One of these days, I noticed something strange on social media.
Instagram has these filter options for slurs and offensive words. That's fine. Over time, though, my list became unbelievably long. It started with a few bad words and grew pretty quickly — especially after the shitstorm I caused, described in “Urban Magpie Ended Up in a Random Desert.”
The other day, I was checking on my Chico reel and noticed: 1 comment.
I tried to find it, but couldn't. Eventually, I realized it must have been filtered.
What's hilarious about this is that Instagram apparently “protects” you from the comment — but then still shows you the comment count. So now it just sits there, waiting to be discovered.
I'm a hard-headed woman, but I'm pretty sure there are people who won't be able to just let it sit there. They'll eventually go looking for it and read it.
So, is the intention to protect us? Or does this actually cause more hurt and hate by making people curious about the very thing that's supposedly being hidden from them?
What do you think? Cyber Skunk has already filed his observation on Instagram. Go over to Cyber Skunk Observation //002 and leave your thoughts there. I'd genuinely like to know what you make of it.
Whether Instagram then decides to show me your comment is, of course, another question. Lol.
I also noticed something else: if you ask a question in the caption of your post, people feel invited to validate everything.
I'll tell you something: at Urban Magpie, nobody needs anyone else's validation.
Anyway, after all this, I decided to get some help from Cyber Skunk. Whenever he can, he sends me his observations, and I publish them on social media — where they belong.
Cyber Skunk Observations is going to be a little ongoing series: a kind of diary of the strange things he encounters out there.
Currently, I'm waiting for my newest designs to arrive at my desk.
This is exciting every single time. When an Urban Magpie delivery arrives at my doorstep, I can't wait to unpack it, see it and touch it.
I need to see and feel new things with my own eyes and hands before I can decide whether they belong in the Urban Magpie collection.
And sometimes you only realize after a while that a particular fabric simply isn't worth the price. That's what happened with part of my collection. I ended up removing it because I couldn't get past that nasty, plasticky feeling on the skin.
Sweating more for €32 is just not worth it! Lol. Luckily, nobody bought one before I removed it. I would have freaked out.
The new designs are being tested now. If they pass the see-it, touch-it, wear-it test, they'll make their way into the collection.
In the meantime, there are already a couple of new arrivals in the store.
Cyber Skunk has taken over one of the new mouse pads, which is currently sitting on my own desk. My mouse loves it. 🐭 I asked. No validation required. 😛
See the Cyber Skunk mouse pad →
And if one character isn't enough, there's also the Urban Magpie character group mouse pad. A whole collection of questionable personalities occupying one desk.
See the Urban Magpie character group mouse pad →
Meanwhile, Urban Magpie is still here. There are no hidden products, no algorithm deciding whether you're allowed to see something, and you don't have to follow, like or comment before you're allowed in.
Have a look around. Everyone is welcome.