Together with
Trendspotting. Listen up, Future Party people. We’ve got a mission for you: we're searching for the hottest trends predicted to shake up 2023, and we need your help. If you know of any must-read reports on tech, entertainment, and culture, then don’t hold back. Spill the tea and share the wealth! Bonus points if you throw a wild card or two into the mix. What can we say? We love a good deep cut.
In other news… Bluesky quietly takes on Twitter, everyone wants a piece of ChatGPT, and cultural trendsetters come from outside the mainstream.
Top Trends
YouTube → Peter Pan & Wendy
Twitter → Michael B. Jordan
Google → Ed Sheeran
Reddit → Stranger Things
TikTok → “Come & Get It” - Selena Gomez
Spotify → “New Order T-Shirt” - The National
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TECHNOLOGY
First flight // Illustration by Kate Walker
Bluesky takes flight… privately
The Future. Bluesky, the decentralized social platform that has been a pet project of Jack Dorsey for years, released an invite-only app last month… meaning a public debut is on the horizon. Originally incubated at and financed by Twitter (although how much it's still funded by the current cost-cutting regime is a mystery), the success of Bluesky’s Twitter-copycat interface may be dependent on the power of its unique, decentralized perks.
Twitter, decentralizedAfter years of hype and speculation, Bluesky is seeing some daylight.
Bluesky quietly released an invite-only app on the App Store on February 17th… after launching for just developers last October.
The app already has over 2,000 installs.
Techcrunch called the app a “bare-bones, Twitter-like experience” so far, with nearly all the same features (except the ability to DM).
But for those with just a little more to say, posts go up to 256 characters, as opposed to Twitter’s 240.
And in a bit of cleverness, Bluesky’s prompt question for a post is “What’s up?”
The app’s waitlist is already open for signups.
Cloud foundationAlthough Bluesky’s place in the social media sphere certainly piques interest, it’s not even the firm’s main priority.
Instead, the project, which is now a public benefit company, is more focused on building a decentralized protocol called “AT” (Authenticated Transfer) Protocol, which other decentralized apps can build on top of and allow users to control their experience and transfer their profiles from one platform to another.
But the big question is: with the ActivityPub protocol that powers newly popular platforms like Mastodon and is attracting established ones like Tumblr and Flipboard in a loosely connected “Fediverse,” could Bluesky’s ambitions already be out of reach?
TECHNOLOGY
Plug and play // Illustration by Kate Walker
OpenAI loans out ChatGPT
The Future. To hit that projected $1 billion in revenue by 2024, OpenAI is making ChatGPT available to companies and developers… for a price. Major brands are already lining up, which should help OpenAI pay for all the massive cloud-computing power it takes to run an AI system at scale. With ChatGPT seemingly everywhere, we may soon never get to talk to a human for customer service requests or recommendations.
Open for businessEveryone wants a piece of ChatGPT, reports Bloomberg.
Snapchat is releasing an “AI-enabled” chatbot that will be available first to Snapchat Plus subscribers and eventually to all users. It’ll be able to do tasks like recommend birthday gifts or dinner recipes.
Instacart will combine ChatGPT with its own proprietary AI, allowing customers to ask for food recommendations or to provide recipes.
Shopify will embed ChatGPT into its app to provide better recommendations to customers.
Quizlet plans to build an AI tutoring experience that will mimic the question-and-answer style of the Socratic method.
Additionally, OpenAI is making its Whisper speech recognition platform available for enterprise use, which could be key to creating automatic transcriptions for use in international markets.
Seems like OpenAI is just getting started.
TOGETHER WITH SUNDAYS
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CULTURE
Unsplash
Industry outsiders become mainstream trendsetters
The Future. While social media has opened up the creator economy — and given a platform to talent who may have otherwise gone undiscovered — many young creators are still appropriated and underpaid. If brands want to harness the creative power that often exists outside mainstream culture, they might consider working with (and within) those communities rather than imitating them.
Necessity is the mother of inventionThe creative output that breaks new ground can sometimes stem from a lack of resources.
Spray cans and NYC subways birthed street art, which now holds a lot of value in the contemporary art world. Likewise, streetwear and hip-hop have had profound influences on fashion and music.
Early 2000s grime pirate radio stations not only created a new genre but also a new generation of British talent who shifted the music scene away from indie-driven band culture towards solo artistry.
Young, enterprising, and visionaryDecode argues that it could be the spatial or social deprivation of the inner city that produces out-of-the-box thinking and raw creative expression. But it’s the young, hustle-minded creators from those environments who are usually driving cultural trends.
Brands would be wise to invest in and partner with the source of that creative cool.
Wise up about money
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
TikTok will intro a 60-minute daily limit for teens
While the new feature won’t block a user from spending more than 60 minutes on the app, it’ll prompt users under 18 to enter a passcode once they reach the time limit. The 60-minute limit will be automatically set on teenage accounts “in the coming weeks” so that users must “make an active decision” to go beyond an hour.
Read More → complex
UNIQLO wants to attract Gen Z shoppers
The popular clothing chain is experimenting with livestream shopping, new influencer partnerships, and in-store demonstrations as it tries to attract the younger generation. UNIQLO has spent the last few years testing live commerce in a trial-and-error format, but it’s “now very confident” that it can use the channel to better engage with customers. Since UNIQLO products have a functional element to them, promotion via livestream shopping with influencers allows the retailer to tell a product story.
Read More → adage
Cheaper gas is good news for commuters
According to GasBuddy, US drivers spent an average of $3.40 for every gallon of gas in February — down 6% year-over-year. As more than 75% of American commuters drive to and from work, lower gas prices mean they can spend on other basic goods (that have gotten more expensive) without breaking the bank. Still, lower prices may disincentivize people from going electric or embracing public transit, which can have huge environmental benefits. What should a person choose?
Read More → axios
The Moon might get its own time zone
As the world enters a new era of lunar exploration, space organizations recognize the “importance and urgency of defining a common lunar reference time.” ESA navigation system engineer Pietro Giordano says a “joint international effort is now being launched towards achieving this.” At the moment, different space organizations still use their own time zones for their onboard chronometers and two-way communications systems. But this practice won’t be sustainable in the future, as missions from different countries may have to communicate with each other (even if they’re not working together) when they’re on the Moon at the same time. A lunar clock shouldn’t tick anyone off…
Read More → engadget
Breakthrough will give unknown artists their big break
Audible will debut its first singing competition series, Breakthrough, on June 1st as an exclusive podcast with host Daveed Diggs and judges Sara Bareilles and Kelly Rowland, who will mentor five artists over nine episodes. The undiscovered talent will compete in a series of challenges, such as covering well-known songs, writing originals, and experimenting with genres. Prizes include vocal coaching sessions, studio recording time, and recording equipment. In the end, one artist will be crowned the winner. Like The Masked Singer, Breakthrough will conceal the performers’ identities from the judges and listeners through an audio-only format. It’s all about the music, folks.
Read More → techcrunch
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Today's email was brought to you by David Vendrell and Kait Cunniff.Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.