Fast Company has a neat list of exciting tech in the pipeline.
To the uninitiated, “pickleball” might sound like a TikTok hack for serving perfectly rounded gherkins - but it is, in fact, a relatively new sport picking up serious momentum in the US. This year the state of Washington named pickleball its official sport, while Anheuser-Busch has just taken control of a team in the newly-formed MLP (Major League Pickleball).
AI and synthetic media have advanced exponentially in recent months and will be everywhere within a couple of years. In just the last few weeks we’ve seen DeviantArt create a new AI art generator, Shutterstock add AI-generated images to its platform for the first time, and a startup offer fake profile pics for social media. We’ll be keeping a close eye on whether this excites consumers or gives them the creeps.
Netflix is going live for the first time. Chris Rock will perform its first live comedy show in early 2023, and there are reports the firm is bidding on live sports rights too.
Repeat after us: the metaverse is not a mall. If it’s going to take off, it has to let users explore and experiment - so it’s been refreshing to see L’Oréal’s chief digital officer aim “not to duplicate realistic looks” in its latest range of virtual cosmetics, while Chipotle’s CMO says you need to “Trust the people who know the space, even if it goes against every fiber of your marketing experience”.
A sped-up version of ABBA’s “Angeleyes” did the rounds on TikTok this summer (“Sometimes, when I’m lonely…”), and it’s part of a wider trend of higher-BPM remixes going big on the platform. In many ways it recalls the “chipmunk soul” style of hip-hop from the turn of the millennium.
A busy week for Nike: in addition to launching a new web3 platform for virtual products, the retailer’s World Cup ad is out, touching on zeitgeisty trends like Roblox, anime, and GOAT debates. Nostalgists might enjoy rewatching the brand’s first World Cup slot, from the 1994 tournament.