Sweethearting, snackfishing, and romcommerce
December 13, 2024
Welcome to this 144th issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”.
Each week, I personally 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 have prepared this newsletter this week from Paris, France. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.
Estelle.
Competitive Intelligence
OpenAI is in the early stages of developing an internet browser. Brave Search adds AI chat for follow-up questions after your initial query. Secret Service Says You Agreed To Be Tracked With Location Data. The open source challenge. When a Telescope Is a National-Security Risk.
Strategic blindspots and business models
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.
Point of Failure: Semiconductor-Grade Quartz. Clear’s Dominance in Airports Could Be Coming to an End. Walmart launches shoppable ‘Romcommerce’ series. Point of Failure: Semiconductor-Grade Quartz. The rise of non admitted insurance. Forbidden exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony. Amazon debuted Amazon Autos, an ecommerce platform for buying new vehicles from dealerships
Our future
An Uncertain Future Requires Uncertain Prediction Skills. What happened to the glamour of tomorrow? Mocha Mousse is Pantone’s official Color of the Year for 2025. ( see also Who chooses the world’s Color of the Year? and How the company sold color to the world). Google is rolling out an AI that can allegedly read our emotions… and it worries researchers.
It is the time of the year when trend reports start pouring in. Until end of January, I will for each issue add in this section and track those of interest to you, with my personal remarks:
2025 Global Consumer Trends Report - Qualtrics
Hootsuite: The 15 social media trends that will shape your 2025 strategy
TikTok also dropped its annual trends list.
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?
Facial Recognition That Tracks Suspicious Friendliness Is Coming to a Store Near You. Digital midwives. People Are Turning Their Apartments Into Pop-Up Coffee Shops . Scientists create an electricity lollipop that simulates green tea, durian and other flavors. You’ve Just Been Snackfished. StolenTime St. Lucia launches 'Grief Retreat' package. Lebanon is tired of waiting for its president. Salaries americans consider to be successful.
Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.
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 explored this list of icebreakers.
Unpacking AI
This is a new section. Clients have asked me to dig into the impact of AI for their organization, industry, or their own work. I will add in this sections tools, or angles of interpretation that I find relevant to our community of curious minds:
Originality AI found that 54% of long LinkedIn posts from English-speaking thought leaders are AI-generated. AI can help humans find common ground in democratic deliberation. Every White-Collar Role Will Have An AI Copilot. Then An AI Agent. Google and Others Are Developing AI That Can Hear Signs of Sickness. Friend or faux? AI can generate images of a street from its sounds.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.
Fossil teeth suggest a long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain. 20 Paradoxes That Will Boggle Your Mind. About entropy. How big data created the modern dairy cow. Music Can Alter the Way We Feel About Our Memories.
Numbers
13.8bn - Enterprise AI spending reached $13.8 billion this year, 6x since 2023.
162- Global average robot density reached a record 162 units per 10,000 employees in 2023. China is the fast horse, doubling robot use in just four years and passing Germany and Japan.
400- The oldest bond in the world turned 400 years old on Tuesday
Feeling good
Bluesky mosaic. unedited moments from random lives. Explorable images. Uncrop your Twitter profile.
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Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends!
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