Welcome to this 64th 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.
As I did last summer, this newsletter will be published bi-monthly during the months of July and August, returning to the weekly schedule in September.
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This newsletter was written this time from Orbetello, Italy. This is what I noticed these pas couple of weeks, thank you for sharing this newsletter to those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Strategic Intelligence
Introducing Earth Engine for governments and businesses. Surveillance state. Google is developing new generations of its core search app that will enable people to annotate the real world "any way and anywhere". Latest homepages to scan the news. Internal uthat surfaces in public records. Systems thinking for public servants. Data scrapping.
Strategic blindspots
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots.
Airline Announces Plans to Add Spacious Bunk Beds to Economy Class. Population collapse threatens millions in commerce and the stability of the food chain. Toyota's patent application shows food delivery system at theme park using drones. The hypothesis fund. Xerox scanners/photocopiers randomly alter numbers in scanned documents. Invisible disabilities. Coordination neglect. The Danger of Continuous Partial Attention. The United Repair Center.
We have scheduled the dates for 2022 for our “Strategic Blindspot course” . Our next course will be offered in Montreal on October 26-27, 2022. Registrations are now open.
Our future
NASA taps three companies to design nuclear power plants for the moon. An invisible cage. Virtual child influencer. AI that detects chicken distress calls could improve farm conditions. Wearable muscles. The lone days of office parks. Delta is experimenting with flight information boards that know who you are. Dating trends.
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?
Italian hairdressers face fines for shampooing. Hypercasual videogames. The message for the future. Exaluminal. The history of oligopolies. COVID population shift. Gen Z Critiques Their Former Selves. Urbanism and car ownership. Diaspora communities reframe history, one Instagram post at a time. Reusable bottle brand Dopper adds public water taps to Google Maps. Ces français ne veulent plus travailler. Amazon bought a 2% stake in Grubhub. Flatpack Oceanic Lifeboats. Tesla’s virtual power plant.
On our radar
As a pilot, I am always scanning how this industry has consistently improved its security standards: Psychology and the Instrument Panel. EMAS systems. How the Dumb Design of a WWII Plane Led to the Macintosh . Flight Crew Expectation Bias. The New Era of Aviation Safety: Cognitive Science.
Down the rabbit hole
This section 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 Overedge Catalog.
In cartography, most maps are bound by the straight lines at their borders. But occasionally, there are parts of the map that don’t quite fit. They bleed over the edge and yet still cry out for being included in a map. These are the overedges. The Overedge Catalog is devoted to collecting the intriguing new types of organizations and institutions that lie at the intersection of the worlds of research and academia, non-profits, and tech startups
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths
The Complex Proteins Guarding Our DNA. Strange stars. The bacteria from the Easter Island. Xbox controllers use tiny dot patterns to break the surface tensionon gamers’ hands. The Unfortunate Tetrahedron is a guide to the four design trade-offs in battery design. The science of fireworks. Parachuting for charity. Shanghai’s Newest Tool for Preserving Its History: Coffee Shops. The six forces of friendship. How to IPO a partnership.
Feeling good
Pothole into art (perfect for Montreal… see Johannesburg here). Surprising trademarks. How many times since 1871? Imagined islands. The resident artist.
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