Digital Humans and the Story Behind Lil Miquela
You’ve probably heard of ‘Lil Miquela. The 19 year-old Brazilian-American influencer has millions of followers and has partnered with the likes of Samsung and Prada. But despite capturing the hearts of many, she’s not real. But you probably haven’t heard her origin story. In this episode we take a trip back to 2016, to a world that looked much different to today, together with two of Miquela’s creators – Trevor McFedries and Isaac Bratzel – cofounder and Chief Design and Innovation Officer of Brud at the time. We learn what inspired the experiment and what early signs indicated that Miquela was not just a novel idea. In a world where spinning up an influencer, we learn what it took to capture mindshare, the pushback they’ve received, what a “scalable influencer” means, and what they think is to come. Resources: ‘Lil Miquela on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/ ‘Lil Miquela on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWeHb_SrtJbrT8VD-_QQpRA Find Trevor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatdotcd?lang=en Find Isaac on Twitter: https://twitter.com/izykbenjamin Find Brud on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brud.fyi Isaac’s new avatar company: https://www.avataros.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 02:18 - The key insight 04:05 - A new breed of influencers 06:25 - Miquela’s aesthetic 09:30 - Early signs of success 13:01 - Narrative and fan engagement 16:45 - The technology 18:14 - Expanding past Miquela 22:34 - Traction and generative AI 26:45 - A new reality 31:55 - Early pushback 33:38 - Misunderstanding reality 36:23 - Fear of new technologies 37:47 - New technological unlocks 41:13 - Scalable influencers Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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