The Hype Cycle, Vol. 2
Weekly musings on culture, media and more.
Three Things Trending.
Some topics I’ve seen percolate this week - with my own 🔥 (or 🥶) takes:
Toodaloo, TikTok?
DTC brand MadRabbit appears to be preparing to pivot off TikTok if the US government decides to ban the app. They’re not the only brand that is exploring a shift, either. Other DTC brands are contemplating what comes next. There’s certainly some spooked vibes in advertising and marketing circles given that the latest attempt to block the app appears to have more momentum.
MY TAKE: There won’t be a ban. Lawmakers are already giving themselves a potential off-ramp by talking about how “the ban isn’t the point”, rather it’s the Chinese ownership of TikTok that’s concerning. Even if there was a ban, consumers would quickly move on to other apps after a bit of fuss.
Publishers Punt on Esports
Digiday has a nice write-up detailing why more publishers are handing over control of their leagues to third-party operators. As the market matures, publishers are realizing that the rocket-fueled growth during a global pandemic is not sustainable. There are real costs to putting on these events and supporting the communities continuously.
MY TAKE: This feels a lot like streaming TV; many publishers had eyes bigger than their stomachs. As big as Esports is - and it’s massive - it’s still not as big and uniform as other major sports. That makes Esports leagues difficult to maintain as IP ebbs and flows in terms of popularity. Organizations routinely compete in multiple Esports, but with tighter resources as investors pull back. There’s a natural consolidation happening, and it’s good for industry health.
Tesla Rolling Out RoboTaxis(?)
Here we go again… Elon Musk is now announcing that Tesla will introduce its long-gestating robotaxis on August 8th. The announcement comes amid a severe downturn in business for the auto brand. Most recently Tesla announced that they had canceled plans for a $25,000 EV. Musk himself continues to make headlines for (mostly) negative reasons.
MY TAKE: Tesla isn’t going anywhere, but neither is the competition. Especially now that Tesla is opening up its charger network. The question is: where does growth come from? The EV market seems to have hit a plateau. Musk spending time on ventures like automated vehicles sure seems like another instance where he’s taking his eye off the ball. I can hardly see many local governments green-lighting this (if it even happens).
Two Good Resources.
Thinking, Fast and Slow: an all-time great resource for anyone trying understand behavioral science. It has helped me over and over in my life, and I am constantly referring back to notes I’ve made within it. Last week, author Daniel Kahneman passed away at age 90. I will be forever grateful to him for this work.
One-Stop Startup: OpenAI’s GPT library has some real gems in it. This is one of them. You can input details for a potential business venture and the the “app” will spit back a host of useful information from market viability to funding analysis. I used it myself in starting Undercurrent.
One Great Quote.
I leave you with some choice words that I reflect upon regularly:
“We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness.”
-Daniel Kahneman
