Tinx and the Age of the Authentic Influencer
]
This story was initially published in The Creators — a newsletter about the people powering the creator economy. Get it sent to your inbox every Saturday here.
I recently spoke with 31-year-old digital creator and TikToker Christina Najjar (@tinx, 1.5M TikTok) who dishes out everything from dating advice (women apparently date like venture capitalists while men date like stockbrokers) to “rich mom” starter packs to random thoughts on Rihanna and her favorite foods. Tinx, who has built a brand around her lifestyle and tidbits of wisdom, talks money and power with us and explains how influencers don’t just “sit around playing on our phones all day.”
This interview has been edited for content and clarity.
No More Bad Marketing
Historically influencers have been willing to promote just about anything. Kim Kardashian notoriously appeared in a 2011 Super Bowl ad for Skechers Shape-Ups, chunky exercise sneakers that were supposed to help you lose weight, as well as tone your butt and abs. Skechers ended up having to pay $40 million to the Federal Trade Commission to settle a suit for deceiving customers. More recently, in November, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro sued influencer Dana Chanel for allegedly deceiving consumers by posting about her own companies that ripped them off.
Tinx says that’s changing.
“Audiences are extremely smart now,” she says. “So they’re not going to accept just random partnerships that don’t make sense. They can spot the BS, so to speak, from a mile away.”
Tinx, for example, loves Chipotle. She started talking about how much she enjoyed the Mexican food chain on social media organically and the brand took notice, landing her a partnership where she even had a “Tinx Bowl” featured on the Chipotle app for 45 days.
“All of the content felt so fresh and original and it was just in my mind a perfect case study for how influencer marketing should go,” she says.
Tinx chooses not to participate in affiliate marketing, where brands pay influencers to promote their products and get paid a percentage of the sales they bring in. Instead, she says she works with brands “in a more long term, strategic way.”
“When I first started out, I was coming at this career from an interesting vantage point because I’d worked at multiple jobs including in corporate America in my 20s and I told my manager I think that the age of the influencer who will just promote anything for a quick buck is over,” she says.
How Tinx Got on TikTok
Tinx always wanted to make content, but she didn’t get her start on social media. Her parents, both from the Midwest, raised her and her brother in London where she attended an all-girls school, was exposed to theatre, and gained a “global perspective.” After studying English at Stanford University, Tinx worked in Gap’s retail management program and went to graduate school at Parsons for fashion journalism. She spent her 20s writing lifestyle stories as a freelancer until she started making TikToks during the pandemic.
“It was all to do with the power of storytelling and the power of connecting with an audience through creativity,” she says of her transition from journalist to an influencer. “I started making digital content during the pandemic like so many of us in May of 2020 and, immediately, I knew it was gonna be my life’s passion.”
Now, Tinx prides herself on her mostly-female fanbase, to whom she dispenses “big sister” advice. Early on, Tinx says she got caught up with views and likes, but she’s learned that audiences care about authenticity, especially during the pandemic.
“The things that the audience values in content creators and influencers have changed,” she says. “It used to be, ‘Oh, do they have washboard abs and are they perfect, on a trip to Bora Bora with their perfect boyfriend?’ Now it’s like: Are they authentic, are they real, what value can they add?”
Taking Influencers Seriously
The most successful influencers are flooded with comments from haters who tell them to “get a real job.” When TikTok mogul Addison Rae’s account got “permanently banned” in October, she Tweeted a screenshot of the notice from the app with the caption “Well time to get a job.” Her account was reinstated hours later. The 21-year-old made an estimated $8.5 million on TikTok in 2021, released a single that has over 28 million streams on Spotify, and co-starred in the Netflix movie “He’s All That,” a play on the 1999 film “She’s All That.” It’s safe to say Addison Rae has more jobs than most of us.
One of Tinx’s good friends is Emily Mariko, a 29-year-old influencer who recently went viral for posting videos of her making salmon bowls, which might seem frivolous, but people apparently want to see them.
“It’s not just that she’s filming herself cooking,” Tinx says. “It’s the editing, it’s the filming, it’s the whole concept. When people think that content creators, it’s just so easy for them to make the content, that means they’re doing their job right because it looks effortless but it’s a ton of work.”
While skeptics might not understand the power of influencers, Tinx knows they are here to stay: “Creators are the mouthpiece from brand to audience, they understand what’s interesting about a brand or product to an audience, sometimes better than the brand can know themselves.”
Do you have questions about the creator economy? Have you quit your job to focus on being a creator? Have you quit your job for a different reason? Please email me at creators@observermedia.com.
Madison Keys advances to third round after being revived from ‘dark pit of despair’
]
Madison Keys stormed into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Jaqueline Cristian on Wednesday as the American continued her resurgence after a year in which she sank into a “dark pit of despair” and her ranking plummeted.
The former US Open finalist warmed up for the opening Grand Slam of the year with her first title since 2019 at the Adelaide WTA tournament last week and knocked out 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in her opener on Monday.
The former world No. 7, who slipped to 87th in the rankings following a disappointing 2021, is aiming to improve on her semifinal finish at Melbourne Park seven years ago.
The American ran away with the opening set in 31 minutes and broke the unseeded Cristian, of Romania, for a 6-5 lead in the next set to seal the win. Keys will play Wang Qiang after the Chinese player beat Alison Van Uytvanck 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Keys, who missed the 2021 Australian Open due to COVID-19, had said after her match with Kenin that she had fond memories of her deep run at the major and hoped to have another.
She added that not taking things too seriously and avoiding putting pressure on herself had helped in her resurgence, while social media had also played a part.
“One of the first things that made me snap out of it was this girl on TikTok. Her name is ‘Tinx.’ She’s constantly saying ‘comparison is the thief of joy,’” Keys said Monday.
“It really made me change my perspective on comparing everything I’ve done and doing to everyone around me. It was just making me miserable.”
Aus Open: Naomi Osaka in third round, TikTok helps Madison Keys
]
Defending champion Naomi Osaka overcame a second-set blip to beat American Madison Brengle 6-0 6-4 and reach the third round of the Australian Open, staying on course for a potential fourth-round clash with world number one Ash Barty.
The Japanese 24-year-old, who also won the Melbourne Park title in 2019, will next meet 60th-ranked American Amanda Anisimova with a mouthwatering clash against Australian Barty potentially waiting in the round of 16.
Brengle won just nine points in the first set as an aggressive Osaka served superbly, facing no breakpoints, and returned strong to breeze through the set in just 20 minutes.
The 54th-ranked Brengle, 31, had a big smile as the Rod Laver Arena crowd cheered her first service game win at the start of the second set as Osaka’s game dipped.
But the two-time US Open winner soon regained control and sealed the win after 65 minutes on her first match point with a second break of serve in the set.
TikTok helps Madison Keys as resurgence continues
Madison Keys stormed into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 7-5 win over Jaqueline Cristian on Wednesday as the American continued her resurgence after a year in which she sank into a “dark pit of despair” and her ranking plummeted.
The former US Open finalist warmed up for the opening Grand Slam of the year with her first title since 2019 at the Adelaide WTA tournament last week and knocked out 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in her opener on Monday.
The former world number seven, who slipped to 87th in the rankings following a disappointing 2021, is aiming to improve on her semi-final finish at Melbourne Park seven years ago.
The American ran away with the opening set in 31 minutes and broke unseeded Romanian Cristian for a 6-5 lead in the next to seal the win that set up a clash with Wang Qiang after the Chinese player beat Alison Van Uytvanck 2-6 7-6(5) 6-3.
Keys, who missed the 2021 Australian Open due to Covid-19, had said after her match with Kenin that she had fond memories of her deep run at the major and hoped to have another.
She added that not taking things too seriously and avoiding putting pressure on herself had helped in her resurgence, while social media had also played a part.
“One of the first things that made me snap out of it was this girl on TikTok. Her name is ‘Tinx’. She’s constantly saying ‘comparison is the thief of joy’,” Keys said on Monday.
“It really made me change my perspective on comparing everything I’ve done and doing to everyone around me. It was just making me miserable.”
Dozens Of Women On TikTok Think They’ve All Been Ghosted By The Same Man
]
by Lydia Spencer-Elliott |
There’s nothing wrong with playing the field. But one man in New York has seemingly taken it too far and dozens of women on TikTok are warning others not to match or date him after they all were ghosted by the accused Lothario dubbed ‘West Elm Caleb’.
According to one woman called Kell (@kellsbellsbaby) she’d been dating the furniture designer for six weeks when she realised through TikTok that he’d also been dating ‘every other woman’ in NYC.
‘When I tell you I have been through the dating trenches in New York City, I have been through the trenches,’ Kell told her followers before detailing how Caleb had sent her ‘really cute messages’ and a Spotify playlist…which she then discovered he’d also created for other women.
Excusing the suss behaviour for his ‘signature move’ Kell then told of how Caleb took her on a date to the Met gallery and continued to message her about how much he liked her over the Christmas break while they were apart.
When Caleb told Kell: ‘I’ll ghost you soon, don’t worry,’ she thought he was joking. ‘Apparently not a joke…He randomly stopped texting me out of the blue,’ Kell explained. When she confronted Caleb about his behaviour, he apologised and said he needed time to ‘unwind’.
Kell then discovered he was actually ‘going on dates with other women’ when a TikTok came up on her For You Page by the user @meemshou.
In a video sound tracked by September’s incredible pop club anthem Cry For You (You’ll Never See Me Again) @meemshou joked about being ghosted and wrote: ‘This one’s dedicated to Caleb. No hard feelings though, you were too tall.’
In her next post, titled ‘West Elm Caleb: A Saga,’ she explained she didn’t want to make a video about her personal experience but felt like it was her ‘duty’ to ‘warn my girls about this Caleb from West Elm.’
‘I kept having girls comment being like is this the West Elm Caleb,’ she said. ‘I was so confused but then I get a DM from a Caleb who says he’s also very tall and I click on his bio and it says West Elm furniture designer.’
A girl then DM’d @meemshou and confirmed the man who messaged her was the culprit that everyone was talking about. ‘She tells me that they match on Hinge before and he is like love bombing her even though they haven’t met up – and that is the biggest red flag – and then, of course, he ghosts her.’
Numerous women then commented on the explainer video relaying their matching experience. ‘He literally love-bombed me, dated me for a month and then ghosted me,’ said one user. ‘Omg stop. I went on a date with him a few months ago, he was texting so much then ghosted after asking me to dinner LOL,’ added another. ‘We matched TWICE and we were talking and I brought up this video and he IMMEDIATELY blocked me on everything hahaha,’ told a third.
The viral videos also prompted numerous other women to tell their stories of West Elm Caleb on TikTok. According to a woman called Kate (@_katepear) Caleb love-bombed her on Hinge, arranged a coffee date, sent her a nude, then ghosted.
He later re-emerged and told her he vanished because he was ‘afraid’ she was going to use him for his body. Kate said Caleb then began sending her nudes over Snapchat, to which she replied: ‘Are you absolutely out of your mind?’. Kate was quickly then ghosted for a second time.
Another user, @jewishbrat, said she matched with Caleb on Bumble twice and when she told him he already had her number on their second time chatting he told her: ‘I don’t think I do.’ To be fair, it’s probably hard to keep up when your account is packed full with this many matches.
And what does Caleb think of the veritable internet frisson that his dating activity has sent around the globe?
When Kell sent the accused @meemshou’s video, he replied: ‘I guess this girl just has a big following and talked about a tall Caleb, so naturally some girls I matched with and stopped talking to asked her if it was me and then she made this apparently?’
Caleb also said he had been ‘shocked and traumatised’ by the series of viral videos but defended any ghosting accusations by saying that vanishing was in the ‘nature of the app’.
Rock Island native Madison Keys upsets ex-champ Sofia Kenin in Australian Open
]
Madison Keys continued her hot streak in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open, knocking out former tournament champion Sofia Kenin.
MELBOURNE, VIC — One of the biggest upset victories of the 2022 Women’s Australian Open belongs to Rock Island native Madison Keys.
The 26-year-old is moving onto the second round after taking down 2020 tournament champion Sofia Kenin on Monday in Melbourne, Australia.
Keys entered the match listed at No. 56 in the final 2021 WTA Rankings, coming out with a 7-6(2) 7-5 win over fellow American and the tournament’s 11th-seeded Kenin.
“At this point every first round is tough, but when you have to go up against a Grand Slam champion (Kenin) it’s never easy,” Keys told AO Media following the victory. “I think knowing that she was going to compete so well, I just had a really good mentality and attitude. I had a couple of opportunities I didn’t really capitalize upon and I was able to reset and continue to play well.”
The new year has shown a bit of a resurgence for Keys who is coming off a victory at the Adelaide International on Jan. 15, her first title since 2019.
Keys recalled reaching the semifinals of the 2015 Australian Open where she was defeated by eventual champion Serena Williams.
That experience brought back memories of a near Grand Slam for Keys in what was arguably her breakthrough year.
“I had my first real run in a (Grand) Slam here, I missed last year, so absolutely ecstatic to be back in Melbourne. It would mean the world to have another run here,” Keys said.
A bout with COVID last year kept Keys out of the 2021 Australian Open who said she struggled and put too much pressure on herself to try and play catch-up with other competitors.
“I’m not taking it quite as seriously, that’s the biggest difference this year,” Keys said. “One of the first things that made me snap out of it was this girl on Tiktok. Her name is ‘Tinx’. She’s constantly saying ‘comparison is the thief of joy’. It just really made me change my perspective on comparing everything I’ve done and doing to everyone around me. It was just making me miserable.”