Welcome to this 105th 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 Athens, Ontario. This is what I noticed this week, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
We talk about satellite imagery this week: A set of tools for searching, sharing, and using openly licensed satellite and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. Select an area on the map and get a list of dozens of images obtained from satellites. Alt investors using alt data to gain an edge. Economics and ESG Demand Computer-Vision Satellite Data. Facility Intelligence Solution to Provide Objective, Transparent and Actionable Insights for Industrial Facilities. ESA's open access portal to Sentinel data. Sentinels Open Access Hub is the official headquarters to download Sentinel imagery. List of competitive intelligence OSINT image tools to analyze images.
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.
Training in high heels. Barbie as a sustainable development officer. Third pole glaciers. Jootsing, the key to creativity. Is the attorney pregnant? Luxury brands like Prada and Burberry are stepping into the sports arena. While Nike plans ‘network’ of boutique fitness studios. Starbucks has reached the point in the year where it is a cold beverage company, as it hit 75 percent of all beverage sales being of the cold variety. Businesses are making money off your midlife crisis. Amazon Clinic, offering 24/7 virtual consultations, is now accessible to customers across the US. Zoom updated its terms of service to clarify that it will train its AI models using customer data without an opt-out option.
Our future
Europeans Are Becoming Poorer. CEOs forced to ditch decades of forecasting habits. The hottest new corporate climate trend is “greenhushing ». “The Salt of the Cosmos” at the intersection of the environment and technology. Shining a Light on the Digital Dark Age . Purified Wastewater Is the Drink of the Future. BMW’s rolling cinema. Airbnb’s ROI tester. What’s next for the moon.
We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter (which I still find infinitely better than Threads).
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?
Japanese scientists designed a freezer that works in the deep sea. Autonomous Conscience and Automotive Casualty. Automakers are launching motorhomes with rugged frames. In China, the Rise of the “facekini” . Netflix posted an AI position — a machine learning platform product manager — with a salary range up to $900k. Streaming the zeitgeist. Date me docs. Social media blackout.
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 The Deep Dive, a genuinely great publication which every week sends out a selection of links to super-in-depth YouTube documentaries about a range of different topics.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths
Interaction design. Designing Google maps. A New Map of the Universe, Painted With Cosmic Neutrinos. The strength of weak ties. Geometry and cell sizes. Geopsychology: Your personality depends on where you live. Work-from-home and the risk of securities misconduct. America’s analysis of China back in 1974. Why does ‘Of course’ mean ‘Yes’? Braille Is Alive, Well, and Ever-Evolving.
On our radar
I am preparing a keynote for a large financial institution in Quebec on the future workplace: Six scénarios d'un monde sans travail.Future of Work & Workplaces 2030+. Gen what? Debunking age-based myths about worker preferences. The average American workday just got half an hour shorter, with productivity unchanged. Amazon's controversial 'voluntary resignation' program for remote workers. AI and the automation of work. Future of workers.
Numbers
40%- Space cooling makes up nearly 40% of all expected growth in energy demand between now and 2050.
40bn- UPS reached a tentative labor deal with the 340k-worker union that includes $30B in new pay and benefits
800- Japan’s population drops by nearly 800k in a year, around a 0.5% reduction.
Feeling good
From a photo to a poem. Falling Fruit is a tool available for the contemporary forager. Evident images.
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