👋 Rise and shine, dammit. Research shows that saying profanities might increase pain tolerance, form social bonds, and improve memory. Cussing has even been linked with increased strength. While researchers are focused on how swearing could be used in clinical settings, we can’t help but wonder what this would mean for a painful Zoom meeting…
🎧 On the pod:Big Tech sucks. Can entrepreneurs fix it?
NEWS FLASH
🍳 That’s suspicious: Avian flu may be driving up the price of eggs in the US, but is that the whole story? An analysis from Food and Water Watch found that corporations are profiting from the crisis, “raising their prices above and beyond what is necessary,” per The Guardian. The report highlighted areas where egg prices spiked even before the avian flu affected poultry, and times when egg production recovered, but prices did not decline. Cal-Maine, the US’s largest egg producer, reported $1.2B in gross profits in fiscal year 2023, a 7x increase, despite the fact that the flu did not impact its birds during that period.
🤖 Let a bot get that knot: AI massage startup Aescape just raised $83m to expand its services. The company, which currently has 40 robots on the market, will ship out an additional 400 this year, with plans to install bots in 60 Equinox gyms. Since installing seven massage tables at Equinox locations in August, the company has earned $23m in revenue. Aescape’s tech will also be used in spas operated by Four Seasons and Marriott, and for physical therapy, professional sports, and medical applications. Curious how it works? An Aescape session involves slipping into a stretchy unitard and lying face down while cameras build a 3D model of your body. Then, of course, two white robot arms give you a massage.
👗 The shopping spree of the future: Google’s new “Vision Match” is an AI-powered tool in its Shopping tab that lets shoppers describe the piece of clothing they want, then browse suggestions. The tool was previously an experiment, but is now available to US mobile users. Google is also expanding its AR beauty tool to allow users to “try on” various makeup looks, and its virtual try-on experience to let shoppers see what outfits would look like on real-life models size XXS to XXL.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
This year’s Turing Award — called the “Nobel Prize of computer science” — went to Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton for developing reinforcement learning, which trains AI to make decisions based on trial and error. Of note: The scientists said they’re pretty worried about how reckless companies have been with AI development.
Nvm: 200-year-old asset management company Aberdeen is putting the Es back in its name after its 2021 rebrand to abrdn. The company’s CEO said the added vowels are about “removing distractions,” corporate speak for “getting teased less.”
YouTube reached 125m YouTube Music and Premium subscribers, up 25m from last year, and launched a $7.99/month Premium Lite pilot for US users. It offers ad-free viewing, except for music videos and songs, and users can’t play videos in the background.
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT MINDSTREAM
No one wants a burnt-out doctor. That’s where AI comes in
Microsoft just launched Dragon Copilot, an AI assistant that listens in on clinical visits to help doctors churn out notes more efficiently.
Less admin work = more time actually spent with patients. A win win.
The tech is powered by Nuance, the voice AI company Microsoft acquired in 2021, and it’s already improved visits for 93% of patients.
That’s all fine and dandy — but what about patient privacy? And reliability in the high-stakes medical arena? Read on for more details.
THE BIG IDEA
Does Big Tech’s suckiness open the door for leaner startups?
Hi, have you realized that everything sucks now?
Constant error messages, ads, lag, the simplest tasks — parking, watching broadcast TV, doing laundry — that now require you to download an app, and zero human employees to help solve the myriad of glitches.
Corey Doctorow coined the term “enshittification” in 2022 to refer to digital products — dating apps, social media and share economy platforms, etc. — that first offered value to users, then to business customers, then to shareholders, deteriorating in the process.
Sure does, and it comes via Ed Zitron, CEO of EZPR and Better Offline podcast host, who blames the tech industry’s obsession with quarterly growth, making shareholders happy while their products suffer in quality and increase in price.
In an episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Zitron said Big Tech is overconfident that users will stick with them, leaving the door open for entrepreneurs to create a product that doesn’t suck.
He predicts a shift away from Big Tech as consumers get fed up. This is something we’ve already glimpsed in people dumping X in favor of Bluesky or returning to hotels after becoming disillusioned with Airbnb.
But…
… how does a startup avoid the pitfalls of those that came before?
Zitron suggested focusing on sustainable growth and “customer mode,” not “founder mode” and becoming a $100B growth-at-all-costs company.
He proposes a new ideal: embracing the “really successful, happy $150m valuation company that plugs along, that’s profitable with happy people that work there with happy customers.”
Zitron, who does not sugarcoat his ire for Big Tech, and his way of thinking may run counter to what entrepreneurs regularly hear or aspire to, but it’s an especially interesting view in light of reports suggesting that many so-called unicorns enjoyed overinflated values and are now struggling as VC funding dries up.
Slim budgets, tight resources, and old-school cool: How the Chicago Transit Authority makes public transportation marketable.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
The number of adult hardcover nonfiction titles released in 2024, a 42% decrease from 2019.
You shouldn’t hold your breath for the cheaper, lighter version of that new nonfiction book you’ve been eyeing, according toThe Wall Street Journal.
All parties involved in the book-selling process — publishers, authors, agents, retailers — earn more on hardcover titles than paperbacks, with the typical hardcover costing around twice as much as its paperback counterpart.
Plus, it’s no secret that many are choosing to listen to audiobooks or crack open a Kindle in lieu of a physical book altogether.
While this could spell bad news for authors hoping for a second sales push with an updated paperback cover and marketing campaign, it’s even worse for those hoping to look mysterious on their commute with a dog-eared paperback sticking out of their bag.
AROUND THE WEB
📅 On this day: In 1836, the Battle of the Alamo concluded after 13 days with the Mexican army reclaiming the fort.
🍌 That’s interesting: From the era of American cooking that brought us everything suspended in gelatin, the Candle Salad.
🧘 Chill out: with Calm’s free collection of daylight saving reset meditations. And don’t forget to adjust your clocks on Sunday.
🃏 Game:Subway poker, a game one plays… well, on a subway.
Never change, Taco Bell. The restaurant chain, fresh off its first-ever year with a $1B operating profit, announced its latest line of cheesy concoctions to a rapturous crowd at its annual Live Mas LIVE event on Tuesday, highlighted by the “cheese is the taco” magic of its new Quesocrisp Taco (it’s a taco with a shell made of crispy cheese).
Taco Bell also announced plans for a large global expansion, aiming to 2x its locations outside the US by 2030 and enter new countries like France, Greece, and South Africa. The brand’s vaunted Innovation Kitchen can help them get there; its mad scientists unveiled a new passionfruit-flavored Mountain Dew Baja Blast variant, a birthday cake churro, and a Flamin’ Hot Burrito that just reflexively made you wince, grab your stomach, and salivate all at once.
SHOWER THOUGHT
Due to coin flips, George Washington still makes decisions to this day.SOURCE
Today’s email was brought to you byJuliet Bennett Rylah and Sara Friedman, with help from Kaylee Jenzen. Editing by: Ben “Wants to be a paperback writer” Berkley.
