What’s In This Issue?
This Week’s Main Stories
Story 01The Most Important Thing To Buy This Black Friday
Story 02Airbnb 2.0 = Book A Custom Trip/Tour With Your Stay!
Story 03How To Avoid Getting Burned Out
Story 04The Forensic Secrets That Your Phone Might Reveal About You
Story 05The "Healthware" Movement in Fashion
Story 06Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade In Virtual 360 Video On YouTube!The Most Important Thing To Buy This Black Friday
Judging by the news coverage of Black Friday in the US this year, it is hard to tell if the trend is toward more brands finding a sense of responsibility and opting out of the consumer frenzy or running toward it. As many of us head toward this day of buying things we mostly don't need, perhaps it's time to remember the one thing we desperately do ... but often fail to appreciate: real journalism. Subscriptions to the NY Times exploded after the recent US election (see story link below) and that is a sign of hope - but we need to choose to keep this support alive. So as you buy whatever you plan to buy this long weekend, consider becoming a subscriber to a top tier media organization and supporting their work.
Airbnb 2.0 = Book A Custom Trip/Tour With Your Stay!
There are some brand extensions where you slap your forehead and wonder why you didn't see it coming. This is one of them. This week Airbnb launched a new "Trips" feature in selected cities, offering the chance for hosts to create experiences along with stays (or independently). This idea of traveling with a local is one that has the potential to disrupt many parts of the travel industry just as the nightly stay part of the brand did when it first gained traction.
How To Avoid Getting Burned Out
In a timely piece about how to cope with stress and avoid getting burned out, organizational change consultant Kandi Wiens and Annie McKee, author of the forthcoming How to Be Happy at Work, Primal Leadership (with Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis) share that the real secret to dealing effectively with stress may be to increase your emotional intelligence and ability to empathise with others.
The Forensic Secrets That Your Phone Might Reveal About You
We often think about the data being collected on us and our behaviours being measured through our phones, but most of us don't realize how much information about ourselves we leave on our phone through microbes of bacteria, dirt and germs. The good news is that the information anyone might measure there is still relatively trivial (like what type of sunscreen you wear), but it does raise some interesting thoughts about how your phone might become more useful as a diagnostic tool in the future.
The "Healthware" Movement in Fashion
What if more clothing was designed specifically for the physically impaired? That is what this short piece explores and calls a "healthware movement" thanks to multiple examples of new innovations in fashion such as pants with higher waistbands for the wheelchair-dependent, clothing with integrated weights that act as therapy tools for those with sensory disorders, and shirts that allow for the easy insertion of medical ports. The entire movement is also a beautiful reminder that as we move toward a world of "connected clothing" where technology and fashion increasingly intersect, it is important that we don't unintentionally leave those with disabilities behind.
Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade In Virtual 360 Video On YouTube!
The final story in this week's roundup is a link to a video for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade which will be available on YouTube in a 360 video format. If you haven't had a chance to try this new video format, visit YouTube and you can drag the screen 360 degrees to watch the parade from any angle you choose. Though it is not quite virtual reality (or even augumented reality) - this is a sign of the coming interaction that these types of annual events will likely have for people watching at home.
