#189 Digital Identity, Virtual Events, and the Future of Sex and Dating - Sat, Feb 20 2021

Like smartphones, wifi or cloud computing, digital identity is heading on the same growth trajectory towards mass adoption. Coronavirus has been a shot in the arm for the industry with vaccine passports for travel, dealing with voter fraud or…

Clo Willaerts Five years from now, many more of us will be using digital channels to verify our identity on a daily basis.

Connection, relaxation and sustainability lead 2021's travel trends, according to a consumer survey from US home-sharing platform Airbnb. Stylus identifies how these three trends are already shaping the tourism landscape. The bucket-list mentality…

Clo Willaerts The bucket-list mentality is merging with a community focus: 41% of respondents said that holidays with family and friends are the main reason to travel, nearly double the 22% who said personal goals motivated them (Airbnb consumer trends report, 2021).

The proliferation of mobile exploded during the ongoing pandemic, and with it came the next generation of social media apps. Users gravitated towards social media platforms to stay connected in a world that was forced into separation. Take TikTok…

Clo Willaerts App Annie: Clubhouse grew from over 3.5M global downloads on February 1, 2021, to reach 8.1M by February 16, 2021.

Gizmodo – Andrew Liszewski – Feb 18, 5:20 AM

In a time when even basic human interactions are discouraged for safety reasons, there's an even greater demand for alternate sources of companionship. But if you're not ready for the responsibilities of a dog or a cat, Panasonic has introduced yet…

Clo Willaerts It blinks. It mumbles. It farts. Who needs a husband when you have this 🐈 🤖 (This cute little cat robot’s name is Nicobo, and it was created by Panasonic for companionship.)

The Verge – Andrew Webster – Feb 16, 7:00 AM

Fortnite 's violence-free mode, party royale, will soon be the home of a short film festival. Today, developer Epic announced “Short Nite,” which will feature multiple animated shorts, all broadcast on the virtual island's big screen.

Clo Willaerts I think cross-platform games like Fortnite are the new metaverse. And virtual events are a sign of this. Fortnite’s event space party royale, will soon be the home of a short film festival. Earlier this week developer Epic announced “Short Nite,” which will feature multiple animated shorts, all broadcast on the virtual island’s big screen. The event will start on February 20th at 2PM ET, and Epic says the entire run will last around 30 minutes, though it will be rebroadcast for 24 hours, ending on February 21st at 2PM ET.

To what extent are new companies, particularly those in new spaces, pushed versus pulled into existence? Last week I wrote about how Tesla is a Meme Company: It turned out, though, that TSLA was itself a meme, one about a car company, but also…

Clo Willaerts Stratechery’s Ben Thompson makes the point that Clubhouse is a transformation technology. It fits in a pattern he’s seen before: the internet did three key things to traditional media: 1) First, it democratised distribution, allowing people to write blogs for far less than it cost to print newspapers. 2) Second, it aggregated all that media. Google for text, YouTube for video, Instagram for images, and Spotify for audio made it accessible to vast audiences. 3) Finally, it transformed them.

Huawei will have to keep an eye on US government policies to maintain its product competitiveness and supply chain stability, say analysts. Photo: Bloomberg Huawei will have to keep an eye on US government policies to maintain its product…

Clo Willaerts Huawei’s smartphone sales have been on a downward spiral since being blocked from using US technology. But Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei says he would rather give up the company’s 5G technology than its “terminal devices” business – meaning smartphones – despite the fact that the company is a global leader in 5G. The reason for this seemingly odd choice lies in Huawei’s strategy for the future, which may look more like Apple than what you might expect from the average telecommunications company.

CARSON CITY — In the Nevada desert, a cryptocurrency magnate hopes to turn dreams of a futuristic “smart city” into reality. To do that, he's asking the state to let companies like his form local governments on land they own…

Clo Willaerts This sounds interesting, especially in times when people lose faith in governments: “Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Blockchains LLC, wants the Nevada government to allow companies like his to form local governments on land they own, granting them power over everything from schools to law enforcement. Berns envisions a city based on digital currencies and blockchain storage. His company is proposing to build a 15,000 home town 12 miles east of Reno. Nevada Lawmakers have responded with intrigue and skepticism. The proposed legislation has yet to be formally filed or discussed in public hearings.”

Whether you are single, married, dating or just keeping it casual, the new pandemic normal has our relationships a little discombobulated. From socially distanced first dates on a park bench or over FaceTime, to a suitor trying to steal a kiss only…

Clo Willaerts Each winter you’ll find plenty of people getting into a relationship for the added body heat, a phenomenon known as “cuffing.” The pandemic version is known as “apocalypsing” — when you treat every relationship as if it’s your last. I get that.