Most of us have been exposed to Right-wing YouTube by this point, be it by more neoconservatives like Dennis Prager to people more to the Right like Mark Dice and some of us have even fell into what is called the ''Alt-right pipeline'', a phenomenum that affects mostly young YouTube users and could play a role in the rise of radical right politics.
Does the Right even dominate YouTube?
That's a more complicated question, however, it's undeniable that there are more Right-wing channels than Liberal and Left-wing ones (See below for sources). However, even if the Right didn't dominate YouTube, it wouldn't matter because the ''Alt-right pipeline'' would still be there and the radicalization effect would continue. You could argue that because of late night shows and more mainstream YouTubers the Left and/or Liberals dominate in views while the Right has its force in numbers.
Which types of rightists are there on YouTube?
According to one study by a Brazilian university there are about three prominent YouTube right-wing communities and according to them:
According to Nagle, these communities flourished in the wave of “anti-PC” culture of the 2010s, where social-political movements (e.g. thetransgender rights movement, the anti-sexual assault movement) were portrayed as hysterical, and their claims, as absurd [30]
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Auditing radicalization pathways on YouTube, UFMG, 2019
Also according to this study one could divide these communities into:
[...] the Intellectual Dark Web, the Alt-lite and the Alt-right. We argue that all of them are contrarians, in the sense that they often oppose mainstream views or attitudes .
According to the Anti-Defamation League:
The alt right is an extremely loose movement, made up of different strands of people connected to white supremacy. One body of adherents is the ostensibly “intellectual” racists who create many of the doctrines and principles of the white supremacist movement. They seek to attract young educated whites to the movement by highlighting the achievements and alleged intellectual and cultural superiority of whites. They run a number of small white supremacist enterprises, including organizations, online publications and publishing houses. These include National Policy Institute, run by Richard Spencer; Counter Currents Publishing, run by Greg Johnson; American Renaissance, run by Jared Taylor; and The Right Stuff, a website that features numerous podcasts with a number of contributors.
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Alt Right: A Primer on the New White Supremacy, ADL
So we have the YouTube alt-right, a group of white supremacists, white nationalists and in the even more radical subset of them, Neo-Nazis. (The Right Stuff is an explicit Neo-Nazi website)
But what is the Alt-lite? Well, according to the same study:
The term Alt-lite was created to differentiate right-wing activists who deny embracing white supremacist ideology. Atkison argues that the Unite the Rally in Charlottesville was deeply related to this change, as participants of the rally revealed the movement’s white supremacist leanings and affiliations [8]. Alt-right writer and white supremacist Greg Johnson [3] describes the difference between Alt-right and Alt-lite by the origin of its nationalism:"The Alt-lite is defined by civic nationalism as opposed to racial nationalism, which is a defining characteristic of the Alt-right". [...] Yet it is important to point out that the line between the Alt-right and the Alt-lite is blurry [3], as many Alt-liters are accused of dog-whistling: attenuating their real beliefs to appeal to a more general public and to prevent getting banned [22,25].
So the Alt-lite is a supposedly more ''moderate'' form of the Alt-Right.
And finally we get to the Intellectual Dark Web (Best known ad the IDW), which is according to the study:
The “Intellectual Dark Web” (I.D.W.) is a term coined by Eric Weinstein to refer to a group of academics and podcast hosts [42]. The neologism was popularized in a New York Times opinion article [42], where it is used to describe “iconoclastic thinkers, academic renegades and media personalities who are having a rolling conversation about all sorts of subjects, [. . . ] touching on controversial issues such as abortion, biological differences between men and women, identity politics, religion, immigration, etc.
It continues:
The group described in the NYT piece includes, among others, Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin, and Joe Rogan, and also mentions a website with an unofficial list of mem-bers [7]. Members of the so-called I.D.W. have been accused of espousing politically incorrect ideas [9,15,26]. Moreover, a recent report by the Data & Society Research Institute has claimed these channels are “pathways to radicalization” [24], acting as entry points to more radical channels, such as those in Alt-right. Broadly, members of this loosely defined movement see these criticisms as a consequence of discussing controversial subjects [42], and some have explicitly dismissed the report [40]. Similarly to what happens between Alt-right and Alt-lite, there are also blurry lines between the I.D.W. and the Alt-lite, especially for non-core members, suchas those listed on the aforementioned website [7]. To break ties, we label borderline cases as Alt-lite.
So we have the IDW, which is more politically incorrect but are not as extreme as the Alt-lite (Although lines between those become blurrier the farther right you are on the IDW).
To finish this section, I will give a brief summary of each group:
- The Alt-Right is the most extreme Right-wing community, with some of them even being Neo-Nazis
- The Alt-lite is a more ''moderate'' group, although they are often accused of dog whistling to the Alt-Right
- The IDW is an even more ''moderate'' group with many that blur the lines between the IDW and the Alt-lite
The QAnon rabbit hole
47% of Americans have heard about the QAnon conspiracy theory and according to a September 2020 poll, 56% of Republicans believe that it is mostly or partly true, which is a terrifying thing. 25% of Americans heard of the conspiracy through social media sites, which includes YouTube, so it can be assumed that YouTube did play a role on spreading the QAnon conspiracy theory.
This all said, social media makes the QAnon conspiracy even worse, as it is able to spread even more than it would in a world without it.
Why does the Right dominate YouTube?
Rhetoric and algorithm, there is significant proof that the YouTube algorithm has played a role on radicalizing people. (One possible reason is because of the high number of Right-wing channels. The other reason is rhetoric: Conservatives and people on the Right in general, have a better rhetoric. This isn't only conjecture, this is confirmed on studies:
[...] speakers from culturally liberal parties use more complex language than speakers from culturally conservative parties. Economic left-right differences, on the other hand, are not systematically linked to linguistic complexity.
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Liberals lecture, onservatives communicate: Analyzying complexity and ideology in 381,609 political speeches, University of Amsterdam, 2019
So in a nutshell, Right-wing YouTube channels are more present because of simple rhetoric. (This isn't saying that Right-wingers are dumb, only that their rhetoric is more simple and persuasive)
You could also say, more broadly, that populist rhetoric is persuasive because it appeals to emotionality in a stronger way than most other rhetorics do.
How to deradicalize people that fell on the Far-Right rabbit hole
It's not that easy, I myself went through the Alt-Right pipeline and only left it through Breadtube who deradicalized me but then radicalized me to the far-Left and this sub deradicalized me to the centre. So yeah, it's not an easy thing, but exposure to other media can help. Emotional support can also help, as many people fall into this pipeline by loneliness and other emotional distresses.
What should be done about this?
Ban the Alt-Right, deplatforming does work and there's evidence to support it (Sources below).
Many of those people will criticize this solution as being ''anti-free speech'', but always remember (As Natalie Wynn once said) ''Fascists have a right to free speech, but they don't have a right to a megaphone''.
Conclusion
There is a big Right-wing presence in YouTube and a far-Right one, which is a cause for concern.
TLDR
The Right practically dominates YouTube, is spread throrough many different groups including Alt-Right ones, has a significant QAnon presence that was reduced in the October purges (Thankfully), dominates because of more simple and populist rhetoric, it is not easy to deradicalize people who fall prey to this rhetoric and the only sane solution is deplatforming those who are on the far-Right.
Sources
https://firstmonday.org/article/view/10108/7920 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2011.12843.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/03/magazine/for-the-new-far-right-youtube-has-become-the-new-talk-radio.html https://www.vice.com/en/article/3dy7vb/why-the-right-is-dominating-youtube https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=847118 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342113147_The_YouTube_Algorithm_and_the_Alt-Right_Filter_Bubble
Does the Right even dominates YouTube?: https://intpolicydigest.org/2019/01/12/the-right-wing-vs-the-left-wing-on-youtube/ https://arxiv.org/pdf/1912.11211.pdf https://gijn.org/2019/10/28/how-they-did-it-exposing-right-wing-radicalization-on-youtube/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/canada-online/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3351095.3372879?download=true https://www.tubefilter.com/2019/08/26/youtube-radicalization-pipeline-alt-right-content-cornell-university/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/29/276000/a-study-of-youtube-comments-shows-how-its-turning-people-onto-the-alt-right/ https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/10419/9404 (Study criticized)
https://www.tubefilter.com/2019/12/30/youtube-radicalization-study-extremist-content-wormhole-rabbit-hole/ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/30/critics-slam-youtube-study-showing-no-ties-to-radicalization.html
Which types of rightists are there on YouTube?: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1908.08313.pdf https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/alt-right-a-primer-on-the-new-white-supremacy https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/The_Right_Stuff (I know, RationalWiki, they are a good source on the far-right though)
The QAnon rabbit hole: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/16/5-facts-about-the-qanon-conspiracy-theories/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybee2020/09/02/majority-of-republicans-believe-the-qanon-conspiracy-theory-is-partly-or-mostly-true-survey-finds/?sh=691866df5231 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/30/qanons-conspiracy-theories-have-seeped-into-u-s-politics-but-most-dont-know-what-it-is/ Why does the Right dominate YouTube?: https://theconversation.com/youtubes-algorithms-might-radicalise-people-but-the-real-problem-is-weve-no-idea-how-they-work-129955 https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.11211 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/spsr.12261
What should be done about this?: http://comp.social.gatech.edu/papers/cscw18-chand-hate.pdf submitted by NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1.
https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%)
NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar.
https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866 NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below
https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis !!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should.
In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase.
Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below:
https://www.playboy.com/ https://www.playboytv.com/ https://www.playboyplus.com/ https://www.iplayboy.com/ Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success.
“Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.”
https://www.scientificgames.com/ https://www.microgaming.co.uk/ “This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.”
https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/ As per their SEC filing:
“Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1 They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon.
https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea “Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.”
“According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently:
https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress.
Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait.
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/ Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video:
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said.
https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05 Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing:
“For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.”
“In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.”
They are profitable across all three of their current business segments.
“Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.”
https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world.
"Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.”
Also in the SEC filing, the
Time Frame:
“As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn.
The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :(
He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :)
Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw.
I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003 Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this:
“Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy.
“Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative.
https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html Y’all like that China money?
“Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.”
Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose.
I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing “Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.”
“Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.”
Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong.
Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will.
Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way.
Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains.
TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here:
WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf Or here:
https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.”
STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon.
Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
submitted by 62%. That’s the growth in new users Shopify saw from
just March to April this year.
Can you imagine the number of new businesses that went online? From grocery stores to boutiques and even giants such as Heinz who used to otherwise rely on a supply network to get their products to customers. EVERYONE is online and the competition has gotten real.
We saw more e-commerce trends – and changes in consumer behaviour – this year than ever before.
The housewife who’d make lists and drive to the local grocery store to stock up? Either buys them online or orders online for a pick-up.
The teenager who now spends a significant amount of time online for school sees a significantly higher number of digital ads for products.
The working men and women who are plugging away at laptops from home now find it easier to quickly add an item to cart here, check out a grocery list there and keep their zoom calls going.
And more and more small businesses are getting the spotlight, competing with more well-established stores in the online marketplace.
As a result of all this sea change, we noticed a few e-commerce trends that we can tell aren’t going anywhere in the coming year:
1. BOPIS – the biggest e-commerce trend from 2020
BOPIS stands for Buy Online Pick Up In-Store, a shopping method that’s gotten very popular in these times because with it, you skip the delivery time of an e-commerce order and you also avoid the in-store rush.
How it works: you buy the products online, payment and all, and then simply pick them up in the store…most stores have facilitated a curbside pick up or other such arrangements that ensure maximum convenience and speed. It isn’t a new way to shop – some department stores have offered this shopping solution for quite a few years now, but it’s become a popular e-commerce trend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what the folks at
Yieldify have to say about the BOPIS strategy: We’re definitely going to BOPIS our way through 2021, what about you?
2. Brick and mortar stores will continue to move online
While the pandemic has boosted the e-commerce industry, it’s brought great difficulty to owners of brick and mortar stores – especially small and boutique businesses – who were forced to shut their doors.
Online sales have grown over
129% this year – a lot of consumers who didn’t shop online very often are now extremely comfortable with buying absolutely everything online. The pandemic has sped up the adoption of e-commerce in a way that ensures everyone will continue to shop online even after stores are free to open their physical doors. With e-commerce growth that great, we will, unfortunately (though it may be to great benefit) see a lot more stores – especially in fashion and technology – continue to shut down their doors for good and move to the online space.
3. Chatbots & more for increased communication
With the pandemic, e-commerce stores needed to stay in touch with consumers more than ever – mainly to answer queries, keep them updated about orders, and more. So even though chatbots were gaining popularity over the last couple of years, they’ve basically become the norm this year…an e-commerce trend that’s likely to continue into 2021 and later, wherever innovation in chatbots leads us.
Source 4. Online payment plans
Online financing plans are by no means new – technology companies and consumer goods companies have had them on their e-commerce stores for years. Now, however, you also see them on fashion websites and department store websites – offering an easier way for customers to shop without breaking the bank is a great way to keep sales flowing in an otherwise troubled economy. Let’s face it, a lot of people are now thinking twice before an impulse purchase!
5. More people than ever are shopping from mobile phones
Did you know
79% of mobile users are shopping online from their mobiles? Mobile commerce is only set to grow from here on out and it’s not surprising. Not only is the number of mobile phones in usage increasing every year, but Gen Z’s comfort level with mobile technology is also vastly more advanced than what we’re used to. So, make sure your Shopify store is mobile-ready!
Source 6. More people than ever are shopping from social media apps
Have you ever seen a product on Instagram and actually bought it? The journey between discovery and checkout has been shortened by social media apps offering easy shopping experiences within their apps. And going by how active everyone (though mostly millennials & GenZ) is on social media, this is only going to be on the rise. So, if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to update your social media pages and activate shopping!
7. The rise of the equal opportunity marketplace
A beautiful e-commerce trend that’s here to stay: The COVID-19 pandemic saw a wave of ‘Support small businesses’ campaigns across social media websites, with even celebrities and influencers promoting their favourite boutique brands. The world is more encouraging now of small-scale, home-run, black-owned, and women-led stores than ever before…and very vocally so. That makes this one of the best times to get into business with an e-commerce store!
Source 8. Personalized shopping experiences
“The consumer is king” gets truer every year. Today, there are so many products and services for customers to choose from online – so many stores vying for their attention with ads, social media posts, videos and more online. As a result, what’s gaining more importance is personalized experiences. An
Accenture report talks about how nearly 40% of consumers have left a website because they felt too overwhelmed by options.
So if a customer visits your store more than once, it’s important that you make product recommendations and browsing experiences based on their previous visits. You should also show them personalized ads and send them personalized emails based on preferences they’ve shown when browsing your website. And don’t forget to address all communication to
each one of them, rather than to “Dear customer”, so they feel special when they open that email/message! The personalization will also help you maximize the
Average Order Value from each customer.
9. Conscious shopping is becoming commonplace
When we say conscious, we mean environment-conscious. People are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the products they choose. When it comes to beauty, the awareness of chemicals and active ingredients is growing manifold. When it comes to fashion, consumers are looking out for carbon footprints and source country conditions. Every industry is now under the scrutiny of increasingly-informed customers – the number of such customers is only going to grow, making this one powerful e-commerce trend that’s here to stay.
Source 10. Voice search is slowly making its mark
Voice search has been on the rise for a while now, and we’re watching this one. With more consumers spending time at home, we’re seeing a lot more people use home devices such as Alexa or Google Home to get instant results to queries, and the voice search functionalities on their mobile phones for when they’re in the discovery mode. The rise in voice search is set to have a direct impact on e-commerce, with smart speakers and smartphones throwing up online store suggestions in response to queries. The scope is massive, and we’re only at the start!
Bonus: Headless E-commerce! If you haven’t heard of this e-commerce trend yet, stay tuned – you’re going to be seeing these two words
a lot in 2021, as e-commerce begins to slowly get decentralized and personalized to
your preferences! Headless e-commerce is all about having a unique front-end to your store, while APIs and tools allow service providers to continue to take care of the backend. Does Shopify offer headless commerce? Yes, it does, via its Shopify Plus engine! So look it up and learn more about this trend in-store design.
And that wraps up our 2020-2021 e-commerce trends list. We hope you have had a fruitful, not-too-challenging year and see great success in your path in the coming one!
submitted by Forbes India Rich List 2020: A look at 5 wealthiest women and their net worth Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the highest percentage gainer, not just in women's list but also amongst the 100 ... Das Vermögen von acht der zehn reichsten Deutschen schrumpfte im Jahr 2020 – teilweise um mehrere Milliarden US-$. Zwei Personen konnten dagegen ihr Vermögen vermehren: Klaus-Michael Kühne, Mehrheitsaktionär des Logistikriesen Kühne + Nagel und Walter P. J. Droege, Gründer und CEO der Droege International Group. World-changing women of 2020. getty. Today, the BBC Woman’s Hour radio show announced their Planet Power list of 30 leading female UK environmentalists. I nominated 100 women to the list and so ... History was also made in 2020 with the election of the first female vice president, Kamala Harris, who debuted on the Forbes list of powerful women at No. 3. Naomi Osaka had overtaken Serena Williams to become world's highest paid women athlete. Tennis stars lead the Forbes’ 2020 list of top 10 highest paid female athletes in the world. She is India's first full-time female finance minister. Roshni Nadar Malhotra has claimed the 55th spot on the Forbes 2020 list of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women'. As CEO of HCL Corporation, she is responsible for all strategic decisions for the USD 8.9 billion technology company. On Tuesday, Forbes released their list of this year’s “100 Most Powerful Women of 2020.” Though their ranking celebrates women of various geographical, generational, racial, and occupational backgrounds, one form of diversity is glaringly absent: ideological diversity. Forbes list: Swiss president ... 2020 - 17:24 December 10, 2020 - 17:24. ... The long road to women’s suffrage in Switzerland. Swiss women had to wait until 1971 until they got the right to vote. In the Forbes list of worlds 100 most powerful women, Indian women from diverse domains too have made the mark. The 17th annual power list includes women from 30 nations and these were born across ... In a year defined by tremendous challenge and transformation, the 2020 Forbes Power Women’s Summit will convene a powerful collection of innovative and visionary voices on the frontlines of ...