Welcome to this 32nd issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”. Each week, I sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. We discuss those trends and signals every Saturday at 9am EST on Clubhouse in the summer..

You can subscribe to this weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

This is what I noticed this week, thank you for reading and sharing this newsletter to those who look into the future.

Competitive Intelligence

Tools and methodologies competitive intelligence professionals are using:

Why we need more Boutique Search Engines. Deep learning helps predict traffic crashes before they happen. Is my Facebook activity affecting my finances? Using SEO data analytics to identify business gaps. Armed Forces Bank taps alternative data to lend to new recruits.

We offer courses to learn to efficiently use online sources to gain competitive and strategic intelligence.

Strategic blindspots

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new opportunities and avoid missing emerging risks

America’s concentration crisis. How to think about the unstoppable rise of index funds. Undercover Influencers Test the Patience of China’s Censors. Tesla officially launches its insurance using ‘real-time driving behavior’. The Rideshare Bubble Bursts. Workers are about to pivot with their feet. America’s Cash Glut. Biased Health Formulas. US VCs are becoming investment banks. The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages. US Infrastructure at risk.

Solving Problems By Leveraging Photography. Focused and Diffuse: Two Modes of Thinking. in praise of curiosity.

We have scheduled the dates for our “Strategic Blindspots” course which will take place early 2022.

Our future

How to win the future. (pdf) The future of expertise. Unimals evolve their bodies to solve problems. Building small footprints. Extreme heat is broiling people. New robots patrolling for ‘anti-social behaviour’ in Singapore. What Meetings Will Look Like After the Pandemic. A New Era in Psychedelic Medicine. Stretchable Display Thin Enough to Be Worn as Temporary Tattoo. First AI-Powered Virtual University Student. AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future. The “death positive” generation.

We provide in-house training to executive teams and board to feed their strategic planning process and investigate future scenarios. More here.

Weak signals and tiny patterns

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

The rise of house paint. Rage rooms. A gamer apparel seeks new ‘chief gaming scout‘. Moving house… by private jet. Swedish plywood. Canva is worth 40bm. Self-Balancing Bikes. Minus is a finite social network where you get 100 posts—for life. It’s Getting Hard to Sell Vinyl. Portable, low-cost nuclear reactors. A Very Big Little Country, PayPal is putting Pinterest up on its vision board. Coffee brand De Koffiejongens asks men to pay a 14% surcharge. A skincare brand fighting blue light damage. Kellog is sued over pop tarts fillings.

Join us to discuss those trends and signals every Saturday at 9am EST on Clubhouse. We have a panel of futurists that illustrate what those signals might mean, and an enlightened group of curious minds in the room.

Down the rabbit hole

This is a new section. It highlights a subject that lead me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors.

This week, I explored the list of list of lists.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for the curious mind …

Rediscovering the Recipes of Moorish Spain. The Women Who Invented Video Game Music. Amazon’s private labels. Key art. For the love of coffee. Build multi-agent simulations in minutes. Remystifying Supply Chains. Flying toasters and other 90s screen savers. Swarm intelligence. Why Birds Can Fly Over Mount Everest. Google cloud carbon footprint.

Feeling Good

Rediscovering the Recipes of Moorish Spain. Flower interpretations. The walk of life project. Fuzzy Moths Taking Flight. Iran’s Centuries-Old Windmills. The Puffer Fish. Solar protocol.