We the millennials, bro!”
Kanye West is 10 minutes and 43 seconds into his mesmerizingly elliptical sermon at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, and he’s showing no signs of relenting. MTV producers had allotted just two minutes for his Vanguard Award acceptance speech. West burned through that time onstage with muted mugging alone, bathing in “Yeezy! Yeezy!” chants from the downtown Los Angeles crowd before kicking off his homily by yelling, “Bro! Broooooooooo! Listen to the kids!” Pontificating on, well, everything—art, brands, culture, ego, Justin Timberlake, the future—West might as well be giving a TED talk on the seemingly inexplicable nature of what attracts the millennial and postmillennial audience that he’s speaking to, for, and about. Finally, he wraps up, announces his candidacy for the presidency in 2020, and drops the mic.
Inside the celebrity-packed theater, I watch as attendees lose circulation in their arms from holding their smartphones aloft, the Snapchat app’s camera open, to film the spectacle from every angle. It’s exactly the kind of epic scene Snapchat is so adept at capturing. Thanks to a partnership with MTV’s parent, Viacom, the company has a team of six here. They’re racing around to shoot and curate a Live Story of the VMAs, a feature that stitches together images and videos generated by both users and Snapchat itself.
This story is from the November 2015 edition of Fast Company.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2015 edition of Fast Company.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Reimagining the ways we work and meet
As business leaders rethink their real estate footprint, they're embracing smaller, high-quality, amenity-rich spaces that are more focused on human connection.” In other words, Convene.
10 Trend
From the Most Innovative Companies | Plus 606 Honorees From Advertising to Video
The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies
"The 1920s, water went into a generator, and DC Power came out. Now electrons go into a generator, and intelligence comes out."
Orange Crush
Y Combinator was designed to be a supercondensed version of Silicon Valley. Now that it's at full potency, can it maintain its outsider pose while being the ultimate insiders' network?
Hollywood
AI is going to transform Hollywood But it won't be the horror story everyone's afraid of.
Chick-Fil-A's New Testament
Boycotted for years by liberals - and now by conservatives, too - a christian-driven brand is trying to walk the narrow path toward growth. What happens next could be enlightening for businesses everywhere.
The Office You Want
Business leaders want workers back. Workers are loath to resume their commutes. We asked five leading design firms to create plans that might make leaving home seem worthwhile.
Fan With a Plan
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin parlayed a ski shop in suburban Philly into a $31 billion sports apparel juggernaut. Now, he's adding trading cards, gambling, live events, and more.
The Helpful Hardware Man
Marques Brownlee has rewired the way people shop for gadgets-and how companies sell them. Inside the humble factory with the power to shape the $1 trillion consumer electronics industry.
PIZZA, ROBOTS, and MONEY
THE ZESTY TALE OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST FLOPS IN SILICON VALLEY HISTORY
