ukraine and play a major role in keeping alive any form of Russian anti-war movement. Like many young Russians, Masha feels shut off from the rest of the world but is afraid of what a more robust digital curtain could bring. Despite their usefulness for pro-Kremlin propaganda, the internal shutdowns of western social media platforms will undoubtedly affect how mainstream Russian society understands the countrys actions in Ukraine.

I ask Istomina why she didnt leave Moscow. I dont have any documents, any international bank accounts, any relatives, she says. Nobody is waiting for me anywhere, and I dont have enough money. Plus, for her, leaving would be an act of Russophobia; she doesnt want to leave the government, her family, friends or city behind. I love Moscow. Thats why I stay, because I have support here. Im not alone. But she is worried. Im against people dying and dont support bloodshed. I really want everything to be over as soon as possible.

One thing has been clear for the past month: whatever social media restrictions are introduced, Russian influencers will find a way to work around them. Says Istomina: This is a test of strength for all of us.

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Pro-war memes, Z symbols and blue and yellow flags: Russian influencers at war - The Guardian