"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

#WeGoAlong

Next level unlocked - vol.20

Heeyyooo, we have reached the 20th edition of the newsletter. Aka 20% closer to my goal of putting out 100. I have to say that it is a breath of fresh air for me to sit down and write. Almost therapeutic. I have spent the past week parked at a little cafe in the middle of nowhere with nothing but my laptop, coffee, and jug of water. It has been enlightening to say the least.

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It’s nice to know that Summer is in full gear. Warm weather, outdoor events, and better yet the WGA Summer Essential Kit. The product has been received, the photos are being taken tomorrow, and the website is being updated this week. We aim to have them for sale on July 25th. The absolute latest. Oh, by the way, the boxes are extremely light weight which means cheaper shipping!!

Without further ado.

#Trending

Ads Are Coming to Netflix. What you need to know. 

Aiiinnn’’ttt noooo waaayyyy bruuhhhh. Aiinnn’t noooo waaaaaaayyy!! 

Netflix is really reaching with this one. I get it. If you’re a business and facing stiff revenue growth headwinds you have to make a move. No doubt. But ads seem to be a small minded strategy. Quick to implement but effective in the long term? We will see. 

The pioneer of movie streaming has seen its stock plummet nearly 30% since the April 19 earnings announcement. On that same Q1 call, executives announced that the company would begin looking into bringing advertising on to the platform. 

The move reverses the company’s longtime aversion to ads and comes after the streamer lost over 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter and expects to lose upwards of 2 million in the second quarter of 2022. 

Netflix will look to figure out how to implement low-end, ad-supported plans over the next year or two (although sources within the company are now saying it could be as soon as before the end of the year). 

I guess I am thinking of the freemium Spotify format. Between songs a random ad just plays. It would drive me nuts. Mind you, YouTube is my platform for content consumption and I pay the monthly fee to not see ads. Drives me crazy. I am also crazy. So this could all just be a me problem. 

The abrupt shift could reflect Netflix’s recognition that the streaming space it has dominated for years is evolving, and that the company needs to change with the times if it is to remain a key player.

The move will put Netflix at parity with competitors including HBO Max, Amazon’s Freevee (the company’s recently rebranded IMDb TV offering) and Disney+ (which announced it will introduce an ad-supported tier later this year), and reflects growing consumer demand for cheaper, ad-supported content.

#Trailblazing

Orange Domination

Now this is a switch up. Normally, brands leverage the likes of Instagram and TikTok for a marketing campaign but Pinterest? This is unique. Truthfully, I have never used Pinterest before but I feel as if it is a platform with dedicated users that continues to remain under the radar. Does no harm. Kind of like that quiet kid in class who everyone liked, that got good grades, was happy spending time alone, and just didn’t bother anyone.

Enter Jameson. A product that keeps no person quiet. They announced a collaboration with Pinterest to introduce their new Orange whiskey.  As part of the partnership, Pernod Ricard-owned Jameson will own the keyword “orange” when people conduct searches on the social media site. The goal is to influence where Jameson Orange appears on the site, allowing the brand to “break through” users’ personalized Pinterest feeds.

Jameson Orange wants to get in front of consumers displaying an interest in orange as a flavour or colour on a platform known for engaging people seeking inspiration in areas like food, beverage and decor. There are over 16 million searches for the word “orange” on Pinterest annually, per information the platform shared.

As part of its collaboration, Jameson Orange content will appear in the results for searches for “orange aesthetic,” “orange chicken” and “orange nails,” among others, giving the brand a way to leverage contextual targeting instead of demographic targeting. Jameson is the most popular Irish whiskey in the U.S., selling 3.58 million cases in 2020. It currently holds 70% of the market in the country, but has been forced to grapple with recent competitor growth, such as Tullamore D.E.W. and Proper No. Twelve. 

Personally, what a play by Jameson. With the rapid price increase for Google keywords and over saturated ad campaigns on other platforms, this is thinking outside of the box.

#Traveling

Game-changing Travel Innovations

A new supersonic jet: Dreaming of a trip across the pond? A ground-breaking new supersonic jet could slash the time it’ll take passengers to hop across the Atlantic. The novel aircraft – Spike S-512 Quiet Supersonic Jet – is pioneered by Spike Aerospace and could eventually see travellers reach New York from London in as little as 1.5 hours. 

A lie-flat bed for economy travellers: Air New Zealand is making sure passengers have a good night’s sleep. The airline has revealed the Economy SkyNest: six “sleep pods” that allow economy class travellers to lie flat and get some shut-eye. Inspired by capsule hotels, they’re more than six-feet (2m) long and 58cm (23in) wide and they come with creature comforts like ear plugs, a privacy curtain and bedding. Economy passengers will be able to book the SkyNest in timed sessions of 4 hours, allowing them to get some rest en route before returning to their seat. Coming 2024!

Robot Room Service: US hotels are embracing robotics. You’ll spot adorable robot YO2D2 flitting about YOTEL Boston, entertaining travellers and performing basic customer services. YO2D2 brings towels and linens to guest rooms, delivers purchases and summons elevators. He’s available for selfies too. 

A bus-hotel hybrid: Long-distance bus travel may not sound like a thing of luxury, but California company Cabin is aiming to "completely reinvent the bus as we know it". Cabin's vehicle – tipped as the "dream machine" – sits somewhere between a bus and a luxury hotel, with comfy sleeper cabins complete with cosy linens, ambient lighting and little touches like slippers. Cabin vehicles currently travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with a typical journey time of around eight hours.

A cabin that’s like a co-working space: Designed by students at the University of Cincinnati, this “coffee house cabin” features a long row of tables facing one another in the centre aisle of the plane, called “a productivity-focused zone.” The idea is that each passenger can have more space to work on their device alongside others, like at a coffee shop or co-working space. The workspace seats would be priced above basic economy but below first class. Seats turn to face forward and the tables fold down during takeoff and landing.

#WeeklyTopPicks

We Go Along Top Picks

#Flix
The Recession We Need To Have / May 2022 / YouTube - Economics Explained

Are we entering a new age where serious downturns caused by genuine economic hardships can be avoided with piles of cash? Or is this all just putting off the inevitable and potentially making it worse further down the road?
 

#Facts
Random fact of the week

If you've ever been accused of "living under a rock," you'll feel right at home in Setenil de Las Bodegas in Spain. Many of this tiny town's 3,000 residents live and work and play in a gorge beneath a huge rocky outcropping, where homes are built right into the rock. It provides so much shelter that historians think this area has been occupied by human settlements since the Stone Age.