🧠 Brain pickings
Top picks that itched my brain and sparked my synapses in the past weeks.
Hello summer! Is there anything better than chilling in the shade while the sun is pushing through the heavy foliage? Not for me, at least. As we reach the end of the first half of 2022, there’s plenty to look back on and look forward to. It’s also proving to being a very vocal time of the year, with ideas, commentaries and research flooding the various channels I look to for inspiration and perspective.
This week, I’m sharing a few reads that have itched my brain cells and activated some ideas in me. So grab your sun hat, pick a shady spot, and enjoy the reads!
YouTube just released its Cultural Trends Report 2022 with some research that, although probably unsurprising (all hail video!), are still a relevant and interesting read. Let’s just say that creativity and community are not going anywhere.
In The Future of the Metaverse, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies takes a look at four scenarios for the Metaverse. It’s a slightly heavier read, but worth it to kick-start your professional imagination.
Gen Z has everyone in the business shaking and irritable. Good thing Vince just aggregated four core topics with target group research for its Guide to 2030 report. My tip: Sit with the chapter on Identity for a while as it reveals some business-altering insights about how up-and-coming generations understand, see and live out their idea of self (think gender-fluidity).
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Nice little thread on how great copy can make the difference between buying and not buying:
On the topic, this also displays the important of being a business that sells more than just products, but aspiration, self-actualization, or intangible value. And before you go saying that not every company needs a purpose, think about this: even Amazon has a purpose, radical convenience and ease-of-use. Purpose does not have to be visionary.
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Although this article in The Atlantic is about fast fashion and how mass consumption has homogenized every aspect of creativity, its point can also be transferred to many other industries. I do agree that business with a core focus on stakeholder profits and efficiency is strangling creativity and real value, and I’ve been vocal about it frequently in the past.
But while discussing this with my partner the other night, he brought up a very valid point I had not considered yet: Fast production also means more opportunity to see how something resonates with an audience and more opportunity to finetune, evolve or course-correct. Proof in point: It’s always good to have more than one perspective. Still, a focus beyond stakeholder profits needs to be addressed and solved.
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Also on doing things differently is this conversation with architecture / techno studio Techno Beton about pushing creativity beyond its architectural boundaries and creating a business that is less than ordinary.
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Thinking of launching a physical product? It’s easier than ever thanks to Pietra, a new platform that takes care of the sourcing, fulfillment, eCommerce — heck, even marketing! Incidentally, this also ties closely into the emerging importance of micro-niches. It’s no longer about global market saturation, but about independent brands catering to micro-audiences and specific interest niches.
This opens up a whole new playing field for indie businesses and fuels the creator economy with access to big corporation tools.
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Last but least: Check out how Spotify is becoming a force to be reckoned with by perusing their latest product releases, also anchoring a new buzzword: Connect to Consumer. Had to read it twice, so comprehensive.
Ok, that’s it for this week. Connect on Twitter and Linkedin if you want a more current drip of picks. And please do let me know what interesting finds are on your bookmarked reading list. Just hit reply to this email — easy as that!
Summer greetings
Désirée