Welcome to this 107th 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 and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.
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I am preparing this newsletter this week from Torino, Italy. This is what I noticed this week, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
Remove your personal info from Google using its updated “Results about you” tool. Data storytelling. Google’s Search Box Changed the Meaning of Information. Internet search tips. How to Conduct Person of Interest Investigations.
Strategic blindspots
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.
Walmart is partnering with Alphabet's Wing drone unit to expand its rapid airborne delivery operations. Dazi or community partners. Beijing’s cemeteries are going digital. Why the apple mouse charges from the bottom. Japan’s labor crunch is so acute that companies are hiring 70-year-olds. Should computers decide prices. Should computers decide how much things cost ? What if Germany stopped making cars?
Our future
We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter (which I still find infinitely better than Threads).
Trends that brands should keep tabs on for the rest of the year. The transfer of wealth from boomers to ‘zennials’ will reshape the global economy. Palantir filed a patent for qn optimized calculation of “member activity metrics”. Kidulting (adults who engage in activities geared for kids) is becoming the new cultural trend. JLL report on Global Real Estate confirms the industry’s challenging future. A new IBM report estimates 40% of the global workforce will need to ‘reskill’ in the next three years. The future is talking into the void with the machine generating "synchronous, semantically meaningful listener reactions." Farmers are breeding heat-resistant cows.
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?
Lego is releasing Braille versions of its toy bricks. Professor suggest replacing elections in the US with a lottery system. New York City schools will allow high school students to enroll virtually. Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte release dates. A digital backpack. Tik-Tok is hiring a head of luxury. 25 countries have reduced multidimensional poverty by half within 15 years, with India leading this progress
Down the rabbit hole
This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na)
This week, I stumbled upon an AI toolkit for future studies.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths
When computers start doing the work of people, the need for people often increases. Opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun. Humans started counting at least 40,000 years ago. The sixth sense. Return on audit. A new contract for artists. Holes in buildings.
Numbers
28- A Gallup survey shows a record-low 28% of remote workers feel connected to their company’s mission
17,000 - the team that won once, and had 17,000 losses.
50%- More than 50% of all species live in the soil
22- loneliness or how 22 percent of Americans said they haven’t made a new friend in the past five years
Feeling good
Some tactile reproductions of famous artworks so people can experience paintings and sculptures through touch. The first observation of neutrinos inside a particle collider. What’s special about this number.
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