Rest, Relaxation, And Skill Acquisition

PRESENTED BY WISPR FLOW

It’s Wednesday, Future Party. Yesterday, it seemed like the whole world was mourning the passing of the great Dolly Parton. Dolly defined the American dream, rising from poverty in rural Tennessee to become one of the most successful and beloved artists of her generation. But what made Dolly truly special was how she paid it all back: lifting up workers in the music industry, building a theme park to economically support her hometown, inspiring kids to learn and complete school, and even contributing to some surprising breakthroughs in healthcare. She was one of one. RIP Dolly — we will always love you.

People are increasingly booking vacations that focus on learning a new skill, like snowboarding, pottery, or farming.

Why It Hits: The experience economy has officially come for luxury vacations, with people no longer satisfied with a little rest and relaxation in exotic locales. They now want to take home something that makes the investment in airfare and hotel stays worth it — the potential for an exciting new hobby.

Behind The Itinerary: Bloomberg says the new trend in the travel industry is taking “skillcations.”

Final Test: Andrew Stevenson, a psychology professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, told Bloomberg that skill-focused trips actually provide bigger psychological benefits than typical vacations. Maybe that’s why luxury-trip firms and resorts are adding more high-end experiential offerings and workshops alongside the typical spa and fine-dining amenities.

People are now coming to get their hands dirty, not to not lift a finger.

The Future: The spread of skillcationing may help bring off-the-beaten-path hobbies to communities all over the country, creating some surprising cultural exports.

You know the meeting went great… but then you read the notes.

The client’s name got spelled three different ways. The follow-up email quotes something nobody actually said. The action items read like a guess because, well, that’s what they are.

Wispr Flow Notetaker fixes all that by actually knowing you.

Everything Wispr Flow Notetaker captures also feeds directly into your AI tools. Ask Claude or ChatGPT about last week’s call, and you’ll get a real, accurate answer. No copy-pasting a transcript required.

The tool is free to try on Mac today, and early testers get a full month of Wispr Pro with unlimited meetings on us.

Try Wispr Flow Notetaker Today

YouTube is expanding its TV-like “Stations” feature from music into several new content categories.

The Big Picture: TV-streaming platforms like Netflix, Tubi, and Pluto TV are poaching longform YouTube talent so successfully that YouTube is making itself more like TV to staunch the bleeding. That’s not to say these creators are posting on YouTube any less… but the company isn’t keen on being anything less than the exclusive home of the creator economy.

Between The Channels: Stations, YouTube’s version of TV channels, was originally introduced to boost its coverage of Coachella. That experiment was so successful that the company is now rolling out the feature across the platform.

Last Transmission: YouTube toyed with traditional TV last decade but couldn’t make it stick. That’s changed in recent years, thanks to investments in sports, live events, and music. As the lines between TV and social media continue to blur, creators are increasingly keen to make their mark on television. This shift has led to content deals with platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and various FAST services dominating the headlines.

YouTube’s Stations expansion is an admission that YouTube — which now dominates viewership on TVs — needs to start looking a little more like the thing it disrupted.

Coming Soon: It’s only a matter of time until the next big TV breakout is a creator using Stations in a savvy way. Expect to find the next Curry Barker or Kane Parsons there.

Ava is the first AI BDR to run outbound end to end, finding leads or ingesting your CRM accounts, sending personalized emails on your reps' behalf, and booking meetings, autonomously or on copilot. She runs outbound for DoorDash and Grammarly. She's SOC 2 Type II audited, SSO and GDPR ready.

Book a demo

54.2% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Have you ever had a pen pal?

“When I was in elementary school in the ’80s, I had a pen pal from Australia whom I met in person when her family visited our church. We wrote to each other for about three years.”

“When I was in grade school, I had a pen pal from Wales. It was fun to send and receive letters. We also shared mixtapes (on cassette).”

“Had several as a kid. One I remember well was a deaf teen I met on vacation. We lived in the same hometown, but it was easier to talk via letters than by phone.”

“I had a few pen pals in my childhood, but all of them petered out after a few exchanges. Seems like daily life and doing things with people in close proximity won out over writing letters to distant people.”

“Mine went by the wayside over time. But my then-boyfriend’s sister in Ireland went to New Zealand to meet hers, and they’ve been married for 40-some years now.”

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.

🍿 Blumhouse Atomic Monster has made a billion dollars at the box office over the past year from movies with a combined production budget of less than $51 million.

📺 Netflix may become a streaming hub for third-party services like Peacock and Fox One.

🎸 Australia has banned AI-generated songs from appearing on its local music charts.

🚀 SpaceX has chosen Vermilion Parish in Louisiana as the site of its second Starbase launchport.

💍 Smart ring-maker Oura is planning to go public next month at a $16 billion valuation.

🤖 Stability AI has raised $76 million in a funding round that surprisingly included all three major music labels.

👟 Dick’s Sporting Goods’ stock collapsed 28% due to falling sales at Foot Locker.

📱 ShopMy affiliate links may now be popping up in your group chats.

⚽ The World Cup adidas ball used in Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God goal in 1986 is going up for auction… and may score a $10 million valuation.