[SIC] 176: The Knives That Cut Those Knots

Volume 4, Number 18

Jan 20, 2022

But you CAN pay, if you want to. It helps. Monthly or yearly, or founding support (which includes a dinner at my house, if you’re in / can get to NYC). I’m open to offering other benefits, if you’ve got ideas.

Feel free to share, too.

Hi all.

I’m on the road this week lending my folks a helping hand, so no “5 questions with” or [SIC] Talk this week. Sorry, all. Back to normal next week.

I can’t imagine anybody’s dying to hear my voice in the meantime, but since Clubhouse now facilitates recordings of conversation on the platform, maybe last night’s Culture Club Show episode (“The Latest on the Future of Music & Web3”) will suffice? It featured a bunch of smart people. Have a listen. More to come from that zone soon. And in the meantime, all the past [SIC] Talks are over in my grid over @Dietznutz.

As always, thanks to everybody who sent in ideas for this edition. Iolanda, Celeste, David and Piers (who also hosted me on a Web3 panel this week) - I’m in your debt. And everybody else - my inbox / DMs / group chats are open. Send away.

In the meantime, the links.

I took a plane this week

=====[SIC] 176: The Knives That Cut Those Knots=====

Trends

Wunderman Thompson’s Future 100 has a gang of trend predictions for 2022 / Wunderman Thompson
And Gawker has started a column called the “TikTok Trends Forecast Forecast,” to “prematurely predict how internet trend culture writers will cover trending TikToks.” Gawker via After School
But for me, dollars to donuts (har) the best trend run-down of the week comes from [SIC] Talks alum Andrea Hernandez in her newsletter on the latest on Web4 F&B. So much to chew on …. ;) / Snaxshot
Goodbye, Hustle Culture / Protocol
Hello, Girlboss Witchery / Salty
Speaking of: the high witches of the cult hit Crypto Coven NFT project were on the Will, Lee, and Andrew Learn Web3 pod / Apple via Unfinished
Related? Scottish Parliament is considering pardoning thousands of witches... via Ruby Dispatch
But why do women want a face that glistens like a baby’s butt? / Airmail
Also graffiti hair is next, if you trust Dua Lipa. Nylon via After School
While DJs and ravers are embracing sobriety / Mixmag via Music Redef
From Iolanda Carvalho: “This one [Positive Luxury’s 2022 predictions] also interesting.”

Style

Doomscrolling through fashion week / GQ
It’s a cover up. Swimwear collections in 2022 draw inspiration from 1922. Axios
WITI wrangles fave author W. David Marx for a Japanese Fashion Mag edition / Why Is This Interesting
Which reminds me I have to head to Kinokuniya and get the Popeye “Style Sample 2022” issue, starring [SIC] Talks alum Jian DeLeon / Kinokuniya
Speaking of mags, GQ Style’s former deputy editor Elgar Johnson is launching a new magazine tapping into fashion and sport / BoF
While in sportswear, LVMH Takes Minority Stake in Aimé Leon Dore / WWD via Public Announcement
And in no-wear, Selfridges will begin selling NFTs in store / Vogue Business

The Arts

The National Arts Club announced its new artist fellows, including last week’s ‘5 Questions For’ guest Cynthia Talmadge / Hyperallergic
And from Sharese Bullock-Bailey: Ghetto Film School and Stavros Niarchos Foundation named finalists for “Humanity Inspires Tech” Challenge / Variety
Hans Ulrich Obrist spoke to Art Spiegelman about “the old part of town,” police violence, and how Google’s replacing your memory (sort of) / 032c
The 'most attended exhibition' ever? KAWS goes global with video game Fortnite / The Art Newspaper
Related, from Celeste Blewitt: How Agnieszka Pilat Became Silicon Valley's Favorite Artist' / NY Mag
How Does the FBI Art Crime Team Operate? / Hyperallergic
Is Instagram where the art world goes to hate? / The Art Newspaper
Also, why Is this dystopian work of Chinese Art from the 2019 Venice Biennale going viral on TikTok? Artnet via Jing Culture & Commerce
The socialite collectors, the $700,000 Cecily Brown painting and the first-refusal contract—a lawsuit reveals secret machinations of the art world / The Art Newspaper

Entertainment + IP

Before Dawn FM, there was Ask.fm / via Dirt
Corollary: Meet Gen Z’s buzziest director (who’s still waiting to go to a film festival) Hollywood Reporter via After School
The bloody brutal business of being a teenage girl / Atlantic via After School
Related: Christina Ricci Knew the Spiky Roles Were Coming / New Yorker

Platforms & Influencers

Is the algo suggestible after all? TFW your FYP cycles sync / Embedded
From Celeste Blewitt: “Such an insightful discussion into the development of Silicon Valley, how it came to be what it is today, with and without government, community and business support. 'The Secret To Building The Next Silicon Valley’” (Wired)
Artists are making millions creating stickers on Line, the Korean social app / The Hustle
Kidfluencers are getting younger, with toddlers and tweens raking in more marketing $$ InsiderIntelligence via Robinhood Snacks
TikTok is growing fast for creators, but the money is still on YouTube / Protocol
Corollary: An adult-content creator has faced prosecution in Singapore for sharing porn on OnlyFans / The Guardian via Splice
Meanwhile in the Valley? Who torched the Pornhub Palace? / Vanity Fair

Marketing & Advertising

How Nike turned its brand into a $35 billion cognitive 'shortcut' / Fast Company
How to capitalize on the emerging collector economy / The Sociology of Business.
Why one brand stopped selling in stores / Instagram via Thingtesting
Sports marketers are doing to win back a lost generation and save the future of fandom. Pro Sports Leagues Are Chasing Gen Z Where It Plays / NYT
From Iolanda: “Just published... Societal leadership for everyone else 😉” Key Quote: “Societal leadership is now a core function of business. We have studied trust for more than 20 years and believe that it is the ultimate currency in the relationship that all institutions—business, governments, NGOs and media—build with their stakeholders" / Edelman
Hence, today at Apple Creative Studios to provide opportunities to young creatives / Apple
And Taco Bell’s launching diversity boot camp 🌮 / Axios
Meanwhile, Twitterers say too much humor from brands feels outdated / AdAge

Media Business

[SIC] Homie Bennett Richardson was on the Rebooting pod talk applying the Politico Playbook to the crowded Tech media space with (fave [SIC] source) Protocol, which he insists is driven by objectivity. I’d argue its more a niche play, albeit a successful one. / The Rebooting
Lifted from Strat Scraps: “Objectivity is the ideology of the status quo”…and should therefore not be the goal of journalists or planners. (this episode of Scene on Radio is worth a listen if you’re curious in unpacking that) / Spotify
Because it's not just Facebook—"Old Media" Spreads Misinformation, Too / Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Related: This argument against the recent spate of new news startups (makes sense to me…). Key quote: “here we are, looking at the perfect example of media companies that are smack in the middle of the barbell with no discernable niche and, instead, are running with the theory that there is this big, underserved market of people who need journalism.” / A Media Operator
Almost 40% of the sites scrutinized a startup that rates the reliability of news sources have received a “red” rating — the equivalent of a red traffic light for a driver. Says Newsguard CEO: “That sounds like we’re pretty strict but, in fact, you have to be really, really bad to get a red.'” / CNN via Nieman Lab
And it’s happening just at the moment that trust in governments is collapsing, especially in democracies, accordinging to a new global survey. Key Quote: A majority of people globally believe journalists (67%), government leaders (66%) and business executives (63%) are "purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations." / Axios
Though, fact-checking may be important, but it won’t help Americans learn to disagree better. “The more that a study looked like the real world, the less fact-checking changed participants’ minds.” / Nieman Lab
Fortunately there’s a “TikTok for News” coming …. 🤦‍♂️ / Axios
At least the coffee was a big subscription magnet. A newspaper went on to offer candy, baked goods, soap, oil and vinegar, rum, and chocolate to draw subs. What didn't work: soap. Better News via Splice

Metaverse & Web3

From Piers Fawkes: “Newsletter fodder …you might like this [Tom Sachs] quote: ‘NFT culture is DIY culture,’ he says. ‘Not since 1987, when I was exposed to the American hardcore punk scene, have I felt a greater sense of community and generosity. My strategy is just to do the best work I can in the space. That’s all we can do.’” / Wallpaper
Coinbases’s CEO Brian Armstrong was on Guy Raz’s ‘How I Built This’ / Spotify via Howard Lindzon
How gaming created the language of the metaverse / The Drum

Two from David Bloom: “Interesting detail about what stocks younger investors are holding, but the really interesting stuff to me is the expectation of influencers about the coming primacy of the Metaverse and their expectation that they’ll be part of that.
- “Gen Zs are focusing their investment attention on electric vehicles and the metaverse. The top stock that people born after 1996 are holding is Tesla, according to Apex Fintech Solutions.“
- And “You know NFTs and digital goods have gone full bridge-and-tunnel when Walmart, still the world’s biggest physical retailer, files plans to start selling stuff [in the metaverse].” / CNBC

Elsewhere, IZEA worldwide reported that 56% of social media influencers are participating in the metaverse and 70% believe that the metaverse will replace social media entirely / Yahoo Finance
Partially because DTC brands are only just starting to experiment with NFTs — but experts say they could soon be bringing them to the masses / Thingtesting
DAOs are one Web3 creation that has potentially interesting implications for how work and business are organized. To better understand why, Charter spoke with Aaron Wright, the chief executive of Tribute Labs, which provides support and infrastructure for a variety of DAOs. / Charterworks

Related: What co-ops and DAOs can Learn From Each Other. FWB.help via Forefront
Like for instance, you can get $10,000 in bitcoin of you move to Arkansas / Axios
What is NFT architecture, and how is it different from regular 3D models? Arch Daily via Blood & Champagne
Also in models: How Digiday reporters are mapping the metaverse / Digiday
Now there’s the “TUMBLR OF THE NFT SPACE,” JPG.space. / via Jing C&C

Food & Drink

“Club Mate but make it Web3” —Not the first time that they are setting a precedent, FWB is set to be the first DAO to launch a beverage, be on the lookout for their sparkling yerba mate. Boardroom Info via Snaxshot
“Is Gruyère Still Gruyère if It Doesn’t Come From Gruyères?” / NYT
The curious history of the potato chip / Smithsonian via 1440
A digital exhibition examines the Darker Side of Bananas / Hyperallergic
New food regions are emerging as climate change continues to disrupt global agriculture / Wunderman Thompson

Miscellany

@tinyhat_skatelife did NOT die from Covid, guys.

tinyhat_skatelife

A post shared by “Sorry I Didn’t Say Hi” (@tinyhat_skatelife)

What is life like for “Superrecognizers” who can never forget a face? / The Guardian via Marginal Revolution
Maybe we should stop fetishizing old homes? The Atlantic via Blood & Champagne
How the bicycle set women free / Flashbak via Public Announcement
Related: 56% of female bicyclists who are riding today either started cycling or returned to it during the pandemic, according a survey by NBDA via Micromobility Newsletter
So, up the bikes! Berliners are trying to create a car-free area larger than Manhattan, while Prague is making free 15-minute bikeshare rides a permanent part of its public transport offer. / Fast Company and Expat.cz via Micromobility Newsletter.
Never mind the Pollocks!: The largest fish breeding ground ever observed was found on the floor of Antarctica's Weddell Sea recently / Science News via 1440

Things to Do

Start planning to be in Amsterdam for the Micromobility Europe conference is coming to Amsterdam 🇳🇱 on June 1-2 / Micromobility
Also, check out 11 architecture events including conferences, exhibitions and biennales taking place in 2022 selected from Dezeen Events Guide. / Dezeen