Permanent jewelry, greenrinsing, and mediphors
February 3, 2023
Welcome to this 89th 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.
You can subscribe to this weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail
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
Searching across 1000s of books. Neeva, a new search engine. A search engine that summarizes answers. News reading.
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.
AI chatbots could hit a ceiling after 2026 as training data runs dry. When Grandma Is a TikTok Star . How food habits changes exposure us to weather, wars and market turbulence. The power center in space moves to the Moon. Facebook Tried to Open a Railroad. Ticketmaster’s control. Amazon launches a $5 monthly subscription for unlimited prescription medications. Text to music. Costco’s appartment. The liquor brand Chase Azul just opened a luxury resort, centered around its expensive, premium tequila. In Q4, US box shipments dropped 8.4%, the worst dip since the Great Recession.
Our future
Lessons From an Architect in a Time of Crisis. Trends shaping the future of work. Technologies of the future, according to Davos participants. 13 Predictions for Life in 2023. From briny flavors to high-end Jell-O shots, here’s what food forecasters say we’ll be eating this year. The future of trade. Transforming travel. Inside Japan’s long experiment in automating elder care. Robot lawyers threatened with jail time. Doughnut-shaped laser used to create an optical fibre out of air. Roboticists want to give you a third arm.
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?
The topic “permanent jewelry” has seen a 99X+ spike in search interest over the last 24 months. China's new hyperloop train completes first test runs. Dutch supermarket introduces unique slow checkout . The $2.5K luxury burger box. YouTube is bringing viral fame to one of Delhi’s oldest markets. Why Paper Map Sales Are Booming. The dating CRM. Swiss kids get “joker” vacations. TikTok is in love with simulated shipwrecks. Tech workers are livestreaming their layoffs. The size of pick-up trucks. Meanwhile, the ‘Gen Z shake’ is the new ‘Millennial pause’. Is tipping out of control? A list of unclassified DARPA projects for 2023. JP Morgan management arm bought 250k acres of Pine Belt woodlands for $500m+, which it’ll manage for wood and carbon capture.
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 discovered the garden of blogs.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths
The future of television viewing metrics: A transition to a multi-currency national TV market. The art of jumping. The brands GenZ love. Six shades of green. When runways get renamed. How Singapore is creating a global trustworthy AI solution. Good design is intentional. The Westminster accounts. China’s state of influencers. The business of book styling. The cost overun of large projects.
I like to learn new words. This week, I heard about mediphors.
On my radar
It has been hard to avoid falling down the rabbit hole of ChatGPT and what is means as AI finally is reaching it inflection point: DoNotPay is launching an AI chatbot that can negotiate your bills. Codeword marketing agency hires AI "interns". Ten ChatGPT extensions. This Startup Is Using AI to Unearth New Smells. Youtube summaries with ChatGPT. Build your persona. You can probably use to automate approximately 40% of your job. Customer user evaluation. Whispers of A.I.’s Modular Future.
Numbers
11,000 - Number of washboards sold.
27 - 27% have used ChatGPT in their place of work.
98- 98% of executives say their business models must change
Feeling good
Chatting with historical figures. Intersections. Colors of Africa. My paper is better than yours. Time it.
Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…
And do not miss the next issue:
Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends!
Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.