Мы vs алгоритм
Медиа о микротрендах
Media Objective
Every week, a new aesthetic, object, makeup trend, meme, song, or lifestyle emerges in the feed. The user sees the finished result but does not understand the mechanism of its creation and dissemination.
Media Goal
To help individuals navigate the rapidly changing internet culture and understand the origin, meaning, and life cycle of micro-trends—not merely to consume them, but also to help track and participate in them if they are immersed in the industry.Media Objective
Firstly, to create content that helps users perceive what appears daily in our feed more deeply; secondly, to notice new cultural signals before they become obvious; and thirdly, to understand the origin and reasons behind the popularity of micro-trends.Themes
Segment
Culture and LifestyleTopic
Microtrends, aesthetics, and rapidly spreading phenomena of internet culture.The subject matter can be anything that begins to repeat noticeably in the digital environment:
— clothing; — makeup; — interior design; — music; — food; — objects; — ways of photographing and filming; — words and expressions; — habits; — behavioral patterns; — visual imagery.
Competitors and Their Analysis
Direct Competitors
The Blueprint
regularly engages with fashion trends, internet aesthetics, and cultural phenomena. For example, the publication has featured separate articles on various «-core» aesthetics and quizzes to test readers' knowledge of them. It has also analyzed trends emerging from TikTok—such as disengagement from excessive consumption, novel aesthetic models, and shifts in user behavior. Thematically, it covers fashion, beauty, culture, and lifestyle. Its strength lies in the high quality of its editorial content and visual presentation. Its weakness is that trends and internet aesthetics are only one of many topics the publication covers; it is not structured around the continuous observation of microtrend life cycles.«Afisha Daily»
reacts very quickly to emerging internet phenomena and regularly publishes content about aesthetics and microtrends.The publication covered the «rare aesthetic» spreading on TikTok, the rejection of the clean girl aesthetic, and new micro-cores.
«Afisha Daily» maintains a dedicated stream of trend coverage that includes fashion, accessories, beauty, technology, and various cultural phenomena.
The themes are modern culture, entertainment, fashion, beauty, urban life, and the internet. Its strength is speed—the editorial team quickly captures new developments. Its weakness is that it often merely notifies readers about new trends without deep analysis, and its topic scope is limited.
SETTERS Media
focuses on trends, digital culture, social media, technology, and shifts in user behavior.The publication features a dedicated «Trends» section that examines, for instance, new content formats and internet behavior. In 2026, SETTERS also published a separate forecast predicting which phenomena could shape pop culture.Topics covered include digital culture, marketing, technology, media, and behavior. Its strength lies in SETTERS’ ability to connect isolated phenomena with broader changes occurring online and in societal behavior. A weakness is that internet aesthetics and microtrends compete with other themes such as marketing, technology, business, and advertising.Indirect Competitors
TikTok
Allows you to see emerging trends first. However, the information is fragmented, and by the time the user grasps the essence of the trend, it has already passed.YouTube
It allows you to find an in-depth analysis of almost any cultural phenomenon by an independent creator. However, understanding it requires a significant time investment.Potential Competitors
Trend Hunter
Closest methodology for tracking emerging trends.Pinterest Predicts
A strong competitor due to its proprietary data and visual analytics.TikTok Next
Has access to data from the platform where a significant portion of internet culture is formed.Conclusion
Analysis showed that certain aspects of user needs are already well-addressed by existing platforms. Social media rapidly highlights new phenomena, and major editorial media sometimes provide cultural context. However, the user still has to compile the complete picture from multiple sources independently. Against this backdrop, «WE vs. THE ALGORITHM» finds a clear niche: not simply reporting a new trend or producing a lengthy analytical piece, but quickly gathering context around a phenomenon and explaining why it emerged, how it spread, and what happens next. This allows us to merge the immediacy of social media with the depth of editorial media, covering as many spheres as possible.
Insight 1.
The user is already aware of the trend The value of the project is not in being the first to announce that something or an aesthetic has become popular. The user has most likely already encountered it in their feed. It is far more important to explain why it is resurfacing right now and what is driving its proliferation.Insight 2.
Visuals can be part of the proof For media covering microtrends, images are not just for styling. Recurring photographs, objects, colors, and visual techniques themselves demonstrate how a trend is forming. Therefore, the visual presentation can function as part of the research, rather than merely accompanying the text.Insight 3.
The tone must be closer to the reader than a typical magazine’s An overly expert vocabulary creates distance, while an excessively meme-like delivery quickly becomes dated. Therefore, a calm, observational, and slightly ironic tone will suit the project best—a tone where the author explores what is happening alongside the reader without sacrificing editorial accuracy.Distribution Channel
Main Channel — Telegram
The choice of channel is tied to how the material is consumed. Microtrends emerge and change rapidly, so the medium must be able to respond quickly to new phenomena. Telegram allows you to: — quickly publish material after a new signal emerges; — combine images and text; — present both brief observations and detailed analyses; — save publications; — forward them to other users; — return to previous materials.Target Audience (Job To Be Done)
- Content Creator When I regularly create content and want to stay current, I want to quickly notice new visual and cultural trends, understand why they are gaining popularity, and use them in my publications at the right time—without blindly copying them.
- Designer / Marketer / Creative Professional When I work with visual identity, brands, or communication, I want to understand which cultural codes and aesthetics are currently gaining momentum, so I can consciously apply relevant solutions and distinguish a sustainable trend from short-term noise.
- Active Social Media User When I start constantly seeing the same thing, aesthetic, or behavioral pattern in my feed, I want to quickly understand where it originated and why it has become popular, so I don’t feel lost in the ever-changing internet culture.
- Curious Observer of Culture When I notice a new mass phenomenon, I want to understand what it says about the people and the time we live in—to see internet trends not just as fashion, but as broader shifts in behavior and culture.
Unique Selling Proposition
Media that doesn’t just showcase new internet trends, but explains their origins, reasons for spread, and development.
The project connects what is usually separated across different platforms: the speed of social media, the depth of editorial content, visual observation, and systemic analysis.
Key features: — A unified analytical framework The reader doesn’t just receive a news item; they understand the mechanism. — Strong visual design Images don’t just embellish the content; they help reveal how the same image spreads among people, communities, and platforms. — Trends are not limited to fashion The media examines internet culture holistically: objects, aesthetics, language, food, music, interior design, memes, and behavior.
