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All aboard. It’s back, Future Party people: the preeminent Summit At Sea adventure, and we have the inside track to get you on the ship before it sells out. Join us and 1,900 other creators during this three-day, multidisciplinary experience aboard Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages ship and explore programming pillars like thought leadership, biohacking, visual and performance art, and more. |
To book your spot and join Summit’s flourishing community of 30,000+ members, email thefutureparty@summit.co today. But hurry! The journey sets sail on May 18th.
In other news… Restaurant memberships are here to stay, fortune cookies get into the ad business, and Congress tries to protect kids from the internet. |
Top Trends |
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BUSINESS |
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Restaurants want you to sign up for memberships |
The Future. Restaurant subscriptions appear to be a pandemic-born trend, like the QR code menu, that’s here to stay. Not only do they support people’s daily consumption habits with discounts and exclusive access, but they also nurture a class of super fans with a higher check average. If restaurants want to generate more revenue while deepening their connections with guests, they might introduce memberships to reward customer loyalty. |
The subscriber is VIP
While a regular guest may frequent a restaurant two or three times a year, a subscriber may visit up to seven or eight times. Brands love subscriptions because they know people tend to spend more when redeeming their rewards. |
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Data is king
Subscriptions help brands learn more about their customers. As they get more data about their behaviors, restaurants can better determine how to meet their customers' needs. |
Whether casual or fine dining, national or local, most restaurants agree the real value of a membership is the closer relationship with guests. |
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BUSINESS |
 | This fortune is brought to you by... // Illustration by Kate Walker |
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The fortune cookie is no longer an ad-free experience |
The Future. Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk recently invested in OpenFortune, a company launched in 2017 that runs ad campaigns in fortune cookies. Since the cookies feel like they’re meant for the consumer, they could become more impactful than traditional media platforms (which feel like mass marketing) due to their emotional tie-in. |
“This is Super Bowl-esque"
OpenFortune currently generates advertising for 47,000 restaurants and delivery platforms in the US and supplies messages to more than a dozen factories worldwide. |
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Some clients want their messages to apply to the cookies, such as Expedia, which references positive life experiences. Others, like Grubhub, want theirs to be random.
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It’s rewriting the future
OpenFortune’s research shows 7% of consumers post their fortunes on social media, and 20% keep their slip after a meal. To increase sharing, OpenFortune has tapped ChatGPT to write its messages. |
The genie can’t be put back in the bottle. |
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Professional therapy, done online |
There's nothing wrong with asking for help. In fact, in this day and age, it’s admirable even to ask. And since it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re putting the spotlight on BetterHelp. |
BetterHelp makes starting therapy easy. No more waiting days, weeks, or even months to find a therapist. BetterHelp can match you with a therapist in as little as 48 hours. |
Forget about the headache of finding a therapist with availability, driving to and from appointments, and paying out of pocket for individual sessions. |
With over 31,000 licensed therapists, BetterHelp has one that fits your needs. Once you’ve been matched, you can start messaging your therapist right away. Plus, you can easily switch therapists if you don’t click with your first match. No harm, no foul. |
Join the nearly four million people who are enjoying therapy from the comfort of their own homes.
Try BetterHelp and get 25% off. |
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GOVERNMENT |
 | Big Brother has joined the chat // Unsplash |
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Congress could curb internet freedoms to protect kids |
The Future. It’s now common knowledge that social media is damaging to humans’ mental health, especially teens. To help prevent further harm, Congress is considering several bipartisan bills to set stricter content moderation standards for platforms and potentially let the government circumvent encryption. If passed, the bills could protect minors — at the expense of everyone’s privacy. |
On the docket
Of the bills proposed, two have center stage. |
KOSA would allow authorities to sue platforms that don’t proactively remove dangerous material that promotes suicidal ideation, eating disorders, gambling, or drug use.
EARN IT aims to curb the propagation of child sexual abuse material by making platforms liable for any illicit content users saw or downloaded, effectively forcing proactive removal of that content. The bill was recently passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee but has yet to be voted on.
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RIPrivacy
Civil liberties groups and tech advocates oppose these bills, which they fear could limit free speech, weaken encryption, and require more intensive data collection from children to be properly enforced. There’s enough staunch opposition to these bills that they may not make it through the house — but if they do, say goodbye to Incognito mode. |
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Highlights |
The best curated daily stories from around the web |
The plant-based food industry feels growing pains |
March was tough for plant-based foods, with many suppliers canceling entire product lines. The issue isn’t demand — that’s higher than ever — but the cost-of-living crisis, which drives consumers to seek cheaper traditional dairy and meat products. When plant-based alternatives get cheaper, though, meat better look out. |
Read More → thedrum |
Ed Sheeran’s legal win is a win for musicians |
Heirs of Marvin Gaye’s co-writer failed to prove to a jury that Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarized from “Let’s Get It On.” The decision starkly contrasts those of similar past plagiarism lawsuits, suggesting that today’s rapidly changing and ultra-connected musical landscape is changing our attitudes about intellectual property. |
Read More → pitchfork |
Coinbase blames the SEC for letting it go public |
Coinbase has prepared an unusual legal defense against impending SEC litigation: that the SEC’s actually responsible for letting Coinbase go public. If their business was illegal, reasons the crypto exchange, the SEC wouldn’t have allowed them to IPO in the first place. But the IPO process is about a firm’s disclosure of risks to investors, not the actual dangers of investing in it. It’s a hard sell, but we’re here for the ride. |
Read More → wsj |
Samsung outsold Apple in smartphones in Q1 |
During a continuing slump in the smartphone market, Samsung secured a narrow 1% lead over Apple in smartphone sales for Q1 2023. Samsung likely owes this lead to reductions in consumer spending power, which make people seek cheaper alternatives to Apple’s products. But Apple still leads in profits and has half the market’s revenue, so Samsung can’t pop bottles just yet. |
Read More → techcrunch |
How much money do YouTubers make? |
Insider surveyed dozens of content creators to learn how much YouTube pays them per 1,000 views… and the answers varied wildly. Due to factors like video length and content category, YouTubers can make anywhere from one to thirty dollars for 1,000 views, with the vast majority of creators on the low end of that range. In other words, don’t quit your day job. |
Read More → insider |
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Today's email was brought to you by Kait Cunniff and Luke Perrotta.
Editing by Nick Comney. Publishing by Sara Kitnick. |
