[SIC] 169: Remotely Human

December 2, 2021

Dec 2, 2021

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Hi all,

There’s already been so much said about the untimely passing of Virgil Abloh that I couldn’t claim to add much - others who knew him better than I have said everything about him better than I could.

So I’ll just say this: in my limited experience talking with Virgil, everything that everyone’s said about his joie de vivre, sense of possibility, interest in people and belief in his friends (and his inspirations) was true. He’ll be missed of course, but let’s not miss the chance to carry his legacy into the future with those qualities as our north stars. To everyone reading this who knew him, my sincerest condolences and greatest sympathies.

And to everyone else, a little reading: Two from GQ: Rachel Tashjian’s obituary from this week and an older piece featuring Virgil’s take on skateboarding as a way of seeing both gave me the feels. This story of Virgil’s through the brands he worked with from Kanye to the New York City Ballet in Quartz isn’t a ‘feels’ type thing, but it illustrates the energy and breadth of his work.

Which wasn’t stopping, even at the end. From Randy Irwin: ever learning, he was working on a Web3 project, according to Fred Ehrsam, who founded Coinbase. Of course he was. 👑

In more cheerful news, today’s [SIC] Talks features the second coming of my friend Ana Andjelic, who’s been killing it lately with her new collector economy posts on her Sociology of Business newsletter. Here’s Ana on how to turn brands into collections and products into collectibles, required reading. Our chat is today at 4p ET / 1p PT, or on my grid @dietznutz in perpetuity. Come hang, if you have the time.

And thanks to Randy, Iolanda, Celeste, Erik

Ben

=====[SIC] 169: Remotely Human=====

Trends

From Iolanda Carvalho: "Really cool!” Key Quote: "As we adapt to life with Covid-19, 2021 has been about renegotiating the rules of home, work and play. Blended working. The Great Resignation. Vaccine passports. Broken-system sentiment. The urban exodus.” / We Are Social
Corollary: How Leisure Time Became Work. The rise of the attention economy has accelerated our habit of engaging with our hobbies in a data-driven way / The Atlantic
Elsewhere, what’s the TAM on that?! Nearly 3 billion people have never gone online, says the UN. That’s 37% of the world's population, and despite a pandemic-related surge in internet users. / The Guardian
Synaesthetics is coming for dinner. / Snaxshot
And America's gambling addiction is metastasizing “One consequence of the "end of vice" — Americans have made everything into a bet.” The Atlantic via Axios
Meanwhile, Americans are increasingly choosing to remain childless. Pew Research via 1440
They’re putting off paying, too. Americans' use of "buy now, pay later" options increased 438% between November 2019 and November 2021. / Adobe
Related: 'Buy now, pay later' is booming. But companies are facing pressure to change. / Protocol
Which didn’t stop Red Friday, according to Scott Galloway, who wrote, “The stale product formerly known as a loan has been rebranded as "Buy Now Pay Later," or BNPL” / No Mercy/No Malice
Corollated: [SIC] Homie Noah Brier’s The Returns Edition On holiday shopping, logistics, and tradeoffs is a sobering reminder to buy less, buy better, IMO / Why Is This Interesting
The rise of the he/they: an investigation. Xtra Mag via The Trend Report
Is there simply too much culture? The Guardian via Motive Unknown
Seth Godin notes the rise of the “Chief Apology Officer” “whose job is to make the customer or critic feel heard enough that they’ll accept the status quo without further fuss.”
“Say it with me, babes: POPULARITY IS OVERRATED — THE UNDERGROUND IS WHERE IT’S AT.” / Rave New World

Style

Prada on Ice Opens in New York and Beverly Hills. WWD via PSFK
A Year Off is a Bode short film in which Emily's uncle Bill recalls his life in 1969. Bode
From Celeste Blewitt: "This is a great listen." 'Maria Raga on Why Community Is Central to Depop's Success’ / BOF Podcast
Why Are So Many Fashion Brands Launching Restaurants? Airmail via Retail Innovation Week
Corollary: why Male Celebrities Are Launching Nail Lines / BoF
Virtual Fashion Is Big News. Can It Be Big Business? BoF
Via Iolanda Carvalho: This one is also cool. Key quote: "After nearly two years of disruption, the global fashion industry is once again finding its feet. Companies are adapting to new consumer priorities, and digital is providing a nexus for growth. “ / McKinsey

The Arts

Cheetos Dust Artworks on a Yacht May Mark the Endtimes at Miami Basel. Taping a banana wasn’t enough, so the art world had to do something even more stupid with food. / Hyperallergic
Es Devlin Is Planting a Forest in the Miami Design District. “Five Echoes,” commissioned by Chanel, is a maze-like multisensory installation. / Dezeen
Forget Miami Basel for sec and check out concise guides to December art for New York and Los Angeles including the annual “Sexy Christmas” group show… / Hyperallergic

Brad Phillips, “Brad Phillips 20202” (2020)

Entertainment + IP

[SIC] homie and space fantasy nerd supreme Bill McMullen's Dune mixtape / Soundcloud
While on Herb Sundays 24: Eothen Alapatt. The Now-Again founder and Stones Throw mainstay reflecting on records of his youth and extrapolating / Spotify
Elsewhere, hyperpop’s apparently moved to Montreal circa 2005 / the Unskippables
How Music Created Silicon Valley. Key quote: "Songs created Silicon Valley. Without music, it wouldn’t exist. In each key area of technology—semiconductors, storage, handheld devices, video displays, test equipment, etc.—funds to launch and grow the tech titans came from the entertainment industry, and especially the music business." The Honest Broker via Beats & Bytes
So is the music industry’s future on the blockchain? The Verge via Music Redef
And if so where do Web2 fanbases fit in Web3? Music x Mirror via Motive Unknown

Platforms & Influencers

The Role Of Content In A Superapp. / Chinese Characteristics via Maekan
Fortnite Party Worlds are maps are strictly social spaces for people to hang out, go to a concert, or play mini-games. / The Verge via Future Party
Also joining the party: Spotify wants to remix into a social platform. music was just the beginning. / Forbes via Future Party
Hence why tech foes are psyched the UK told Meta to sell Giphy / Protocol
Also, Facebook risks meta flop. Facebook risks missing the point of metaverse - and a coming shift in consumers' behaviour - if it fails to permit digital ownership. / Reuters
Separately: nobody’s really been able to make audio take off the way Hinge has. The dating app recently began letting users record an answer to icebreaker questions, called voice prompts, in their dating profiles. Thirteen percent of new people who sign onto the app have a voice prompt in their profiles, according to The Verge, via Protocol.
Myra Magdalen is a TikTok user whose account is growing pretty fast right now because her bathroom is covered in keyboards / TikTok via Garbage Day
Corollary: Story Club, is a new newsletter by GOAT literary humorist George Saunders. / Substack

Marketing & Advertising

Faze Clan and McDonald's drop new campaign to encourage diversity in gaming / Fast Company
Meanwhile, Corona’s opening a private island / Ad Age
NFT" is Collins Dictionary's word of the year, (beating out ‘crypto’ and ‘cheugy’). CNN via 1440
"We've created a Photoshop for textiles.” A digital tool that allows anyone to design complex 3D-knitted fabrics has been named product of the year at Dutch Design Awards 2021. / Dezeen
The funny guys at Harley-Davidson satirized cycling culture in its new ebike ad, Electrek via The Micromobility Newsletter
Giant consumer goods companies are getting in on the direct-to-consumer action with their own lookalike brands that they can spin up in as little as a couple weeks. Can customers tell the difference? And will they care? / Instagram

Media Business

Publishers are clinging to 25-year-old CPM model while everyone else talks commerce. The Drum via Nieman Lab
Apropos: does TikTok Create a Second Pivot to Video? / A Media Operator
Stat wants to be the Politico of health / The Rebooting
While pre-public media startups anxiously await BuzzFeed IPO / Axios

Metaverse & Web3

You might get hired via the metaverse, experts say CNBC
Hence Brian Morrissey’s take on “view this as an area anyone focused on sustainable media businesses should dig into, even if it’s wonky and bizarre.” / The Rebooting
Felix Salmon’s “Auction Edition” of WITI is a great read explaining why Ken Griffin would bid against ConstitutionDAO (ego aside) / Substack
Related: Investors Snap Up Metaverse Real Estate in a Virtual Land Boom / NYT
While Venture Capital Funding for Crypto Companies Is Surging / NYT
But early metaverse architect Philip Rosedale is no longer confident the metaverse will be a huge hit / Axios
Hence this request for web3 startups: If you are thinking about starting a new company, here is a list of ideas. Orange DAO via Declarative Statements
What Will Art Look Like in the Metaverse? Mark Zuckerberg wants us thinking about visual art when we contemplate his company’s new venture. Artists should take the suggestion seriously / NYT via Public Announcement
Speaking of the future of art, adidas proved that they’re Web 3 dropping news on collabs with Sandbox, BAYC and Punks Comics / Twitter via The Drop
On Black Friday, digital resale market GOAT helped users put their tastes front and center. GOAT launched “Spaces” — immersive, digital “mood board-like worlds.” / Input via Future Party
The creators of Crypto Coven talk about fostering community in the era of NFTs. / Dirt

Food & Drink

Welcome to the new Kitchen Bros / FT via Lean Luxe
Your favorite restaurant is taking delivery off its menu / WSJ via Future of Transportation
So we all apparently need to learn to make the cursed Mountain Dew Grilled Cheese via Today in Tabs
From Celeste Blewitt: "A local story, but it's one of global interest as the zero alcohol drinks trend continues to grow.” 'Zero Alcohol Brewer Heaps Normal Raises $8.5 million to Fuel Growth’” / AFR
Patagonia now makes sustainable wine (plus anchovies, chili, hot sauce, and more) / Patagonia via Retail Innovation Week

Miscellany

Do insects have emotions? / BBC via Marginal Revolution
Meet the (self-proclaimed?!) Jay Leno of ebikes (Substack)
From Erik Lavoie: “This is rad.” Celebrating the cars (and looks) of the 80s. / NYT
Elsewhere in low-impact appropriation: Après ski as a non-slopes lifestyle / Axios
Researchers shrink camera to the size of a salt grain. Engineering.Princeton via Marginal Revolution
Says director Mike Mills: “Ah man, ‘The Way Things Go’ is the greatest film ever made! / Blackbird Spyplane

Things to Do

The only gift guide worth being guided by, courtesy of [SIC] Talks alum Michael Williams. / AContinuousLean

Speaking of giving: from [SIC] Homie Dan Bradley: "Fast Feet serve the disability community and I'm on the board (working pretty damn hard for my $0 salary). What you may not know is that has been growing like crazy, has expanded beyond NYC and now serves 600+ athletes through community programs, in-school curriculum and virtual classes. This is the page to donate.” / Fast Feet
And speaking of shopping, check out the Jolie Skincare exclusive early access pre-sale via [SIC] Homie Ryan Babenzien. It’s the brushed steel for me.