Welcome to this 40th issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”. Each week, I sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note an introduce yourself.
Join us on Clubhouse to discuss how to interpret some of those trends and weak signals most Saturday at 9am EST (we’re on tomorrow).
You can subscribe to this weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.
This is what I noticed this week, thank you for sharing this newsletter to those who look into the future.
Competitive Intelligence
A browser extension allowing you to access all comments about a webpage. 7 Popular Ways to Save Links. Family search. True people search. Human Intelligence through tattoo search. The earth on demand. Challenges in Social Network Analysis of social media data. A Database with legal complaints and requests for removal of online materials. Query Google but remove trackers and ads. The Dirty Work of Cleaning Online Reputations.
Strategic Foresight in U.S. Agencies.
For those who need to master online competitive research We offer advanced search techniques courses online.
Strategic blindspots
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots.
Best Buy launches in-house media company. A race for lithium is sparking fears of water shortages in northern Argentina. Is the ‘Future of Food’ the Future We Want? Presidential candidates' computer-generated avatars. The New Trend in Healthcare: Do-It-Yourself. Fifth graders as futurists: Imagining the world in 20 years. Finally, UX for women who drive: Seatbelt for Bags. Exploring and Debunking Lay Beliefs About Cynicism and Competence. Luxury fashion for heathcare workers.
We have scheduled the dates for 2022 for our “Strategic Blindspots”course . Our next cohort which will take place in Montreal, Canada, on April 26-27, 2022. Registrations are open.
Our future
You never have to say good-bye. Glasses that double as a handy second screen for professionals and students when matched with a laptop. China’s millennials are embracing vegetarianism and veganism in record numbers. Meet the Dutch lifestyle trend that embraces windy days. A new organizational paradigm. Dry dating. Hype housing. Get your degree from Youtube. From reycling to switching.
We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter.
Weak signals
Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?
Rebranding. Neuro Symbolic AI by Alibaba. Renault’s time machine. Floating motors. Do you know Chording? A game to Sue People Using Crypto. NYT To Buy The Athletic. The effect of augmented virtuality on financial decision-making among adults and children. Teens fear the green bubble. The potato shortage. The Japananese man who married a virtual character. A Learning DAO for Web3-Curious Builders & Creators. The mouring dove. Virtual bakeries. Japan to Open Its First Esports High Schoo.
Join us to discuss those trends and signals every Saturday at 9am EST on Clubhouse ( we start back on January 8). We have a panel of futurists that illustrate what those signals might mean, and a fantastic group of curious minds in the room.
On our radar
I am preparing an in-house training course in April for a client in the banking industry on the art of spotting weak signals. The client wants to expose their leadership team to techniques to be future-ready: Looking for content that has not yet been discovered. The most popular products on Reddit (guess what #17 is? my favorite question is #40…). The year in censored terms on the Chinese internet. What Greylocks expects for 2022. Meaning on a lamp-post and this quote
“Once you start noticing them, they become like a muttered conversation you can overhear the city having with itself, always there as a background hum but only occasionally grabbing your full attention.”
Down the rabbit hole
This is a new section. It highlights a subject that lead me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors.
This week, I went down the rabbit hole into the generative art work of Frank Force, a deliciously offbeat site.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths …
The Brain Processes Speech in Parallel With Other Sounds. Own the Demand. Emotional decision-making in autism spectrum disorder. Routine Maintenance. A letter from China. It’s the golden age of the swab, a 99-year-old invention. Hearing the park. Squad Wealth. The World Inequality Report 2022. The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps'.
I have published this week a yearly review of the top 70 newsletters curious minds are reading in 2022.
Feeling Good
The Tokyo subway. Data Sonification Archive. Wild, hand-painted movie posters from Ghana. A beautiful 3D rendering of unearthing the truth. Night trains. Nanoartography.
The image illustrating this week is Virtual Human - by Alan Warburton
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Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.