Yeah, this is really what kind of content we’re watching now. Social media’s gone so meta, the best way to get engagement is to make content about… making content. Analysing viral videos. Commentary videos about commentary videos. And sure, exposing the innerworkings of content creation obviously does get views. But when we get to the point where we’re making a reaction video to the reaction video to the reaction video… what are we even doing anymore?

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

At this workshop, join Stanley Henry and the the Attention Seeker team for a 2-hour session to plan out your content strategy for the whole year.

You’ll learn:

✅ What’s actually working on social right now
✅ How to build a viral content strategy for your brand
✅ The exact approach we use to get millions of views for our clients (and build our own audience of 3.3 million)

PLUS we will have plenty of time for Q&A with you.

Wednesday, 28 Jan | 8:30-10:30am NZT | $49

Stop wasting time making content that doesn’t perform. This is your chance to walk into 2026 with a content plan you know will work 👇

Two Silicon Valley vets, the literal founders of (OG) Twitter and Pinterest, have launched a new social app. And this one's designed explicitly as an antidote to today’s social media ecosystem, which they see as “terrible” and harmful to users and communities.

The new platform aims to break from the usual feed-algorithm chaos. How? By fostering more intentional interaction and less friction. It's positioning itself as a thoughtful alternative to big tech’s attention-engine models. Details about the app are still emerging. But this move reflects a broader fatigue with the current social landscape and a desire to reimagine what social platforms could be. That is, when they aren’t chasing engagement at all costs.

January 1, 2026 marked a huge Public Domain Day, and a wave of cultural icons hit free-use territory. Classic figures like the original Betty Boop, Blondie, and literary detectives Nancy Drew, Miss Marple and Sam Spade officially entered the U.S. public domain. This means creators (read: marketers!!) can now legally reuse and reinterpret these works without licensing fees.

Films from 1930 such as Animal Crackers and The Blue Angel, beloved jazz standards like “Georgia on My Mind,” and early sound recordings have also become fair game. Trademarks and later adaptations remain protected. But this release unlocks a treasure trove of heritage content for remixing, reboots and creative homage for all of us.

Google just announced AI Inbox for Gmail, which replaces your traditional email list with an AI-generated summary of to-dos and topics it thinks you need to catch up on. So instead of seeing emails in the order in which you receive them, soon you may see personalised action items and summaries (for example, "Reply to Mum" or "Pay this water bill").

Right now, AI Inbox is only available to "trusted testers" in the US. But when (not if) this rolls out widely, it will be a big deal for your email marketing. The AI prioritises emails based on what users interact with most. So getting people on your list to engage with your emails is more important than ever. Because if they don't, soon the email algo may not surface them.

-Sophie Randell, Writer & Charlotte Ellis, Editor

I just watched a video of someone reacting to a video essay about someone else's analysis of a viral moment that was, itself, staged content. The creator pointed out they were pointing out the conventions of pointing things out.

I laughed. I pondered.

And then I had a small existential crisis about what exactly I'd just consumed.

This is when I realised that video was not an anomaly. I've been watching content like this for months now. I was just unable to recognise the trend that was emerging: we've accidentally created the Real Metaverse… not through VR headsets, but through an infinite loop of content referencing itself, until nobody remembers what the original point was.

And somehow, this is the content we can't get enough of.

We've got:

Content about making content.

Your setup tour is now more valuable than the thing you're setting up to film. "Day in the life of a content creator" has become its own genre. Because apparently watching someone plan what to film is more interesting than what they actually film.

Content about other people's content.

Commentary channels dissecting drama. Reaction videos to reaction videos. Video essays analysing why other video essays work. We've created an entire economy around explaining content to people who just watched the content being explained.

Content about content conventions.

Creators ironically calling out "and this is where I'd normally beg you to like and subscribe" while literally doing it. The knowing wink to the audience that we're all in on the joke, except the joke is that we're still playing along.

Content about the content ecosystem itself.

Videos titled "I cracked the algorithm" getting pushed by the algorithm they claim to have cracked. Meta commentary about engagement farming that is, itself, engagement farming. It's turtles all the way down, baby.

And once there's too much content, organising and contextualising that content becomes valuable in its own right.

According to recent trends, one could assume that viewers now spend more time watching analysis of viral moments than the viral moments themselves. Goodbye consumption, hello, consuming of the consumption.

And this is where it gets properly existential: showing the machinery has become the ultimate form of authenticity. In a world drowning in polished, AI-assisted, algorithmically optimised slop, pulling back the curtain actually feels real. Never mind that pulling back the curtain is now its own performance with its own curtain. We're sophisticated enough to know we're being sold to, so creators sell us the selling itself.

Meta and YouTube recently cracked down on "unoriginal content.” But they're careful to distinguish it from commentary, reaction videos, and analysis. Because that meta layer? Well, that's the good stuff right there. That's what keeps people scrolling.

A beauty guru explaining their lighting setup gets more engagement than the makeup tutorial. A creator breaking down why their video went viral spawns more copycats than the original video ever did.

So where does this go? Are we sustainable, or are we about to implode under the weight of our own self-reference?

To analyse rather than enjoy. To deconstruct rather than create. When behind-the-scenes has behind-the-scenes, and commentary has commentary on the commentary, you start to wonder, what's actually left?

The optimist in me (look, I know she's small, but she's there) thinks maybe this is just evolution.

Maybe we're collectively developing a new literacy where understanding how content works is as valuable as the content itself. Maybe meta-awareness isn't creative exhaustion; it's the next creative frontier.

The pessimist in me (yes, the wolf I feed) thinks we're just running out of ideas and dressing up our recycling in increasingly elaborate intellectual frameworks. "I'm not making another reaction video, I'm deconstructing the reaction video format itself." Sure, Jake.

When you're three layers deep in irony, pointing out you're pointing out you're pointing out the thing, are you even really saying anything anymore? Or are we all just trapped in an infinite content feedback loop, desperately trying to add our own spin to the spin of the spin?

So maybe this next phase for creators is making content about making things. It’s no longer entertainment; they're entertaining us about being entertained. And we're eating it up. Because somehow, watching someone film themselves preparing to film themselves feels more honest than whatever they were going to film in the first place, I guess?

But hey, at least the engagement metrics are through the roof.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go film a video about writing this article about the phenomenon of making content about content. The algorithm demands it.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Ever feel like you're trapped in your own personal time loop? This trend is for anyone who's found themselves in the middle of that same exact thing they've sworn to never do again. You know the feeling, like when you promise yourself you'll stop doomscrolling at 2am but then all of a sudden, you're six months deep in your third cousin's feed. Or when you're restarting your sober streak (for the tenth time this year). 

"Here we are again" started as a viral catchphrase from influencer Druski, who uses it to ironically call out life's most repetitive, awkward moments. Tiktok creator SmileyGirl then turned the audio into a soundbite that captures that universal feeling of deja vu mixed with mild despair - perfect for when you're stuck in the same situation again. 

Some of my fave examples:

Take this audio and flip the camera around, record yourself looking frustrated and bored. Include OST describing a repetitive scenario that you could see coming from a mile away. For a more dramatic effect, throw your hands up in the air, start panic-pacing. In other words, max out your body language.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Raewyn Zhao, Intern

😲WTF Hobbit door
✨Daily inspo Change your thinking
🎧Soooo tingly Brick laying
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight Pumpkin lasagne

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.