🤖💖 Hello, I’m your new AI assistant bestie!
Plus: Taylor Swift is coming to a town near you, blogs are making a comeback and some of our predictions are coming true.
Welcome back, Scanner!
Things are heating up out there. Right as we launched our last newsletter, the Creators Guild of America was announced. If you are only a little bit surprised to hear about this, you’re starting to think like a Scanner. In other news, Kylie Jenner was announced as the face of Acne Studios (to mixed reviews), Bumble took a stance against AI and a new app is helping people stay in touch with loved ones. Does it seem like a lot is going on? Have no fear, we’ve broken down our team’s top 3 signals in this newsletter for you to mull over. Don’t forget to drop the signals you’re following in the comments below!
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😲 SURPRISING
Google’s New AI Tool Wants to Go to Your Meetings For You
What’s changing?
Google’s new AI tool is being marketed for “tardy” and “under-pressure” workers. Raise your hand if you can relate 🙋. Duet AI, for Workspace, currently has a waitlist users can sign-up for. Duet AI adds new features to the productivity tool. The one that caught our eye: Allowing users to send the AI to meetings in their place. There’s even an option for Duet AI to do AI-generated presentations based on content from Drive and Gmail. Over-booked Zoom users rejoice.
Why does it matter?
Let’s be honest, the general tone around generative AI in the workplace has been mixed at best. Many people are worried about what these platforms mean for their job security, and how these new technologies could impact us socially. Duet AI is one of the first AI platforms we’ve seen so far that is framing its entire purpose around making your job easier. It could give marketers a chance to become better at what they do, and get out of the weeds.
What could happen next?
If AI continues to evolve to give busy workers a productivity boost, what could that mean for marketers? With so much output expected these days, is this a way we could regain some time to create even better content? Sometimes it can be hard to communicate what exactly marketers do, could this help us? Or, do you feel like this is another move for AI to take jobs? Let us know in the comments.
Scan-o-meter: 😲😲😲
/ 5
🎯 SPECIFIC
The Eras Tour is Coming to the Big Screen
What’s changing?
Taylor Swift is known for creating moments (there’s even a company hiring a Taylor Swift Reporter). Rituals are a major part of what keeps her community of fans close . This move is another way she can “scale” her concert experience so that people who couldn’t go, or who want to enjoy it again, can. Now, anyone will be able to have that concert moment with their group of friends and create lasting memories. It’s a brilliant way for Taylor to create opportunities for her community to connect and be together – while also scaling the highest-grossing stadium tour to exist.
Why does it matter?
Taylor Swift could keep touring this show for years to come if she wanted to. With a virtually infinite demand for tickets, choosing to make the tour accessible to a wider audience is a fascinating move. Is Taylor tired of performing and looking to take a break, or does she see this as a way to further solidify this tour in history? What can we learn from Eras?
What could happen next?
While most of us still hit record screen-time most weeks, there is a growing murmur in the industry about wanting real connections. This move by Taylor could help her secure a new fanbase and give existing concert-attendees a reason to stay engaged with Eras long after they attend. When you look at the brands you work with, what are some things you could do to offer followers and subscribers a genuine moment of connection? How can we make marketing feel social again?
Scan-o-meter: 🎯🎯🎯🎯
/ 5
📅 CURRENT
Girlhood, A New Site for Teens, is Blowing Up on TikTok
What’s changing?
Girlhood, a blog for teens by teens, is going viral. Founders Sophia Rundle and Mia Sugimoto, both 17, wanted to create a space where girls who didn’t have people to talk to, or didn’t want to “spread drama within friend groups,” could go for advice. Genius, really. The blog quickly took off, with many users sending in questions about boy issues, toxic friendships, bullying and body issues. Girlhood’s social media accounts quickly attracted millions of likes and thousands of fans, so much so that Mia and Sophia had to recruit volunteers to help them respond to queries.
Why does it matter?
The blog has forms for users to submit questions and even texts they wish they could send. There are multiple mini-blogs within the site that range from advice to stories from the community. The anonymity offered gives users something they can’t get from social platforms, and has us wondering – could this be the return of the blog?
What could happen next?
This might be an exaggeration, but we’d hazard a guess that most companies who still run a blog are doing it as an SEO play to gather website traffic. What makes this signal interesting is that this is one of the first blogs we’ve seen in a long time take off because of the content itself. This isn’t something you’d search and stumble upon, it’s an interactive community you’d engage with and go back to read more. This is yet another signal pointing to the importance of building niche, authentic online experiences for your communities. Do we smell a trend?
Scan-o-meter: 📅 📅 📅
/ 5
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