Costco’s American Dream

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Happy Tuesday, Future Party. If you thought this year’s World Cup was hard to keep up with, prepare for your calendar to get even more packed next time around. FIFA is considering expanding the tournament from 48 teams to 64 teams. Might be time to start banking those vacation days.

Reportedly, several major publishers are considering opting out of Google Search.

Why It Hurts: Just a couple of years ago, a publisher deciding to leave Google Search was unthinkable — it’s the primary way the world surfaces information and discovers news outlets. Oh, and it’s also their biggest traffic and revenue driver. But AI has totally disrupted that paradigm, and Google itself has seemingly blurred the line between Search SEO and AI scraping.

Behind The Decision: Since Google uses a single web crawler to index sites for Search and train its AI models, publishers are starting to feel they have little choice but to opt out of the web giant’s ecosystem entirely, per AdWeek.

Final Click: Why are publishers considering the nuclear option with Google? They want to be properly compensated for access to their content, of course. The problem is that Google doesn’t offer licensing agreements like AI competitors OpenAI and Anthropic. Granted, neither of those companies also operates the world’s leading search engine — something that gives Google significantly more leverage in negotiations with publishers.

Google, for its part, says it has given publishers more control over how the company accesses their sites, including an AI opt-out tool, Google Extended, and Search Console controls for limited generative AI training. Still, the consensus among publishers is that those options simply aren’t enough.

Prediction: As Google Search risks losing some high-quality publishers over AI use, the open web could start to degrade in value… possibly leaving trusted curation through newsletters and social media as the best way to stay informed.

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It turns out loving Costco is one of the few things Americans seem to agree on.

The Big Buy: Costco, the membership-only big-box retailer, becoming the coolest club in the country was probably on no one’s Bingo card… but it goes to show how treating staff well, staying committed to offering cheaper alternatives to premium products, and refusing to raise prices on menu staples can win over a broad spectrum of customers. Free samples don’t hurt either.

Behind The Shelves: Costco is monoculture now, according to The WSJ.

Closing Thoughts: It’s clear Costco is tapping into some powerful micro-trends, from Gen Z’s frugal mindset and millennials’ love of collectibles to Boomers’ consumer identity. As influencer Daniel Rinsky told The WSJ, “It seems to be one of the last places that, across the aisle, we can all agree is good.”

It also helps that Costco is one of the few big companies in America that seems to treat its employees well across the board. They’re paid well, receive strong benefits, and have access to a real career ladder. In fact, CEO Ron Vachris started out as a forklift operator in a Costco warehouse. The American Dream is alive and well at Costco.

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36.6% of you voted No, and I don’t plan to in yesterday’s poll: Have you seen the movie Obsession?

“Horror isn’t my thing, especially Gen Z internet-fueled horror. Seems like a fun take on the dangers of wish fulfillment, though.”

“I don’t have any hard plans one way or the other. Maybe I’ll stream it one day, but it’s not high on my watchlist. Possibly when I can’t find anything else that’s more interesting and the mood strikes.”

“I was lucky enough to see it at TIFF months before its wide release. Wild to watch it go on to become one of the most successful films ever to premiere at the festival.”

“I am not in the demographic. I loved it.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🍿 12 state AGs are suing to block the Paramount-WBD merger… and CEO David Ellison is reportedly considering moving the company’s HQ out of California if the legal challenge moves forward.

🎥 Michael is Lionsgate’s first movie to cross $1 billion at the global box office… and the first biopic ever to reach the milestone.

🏈 Billionaire Vinod Khosla is set to become a controlling owner of the Seattle Seahawks after the Khosla family agreed to buy the NFL team for a record $9.6 billion.

⌚ Off-White is getting into watches with its first-ever collection… and the prices are surprisingly reasonable.

🎲 Kalshi is looking a little more like Bloomberg with the launch of Kalshi Pro, a new trading terminal for advanced users.

📦 The Chinese government has approved Shein to go public in Hong Kong… after its IPO plans in New York and London fell through.

🎤 Madonna’s Confessions II livestream became TikTok LIVE’s most-watched standalone artist broadcast ever, racking up 2.1 million viewers worldwide.

👔 Jacob Moncrief has been upped to president at Rhett & Link’s Mythical Entertainment.

🤳 Viral YouTubers the Stokes Twins are making videos again… but this time for Netflix.