Together with
525,600 minutes. Move over, Jonathan Larson. Fast Company has its own thoughts on how one measures a year. From Cybertrucks to friendship bracelets, the media brand recently dropped a list of the top objects that defined culture in 2023, and we couldn’t agree more.
What else do you think should’ve made the list?
In other news… high-tech homebuilding hits the US, celebs play the revenge card, and Gen Z values experiences over education.
Top Trends
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe
New episodes every Thursday. Tune in.
BUSINESS
Bot the builder // Illustration by Kate Walker
BotBuilt is automating homebuilding
The Future. As homes get more expensive and high-interest rates keep people from buying new ones, the US stews in a worsening housing crisis. Some companies — like BotBuilt — hope to remedy the problem by automating stages of the construction process. If it works, we could see more affordable homes… but more wasteful suburbs, too.
The house Bot built
BotBuilt, an automated home construction firm, aims to make construction faster and cheaper for homebuilders.
BotBuilt automates the process of construction framing and sells this service to homebuilders.
The firm’s robots assemble wall paneling, roof trusses, and floor trusses for homes. They can build almost any custom design.
BotBuilt’s machines cost roughly $1 per hour to run, far undercutting human labor costs for the same process.
The firm currently has nine homes built but plans to construct more next year.
Welcome h0me
If successful, BotBuilt could help resolve a joint availability and affordability crisis, like a new Levittown. But — like Levittown — this shift could create more suburbs (which are notoriously resource inefficient) instead of urban developments.
Still, a roof over your head is better than none.
     |
ENTERTAINMENT
Pain becomes gain // Illustration by Luke Perrotta with DALL-E
Revenge is a dish best served right now
The Future. In 2023, stars and influencers took their revenge on those who wronged them — and made a lot of money doing it. Revenge pays, so get ready to possibly see more of it as a brand strategy next year.
Sweet treachery
Several celebrities reaped cash rewards from difficult experiences this year.
Taylor Swift became a billionaire this year during The Eras Tour, which highlighted her decision to purchase the rights to all her music and re-record old albums to reclaim them from unscrupulous business partners.
Taylor Rue, a contestant on Love Is Blind, spun a painful on-screen moment into a company by naming a makeup brand after her ex’s insult.
Dylan Mulvaney, a popular trans influencer and TikTok personality, has been offered several brand deals and even received rewards after conservatives boycotted Bud Light for partnering with her in an ad campaign in April.
Ariana Madix (from Vanderpump Rules) learned that her celebrity boyfriend cheated on her this past March and turned the publicity into several lucrative brand deals.
Call it a comeback
The success of “revenge imaging” likely comes from the popularity of underdogs — and this year, women harnessed that image to such significant effect that it could inspire others to follow in their footsteps next year.
And why shouldn’t they? This way, everyone wins.
| |
We dig bringing TheFutureParty newsletter to you at no charge. And it’s all thanks to our sponsors. When you support them, our newsletter can keep growing. Support our sponsors here.
Don’t spend a decade (or more) finding your people
Why would you when you can find them right now with Sidebar?
Sidebar hooks you up with a small group of highly vetted, private, and supportive peers to help you take your career to the next level.
They’ll offer real talk, diverse insights, and honest feedback. They’ll be your people — the ones who’ll support you as you crush it out there.
Want some legit verification? Here’s what the VP of Roku has to say about it: “Providing and receiving support from others who play a similar role to you is one of the best ways to grow your capabilities and succeed.”
There you have it.
CULTURE
Who needs a degree when you’re schoolin’ life? // Illustration by Kate Walker
Gen Z prioritizes travel over education
The Future. Looking ahead to the next five years, Gen Z ranks being personally fulfilled, cultivating and maintaining friendships, and traveling as more important goals than advancing their education. This may prove (at least among younger generations) that life experience really is the best teacher… and investment.
School’s out
Business Insider and YouGov conducted a survey that included over 600 Gen Zers and asked respondents to choose more than one option (if they wanted to) about their most important goals.
72% said being financially stable is a priority at a time when inflation is still pretty high.
46% said cultivating and maintaining friendships and having a fulfilling romantic relationship is essential.
43% said traveling is an important goal, compared to 39% who said advancing their education is.
Wanderlust’s in
According to the report, only 48% of Gen Z respondents would describe themselves as “fully or mostly financially independent.”
The prohibitive cost of tuition might keep Gen Zers from feeling the need to advance their schooling. It seems they’d rather make money so they can travel — even if that puts them on a different timeline or schedule than generations past.
So, now we want to hear from you…
YOUR DAILY POLL
We ask the hard-hitting questions.
What’s your most important goal right now?
26.8% of you voted for Grumpy staying in yesterday’s poll: What business term defined your 2023?
“I’m in a position where, if I quit, I’d face minimum-wage jobs that pay less than half of what I make now. I struggle financially and will never be able to buy a home. I don’t want to boil and treat sewage for the rest of my life, but all the other jobs I’ve had sucked far worse, paying a fraction of the wages with none of the health benefits. America the great?”
“A sense that we have good jobs with good pay but an executive team unwilling to learn how to manage in a hybrid environment.”
“I am applying for jobs within the organization for which I work that pay substantially more with the same job description I am doing.”
| |
Don’t make this mistake when you sell your business
Make sure your price is right with Flippa.
Flippa is the most legit tool to figure out just how much your biz is worth. And it’s current AF — taking into consideration thousands of sales and live buyer demand.
With Flippa, you can sell your biz as quickly as possible at the best possible price with the lowest fees. That’s a win-win-win.
This deserves a major callout: Flippa is the #1 marketplace globally for buying and selling online businesses.
Don’t wait until another “Auld Lang Syne” season comes around — sell your biz now.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Cardi B and LL Cool J have joined the lineup for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, which Ryan Seacrest will host for the 19th straight year. Read More → thewrap
Ariana Grande is returning to music with a new album in 2024 after wrapping the upcoming Wicked movie. Read More → variety
Even for hardcore Marvel fans, the amount of prerequisite knowledge required to watch an MCU product is the same as a college course... and it seems like viewers are tiring of the homework. Read More → nyt
Fashion & E-Commerce
Apple can resume selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches until US Customs determines if the changes the tech giant is making to the watch are enough to avoid the patent dispute that led to the ban. Read More → theverge
US beer shipments are projected to fall to their lowest level in 25 years by the end of 2023, as Americans have been turning away from the beverage. Read More → insider
2024 food trends will be all about snacks, hydration, buckwheat, meal-flavored cocktails, less processing and short, transparent lists of ingredients, complex heat, wildflowers, and soup — not exactly in that order. Read More → nyt
Tech, Web3, & AI
The New York Times is the first major media company to sue artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, which could set a precedent for how courts define the value of news content in training AI systems. Read More → axios
Masculine bravado is taking over Silicon Valley, as the wealthiest, most powerful men in tech embrace inflammatory rhetoric, muscular physiques, and physical combat — probably impacting who’s considered welcome in their companies. Read More → vox
Gen Alpha, the people born after 2010, made their presence known online in 2023 by confusing older folks with surreal memes and baffling slang, like Skibidi Toilet and “Fanum tax” (look ‘em up for a good laugh). Read More → insider
Creator Economy
In partnership with Shareholder Vote Exchange
Are you wasting your valuable voting rights? Turn your unused proxy votes into cash with SVE. Trade shareholder voting rights for passive income and align them with your investment strategy. Passive or engaged, every investor benefits. Join the savvy users who’ve made over $1,000 this year. Sign up in minutes and start earning with SVE today. Don’t let your voting rights go to waste — start making them work for you with SVE.
YouTube is dominating the kid-friendly content market, as its viewership among 2-to-11-year-olds is up 4% — its competitor Netflix’s is sliding by the same percentage. Read More → tubefilter
TikTok videos are hitting a nerve with wives whose husbands didn’t fill up their Christmas stockings — the idea being that husbands often come through with big-ticket items but overlook the smaller details. Read More → insider
NFTs are becoming hot again due to recent momentum in the crypto space. Read More → techcrunch
Like what you see? Subscribe Now or Partner With Us
Keep the editorial team going! Buy the team a coffee! ☕️
Today’s email was written by Luke Perrotta and Kait Cunniff.
Edited by Nick Comney.
Published by Darline Salazar.