https://soundcloud.com/user-899999544/grace-newton-rise-up-andra-day-cover?
“All we need is hope and for that, we have each other.
We will rise, we'll rise up, high like the waves, we'll rise up, in spite of the ache.
We'll rise up, and do it a thousand times again.” - Andra Day
As CGI technology a digital humans capture the imaginations of and motivate voters to take a proactive role in shaping the challenges facing this country. This will be a digital human who can do more than sell products and services - a character whose narrative revolves around the issues and concerns of younger generations. Enter She.Bi.Ona - a digital human on a mission to create positive change in the world by encouraging her followers to use their voices and votes to “rise up.
Since the first digital humans/virtual influencers began making a splash in the early 2000s (the most notable being Hatsune Miku in 2007) the popularity and impact of influencers have exploded. In part, this is due to rapid advances in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), animation, motion capture, and artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies have made the creation of life-like digital humans not only possible but affordable as well.
To date, most digital humans have been used as information providers and brand ambassadors, marketing everything from perfume, fashion, and cell phones, to telemedicine and music. The most popular among them - those that have garnered massive followings on social media - have done so through a combination of engaging stories, entertaining videos chronicling their lives, and by blurring the lines between their followers and themselves.
Miquela Sousa (Lil Miquela) and many of her contemporaries such as Zero, Blu, and the Geico Gecko, film and post videos shot within real-world settings (often posing with flesh and blood humans) to TikTok, Instagram, and SnapChat on a daily basis. They also do live interviews on podcasts, Twitch, YouTube, TV and radio shows, and at conferences, making very good money for their creators. According to the online marketplace, OnBuy, for example, Lil Miquela is estimated to make over $10 million per year for the company that created her.
The most avid consumers and creators of digital human content are members of Generation Z. Born after 1995, Generation Z‑ers are true digital natives who are both pragmatic and deeply concerned about the many and complex issues facing the world today. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, members of Generation Z value diversity and are politically progressive. For example, they agree that Blacks are treated more unfairly in this country, believe the government should play a greater role in solving problems, and are more likely to attribute climate change to human activity.
Crossing the Divide
All of the above point to a unique opportunity to harness the appeal of a digital influencer to capture the imaginations of and motivate Gen Z-ers to take a proactive role in shaping the challenges facing this country. This will be a digital human who can do more than sell products and services - a character whose narrative revolves around the issues and concerns of younger generations. Enter She.Bi.Ona - a digital human on a mission to create positive change in the world by encouraging her followers to use their voices and votes to “rise up.
She.Bi.Ona is a name that means woman in three different languages and is meant to embody the diversity, strength, and courage of women from all races, cultures, and walks of life in the United States. In her first iteration, she is expected to address four major issues that will be hot topics during the upcoming election season:
-
Women’s reproductive rights
-
Climate change
-
Gun violence
-
Racism
She.Bi.Ona will address these topics using a variety of media and platforms - social media posts (videos, photos, text), live shows on Instagram,TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube, interviews with podcast, radio, and TV hosts, and through a weekly podcast of her own.