–Google moves on from Cardboard—“literally the prize from a cereal box, stuck to your face”—to introduce Daydream, a more grown-up piece of VR hardware. Via Fast Company.
–Transparency-obsessed brand Everlane has created a 10-day popup “Shoe Park” in New York where shoppers can “try, buy and play with” the brand’s new summer collection. Via designboom.
–A “stupid hackathon” produces ideas such as Picnic, an app that orders a random delivery meal to a random location, and an Uber to take you there. Via Motherboard.
–What’s “copycat fashion,” and why is it still a thing? Refinery 29 investigates.
–Dazed looks at how Periscope has rapidly become “social media’s most disturbing platform.”
–Pew Research examines the on-demand, sharing, and collaborative economies in 2016—how much do Americans really use these services?
–Amazon, which launched seven in-house fashion brands earlier this year, will now launch private lines of food and household items, writes Grub Street.
–A new study finds that “89% of Chinese consumers say loyalty programs increase their spending,” Jing Daily reports.
–The latest gizmo from London-based company Technology Will Save Us is a wearable device designed to teach kids eight and older about coding, writes Creative Review.
–We’ve heard about VR as a tool for empathy, but now a New Yorker writer looks at the technology’s unique potential to induce horror.
–The “re-commerce” economy now extends to hospitality, as platforms emerge to buy and sell unused hotel reservations, writes the New York Times.
–The New York Times concludes that, with the rise of ad-blocking, “when TV ads go subliminal with a vengeance, we’ll be to blame.”
–PepsiCo announces the Creators Leage, an in-house content creation shop. “Our goal is to really behave like a Hollywood studio,” an exec tells Ad Age.
–In a new ad for the Indian market, Tinder says it’s mom-approved—but are the locals buying it? Via BBC.
–Some bars are replacing the traditional cocktail menu with new visual cues—Punch magazine looks at the trend.
