Upstream #189

re-wilding ??, iconic ??, ultras ??♂?, liquid ambition ??, frazer ??.

Suns out, guns out. Ready? We got some?Summer vibes going. Went to a?rugby match. Some nice?long runs too. And wrote?about simplicity. Right, let's go.?

“Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending. Watch out for each other”.

Jim Henson, Ideas Man (can’t wait for this).

culture // re-wilding ??

It's happening. The?war against machines and algorithms is here. It’s why algorithm free platforms like?Spread?and?PI.FYI are emerging. It’s why everything has become boring as f*ck and why life without friction is actually boring. It’s why?dumb phones and offline clubs are growing. It’s why?counter culture isn’t on the internet, because true counter culture will happen off platform.?It’s why knowing everything all the time is boring. We're waking up to the cultural consequences of algorithms and machines and an internet that has become an extractive and fragile monoculture. Like the forests we created in the 70s. An ecological desert. Yeah, we need to re-wild the internet, re-evaluate what we attend to, and where we find value and meaning.

brands // iconic ??

Airbnb get it don’t they. A digital app. That sells places. But is formless. It could easily be like most apps, just efficient and transactional. But it isn’t. It is relational. It lives in our minds. Which makes it better. It's in there, because it does nice brand things. Then talks about them. Like?their new “Icons” platform.?An evolution of their “Night at” series, “Icons”, launched with 11 one-time-only, one-of-a-kind stays. The highlight, is a collab with Disney, for the 15th anniversary of Up, which brings Karl and Ellie's house to life and offers guests a chance to stay. CEO Brian Chesky says?“Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination—until now. As life becomes increasingly digital, we’re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we’ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth.”?. Yeah, they get it. Empires of the mind.

creativity // ultras ??

Last month Jasmin Paris completed the Barkley marathon. A race so hard, only 19 people finished it in 35 years. All men. She's the first woman to finish. Tim Harford wrote about it and how we’re all ultramarathoners (kind of),?because the motives for extreme feats; signalling, goal completion, mastery and meaning, are universal. They’re in all of us. The last two in particular push us forward creatively. Stretch us. Beyond the possible. Great squeeze. Great juice etc.?Which links with Elizabeth Goodspeed’s piece on the importance of good taste and how to acquire it. How, all the AI creative tools in the world won’t create good taste. That’s still hard earned meaningful mastery.

technology // liquid ambition??

You’re cool. We get that. So you’ve heard of Highsnobiety. Right? A kind of a youth focussed company. For cultural pioneers ??. A brand. Or media brand. A magazine (part of the big magazine revival?) with content, that also reviews fashion and lifestyle products. A website. An ecommerce marketplace. A clothing line. An ad agency for brands. Christ who knows. It’s a thing. An energy. And?it’s redefining what a magazine is now.?Started in 2005 as a sneaker blog, it was acquired by Zalando for €131m, in 2022 (demonstrating how much editorial and commerce are now intertwined). It represents what it means to be in the media business now. In any business.?Powered by tech, leveraging platforms. Adaptive. Without boundaries. Pure liquid ambition.

five random (ish) things:

1. Pub choir, let’s do it ??.
2. I made tea, telescopic text ??.???
3. The?CEO’s we need ?? ??.
4. Shaw’s?writing room ??.
5. Art and AI and future art ecosystem ?? .

watching // frazer ??

Feeling very Summery, so been listening to Aaron Frazer’s album all week. Feels right. If you like retro soul and R&B, this is for you. His album’s amazing. Enjoy!