Kyle Chayka: “Algorithms Are Flattening Culture”
This is a big week at Future Commerce HQ, and the team has been working hard to help you see around the next corner.
Here’s what’s coming down the pike:
- Are algorithms affecting our culture? Author Kyle Chayka thinks so. His new book Filterworld explores the way that coffee shops, clothing, streaming television, and even rental homes are all shaped into homogenous experiences by the algorithms that power them. The real question: are you going to give up feed-based algorithms for lent? Listen to Episode #339 “The Tyranny of Visibility” on Apple, Spotify, or Youtube.
- If you’re in South Florida for EEE next week, Future Commerce co-founder Phillip will be on-stage with Shark Tank’s own Daymond John for a full-day event, February 22. If you’re an eCommerce executive, this is the show for you. We’ll be present with our printed books: Archetypes, The Multiplayer Brand, and our brand new annual journal, Muses.
- We’ll also be live in Palm Springs for the 25th anniversary of eTail West. Future Commerce co-founders Phillip and Brian will be hosting live content, moderating panel sessions, and creating content while on-site. We hope to see you there on February 27-29. Register and save 20% off with this discount code: FUTURECOMMERCE20
Experience the MUSES of Commerce
Today, we launch the MUSES site experience to the broader Future Commerce community.
Step into the world of MUSES, the latest annual Journal from Future Commerce — a compendium for the commerce-minded, aesthetically attuned, and intellectually curious.
This digital portal to our immersive world of the MUSES features in-depth articles, interviews, essays, and prose about the people and things that inspire us to create.
We’re elevating commerce while celebrating creativity.
🏺Experience the site today at muses.futurecommerce.com
Now You Can Waste Time Spatially. If you had enough money to plunk down on the Apple Vision Pro, you can probably afford to waste more time inside the device; and TikTok has a new app to help you do just that. Following the lead of other brands, TikTok refreshed their iPad app with some minor spatial improvements, sans-commerce. CNet has a video showing off the experience.
Shopify Eyes Global Growth. Following a record Q4 earnings report, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein says that global is a ‘massive area of growth’ for the eCom giant. The company’s recent comms messaging around providing tools to replace the “entrepreneur’s desk” seems to be under-reported in favor of their massive core business growth, which includes slowly competing with its own developer ecosystem.
“I Went to Buy Milk and I Got $400 of Stuff” Cookbook author and Youtuber, J. Kenji Lopez Alt recently posted a Costco haul video, a perennial request from his ardent fanbase. The best part: he forgot the milk. In other Costco news sightings: a moose accosts a customer in Alaska, and rumors of a replacement for the now-retired roast beef sandwich have been confirmed.
Air Canada Obligated to Online Chatbot’s Promises. Air Canada has lost a small claims dispute, resulting in a partial refund to a grieving passenger. The passenger claims that the airline’s online chatbot inaccurately explained the airline's bereavement travel policy. The chatbot has since been removed.
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