Freddy Tran Nager
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professorfreddy.bsky.social
Freddy Tran Nager
@professorfreddy.bsky.social
Marketing & Media Professor | Creative Strategist | Raging Moderate | Harvard & USC Grad | Writer | Los Angeleno | Cat Herder

Site: https://www.AtomicTango.com
LinkedIn: https://www.FreddyNager.com
USC: https://annenberg.usc.edu/faculty/freddy-tran-nager
Pinned
My 19-year-old cat Scooter is now so hard of hearing that I nicknamed him Def Tiny Leppard. But even if he could hear me, he wouldn't respond, because he doesn't get 80s pop-culture references. #cats #Caturday
My parking angel was on top of his game in downtown Los Angeles this week. Twice he scored FREE spaces for me. Really. Of course, I feel for the guy, since I'm sure an angel has infinitely higher aspirations...

medium.com/@freddynager... #fiction #shortstory #writing #humor
On The Whinge Of An Angel
So you think Life is unfair?
medium.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Short notice: I'm speaking at this Creator x AI event tonight: luma.com/moousivd
Creator × Al: Co-Creating the Future · Luma
Join us for an open, creative evening where creators, innovators, and curious minds come together to explore how creators can better leverage AI in the age of…
luma.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
If a boss or client tells you to make some content "go viral," show them this article and explain how viral #marketing can take more time, money, and effort than just running an ad. And unlike #advertising, there are no guarantees of getting any reach whatsoever.

atomictango.com/marketing/vi...
“Viral” Does Not Mean “Free”: The Reality Behind The Buzz
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Social Media Realist; bee photo by Rowan Heuvel on Unsplash… I recently had lunch with a former MBA classmate to discuss her startup’s pr…
atomictango.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Another epic video by Dr. Rough, this one on "vibe coffee." Bon appetit!

#comedy #satire #AI #coding
"Vibe coding" has been named word of the year by Collins dictionary. But why stop there? Aren't you and your underlings on the "vibe coffee" hype train yet? Don't get left behind! In this video I'll share with you how to minimise time, expense, and empathy. 🤑
Vibe coffee
YouTube video by Daniel R
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 9:05 PM
It's taken a few years, but USC finally called my number...
November 10, 2025 at 3:37 AM
One of my most popular articles evaluated this very early meme:

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test … do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

atomictango.com/marketing/il... #socialmedia
November 9, 2025 at 6:38 PM
“The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” — Eden Phillpotts
November 9, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Reading Elif Batuman's Harvard-inspired novel "The Idiot" (bookshop.org/a/115667/978...). This passage made me LOL and reminded me of courses I took in Asian history, where the profs ignored the pageantry of history and taught rice distribution in Tokugawa Japan.

#books #BookSky #HigherEd
November 8, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Isn't hosting the #Olympics supposed to boost the local economy, not exploit the natives? How much did Delta Airlines spend to sponsor a volunteer program?

#labor #exploitation #LosAngeles
November 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by Freddy Tran Nager
#Ukraine is implementing large-scale #rewilding projects to restore ecosystems impacted by conflict, while simultaneously supporting the rehabilitation of veterans.

https://www.rfr.bz/bf62da7
Ukraine’s massive nature project is helping veterans and land recover
A massive rewilding project in Ukraine is proving helpful for the wellbeing of veterans as well as helping large natural areas recover.
www.rfr.bz
November 6, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by Freddy Tran Nager
Have now purchased backup train tix for my weekend flights to/from NYC because America is great again
November 6, 2025 at 1:38 AM
In my influencer marketing course, we discuss "contra-influencers": famous people who repulse non-fans and trigger opposing reactions. Case in point: in the NYC Mayoral Election, Cuomo was endorsed by Trump, Musk, and the troglodytic Stephen Miller. Mamdani couldn't have asked for anything better.
November 6, 2025 at 12:42 AM
No, I did not singlehandedly eat a whole 24-ounce pecan pie this past weekend. I used both hands.

(Pie season: my favorite time of the year.)
a black plate topped with a slice of pecan pie
ALT: a black plate topped with a slice of pecan pie
media.tenor.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:03 AM
None of my students could ever deliver this line. When they arrive at my office and find my door closed, they text or DM. "I'm the one who DMs" just doesn't have the same ominousness.
a man with a beard is making a funny face and says `` i am the one who knocks . ''
ALT: a man with a beard is making a funny face and says `` i am the one who knocks . ''
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Freddy Tran Nager
“As far as we humans know, we are the only species that chooses to fight against our biological presets, regularly changing our clocks, miserably dragging ourselves into and out of bed at unnatural hours.” - Rachelle Wilson Tollemar, University of Wisconsin-Madison #FallBack buff.ly/bkSy7QY
November 1, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Now I want to live there. (And since this story ran in the NY Times, I'm betting that Camden, #Maine will soon be overrun by big city professionals looking to escape.)

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/s... #journalism
They Took Big Pay Cuts to Run a Little Paper
www.nytimes.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:12 PM
My newest obsession: #rewilding.
Your October #RewildingWins are here 🍂

The weather may be getting colder here in Britain but the rewilding successes continue to hot up!

Scroll down to read all about them👇

🧵1/7
November 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
In the Halloween spirit, here's one of my favorite scenes from a horror movie — and there's nothing scary or gory about it, unless you're a predatory capitalist...

atomictango.com/media/house-... #capitalism
Squeeze Play: A Horror Scene About Lemons — Ghosts Not Included
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Loves A Good Scare… On TV… Hollywood has long loved Halloween. The horrific holiday brings out the best (and the beasts) in TV an…
atomictango.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Appropriately, I was supposed to have a Zoom meeting today but got ghosted.

#Halloween
October 31, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Why waste time with the undead when the true spirit of networking is alive and well? My take on clearing your #socialmedia of ghosts...

atomictango.com/mischief/gho... #business
Halloween’s Around The Corner — Time To Bust A Few Ghosts On Social Media
by Freddy Tran Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Guy Who Ain’t Afraid Of No Ghosts; photo by Stefano Pollio on Unsplash… The business world seems more haunted than ever, with increasing …
atomictango.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:34 PM
In other words, leave it to beavers.

#conservation
🦦 A family of beavers in the Czech Republic just saved the government $1.2 MILLION by building a series of dams that restored a vital wetland ecosystem.

We're talking improved water quality, a boost for local wildlife, and better flood prevention, all for the low, low price of... absolutely free!
October 30, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I've consumed enough science fiction to make me think home humanoid assistants are not the best idea. But thanks for asking.

www.1x.tech/order #robots
Order NEO
Transform your Home. NEO takes care of the tasks around the house so you can focus on what matters to you.
www.1x.tech
October 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
How to do a Native American "land acknowledgement"? Don't read a pandering statement before a meeting; rather, give the land back.

www.latimes.com/california/s... #conservation #California
Elk are again roaming on lands that California has returned to the Tule River Indian Tribe
Tribal leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom gathered Wednesday to mark the return of 17,000 acres of ancestral land to the Tule River Indian tribe.
www.latimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Former CIA analyst @fsnepp.bsky.social shares his perspective on how voters perceive economies; e.g., rating Biden's sound economy as bad. I found his insight on boredom intriguing. Hopeful note: it won't take much for these same voters to turn on Trump.

snepp.substack.com/p/even-a-mid... #RESIST
October 29, 2025 at 11:47 PM