Together with
Aye, aye, captain. The legendary Summit At Sea adventure aboard Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages ship is back — and TFP is here to help you get a seat. Join us and 1,900+ creators during this three-day, multidisciplinary experience meant to connect and nourish creatives, entrepreneurs, and more.
Interested in a personal reference? Shoot us an email at [email protected]. Pricing starts at $5,150/person, and the journey starts soon, on May 18th. Don’t wait!
In other news… Pepe coin’s wild ride, suburbs siphon shoppers from cities, and studios suspend deals amid the writers strike.
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CRYPTO
Pepe's leap of faith could get crypto in hot water // Illustration by Kate Walker
Pepe coin blows up only to crash days later
The Future. Amid growing turmoil in the cryptocurrency world, a new coin emerged last April based on the controversial meme Pepe the Frog. Speculative hype led Pepe coin to skyrocket in value last week — and plummet right back down this week. Whatever they’re worth, volatile memecoins like this one might doom an industry that badly needs an image rehabilitation.
“Pump the frog”
Fortune covered the rapid rise and fall of the frog-based cryptocurrency.
On April 19th, Pepe coin ($PEPE) launched with a supply of 420.69 trillion coins — a quantity based purely on the number’s comic value.
Pepe coin’s value rose steadily until May 5th, when it skyrocketed to a $1.6 billion market cap.
The reign was short-lived. In the days since, Pepe coin has lost half that value.
Look before you leap
Pepe coin’s hype was clearly ironic, based on a bet that the coin’s ridiculousness would attract attention and subsequent investment. That’s exactly what happened — for a short time, at least — but roller coasters like these may damage crypto’s already-dodgy reputation. The tech has applications, but people may not believe that if they associate crypto with a cartoon frog.
BUSINESS
Are suburbs the new cities? // Illustration by Kate Walker
Remote work helps suburban retailers poach shoppers from cities
The Future. Average office usage rates are roughly half what they were pre-pandemic, and the consequent decline in customers has left urban businesses struggling. To adapt, many retailers have relocated to the suburbs where foot traffic is higher. For most, that move has worked — and may cause a permanent shift from urban to suburban retail.
Suburb slickers
Suburban retailers are gaining what urban retailers lose.
Many workers work remotely on Mondays and Fridays, crippling city retailers on those days — and supporting suburban ones instead.
Businesses are following the customers. In the second half of 2022, urban retail availability exceeded suburban availability for the first time since 2013.
Suburban rent growth has also outstripped that of cities, especially as resources and money flow out of already-unaffordable urban centers.
Trickle-out economics
This movement creates a cycle. Customers clustering in the suburbs attract businesses, which grow suburban retail centers, whose improved amenities attract more foot traffic, which lures even more stores, etc. Some urban businesses hope that remote work is only a fad — but if it redistributes retail outlets, it’s the city retailers who are about to go.
TOGETHER WITH QUIMBY
Social at your service
Let's face it—you’re a founder, not a social media guru. You’re probably swamped with a to-do list longer than a Trader Joe's line on a Sunday. What founder’s got time to scroll through all the social trends and decide how to use them, anyway? (Kudos to you if you do, though.)
Enter Quimby: your company's new virtual BFF for Insta Reel and TikTok trends! 🎉 They'll slide into your texts twice a week (Tuesdays & Thursdays) with the freshest, trendiest content ideas, leaving you feeling more inspired and less "WTF?!" as you go to post that content.
Don't just take our word for it—Quimby's been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, Create + Cultivate, USA Today, Spectrum News, and more. They've collaborated with everyone from space VC firms to athleisure empires, so they're the 007s of social content. 🔥
ENTERTAINMENT
In suspension
Major studios to suspend deals amid writers strike
The Future. Amid chaos from the writers strike, major TV studios have begun to send out letters to writers and producers that deals are being suspended. As the fallout from the strike ripples through the entertainment community, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers may need to reconsider their position.
Press pause
According to Variety, the writers strike has led to multiple studios moving to suspend deals.
HBO, Warner Bros. TV, NBCUniversal, Disney, CBS Studios, Amazon, and other studios will reportedly be suspending some first-look and overall deals.
Letters were said to have gone out Thursday and Friday, followed by formal letters on Monday.
Verbiage used often noted that the Producer was reserving all rights and remedies/not waiving any rights “as a matter of law or equity”/”at law or in equity.”
Are you still watching?
Of note, studios aren’t necessarily terminating deals altogether — just pausing payments as the strike continues. But if the strike continues for an extended period of time (the 2007-2008 writer’s strike lasted for 100 days), it wouldn’t be out of the question. Some think that deals could start getting terminated… as soon as in a couple of weeks.
TOGETHER WITH HERS
Let’s keep talking about mental health
May’s still here – which means it’s still Mental Health Awareness Month! We're thrilled to keep talking about this oh-so-crucial topic, especially now that the conversation has become much more open.
Enter Hims & Hers, the online pharmacy that’s working hard to make virtual access to anxiety & depression meds* possible.
Here's how it works:
1️⃣ Cozy up at home and fill out the paperwork (PJs encouraged)
2️⃣ A professional healthcare provider will review your deets & prescribe Amazon's new in-game feature lets you buy real stuff
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Amazon's new in-game feature lets you buy real stuff
Amazon's new offering, "Amazon Anywhere," lets you shop for real-world goods inside mobile apps, virtual worlds, and video games. While the extent of its shopping capabilities is still currently unforeseen, you can now test out the feature inside Niantic's Peridot game.
Read More → theverge
Chatbots will take your order at Wendy's drive-thru
Amid labor shortages, Wendy's will start to test AI chatbots that will talk to customers and take drive-thru orders. Powered by Google Cloud’s AI software, the company says the experience will be natural, like talking to an employee. We shall see.
Read More → bloomberg
Stop and smell the virtual flowers
Researchers from Beihang University and the City University of Hong Kong have figured out how to incorporate scent into VR...well, sort of. While VR headsets are still largely odorless, these researchers have been able to generate different scents with wearable odor generators.
Read More → theverge
IBM might fire employees who don't use AI
A week after announcing its hiring pause on jobs that AI could replace, IBM's Chief Commercial Officer has said that while AI may not replace managers, managers that use AI would replace those that don't.
Read More → businessinsider
Gorillaz used AR tech to enhance their Coachella performance
Coachella, alongside Epic Games and Coachella's extended reality producer, featured AR tech that enhanced the band's performance for fans at home during the performance of their song "Skinny Ape." As a use case, according to Coachella, bringing the Gorillaz characters to life was a great example of how the festival hopes to enable artists "to extend their performances in new and engaging ways."
Read More → adweek
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