Welcome to this 48th 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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This is what I noticed this week, thank you for sharing this newsletter to those who look into the future.
Competitive intelligence
Traffic and disruptions to Google. Dorksearch ( caution!) How TrueCaller built a billion-dollar caller ID data empire in India. The Tesco insight platform. Investors are terrible at forecasting wars. Elephind lets you search historical newspaper archives. Hobbyists OSINT.
Strategic blindspots
Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots.
Adjacent knowledge is useful. The danger of emotional reasoning and using our emotions as proof. Amazon to shut its bookstores. Nickel hits $100,000. Amazon launches a Clubhouse competitor . The rise of skincare for space travel. Google buys Synaptics audio team. The new silent majority: People who don't tweet. Pronounced loss of Amazon rainforest resilience since the early 2000s. Expanded alphabet, precise sequencing make DNA the next data storage solution.
We have scheduled the dates for 2022 for our “Strategic Blindspots”course . Our next cohort which will take place in Montreal, Canada, on April 26-27, 2022. Registrations are open.
Our future
Why QR code restaurant payments are poised to skyrocket. The Future 100: 2022 vocabulary. Futures Spun And Stolen In The Metaverse. Swapportunities. These Campaigns Hope ‘Deepfake’ Candidates Help. Restaurant Boom. Therapy for crypto addicts. A museum that's making customizable humanoid robots with 'goosebumps' and 'veins'. Expanded alphabet, precise sequencing make DNA the next data storage solution.
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 yPatent Images (uspto.gov)our industry or field of expertise?
Weird start-up proposes dropping organs from space. ViceVerse HQ by BIG architects. Pantone’s Color of the Year Is Getting the NFT Treatment . Santiago, Chile, just appointed the world's newest Chief Heat Officer. The Secret Auction That Set Off the Race for AI Supremacy. Disney - personalized censorship of digital content. Synthetic data.
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 Brandalism.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths …
The role of reciprocity. Notes on Warren Buffet. Substack’s new reading app. Why movies are getting longer. The site for pirated academic papers. The most common dream in each country. Words that seem etymologically related but aren't. Macaronis.
Feeling Good
Rotators. Inspired by Mondrian. Best landscape photography entries. The Museum of the Future. The Pink Lagoon. Daily bread. World maps.
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