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Are you flying this summer? If so, Amtrak has a message for you: Dont be ridiculous. Thats the opening manifesto of the companys new Summer Train-Tacular spoof ad, which is currently raking in hundreds of thousands of views across Amtrak’s social media platforms. The video hypes up Amtraks California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco), Coast Starlight (Seattle to Los Angeles), and City of New Orleans (Chicago to, you guessed it, New Orleans) train lines and takes a few pointed shots at air travelall in the style of the comically macho, over-the-top Monster Jam monster truck ads of the ’90s. Little bags of pretzels? No way! Tiny windows? I dont think so! Middle seats? Get outta here! Take the train instead, the narrator shouts, adding, Over 18 inches of seatbut youll only need the edge! So far, the Monster Jam parody has garnered 418,000 views on Instagram and nearly 7,000 comments, making it Amtraks top engaged Instagram post of all time. Across all Meta platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and Threads), the post has notched nearly half a million shares. These are huge numbers for Amtrak, which, according to Senior Social Media Specialist Naleen Camara, tends to net around 100 comments on the average social post. Jessica Davidson, vice president of digital and brand management at Amtrak, says “Train-Tacular” is just one example of how Amtrak is currently shifting its social media strategy as it enters a new era of rail. Amtrak is currently in the process of building new high-speed rail lines, upgrading its train car design, and renovating its stationsall in an effort to double its 2024 record of 32.8 million annual riders by 2040. Now, Amtrak is betting that one way to meet that goal is convincing digitally native users to choose train travel over flight, one silly video at a time. Amtrak ups its social media game To some, a Monster Jam spoof might seem like an out-of-character move for a relatively staid legacy brand like Amtrak. But a similar blend of unhinged, chaotic, and irreverent humor has helped brands across a spectrum of industrieslike Duolingo, Pop-Tarts, Nutter Butter, and Pine-Solstand out on social media amidst an endless sea of other brands. Camara says Amtrak has been slowly infusing some of these tactics into its social content over the course of several years, looking to see what sticks. As a Gen Zer herself, shes particularly aware of how much marketing content young users are exposed to on a daily basis, and how difficult it can be to break through to them. It takes a lot to stop the scroll for a digital native when they become so expectant of [polished, done-up] content from a brand, Camara says. Were really starting to pick up on that, and leaning into what is going to stop you, what is going to make you lock eyes with me. Thats resulted in these more unconventional posts. This experimental approach has resulted in several social media wins for Amtrak. In 2022, the company raked in 152,000 likes on X for simply tweeting the word trains, resulting in a flurry of other companies like McDonalds, NPR, and NASA copying the one-word format. This January, Amtrak scored a hit TikTok with a video of two hot dogs (one of the train services popular menu items) moodily gazing out an Amtrak window with the caption, us in another universe. The video currently has 1.2 million views and over 134,000 likes. And, more recently, Amtrak has been leaning into a new tack to set itself apart: taking a few lighthearted jabs at the airline industry. In March, Southwest Airlines loss became Amtraks win when, after the air carrier announced the end of its “bag fly free” policy, Amtrak received 53,000 likes on the tweet, guess were the only ones doing free baggage now. The sassy comment hints at a broader marketing effort on Amtraks part called “Retrain Travel“, which aims to attract new riders by emphasizing the amenities and experience factor of rail travel over other potential options. With Train-Tacular, Amtrak appears to have perfected that formula. How Amtrak sparks joy As Amtraks social media team was brainstorming ideas for summer content, Camara says, they needed a format that could highlight the superiority of train travel while appealing to Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and millennials at the same time. The challenge, then, was “trying to invoke excitement between these groups that, on the surface, seemingly don’t have much in common.” In this instance, the tie-in truly was nostalgia and trying to touch that distant memory of an experience that you wish that you were a part of,” Camara says. “We drew inspiration from retro monster truck commercials, because they were really able to cut through the noise. As Train-Tacular took off, Camara adds, the team even noticed a tone shift in the brands comments. The video seems to have unlocked a sense of unbridled enthusiasm for Amtrak among younger commenters. BE THEERRRRREEEEE, one user wrote. OH IM PUMPED UP BABY, another wrote. The response is a positive sign for the companys efforts to entice young riders: The sooner people can experience Amtrak, the better as a great way to travel, Davidson says. We absolutely want to absolutely appeal to the next generation of travelers. Still, Camara says, Amtrak isnt about to go off the rails into full chaos mode anytime soon. In general, when it comes to having these viral moments, it is amazing, and you truly are on this high, but at the end of the day, you can’t losesight of what works and what messaging is core to you and your brand, Camara says. If every single post is monster truck, then nothing is monster truck.
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E-Commerce
I have not found much joy in iPhone photography of late. Between the flat, HDR-heavy image processing and the stagnant hardware compared to competitors, its rare that Ill use my iPhone for anything beyond quick, functional snapshots. Here is the price of eggs at the supermarket today in a chat message. That sort of thing. But over the past week, Ive been having more fun with my iPhone camera than Ive had in years. The reason for that is !Camera, a new app that completely reimagines the experience of taking photos on your phone. Inspiring design !Camerano, I am not entirely sure how youre meant to say that out loudcomes from Not Boring Software, which also makes a suite of iOS apps including a weather app, a timer, a calculator, and more. Ive tried some of these in the past and admired their stylish, original design, but none of them really stuck with me; I tend to lean into functionality if Im going to learn a new app. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} But cameras are the opposite. Unless Im shooting professionally at a critical event, I want cameras to have their own personality and inspire me to use them. Thats exactly what you get with !Camera. Although !Camera solely exists in software, its unique 3D interface makes your iPhone feel like a new device. The colorful, customizable UI is not intended to look realistic, exactly, but the combination of visual effects and haptic feedback is surprisingly believable. I set up a shortcut to open !Camera with the iPhones physical Action Button, which adds to the verisimilitude. The chunky virtual dials show shadows in the knurls as you tilt your phone, based on input from the gyroscope. The iPhones haptic system lets you feel every notch along the dials, together with satisfying clunks when you swap between lenses or turn the flash on. And I cant remember the last time I didnt immediately turn off the beeps on a digital camera, but the stereo sound effects here actually add to the experience. Simple UI The UI itself is extremely simple. There is a huge shutter button thats impossible to miss, plus two key dials: one for exposure compensation, and the other to select photo styles. You do have the option to switch to a manual mode, but it feels intentional that the two virtual dials are dedicated to accessible features that are more likely to make a real difference on a phone camera. Theres also a clever take on manual focus that brings up a loupe-like ring when you drag directly on the viewfinder. The UI is rounded out by two switches for the flash and to swap between lensestheres no option for 2x or any other fake digital zoomas well as a settings button that takes you to a more conventional menu with all the customization features. One feature you wont find is the ability to view all your photos; they just get saved straight into your iPhones photo app. This is presumably so that you dont spend half your time chimping, or immediately checking the pictures you took rather than concentrating on taking some more. Its a good decision, especially since the photos themselves can take a second or two to process. After pressing the shutter button, you get a quick preview on the viewfinder that doesnt quite match the final results but is enough to let you know whether you got the shot or not. Great results The results are usually great. !Camera can shoot in Apples ProRAW format or use the basic JPEG processing, but it defaults to its own SuperRaw system that adds a slight grain and goes for punchy exposure. These photos can all capture HDR data, and you can also save a regular RAW file at the same time for editing later. !Camera supports importing LUTs, or lookup tables, the same kind of presets used by many pro photographers. It also comes with several styles of its own, including a couple of monochrome filmlike options by Tokyo-based AgBr, the collective behind the excellent Mac and iOS photo editing app of the same name. These arent just filters: Theyre embedded right into the image-processing pipeline. Last month Apple announced that it is shifting all of its operating systems to a new visual style built around a virtual material called Liquid Glass. Design chief Alan Dye said in a statement that it combines the optical qualities of glass with a fluidity only Apple can achieve, as it transforms depending on your content or context. !Camera takes a similar approach in some ways, as it acknowledges the physical properties of the iPhone and reacts in real time. But you couldnt make !Camera out of Liquid Glassits already made out of something else. Its materials have a style and a charm entirely their own, and they make your phone feel like a timeless camera in the real world rather than something that exists only in the Apple universe. More to the point, it is simply a heck of a lot of fun. Id fallen out of love with iPhone photography, but !Camera has pulled me right back. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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E-Commerce
I have a brain tumor. The good news is that its benign. The bad news is that I need surgery to remove it. Brain surgery typically involves a lengthy recovery period. Six weeks, at a minimum. On top of navigating the emotions that come with such a diagnosis, Ive had to figure out what work will look like as I recover. More specifically: how I will manage not working for such a long period of time. This isnt the first time Ive experienced a major life event in my career (unfortunately). The Extreme Planner in me immediately started to figure out the logistics. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/04\/workbetter-logo.png","headline":"Work Better","description":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} If youre going through something similar, I feel you. If youve never faced a significant medical challenge, I hope it stays that way. But I write this so that if you ever need it, you can return to this article. And I write this so if you need to support someone going through a medical challenge, you know where to start. Talking with your boss or team Telling other people about a medical diagnosis is deeply personal. Theres no right or wrong time. Im self-employed, so I talked with my clients as soon as I had more definitive information (a surgery date). For 10 agonizing days, I knew that I had a brain tumor and my clients didnt. I somehow fumbled my way through deadlines and normal client communications as though nothing was wrong. But for me it made sense to talk about my diagnosis as soon as possible. My clients could start to plan for my absence. Plus, I have a lot of doctors appointments leading up to the surgery date that I need to work around. When I previously had a medical issue in 2017, I told only my boss and one or two close colleagues. I didnt want to talk about it. It was strictly a need-to-know basis. Bottom line: Do what feels right for you. Navigating the pressures of working Living with a brain tumor is Not Fun. There are a lot of unknowns around the outcome of surgery. The same is true for many medical conditions: Fear, pain, or both may impact your life daily. One benefit of telling your boss or team is that hopefully theyre compassionate. Theyll lighten your workload or understand if you have to rearrange deadlines. But youre likely also facing financial pressure. With most companies having limits on paid sick time, you probably feel like you have to keep working until the point when you cant anymore. I certainly feel that pressureeven guiltas I think about the gap in my familys income as I recover. I finally decided to take a break between my last working day and my surgery date. During that time, Im going to take my family to a show in Chicago and maybe get a pedicure. I have a special lunch date planned with my husband. If youre facing a potentially life-altering surgery or other procedure, dont spend your last few days before working. Enjoy the time as best you can. How to ask for support Heres the thing about telling people that youre experiencing a major medical issue: People want to help. Theyll ask you if theres anything they can do, because they know youre going through something rough. When I first told people about my brain tumor, they told me to let them know if there was anything they could do. For a long time, I said, Ill let you know. I couldnt think of anything, because my mind was still reeling from the shock of the diagnosis. But then I started to ask for help with specific things. I thought about the people in my life, and how their skills might help keep my business running while I cant work. I circled back with some people who had offered support and said, Can you do XYZ for me? If you work for a company, you can do the same thing. Make a list of the things that would truly make your workday easier so youre ready anytime someone asks, How can I help? How to provide support If youre on the other side and a colleague or professional contact is going through something hard, offer specific ways you can help. So many people (like me) are overwhelmed and dont know how to reply when someone offers support. Say, Can I take ABC off your plate? Or XYZ? rather than Let me know if theres anything you need! It reduces the mental load of the person youre trying to help. Check in again, even after weeks or months have passed. The persons needs may change. Significant medical issues can be long-lasting. People are eager to offer help at the beginning, but that fades over timeespecially at work, where its easy to be removed from peoples personal lives. Be the person who continues to show up, saying, How can I help? Or simply, How are you feeling? Do you want to talk? Im here to listen. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/04\/workbetter-logo.png","headline":"Work Better","description":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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