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Some of the things we Googled this year: Clarke Gayford, guacamole, and Top Gun.

Pop CultureDecember 7, 2022

From Gayford to guacamole, here’s what we Googled in 2022

Google
Some of the things we Googled this year: Clarke Gayford, guacamole, and Top Gun.

New Zealand, your annual search results have been compiled – and they’re pretty weird.

It has, by any imaginable measure, been a strange old year. It started with the threat of lockdowns, and it’s ending with rising Covid case numbers. Along the way, the Queen died, Johnny Depp inexplicably thrived, Will Smith slapped someone, and Ruby Tui became a total star. Apparently, Wellingtonians did a lot of pottery. Oh, we also got our first truly terrible Taika Waititi movie.

All of this – all of it – plays out in stark, bruising reality in the latest Google trends results. Released this morning, the year’s annual stocktake of our wants and needs takes everything every New Zealander plugged into the world’s largest search platform over the past 12 months and feeds it back to us like a digital human centipede.

What does this say about us? What does it reveal about our lives, hopes, desires, our inner monologues, and our basest inner thoughts? Most importantly, though, why are we so desperate to make so much guacamole?

Let’s unpack a few of the highlights…

‘Wordle’

Our phones are capable of streaming mind-blowing video games full of 4K video and photo-realistic graphics, yet the game we chose to pass the time with the most this year was a humble five-letter word puzzle. This is how we clear our minds of the looming threat of climate change, war, and the impending return of Donald Trump – become addicted to Wordle.

‘How to spell askew Google joke’

I’m really sorry, but you’ll need to Google this one.

‘Australian Open’

The All Blacks had a must-see trainwreck of a season. The Commonwealth Games happened. The football World Cup is on right now. The Black Ferns won the Rugby World Cup. Ruby Tui is a star. Yet the sporting term we searched for the most is “Australian Open”? Huh.

‘Queen Elizabeth’

Understandable. The deaths of Shane Warne, Taylor Hawkins, Betty White, Bob Saget and Technoblade were hardly going to trump the demise of the Queen. I mean, she’s on our bank notes. Cue the in memoriam music. And RIP, everyone.

‘Johnny Depp’

To be fair, the most-searched list of global figures is almost entirely full of villains: Elon Musk, Novak Djokovic, Anna Delvey and King Charles all made the top 10. Amber Heard came in second, if that’s any consolation.

‘Clarke Gayford’

People must have really loved Moving Houses.

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

Thor: Love and Thunder

Seeing this was like watching my 12-year-old son play video games for more than two hours. Is the absolute CGI shiteness of Taika Waititi’s Thor sequel why we kept Googling it? (Sorry Taika.) Other films we Googled a lot: Black Adam, GI Jane, Top Gun, Jurassic World: Dominion.

‘Guacamole’

The list of savoury foods we keep Googling is like a potluck gone wrong. “Macaroni cheese” is next to “focaccia” , “corn fritter” is atop “gnocchi”, “tomato relish” is beside “spaghetti bolognese”. But guacamole is our number one. Watch out next year for the versatile dip to replace “avocado on toast” as the thing everybody blames for millennials being unable to buy their first home.

‘Cinnamon rolls’

A proper cinnamon roll, left to prove overnight, folded and rolled in date paste, baked to chewy perfection, smothered in sticky vanilla icing then eating straight out of the pan is a thing of pure, untouchable beauty. This, in my opinion, cannot be Googled too much. Full applause for this one.

‘How to be single’

Apparently, two years of Covid-enforced lockdowns has many of us questioning our relationship status. Understandable. Less so are the other ‘How to’ things we Googled this year: ‘How to tie a tie,’ ‘How to screenshot on Windows,’ ‘How to play Wordle’ and, ‘How to make self-raising flour’. To be fair, I’ve Googled that last one myself.

‘Pottery classes Wellington’

Everyone in the Windy City is apparently getting their Ghost on. Are you all OK?

‘Pottery classes Auckland’

There’s a theme beginning to emerge here.

‘Elden Ring classes’

What.

Zendaya as Rue on Euphoria. (Photo: Supplied)

‘Euphoria’

New Zealand’s number one most-Googled TV show is the second season of a glossy HBO teenage dramedy full of drugs, sex and parties culminating in an absolutely excruciating high school production about all those drugs, sex and parties. Loved it. When’s season three landing? (Google it.)

‘Wordle’ (again)

This is it, the thing we Googled the most, the chart-topper that beat out ‘Quordle,’ ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and even the ‘Australian Open’ for the top spot. Disappointing, New Zealand. Perhaps we should take a long, hard, collective look at ourselves, but we’re all too busy playing Wordle (then Googling it).

Our top 10 most Googled things…

  1. Wordle
  2. Locations of interest
  3. Australian Open
  4. Covid cases today
  5. All Blacks vs Ireland
  6. Ukraine
  7. World Cup
  8. Quordle
  9. Matariki
  10. Queen Elizabeth
Keep going!
Creative New Zealand is our most prominent arts agency, and it’s going… digital? Here’s what is happening. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)
Creative New Zealand is our most prominent arts agency, and it’s going… digital? Here’s what is happening. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)

Pop CultureDecember 5, 2022

CNZ just picked embattled agency We Are Indigo for a $5m+ digital arts platform

Creative New Zealand is our most prominent arts agency, and it’s going… digital? Here’s what is happening. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)
Creative New Zealand is our most prominent arts agency, and it’s going… digital? Here’s what is happening. (Image Design: Tina Tiller)

An arts organisation awarding a contract to provide a ‘digital service’ wouldn’t normally be newsworthy – but today’s announcement from Creative New Zealand will raise some eyebrows. Sam Brooks explains.

Today, Creative New Zealand, the government’s arts funding organisation, announced that it would be investing more than $5m into establishing a digital service for the arts. While it’s not the first investment of this nature by CNZ, it is the first time the organisation has made such a hefty investment in the digital space, and alongside this announcement, it also released, unusually, the lengthy procurement and due diligence process it undertook.

The proactive release is because the recipient is a subsidiary of We Are Indigo, the firm which is embroiled in a lengthy and ugly dispute over secret due diligence reports compiled by another government agency, Callaghan Innovation. The procurement report released by CNZ says that “management was satisfied with We Are Indigo Ltd’s explanation of the circumstance and noted that the various media reports were believed to be largely based on social media posts, rather than information sourced from Callaghan Innovation or We Are Indigo Ltd.”

We Are Indigo’s Andy Hamilton, Patrick MacFie and Monty Betham (Image design: Tina Tiller)

Here is an explanation of what this means for New Zealand’s art sector, with comment and clarification from CNZ CEO Stephen Wainwright where appropriate.

Who is involved?

Creative New Zealand (CNZ) is a Crown entity responsible for developing, investing in and advocating for the arts in New Zealand. It fits under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, and receives funding through them. Its processes have been in the headlines recently due to two notable organisations not receiving funding under one of its programmes, and the media outcry that ensued.

Toi ki Tua is a new company, established and wholly owned by We Are Indigo. We Are Indigo is a self-described “innovation company arming you in the fight against the status quo”. It was founded in 2019 by former Warriors captain Monty Betham and ex-Xero exec Patrick Macfie. Earlier this year, We Are Indigo was the subject of reporting by the NBR that government agencies had hired private investigators to look into the company, and an investigation by The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive  revealed the contentious battle over confidential due diligence reports, the release of which is currently before the Ombudsman. Greive’s reporting was based on the due diligence reports and interviews with senior Callaghan sources, including a board member.

Back up, what is a “digital service”?

Wainwright says that this new digital service forms an important part of Creative New Zealand’s strategy. “If you were to establish Creative New Zealand in 2022, digital infrastructure would be quite high up on that list.”

At this stage, the digital service is defined quite broadly by Creative New Zealand. The service will actively look for opportunities for artists to secure intellectual property, monetise their work through digital platforms, and commission digital content across those platforms. It will also increase engagement with audiences and connect artists with services and providers to create, develop and enhance their work. There is a specific focus on developing training and skills development around these platforms.

If that sounds unspecific, that’s because it is. Within those parameters, the digital service could be anything from a new streaming service to an education provider. Wainwright clarifies that it will be “an enabler for all sorts of practitioners for digital ambitions”. 

The actual parameters will be defined by Toi ki Tua in “consultation” with the arts sector in 2023. “Toi Ki Tua will engage much more closely with the community as to how it can help companies, collectives and individuals become more competent and comfortable in the digital space,” Wainwright says.

Why is CNZ even doing this?

“The demand for public funding is way above supply and a lot of practitioners are saying that it’s really challenging and they would like the tools to become more self-sufficient,” says Wainwright. “I think most people are saying that we need to have a ‘yes and’ kind of set-up, which is digital plus a live experience. We’ve been much more geared as an ecology towards the latter than the former.”

This sort of investment is not uncommon for CNZ – the Arts Council has established organisations like the Arts Foundation, which specifically enables philanthropic contribution to the arts and Tour-Makers, which supports nationwide touring – to specifically kickstart and build infrastructure around the arts sector. Similar to those, this service would be one that CNZ invests in, but does not run directly.

Where is the money coming from?

The total amount of money that We Are Indigo will receive is $5.3m over four years, from the end of this year until the start of 2027, though the initial term of the contract runs through to June 2024. Of this, $2m comes from Manatū Taonga’s Cultural Sector Capability Fund, which is earmarked for the contract for the years 2022/24. This funding was established in 2020 so that the arts sector could meet the “challenges of a post-Covid-19 environment”. The remaining funds for Creative New Zealand’s investment will be sourced over the duration of the contract.

Crucially: It does not come out of the same pool of money that would fund, say, a show at the Basement, an arts exhibition, or a nationwide Shakespeare festival for high school students.

If there’s not enough public funding for the arts, how will this help?

CNZ has been exploring options for building the digital infrastructure of the arts sector for a few years now, largely spurred on by Covid-19. Many organisations, especially live performance companies, pivoted to digital throughout the pandemic, with varying levels of success, but many have shifted back to “in person” performances since. 

The pandemic highlighted for CNZ the necessity for the arts and culture sector to engage with the opportunities that digital technology presents. While Creative New Zealand had invested in several services that served as a boon for live infrastructure, there was no such investment in a digital service.

Members of the Arts Council, Creative New Zealand and Toi ki Tua. (Photo: CNZ)

How did We Are Indigo get awarded the contract?

CNZ opened up a call for “providers” in early March of this year. After 21 providers were whittled down to three, it was decided that We Are Indigo was the frontrunner, based on multiple factors (government model, establishment plan, its knowledge and implementation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles, so on and so forth).

In a statement, We Are Indigo said, “Our approach to delivering this solution is unique, in that it takes hold of the opportunity to lead this transformation in a manner which places Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori outcomes, and representation for Pacific Peoples and underserved communities, at the heart of our solution.”

‘Like a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, each member is vital to the whole picture. Join today.’
Calum Henderson
— Production editor

After the company was selected by CNZ, what Wainwright calls a “gold standard” due diligence process was taken. This can be read in full on the CNZ website here, but in summary, the organisation was made aware of the reporting on We Are Indigo by several mainstream media outlets. On November 1, 2022 (the same day The Spinoff published Greive’s investigation), the Arts Council asked management to pause the signing of the funding and partnership agreements. After information was provided to the Audit and Risk Committee, it was determined that an “extensive due diligence process” had been undertaken and that the issues raised were “unsubstantiated allegations”.

Wainwright is aware of the reporting, which is why the due diligence process has been “more exhaustive” than its usual approach. “We’ve done all we can, and we’re confident that these are people we want to have a relationship with, and we are,” he says. “In the past, there was some rady-rah over something that went south. In enterprise that’s not totally unusual, I don’t want to comment on why things went south with other people.”

But is it necessary?

Without knowing what the platform is yet, it’s hard to say. One thing is clear: the current funding model is not working, and even people outside the sector are starting to notice. There is also an undeniable accessibility factor that Wainwright points out – a digital service has the potential (read: potential) to allow people who haven’t been able to access arts, due to disability, remoteness or income, to access experiences that are purely live.

“Even though most of the conversation that most people want to have with us is to do with funding, we don’t control the funding levers,” Wainwright says. “We actually need to find some new ways that can shift the dial from participants in the system to, when the system works well, providing new opportunities for creativity to make work, give the new skills to make work and have that work distributed previously both domestically and overseas.”

“Our role really is to invest in the sector and to create value for the sector and the public.”

But wait there's more!