Artisan has put together another edition of our Fast Five, the most interesting, smart, and/or funny things we've seen online in recent times - today's edition features a guide to existing at work on too little sleep, a Frank Lloyd Wright house for sale, AI adopting racial bias, the best Game of Thrones recaps on the web, and more!
HERE’S HOW EASY IT IS TO BECOME A PHONY INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER
Sometimes on Instagram, you stumble across a feed full of images of someone’s unreasonable perfect life, and you find yourself wondering, ugh how are they so attractive, and rich, and able to holiday in exotic places constantly, and have excellent photography equipment that so marvellously captures the stunning environment around them! It's not fair!
So here's a comforting thought - maybe they're not actually real?
A marketing agency decided to see how far they could go by creating fake Instagram influencer accounts using just stock photography and some bought followers, and once they hit the 10K follower mark, they managed to secure themselves several brand deals as they were considered Instagram influencers. AND THEY WEREN’T EVEN REAL PEOPLE!
A rollicking read and a reminder for us all not to believe everything we see on social media.
BEYOND COFFEE: HOW TO COPE WITH A DAY AT WORK WHEN YOU’VE HAD TOO LITTLE SLEEP
Extremely relevant to our interests! We’ve all done it - had a late night or trouble sleeping, and by the time the alarm goes off to tell you it’s time to begin another work day, you feel as though you’ve only had 20 minutes of kip and you almost want to cry. Unfortunately there’s no way to put the world on ‘snooze’, so how can you handle a full day at work when you’ve had too little sleep? Finally, some answers - and they don’t all involve coffee. Suggestions include staying hydrated, getting some fresh air, and - you’ll love this - having a workplace power nap.If only a darkened meditation room full of hammocks was OH+S regulation in all Australian offices, eh?
BUY YOURSELF A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT HOUSE ON AN ISLAND
“A piece of prime architectural history is up for sale, and a private island comes with it. Situated on the 11 acre, heart-shaped Petra Island in New York's Putnam County, luxury real estate concierge Chilton & Chadwick have put the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed property on the market with a $14.92 million price tag."
Corr blimey. The best bit is when the property is described as just a “short flight” from Manhattan. Let’s face it, if you’re rich enough to afford a $15m price tag, I suppose being able to splurge out on a helicopter isn’t an unreasonable expectation. It’s definitely worth taking a look at images online even though it’ll make us all weep quiet tears over being too poor to actually buy the place and live out our 70s architectural fantasies.
RISE OF THE RACIST ROBOTS - HOW AI IS LEARNING ALL OUR WORST IMPULSES
A super fascinating piece looking into how computers and AI can apply very human biases, even when humans are turning to these machines specifically to avoid that happening. The article starts by referencing a report from last year that found “a computer program used by a US court for risk assessment was biased against black prisoners”, wrongly flagging black defendants as more likely to reoffend at almost twice the rate as white people. The reason?
“When the data we feed the machines reflects the history of our own unequal society, we are, in effect, asking the program to learn our own biases.”
Thought provoking stuff, and highly recommended reading if you’re interested in technology and how it is applied.
THE BEST GAME OF THRONES RECAPS IN TOWN
We’re not all business around here, and sometimes you just have to allow yourself a TV addiction to help clear your mind after a long day of work. So this part of our Fast Five goes out to all the fans out there of Game Of Thrones!
If you’re looking for a quick fix recap after each episode, allow us to point you to our current favourite online habit - heading to Junkee the day after a GOT episode airs, and reading through their Power Rankings (basically a list wrapping up which characters did well out of the episode, down to which characters were likely gutted and fed to dogs that particular day). They’re all great, and pop culture-y, and meme-y, and full of general cheeky goodness, and they’re an excellent way to wrap up your weekly installment of Days Of Our Westeros.
Warning though: once you’re addicted (and addiction happens quickly), you’ll find yourself madly and impatiently refreshing the Power Rankings page on the Junkee website every Tuesday afternoon.
Also of note: the more in-depth but just as excellent longer recaps on Junkee. Get on it!
So there you have it, our latest Fast Five! If you've now developed a taste for more interesting links and fascinating stories, why not connect with Artisan Recruitment on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where we share great stuff on a daily basis?
And don't forget, whether you're actively looking for work or just curious as to what's out there, let Artisan do the hard yards in finding your perfect job - just click here and sign up as a candidate with us, and we'll be in touch.