Welcome to this 49th 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.
Join us on Clubhouse to discuss how to interpret some of those trends and weak signals most Saturdays at 9 am EST (we’re on tomorrow).
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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
World atlas data. Change your cookie profile to access different information. Social media Intelligence: a ‘Fashion Map’ With Your Social Media Photos. Late night pizzas to the Pentagon as a signal that risks are rising. This new breed of unified search apps does what Google doesn’t. What Google Search Isn’t Showing You.
We are offering our courses on Competitive Intelligence Analysis this spring ( June 9-10, 2022). Registrations are 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 white dot optical illusion. Charging more for ‘The Batman’ tickets to test out a new pricing model. Brands launch digital country clubs. Creative quests. The quiet growth of Facebook MarketPlace. The Hidden Costs of Containerization. Economic development goes hand in hand with literature about love. Slobbing out and giving up.
Our future
Haptic feedback vests. VTOL startups to disrupt the pioneers of the air. The most dangerous technologies. Imagine Other Futures. Crafting ‘organic’ sci-fi worlds and families of the future. China’s ‘Lying Flat’ Trend Meets its New Champion: The Free Idler. Of Course We’re Living in a Simulation. The state of platforms. Inheriting bitcoin is harder than it sounds.
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?
Hybrid Feline-Friendly Furniture. Hermès Is Using Sustainable Vegan Mushroom Leather. It’s getting hard to find garage doors. GenZ water. Truckuzzis. The baby-sitter shortage. PwC fined over exam cheating involving 1,100 of its auditors. Ban on Over-The-Air Updates For Cars. Twitter is launching a Tor service. Kids’ podcasting.
Join us to discuss those trends and signals every Saturday at 9am EST on Clubhouse. We have a panel of futurists that illustrate what those signals might mean, and a fantastic group of curious minds in the room.
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 feral.earth where access is determined by climate and ecological data at server site in realtime.
Hodgepodge discovery
Articles for curious minds and the polymaths …
The story of zero. The Dassler brothers family feud. Amazon's Super-Complex Shipping System and Incentives. Apple past designs. The home furnishings giant enlists a maze-like layout, cheap food, and crafty psychology to get you to fill up your cart. Why letters are shaped the way they are. Conscientious urban tech. Magic carpets. Wonders and warnings from the ancient world.
This Is Why You Fall in Love With Brands (here is the original study in pdf) and this quote:
While useful and certainly not wrong, this slavish attention to cognitive psychology and economics left something important out of the branding equation: the psycho-social-cultural-emotional story of consumers and their brands.
I have published this week a yearly review of the top 70 newsletters curious minds are reading in 2022.
Feeling Good
The master builders of Minecraft. Only the questions. Décrocher le téléphone pour appeler la poésie.
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Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.