AI search
This section on AI search is largely down to Rowan Kisby’s observations over at LinkedIn. I worked with Rowan when I was her client at Unilever, super-smart, can’t recommend her enough. Now on to AI search: Google has looked to augment its web search in a more obvious way with generative AI providing ‘AI search’ features.
The AI search features have adversely affected publishers of non-time dependant evergreen content according to Authoritas. This has sparked concern amongst media publishers, but early feedback on IAC and Ziff-Davis shareholder calls indicated little change in traffic numbers. Google claims that AI search feature ‘AI previews’ actually delivers more, rather than less click throughs.
China
IBM Shuts China R&D Operations in Latest Retreat by U.S. Companies – WSJ – Microsoft has made a similar retreat
Culture
Dr Mike Lynch OBE | Obituary – Sound on Sound magazine cover’s Lynch’s music hardware career which happened before he started Autonomy. The bit that this story misses is how Lynch’s developments helped move forward digital music and affecting electronica during a particularly creative point in culture including house and the rave scene that spun out of it.
I can’t recommend Phoebe Yu‘s content enough, this video on colour, culture and user experience design is a great example of her work.
Why everyone is obsessed with toys right now – The Face – The Face finally catches up with nerd life.
Economics
The changing role of the US dollar | Brookings Institute
Why Can’t the U.S. Build Ships? – by Brian Potter
Hong Kong
Hong Kong like Japan has people with a real passion for buses and trains, and unlike the UK, both countries cater to their ‘trainspotters’.
Wong Kar Wai’s Guide to Hong Kong: Arts Intel Report – Arts Intel
Ideas
Section have a series of templates for looking at AI use in business, more here.
Luxury
How ‘luxury shame’ will shape sales in China for the rest of 2024 | Vogue Business – wealthy people and corrupt government officials don’t want to be seen to be rocking the boat from a societal perspective lest they get caught in the view of the authorities or Chinese netizens. This is especially true given the slow economy and Xi administration focus on ‘common prosperity‘ to reign in wealthier business leaders. Burberry as a brand relying on China is particularly affected, which has reduced its stature: Burberry drops out of FTSE 100 | Drapers Online
The Geopolitics of Wine | Peter Zeihan – thanks to increasing costs of capital, aging worker demographics and climate change New Zealand and Australia will do better than Latin American wines and most European offerings except France
The Collectability of Parmigiani Fleurier | Phillips
Marketing
Colgate-Palmolive’s financial performance proves that over-indexing on share-of-voice through shopper marketing and advertising delivers positive financial results: Colgate-Palmolive: ‘The advertising is working’ | WARC | The Feed
Is marketing entering its ‘era of less’? | WARC | The Feed – based on Gartner CMO surveys marketers are increasingly being seen as cost centres and are being asked to do more with less which is affecting mar tech spend, staffing and agency spend.
Materials
IKEA preowned | IKEA – Ikea tried to get into the circular economy
Media
Here’s the Pitch Deck for ‘Active Listening’ Ad Targeting | 404 Media
Right-Wing Influencer Network Tenet Media Allegedly Spread Russian Disinformation | WIRED
Online
Rise of the ‘chefluencers’: Can China cook up its own Nara Smith? | Jing Daily
Farewell, Microblog – China Media Project
Retailing
How to connect offline to China’s Gen Z and Alpha? | Jing Daily – Young Chinese consumers are finding new consumer interests away from blind boxes and claw machines: ‘Guzi’ (谷子) stores. ‘Guzi’, derived from the phonetic English ‘Goods’, describes merchandise featuring popular ACG (animation, comics, and games) characters, including badges, standees, and posters. – China develops it’s take on otaku culture
Security
Interesting interview with Anthony Blinken on cybersecurity. See also: Chinese government hackers penetrate U.S. internet providers to spy – The Washington Post
Current CIA director Bill Burns and Richard Moore, his counterpart at SIS appeared at the FT Weekend festival in London.
Technology
White House publishes roadmap to secure internet routing • The Register