[SIC] 212: Bagel Debate

Volume 5, Number 4

Sep 29, 2022

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Hi all,

Trying something new today.

As this edition lands in your inbox I’ll be going live on Instagram with Joy Howard, an old friend and CEO and co-founder of Early Majority, a really interesting new outerwear brand that I’ve followed for a while now (in fact Joy is a [SIC] Talks alum from July of 2021.

Joy and The EM team are launching the business in a way I think is really of the moment - both with DTC sales mode, but also with a Web 2.5 style membership program exemplified by a “pop-up” on OpenSea where minters claim then burn airdropped prizes as well as the IRL apparel items. There’s the the mint site, too.

We’ll be talking for an hour - so come and listen in. A word of advice: watch on a browser / computer if you can (it’ll be @dietznutz and @joyrocker) - so that you can do other things while you listen/watch, instead of being stuck on the IG app on mobile. And it’ll be on my grid for posterity, if you can’t join us now.

Hope to see you there. Thanks as always to my stalwart contributors this week - keep the ideas coming everyone, and in the meantime, hope the links serve you well.

Ben

Amazing to me we can still fly this close to Manhattan on commercial flights. YUL → LGA, yesterday.

======[SIC] 212: Bagel Debate======

Zeitgest / Gestalt

The Untapped Potential of Less / Future
Keeping on the subject of ‘LESS!’: TikTok is rolling out a dislike button / Adweek
While YouTube Shorts adds narration voiceovers, a popular TikTok feature
So basically, TikTok Is the New King of Social Media. Now What / Intelligencer
Lookism in TikTok. Which visual features predict video success?/ Medium
Also ‘facing’ Tiktok: A $29 Million Fine for Failing to Protect Children's Privacy / NYT
Tho in the meantime, lids are using AI to write essays and get straight As / Twitter
Hence this interesting essay, which argues that "technology bifurcates problems" such that "99% of problems go away, but the 1% that are left are awful."
But can platforms outsmart Texas's social media law? / Platformer
Or, Is This the Beginning of the End of the Internet? / The Atlantic
More ends: A Discord Wellness Experience - Cut The Cord: a wellness experience designed to help anyone with soul-crushing Discord fatigue / Twitter
From Iolanda Carvalho: How Americans Spend Their Money, By Generation. The number of millennials that do "most" of their shopping online has increased from 60% in 2019 to 80% in 2022 / Visual Capitalist
While they were at it, Millenials killed the guest room / Architectural Digest
Since we all sleep on futons now, how is the workforce redefining success post-pandemic? / Wunderman Thompson
Welp: in Hollywood: “Everyone Is Totally Drained and Burnt Out” / Vanity Fair

World Order

Elon Musk’s Starlink offers uncensored internet access to Iranians. The satellite internet provider activated service in Iran / NYT
A profile of Vivek Ramaswamy, the self-proclaimed anti- “woke” investor / FT
What does Georgia Meloni’s win mean for Italy? / Zeihan on Geopolitics
Disinformation about a coup in China went viral. The unverified story of a coup against Xi Zinping even made it to India’s Top News Channel / Twitter
Also disappeared from the air: none of world's best airlines are US owned and none of them are allowed to operate domestically in the United States / CNN
From Celeste Blewitt: “’Gutsy debate on business travel, distributed workforces, the all company conferences in far flung locations and the term 'flight shame'. Short 17 minute listen. [Flight Shame and The Return Of Business Travel] /Working It Podcast)
Hence?! Scientists are leaving the ivory tower for climate tech startups / Protocol
Good, given that city-dwellers are now Tracking ‘Indoor Heat Waves’ / Reasons to Be Cheerful
Architects are responding to a warmer planet with houses that naturally lower the temperature inside / Christian Science Monitor
So unless you’re planning to use it for insulation, Goodwill Industries operates internationally and will take all your fabric scraps for recycling–from cut-off blue jeans to worn-out t-shirts, and even loose scraps from sewing/crafting projects / Goodwill Industries

The Speculative Future

From David Bloom: “Interesting venture by graphics giant Nvidia to take a different approach to the process of generating visual content from text commands.” [NVIDIA is releasing an AI-powered object-generator that can help fill virtual worlds] / The Future Party
So What’s in store for DALL-E now? / Protocol
Meantime, AI Is Probably Using Your Images and It's Not Easy to Opt Out / Motherboard
Design software giant Autodesk is bringing the 3D-visualization power of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to its architectural offerings / Future Party
And automotive brands are reimagining mobility for the metaverse / Wunderman Thompson
But do NFT projects need utility to be successful? Artnet takes a look at the "phygital" movement / Artnet
Umm, has a US intelligence office really put a UFO on its logo? / Creative Bloq
Corollary: from Snooki to ‘The Sopranos’: how John Fetterman conquered social media The Pennsylvania Democrat has poured millions of dollars into an innovative online senatorial campaign / FT

Pop Cultures

Thought it was curious that the author of this piece (who came to dance music on a trip to Ibiza in his 30s) never mentioned his own relationship with ecstasy. Solomun, the D.J. Who Keeps Ibiza Dancing / The New Yorker
Was also struck by the similarities between Solomun and Vernon Subutex, titular star of the book series I’ve recommended before… / WITI
Still, have enjoyed compiling this edition to a playlist of tracks from his famous Boiler Room set in Tulum / Spotify
Spiritual cousins, then: Renzo Rosso’s La-Dolce-Vita-on-Viagra Aesthetic / The New Yorker
From Celeste Blewitt: Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood, these were the names, they still are. A piece in time, looking back at the moments backstage. Interesting to see how these scenes have changed so much, the platforms, the posing, yet Kate Moss is the icon, Vivienne Westwood is having a resurgence and the nostalgia continues. There's some great images floating around. 'Backstage Pass- A 90s Fashion Photo Essay' / The Guardian
A New Tell-All About the Luxury Industry / NYT
Luxury as a Degrowth Strategy / Sociology of Business
Beka Gvishiani’s Style Not Com has become a must-follow for industry insiders and a kind of anti-Diet Prada / Vogue Business
An interview between Giorgio Armani and Paul Smith / Wallpaper
Elsewhere in inspired collaborations: Thrasher x Lacoste is 🔥🐊 /IG
Less inspired: Netflix’s creative decisions are caught between data and gut-feeling / Future Party
Also fluxing with the algos: Sotheby’s has teamed up the mind behind the art meme account @jerrygagosian, Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, on a sale of works that have been chosen, basically, by IG’s algorithm / Sothebys
Tapestries – the original NFTs(?!) make a comeback. 'In a milieu that’s all about scale and projecting clout, a tapestry is a most elite flex.' / Town & Country
While actual NFTs, from David Bloom: Interesting project from musician Mike Shinoda extends NFTs' utility and creativity possibilities with an interactive music player that lets users create their own track and custom artwork / Secret Garden
Balmain launched a Web3 hub ahead of its Paris Fashion Week / Vogue Business
Related, from Rachel Masters: “Roblox’s former head of music (and a friend) joined Napster as CEO to turn it into a Web3 social and tokenized service” / Forbes
Per Motive Unknown’s Darren , Anthony Volodkin’s Future Tape might be “Hype Machine for Web3” / Future Tape
Has streaming made it harder to discover new music? Services such as Spotify and Apple Music give us access to the entire history of popular songs. But has that access made us lazy listeners? And could TikTok or TV really help us rediscover our passion for discovery? / The Guardian
So, screw it. Make your own. From Rob Hubbert: “Suitably Mind Bending” [Aphex Twin and Dave Griffiths launch ‘Samplebrain,’ free sound design software/ IG
NBA Stars Buying Major League Pickleball Team / Front Office Sports
'Napoleon Dynamite' stars are reuniting for an animated series on the blockchain / Entertainment Weekly
Zack Fox’s Cultural Picks .The rapper and comedian recommends raunchy Southern soul, dodgy Pokémon games and the surreal body horror of Julia Ducournau / The Face

Media Happenings

Fast Company shut down its website after reporting a cyber breach. The publisher said a hacker infiltrated its system and posted racist and obscene alerts from its Apple News account / Quartz
Gawker makes a comeback . A new version of the website, quietly launched a year ago under new owners, is attracting interest and readers again / The Guardian
Richard Edelman on the future of PR: ‘it’s going to be more like a newsroom’ / The Drum
Podcast listeners are upscale, employed, and well-educated. The report also claims that podcast listeners listen to content 6 hours per day, considerably more than radio listeners / Radioworld
But narrative podcasts are a bad investment for most publishers / Simon Owens
Mainly because people like “5 Questions For” alum Jason Stewart of How Long Gone are so good at talking ( despite his bro-DNA ) / Gossamer
Related: [SIC] Talks alum and Killing Time podstress Brynn Wallner gets spotlighted again /Courier

Market-ations

What Figma plans to do inside Adobe / Platformer
From Iolanda Carvalho: Netflix is building its own game studio / Engadget
Protocol has a chat with with new Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos / Protocol
Twitch’s creator SVP is leaving. The departure of Constance Knight happens to coincide with controversial changes to the way Twitch is paying creators / Bloomberg
Can Kourtney Kardashian really clean up fast fashion? / The Drum
How Squarespace is marketing more directly to the creator economy / Digiday
Gucci and Burberry are joining the booming second hand luxury trade / WSJ
How Mojo Supermarket's founder broke the Madison Avenue-style advertising mold / Digiday
Related, also from Iolanda: “A break from the "humbled and honored" 😉” Why the Agency Walrus Has Been Sharing Its Dead Ideas on LinkedIn / Muse By Clio
Why Hearst is building a commerce marketplace / Digiday Podcast
Ludwig knows his streaming career won't last, so he's starting an agency / WaPo
From Iolanda Carvalho: From Stylus, it's a teaser for a larger report, but cool. Marketing to Gen-Z / Stylus
L'Oreal is planning to kill single-use plastic to solve Gen Z's biggest issue / Fortune
Why brands need to embrace discomfort and lead the difficult conversations amid social, cultural and economic inequity / AdAge
Hence? How Brands Are Marketing Around the 2022 World Cup in Qatar / AdWeek
But never mind that! Mastercard is releasing an awesome new debit card that can be customized with NFTs!!! / Mastercard
Corollary: Christies launched a new NFT marketplace, Christie's 3.0 / NFT.christies
While with ‘Department X’: Christie’s gets into the sneaker game / CNBC
To say nothing of their Highsnob collab capsule / Highsnobiety
From David Bloom: Not one but TWO Roblox experiences coming from Walmart, complete with digital currencies and much else for impressionable young future customers: / The Drum
How love shopping platforms are shaping the future of e-commerce /Fortune
Why Brands Are Taking Livestream Shopping Off Facebook and Tiktok / AdAge
Instagram starts testing a home feed without a shopping tab / The Verge

Superficial Interest

Can Brown Noise Turn Off Your Brain? / NYT
One of the most captivating concepts in mathematics is now on Netflix. “A Trip to Infinity” and the Delicate Art of the Math Documentary / The New Yorker
Andres Valencia’s paintings have sold for more than $125,000. And he’s 10 years old / NYT
Mainly because?! Otters Are Art History’s Unsung Muses / Hyperallergic
Ten inventive toilet designs that rethink the conventional loo / Dezeen
On Psilocybin Therapy and Grief / Frieze
The Art Cure. With prescribed art lessons, doctors are reconsidering the links between culture and health / Frieze
Cycling can improve your sex life - and 44 other reasons to ride a bike instead of driving your car / Forbes

Food / Drink

Two-Buck Chuck: The real cost of a famously cheap wine / NYT
Art and food in the nude: my liberating experience at an underground culture club / The Art Newspaper
How to eat a sandwich / The New Yorker
What Are We Wearing to Restaurants Now, Paris? / Eater
DELLI which is basically a version of Depop for the food creator scene / The Face
"Sohofication is strangling our city centres" A proliferation of strangely similar restaurants in our cities is at risk of making them boring places to live / Dezeen

Useful Diversions

Read: ‘Terrible music and absurdity’: introducing Trombone Champ, the internet’s new favourite video game / The Guardian
Do: Meet me at "Information Overload: Crisis of Social Media" featuring [SIC] homie and historian Jason Steinhauer, Jonathan Haidt (NYU; The Atlantic; four-time TED speaker) and Sinead Bovell (Wired mag.; U.N. ITU adviser) at the Skylight Modern in Chelsea, 537 W. 27th Street. Tickets are free but space is limited; reserve your spot / A Species Between Worlds)

Secondary Sources of Stories This Week:

Protocol / Morning Consult / Milk Road / Music Redef / Lean Luxe/ Exec Sum / Dirt / Public Announcement / Dealbook / Web3 Newsletter Micromobility Newsletter/ Carbon Almanac / After School/ Forefront / Ben-Evans / Reasons to Be Cheerful / Quartz / Marginal Revolution / The Drop

Self portrait with Martini.