RUN DONT WALK to read this report! This was shared on Threads which was then shared to The Doers and it's a FASCINATING look at the realities of online business right now. In The Doers Club Slack we were diving in and fangirling HARD because there is SO much opportunity here and SO much more work out there for every industry. I even invited Jess on a podcast the day after I found this so that ep should be up next week where talk about these findings.

Talk about over promise under deliver. Bumbles new CEO Lidiane (who yes replaced Whitney Wolfe Herd, founderr of the app and ROCKSTAR - we stan) started in January with the hopes to shake things up...but I had my hesitations. The first interview I read from her said that she wanted to "update the profile experience" and "visual language" and "tone of voice" which is just a nice way of saying she was rebranding. Not so much a shake up in my opinion. Then the pre-launch assets and collateral started rolling out and I started getting really excited, as the creative felt modern and fresh, depicting renaissance women being exhausted, primarily by dating. I think the campaign could win them an award but the updates were lackluster. A slightly updated app icon, men can make the first move, AI can help with your profile - idk. It didn't quite deliver on "we changed so you dont have to". I know they're known for women matching first so that's a "major" shift for them but ...k? Fell short for me.

Oof. Here's a case study in caring about your community vs. simply listening to them. After many requests from consumers to offer more shades for dark skin tones, they did just that....and added a literal color black to their foundations. Now here's the thing with skin lol you have undertones, typically yellow, pink, olive, blue. The undertones in this foundation were gray lol proving that they either had no clue how to make a dark skin tone foundation or that they simply didn't care. Proof that being the first to do something doesn't necessarily mean it's a good thing. If I worked for Youthforia, I would turn this around by creating a strategy that - first - obviously apologized, but then invited Black creators to roundtable talks (AND PAID THEM) while recording these conversations and sharing to their channel to educate and show that they're learning as well. They'd show the testing process, they'd invite the community to lend opinions, and they'd make a whole campaign around how "we got it wrong. you get it right" about how the community helped them re-navigate and now they believe they're the leading product in deep skin color foundation. BUT WHAT DO I KNOW

I'm just whelmed, tbh. If you missed it, Airbnb launched this concept they tried years ago (or maybe they only talked about it in press?) which was to create these experiences and homes that are "other wordly" lets say for consumers to enjoy. Now that it's live you can browse for yourself but home rentals include a stay at the X-Men house or the UP! house (with balloons and all!) or even an intimate show with Doja Cat and more. See all of these ICONS here. Cool idea I guess? My question is just...why? Which either means the idea wasn't fully flushed out OR (and this is my belief) this is a sign of more to come with them. Are they signaling that they could be a future Ticketmaster?

As in - this rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake (and J Cole but he pulled out and said NVM JK GUYS). It's getting brutal and every day something else happens. This is a perfect analogy for what's going on but the crazy thing is 3 songs have been dropped since that was created so ...theres more. Drake is such an ick and a creep - fair - and Kendricks clearly pissed but I don't love ANYONE saying they want someone to die. I think that crossed a line. I'm worried this is gonna get bad bad. Just saying that astrologically this year was going to be a year that "what happens in the dark comes to light" and we saw it with Katt Williams, TTPD, and now with this? SPEAK YOUR TRUTH FAM (but also dont tell ppl to off themselves you know)

I have to caveat this with 2 things: I'm not a Disney adult (in fact i've never been to DisneyWorld), and I also don't mind anyone who is. I think that's important to share upfront lol

Disney hasn't been quiet about the fact that they have new parks in the works, and this $540M new world is their biggest investment yet with parks for How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter / The Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, and what they're calling Celestial Park (futuristic themed) and Dark Universe (gives magic villain vibes). Now - this was announced a few months ago, but this past week the website got an update with video footage, tours, etc for a couple of the worlds. Now, I'm not really anti-capitalism (and fwiw you prob arent too if you dive into the nitty gritty) but even I'm like...is this becoming a bit too much? Then I have a contrasting business thought that says - it's easier to retain than convert. This park MAY be about bringing new people but it feels to me like its more about keeping their Disney kids/adults/families coming back for more. Which is fine! That's a good business move. But it's also telling. If they're spending $540M on a retention strategy (which they may not be), does this mean they believe they may have a hard time converting future generations? Are they making up for a major loss in their streaming expectations? It makes me curious what this decision means for their belief about the business and how they want to move forward but I don't have enough information for anything more the curiosity. I still would never go - I get way too freaked out by crowds (says the girl who lived in NYC for 11 years).

Mary Claire Haver on Menopause

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