Welcome to this 87th 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 sending this newsletter this Friday from Montreal, Canada. We’ll have in 2023 a slight change of schedule, as this newsletter moves to a mostly bi-monthly version. This is what I noticed this week, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
Trying Arc, a new browser. Getting detailed info about website traffic. A tool that retrieves a list of all saved @waybackmachine URLs from domains on the list. Open Ownership. Microsoft May Launch a ChatGPT-Fueled Bing This Spring.
We have scheduled the dates for 2023 for our courses. “Advanced Search Techniques for Competitive and Customer Intelligence” will be offered on February 15, 2023. Registrations are now open.
Strategic blindspots
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots.
The central Asia wood. Global warming overshoots increase risks of climate tipping cascades in a network model. Farmers accidentally created a flood-resistant ‘machine’ across Bangladesh. A brief history of just-in-time. The year customer experience died. Amazon Air Has Too Much Cargo Capacity as Demand Slows. Horizontal elevators. What Can We Learn from Barnes & Noble's Surprising Turnaround?
Our future
The Race to Create Working, Practical Personal Jetpacks. What’s next in space. Microbial mining could help colonize Moon and Mars. Can 2023 Be the Year of "Nothingcore"? Making sunsets. 5 Predictions for China in 2023. Optimism or pessimism for 2023. A professor’s predictions for 2023. Retail Trends Forecast 2023. Why we should care about the industrial metaverse. Companies can ‘hire’ a virtual person for about $14k a year in China. A new dawn for CPG.
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?
Adult toys: Build-A-Bear has teens and adults now accounting for 40 percent of total sales. In a year of inflation, the $25 gift card rules Christmas. Chinese tech company Baidu will start offering driverless, nighttime taxi rides. ABBA’s avatar show offers a glimpse at new direction for live music. Porsche Successfully Replaces Car’s Gas With Air And Water. Cobwebbing dating trend. CES 2023 Preview. Apple’s mixed-reality headset reportedly has an outward-facing display that shows a user’s facial expressions. Say No to Meetings. NYC Bans Students and Teachers from Using ChatGPT.
Down the rabbit hole
This section highlights a subject that lead 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 explored the 100+ list of 2023 trends’ reports by Daniel Eckler.
On our radar
I am spending a great deal of time identifying future strategies in transportation as I serve on two boards in the automotive industry: Experts discuss the future of transportation. Why Little Vehicles Will Conquer the City. Washington, D.C., to Offer Free Public Bus Service. Connected vehicles.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths
The year in math. The political economy of skiiing. Mathematicians Discover the Fibonacci Numbers Hiding in Strange Spaces. Vending machines, from 19th century to now. Le « döstadning », ou l’art de ranger sa vie avant sa mort. Top economic risks for 2023. The Unheard Symphony of the Planet. Why the future never arrives.
Numbers
0.8 - the U.S. population grew by only 0.38 percent from July 2021 to July 2022
26 - 26% of the US population is living with some type of disability.
Feeling good
Information is beautiful. Puzzle party. The watering hole. How we thought 2023 would shape up. Ocean of books.
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