[SIC] 302: Shaggy Manuscript

Volume Six, Number Twelve

Ben Dietz

Jun 20, 2024

This time: The [SIC] Weekly digest of pertinent developments, compiled and published free on Thursdays to 6047 subscribers who’ve opted in.

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Also if you’re r a breakfast person, Breakfast Clubbing is a [SIC] sister newsletter tracking the free, open-to-everyone breakfast events I started, now happening around the world. Everyone’s invited, especially you.

Corollary Sources this week:

Semafor / The Future Party/ Public Announcement / No Pattern / Politico / 1440 / A Media Operator / Who Do You Know / The Unskippables / Feed Me / Cultique / Fashion Matters

Contributors this week: Elaine Santiago, Piers Fawkes, Ginger Dunlap-Dietz, David Bloom, Iolanda Carvalho, Celeste Blewitt, Jeff Carvalho, Liz Mantel and James Friedman. Contributions are invited from everyone. Send ‘em if you got ‘em.

Hi all.

More recordings: No [SIC] Talks this week (blame Paris Fashion Week) but Jeff and I got our weekly Culture Club Show out and it’s a good one. Have a listen below.

A parallel: Every Friday at 11a ET I take part in a live discussion group called Kouch Culture on Clubhouse (yes, it’s still around) started by longtime buddy and Vans CMO Drieke Leenknegt, and since Drie is in France tomorrow, I’m moderating in her place.. Everybody’s welcome to listen in - or to raise a hand and join in.. Come hang.

Pulse Check:

The Goldilocks Zone: AI is Oil, not God. Also quasi mystical: Can you inherit memories from your ancestors? And is that why all furniture [is] the same now? Apropos: Five classic chairs making a comeback. More classics: The Strange Journey of John Lennon’s Stolen Patek Philippe Watch rolls nicely into The Khanjar Dial Edition. But there’s proof the premium vintage treatment isn’t foolproof as Golden Goose Postpones Planned IPO. Apropos of artful treatment: How Picasso Turned Me into a Strategy Consultant. Heat makes us impulsive and dumb. Hence, from Liz: A Sock War Is Afoot Between Millennials and Gen Z. Context here (proper recording this time):

Other than that: A couple of updates from [SIC] homies: the official trailer for occasional Breakfast Club visitor Dan Bradley’s Netflix project “Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans” is up on YT and looks amazing. And TONIGHT another BC regular and close friend, Heidi Hartwig’s Friends from New York is ringing back the best 80’s dance party NYC ever had! - Beavher with DJ Frankie Inglese, at Deluxx Fluxx (in the basement of Webster Hall). I’ll be there.

Speaking of Heidi; I mentioned it in my appearance in the excellent Found NY newsletter, but FFNY and Breakfast Club are teaming up with Outbound Hotels on an invite-only creative summit type thing for a group of 50ish notable friends, October 14-17, in Mammoth CA. LMK if you’re interested in hearing more (because by subscribing to [SIC], you’re a friend)

And now, the (rest of the) links:

[SIC] 302: Shaggy Manuscript

The Macro Narrative

From Iolanda: "Five years ago, we made the call that ‘niche is the new mainstream’. Today, this dynamic is so fundamental to music and culture that we are firmly in the stage of second order consequences. Superstars are getting smaller, the long tail is getting longer, and rightsholders are bringing in earnings thresholds to keep that growing long tail at bay”[Mainstream is the New Niche] Midia Research
Also this [Did the Niche Go Mainstream or the Mainstream Go Niche?] / Midia Research
Somehow corollary: Doing Nothing Has Never Been More Important. How the under‐appreciated art of idleness can transform the world / The Walrus
Similarly? From Elaine: Boys Get Everything, Except the Thing That’s Most Worth Having / NYT
Ergo: America’s top export may be anxiety / The Atlantic
And thus: Surgeon General wants social media warnings/ Axios
Because: The New Cynicism Isn’t Like the Old Cynicism / The Atlantic
Case in point: Wisconsin University Chancellor, Fired for Secret Life as Vegan OnlyFans Porn Star, Fights To Keep Tenure, Claims ‘Free Expression’ / The New York Sun
Related: Postdigital Propaganda You want to go viral. It’s not that easy / Understanding Tiktok
Hence?! Europe’s “Foreigners Out” Generation: Why Young People Vote Far Right / Politico
Apropos: What is a paradigm shift? / The New Republic
CorollaryL "Kooky creativity is the way forward" / Dezeen
And yet, the internet is waxing poetic about Caesar salad, fries, and martinis as the perfect meal / WaPo
Hence? Chinatown: The 1970s Movie about the 1930s That Explains 2020s America / The Atlantic

Generationations

From ALICEs to DINKs: all the acronyms of the different people types in the US economy / Business Insider
So….We need to rethink old age/ FT
Meantime, It’s book girl summer / Vogue Business
Related, from Piers: How Book of the Month Became a Hit With Millennial Readers / WWD
Elsewhere: Gen Z Investors shun 60-40 Portfolio for Sneakers and Rare Cars / Bloomberg
Hence the question: Gen Z vs Gen Alpha: who’s the most annoying? / The FACE

Platformations

YouTube is testing a new kind of unskippable ad / Gizmodo
Notable beacuse, from Iolanda: The [Reuters Digital News Report] looks at the growing importance of platforms in news consumption and production, including more visual and video-led social media such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. / Reuters Institute
Meanwhile, Millennials Love TikTok Shop/ Morning Consult
AND US adults say TikTok is the most trusted social platform for news, according to a study by Pew / Business Insider
Perfect then, from Piers: TikTok's gen AI avatars are based on real people and that only makes them more creepy / Engadget
Further: TikTok is Launching AI Generated Avatars… Are They Illegal? /The Verge
But at least? TikTok is rolling out the ability for creators to generate deepfakes of themselves to be used in ads and branded content / TechCrunch
Also questionable: Tiktok is copying Instagram Again with Whee / The Verge
Unsurprisingly, BeReal is getting ads / Quartz
Related: What Spotify's push into video means for its ad business / Digiday Pod
Not wrong: Mark Zuckerberg thinks Meta has too many vice presidents / Quartz

Stylistics

From James: “I’m clearly not the demo for Brat but I’ve been paying attention to the phenomenon. Big kudos to Imogene Strauss who architected so much of the Charli XCX live experience and is how I’ve been exposed to much of the action” / IG
Apropos from Celeste: Brat Green Is The New Bottega Green / Vogue UK
From Piers: "i know someone who would like the jump suits bar." [What Are Bartenders Wearing at the World’s Top Bars?] / Punchdrink
Inside Arc’teryx’s big investment in circular fashion / Glossy
Recycled materials will give Nike "biggest impact" on sustainability / Dezeen
Meantime, Nike is suing EVERYBODY / The Kicks You Wear
Blackpink’s Rosé, Rihanna, and A$ap Rocky: Puma’s cultural clout / Jing Daily
Apparel retailers are experiencing sales boosts as many Americans, having lost weight on Ozempic, update their wardrobes with more fitted clothing / WSJ
Just as Dries Van Noten Takes His Exit / NYT
Related: Jun Takahashi: Designer, Artist, Auteur / BoF
And the industry verdict on Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut / Vogue Business
More industry: "At work with FOR SCALE"—by MAGCULTURE / For-Scale
Corollary: Design 50 2024: The Fifty People Who Shape Chicago / New City Design
And Reflections on 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen/ Monocle Pod
Gaming and streetwear-inspired cult brand Hypland wants to move the needle in bridging the physical and digital ecosystems / Jing Daily
The great fashion Brexit? Why UK designers are decamping to Milan / The Guardian
What is China’s ‘mixed-race’ beauty trend? / Jing Daily

Culturations

André 3000 shares how to craft your own cool / The Drum
Meantime, Sam Hockley-Smith tried to teach a class of kindergarteners what writing about music means / Gross Life
A bold Brazilian artist has made her U.S. debut by drawing on MoMA’s walls / NYT
From Celeste: Loved this, especially given Melbourne has hollowed out as the hordes head to the Euro summer...The Sublime Kitsch Of Tourist Italy / FT
Corollary, from Piers: “A masterpiece in rabbithole reporting. sure they had me with day time party but the silent videos of dancing just wanted me to buy a flight and be there already” [Not Your Average Flea Market: At La Pulga de Alamo, Stars Are Born] / NYT
And Designer Sara Battaglia’s guide to Milan’s art scene /FT
Back stateside: How an Artist Became the Queen of Baltimore / NYT
Corollary: Yes, Queen: Rachel Cusk’s cruel misandry / Compact
Apropos of writing, from Ginger: Deep Water Literary Fest / DWPF
More ‘lit:’ The body was the drums, the brain was the synthesiser’: darkwave, the gothic genre lighting up pop / The Guardian
Less dark, from Celeste: “40 years of NOFX and now they are retiring, with a giant world tour, 40 songs every night, in forty cities…” [Can You Retire If You Never Had A Job? NOFX Will Try] / NYT
KCDC founder and [SIC] homie Amy Gunther Ellington on the Beyond Boards Pod / IG
How Groundbreaking Is Vivian Maier’s Photography? / NYT
Speaking of groundbreaking: Chris Marker’s Dialector Foreshadowed Machine Intelligence / Frieze
Related: J. Lo’s AI Thriller, Atlas, Is an Important Up-Wing Film. Really / American Enterprise Institute

Technopolis

From David: “Interesting take on the reality of the Ashley Madison site and its attendant 2015 scandal. It was mostly men, talking to company-created bots, designed to keep them sending, and paying for, subscriptions. It is, the author argues, a predecessor and proof of concept for too much of the social-media universe we now have, which should only get worse as AI makes the bots more convincing.” What everyone gets wrong about the 2015 Ashley Madison scandal / New Scientist
To wit? The human cost of an Apple update / Embedded
Notable because Apple Is Bringing A.I. to Your Personal Life, Like It or Not / The New Yorker
At least "AI can expand designers' skill sets": how brands are really using AI / Creative Bloq
Case in point, from Jeremy: “Not sure if you saw our launch yesterday. Would love any shoutouts if you could! :). Some of our coverage:” [Augie Studio aims to become the Canva for AI video creation] /Venturebeat
But, but, from Piers: "ah-i” - McDonald's Abandoning AI-Powered Drive Thrus After Embarrassing Failures / Futurism
And Apple Isn’t Working On A Vision Pro 2 Anymore / The Information
And From Piers: People Buying Cars Hate Touch Screens, Instead Getting Used Cars With Knobs and Buttons / Futurism
Meanwhile: Nanotechnology is reaching a powerful, potentially dangerous new phase / The New Yorker

Media-tions

Forbes sent a letter to the CEO of AI search startup Perplexity accusing the company of stealing text and images in a "willful infringement" of Forbes' copyright rights / Axios
8 Media Predictions for a Changing Fashion Industry / Back Row
IE: Is the news industry ready for another pivot to video? / Nieman Lab

From Celeste: Brands Are Turning To Pinterest For Gen-Z Audience And Organic Growth Potential/ Glossy
While Soccer publishers pitch U.S. advertisers on evergreen sponsorship / Digiday
Jay Penske: King of the Hollywood trades. Penske has become one of LA’s stealthiest media moguls since buying Nikki Finke’s blog for less than $1 million in 2009 / Variety
Advertising Week’s new Tortoise News produces daily and weekly podcasts that make sense of the world, and currently the UK election / Tortoise
And In a Digital Age, High-End Outdoors Magazines Are Thriving in Print / NYT
Apropos: Inside the 032c journey from fashion magazine to Paris runways / Vogue Business
Elsewhere, it’s the wild west:[SIC] Talks Alum Emily Sundberg talks advertising on Substack / Modern Retail
As per Emily BTW: Want to become a food writer? Vittles Magazine announced that they’re organizing a 6-month mentorship for two new restaurant writers from global majority and/or working-class backgrounds / Vittles Magazine

Market / Influence

From Iolanda: “Every person is a media business... ah ah”: Founder of brewery and pub chain BrewDog has now founded Social Tip, a platform designed to “make anyone an influencer”, giving a financial reward to people who post about brands / Marketing Week
Yet…(or, because?!) Social media influencers actually aren’t doing that well. / WSJ
And a bit of Cannes…from Iolanda: “We see tremendous potential in the future and I have no doubt [AI] will completely reshape the profession of marketing as we know it,” he said." [Coca-Cola global CMO: AI will completely reshape marketing] / Marketing Week
Ergo: The growth of retail media — er, commerce media — is on full display at the Cannes Lions / Digiday
Not to mention the new creator playbook . At the Cannes Lions Festival, athletes, creators and celebrities dominated conversations. There are new rules for working with them / Vogue Business
More new rules, from David: “P&G cuts out the middleman in that whole TV advertising thing. Of course” / Variety
Speaking of cutting.. What Ban?! At Cannes Lions 2024, TikTok doesn't talk about a U.S. ban / Digiday
But facing a shortage: Zyn is halting online sales / WSJ
Why Americans are not buying more EVs. tariffs on Chinese imports could reduce competition and increase costs /FT
Tesla has the most American-made car / Quartz
But EV startup Fisker runs out of power / The Future Party
Corollary: Google is reinventing the clean power market / Semafor
Elsewhere, from Iolanda: “[Liquid Death] CEO Mike Cessario explained how the company thinks about its brand and it’s creative work”/ WARC
While from Beijing to Paris, Nike to Prada: The Olympic opportunity. The Paris Olympics have hit Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Here’s what brands are doing to benefit from the buzz./Jing Daily
Back at home: Netflix announced the first two locations of its brick-and-mortar Netflix House retail and entertainment destinations/ The Future Party
Meantime, Tyler, the Creator’s GOLF le FLEUR* is collabing with homeware brand Parachute on a bedding collection / Variety
While Le Creuset has chosen Pokémon for a new cookware collab (brand partnerships are officially out of control)/ Hypebeast
Corollary: Beer giant Kirin Holdings taps health and beauty sector / Monocle
While, from Piers: Oscar Mayer Made Its First Beauty Ads, But There’s a Twist / Adweek
Also twisted: Jake Paul debuted a new skincare brand called W, which will be sold at Walmart / Tubefilter
More store: Art Basel opened its first-ever retail concept store, dubbed Art Basel Shop/ Highsnob
Related: How Rabanne is nurturing digital artists for Art Basel 2024 / Jing Daily

Eats, Drinks and Ephemera

Denmark’s Radical Plan for a Plant-Based Future/ Reasons to Be Cheerful
Mexican avocado and mango exports hit after US agents assaulted / FT
From Piers: The Food That Makes You Gay / Eater
Or, makes the frogs gay? Also from Piers: "Early movement of pfas free packaging for foods [The end to forever chemicals in snack packaging?]" / Bakery and Snacks
Also plasticky: Coldplay will make its forthcoming vinyl from recycled plastic bottles. The British band said the method will reduce carbon emissions by 85% compared to traditional vinyl production / The Guardian

The Natural (?!) World

A mysterious monolith appeared in the Las Vegas desert / ABC News
A tiny house to tackle climate change pops up on Switzerland’s Vitra Campus / FT
Is this what Ye’s been wearing?! Supercooling fabrics could combat heat stress. A new white textile protects the wearer from several kinds of heat radiation, particularly in cities / The Future Party
Related: innovative ways that cities are trying to stay cool as climate change heats up / Future of Everything Pod
But Miami Is Entering a State of Unreality. No amount of adaptation to climate change can fix Miami’s water problems / The Atlantic
Ranking the world's happiest cities / Happy City Index
The Dream of a Car-Free City. The delusion that cars belong in places like Manhattan is stubbornly hard to break. But across the world, cities are coming to their senses / Reasons to Be Cheerful
Except for this: "Hideous" redevelopment in Liverpool wins Carbuncle Cup 2024 for UK's worst building / Dezeen
Meanwhile beyond the city center, from Celeste: “Plum Sykes has got some great PR at the moment with her latest book publication, add in a bit of a history piece on the Cotswolds and this is the perfect weekend read with a tea and scones.” [Why The British Are Obsessed With The Cotswolds] / BBC
Why Do Rich People Love Silence. The sound of gentrification is silence / Atlantic
[SIC] 302: Shaggy Manuscript