Airlines Sell In-Flight Meals, LA2028's Inclusive Logo + How Stupidity Can Get You Promoted

The LA Olympic Committee Helps Fans Dream of 2028 at the Perfect Time

While most of us probably can't wait for 2020 to be over, it seems impossibly distant to start thinking about 2028 - but that's the year the Olympics are coming to Los Angeles (assuming schedules aren't adjusted if Tokyo 2021 happens as planned). Eight years before an Olympics is the time when the organizing committee for the games starts sharing branding, logos and plans. Usually there's a predictable backlash from all the critics ... which includes pretty much everyone.

Atlanta, London, Tokyo and Paris have all had their fair share of haters. The reaction to LA's first logo unveiling is different. People actually like it. What was the difference? The biggest shift was how the logo actually involved many different parts of LA's creator communities and allowed them each to offer their own unique takes on the "A" of LA. It was clever, unifying, inclusive and exactly what the Olympics should be ... a moment when people feel uplifted and optimistic. Read my full article about this story >>

Lady Gaga and Japanese Star Miyavi Push the Boundaries of Virtual Performance

I was feeling pretty proud of myself for getting my dual camera setup working in my virtual home studio. Then I watched Lady Gaga perform at the VMA's surrounded by dancers in masks. Followed by an imaginative virtual performance from Japanese music star Miyavi surrounded by animation and drones. Clearly the bar is getting higher and higher for all of us. This is a good thing - because we're going to be having these virtual experiences for the foreseeable future. So now I'm thinking I should find a way to integrate drones into my virtual studio setup. I'll just have to learn how to fly them.

Desperate Airlines Mail Flyers In-Flight Magazines, Sell In-Flight Meals Online

Last week a copy of the United Hemispheres in-flight magazine showed up in my mailbox. It's been six months since I flipped through a copy. It seems this wanderlust among frequent travelers like me is inspiring airlines to start thinking outside the box in terms of how to reach flyers who aren't flying. Aside from sending in-flight magazines (presumably to keep advertisers happy with circulation numbers), some airlines are even selling in-flight meals online. I'm not sure I miss flying enough to order a Tapas Box, but some of those in-flight options from the Asian carriers in particular were pretty good.

Join me next week for MMA Brazil's Shape the Future event ...

Events are starting up again and on September 9th I'll be doing a session on trends since the pandemic. For all my Brazilian readers (and anyone else), there are still some tickets available!

Register here >>

Fat Finger Trading and How to Use Stupidity To Get A Promotion

Apparently there is a term called "fat finger trading" that is used to refer to a financial trade made by a trader pressing the wrong button on a screen. This week a financial trader accidentally sold 5 million shares of a company chairman's shares, and then bought them back two hours later. Apparently the transaction generated $44,000 in profits, which the chairman returned to the company. Wow. So a trader makes a fat finger trade, screws up, accidentally makes the boss $44,000 and probably gets a promotion? This is what we call failing upwards.

A Conversation With Jaron Lanier: The Conscience of Silicon Valley

"People who are addicted to Twitter are like all addicts -- on the one hand miserable, and on the other hand very defensive about it and unwilling to blame Twitter." - Jaron Lanier

I've been reading Lanier's writing for more than a decade and he's routinely cited as one of the most moral thinkers in the tech industry ... a rogue who isn't quite so concerned with becoming a billionaire or shaping the world to his own vision. His biggest ambition, as he shares in this cover story interview for GQ, is "to not fuck the future over." In this wide ranging article, he shares his thoughts about the future of social media, virtual reality, how humans will interact with technology and what goat farming taught him about the world. When you have the time for a long read, this is a good one that will take you inside the mind of someone who is easily one of the fascinating people alive today.

Book Summary:

According to Mauro F. Guillen, the only way to truly understand the global transformations underway―and their impacts―is to think laterally. Rather than focusing on a single trend―climate-change or the rise of illiberal regimes, for example―Guillen encourages us to consider the dynamic inter-play between a range of forces that will converge on a single tipping point―2030―that will be, for better or worse, the point of no return.

Buy on Bookshop >>