Perspective.

We did it! We went a week without mention of F-book. Hurrah!

I am already thinking about all the products and people that I would like to stick an Apple AirTag to, and what emoji will be my chosen personalisation. These are just… cute, and so clever. Created with privacy in mind, your AirTag can be tracked securely via the Apple ecosystem at large (network effect benefits), detect an unwanted AirTag tracking you (stalker-proof) and will have a ‘pairing-lock’ - meaning your AirTag cannot be used by others. No more missing children, lost airport bags or stolen bicycles. I am of the mind that this nifty AirTag could revolutionise the world of petty theft (How small can these get…?) and, dare I say, create a more trustful society? Even more clever is the Hermes partnership on accessories, positioning Apple yet again as a luxury player. Apple, I am ready and waiting…

Amazon’s pay-by-palm will reduce checkout friction, shorten lines and remove for ever the dreaded ‘forgotten wallet’ scenario. It will collect biometric data, but it has stated this will only be used for where consumers shop and no other purpose. Consumers will need to sign up, but do not need an Amazon account to do so - and it’s ‘no-touch’ interface is as Covid-friendly as devices come right now. It hopes other retailers can license this technology without fear, and it can venture even further into the physical retail environment. Will it catch on? My bets are on YES.

I’m still trying to understand why Google has code named its’ rumoured feature Guacamole - was someone making Guacamole when the idea hit? If you know please tell me. Google has in the past made a pretty big deal of saying that its’ Assistant waits in standby mode until activated with “Hey Google” so whilst I don’t question the more organic command of ‘stop’ to turn off an alarm, I find the reveal that this security bypass can happen interesting, unsettling, and am curious as to the real gain. Let’s wait and see if this rumour is just smoke without fire.

Poor Netflix, locked into a vicious cycle where revenue growth can only come from new subscribers. Except, that’s not really true, as revenue win can also come from subscribers not-cancelling and there are many intangible benefits from increased viewing. Whilst many companies obsessively go after growth, I ask when do we start looking at retention as a metric of success? The stability of recurring revenue? The WHO of where the revenue is coming from and the emotional loyalty present between a brand and its’ users? There is so much more to this story than the simple miss of subscriber numbers.

YOLOs have arrived, and we would be wise to take note of the changing behaviour of this consumer group. Ready to risk, a priority on self, and no time to waste - they demand recognition and flexibility after the past year. Employees take note, and do what you can to alleviate the shift of talent that may come. I am a YOLO - and you are reading my YOLO passion project. Though I wouldn’t go so far as to saying I will quit my day job (since I am not monetising you… yet), nothing can be ruled out.

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