My sense of the lay of the land and what I see developing now is that more and more new businesses are finding success through collaboration. I'm not talking about the marketing hack where one brand creates a crossover product with another popular brand.

The collaboration I'm referring to is between creator and the end user or audience. Blacksky (an alternative to Bluesky) often releases surveys and hosts community discussions on what features their users want. It's a democratic, collaborative product which has helped them grow their user base to thousands strong.

Another example is Justin Shiels, a YouTube creator who's built a small but generous following from sharing his goal to build a stationary company that will rival the likes of Hallmark. Yes, Hallmark, the legendary company associated with holidays and gifts. And it's not a ridiculous ambition at all considering that he often bounces ideas off his viewers and asks for input which has led to a dedicated following. 

What caught my eyes recently:

At a time when Spotify is releasing AI tools to allow the grifters of the world to create "music" and rack up streams, I'm glad that there are fragments of the music landscape that are moving in a different direction. 

Insert the music co-op Subvert.

Subvert is a music marketplace similar on the surface to Bandcamp. The difference? It's a cooperative that's owned by the very artists whose music it houses in its library. Not AI artists, not artists using AI to produce sounds1, but actual artists who care about the craft of music and building direct relationships with listeners. It officially launched on May 12th with over 20,000 members all part of its "Plans for an Artist-Owned Internet."

Unfortunately, one category that's missing in the new co-op is merch. Not surprising since physical merch is another beast that would present more challenges to a tiny, cash-strapped team. However, I do expect that it'll be a part of the next phase on their journey to create the artist-owned internet.

In related news, Nina Protocol just announced it is shutting down. The NFT-based Bandcamp alternative started in 2021. Have any of those NFT projects panned out? Anyway, this Reddit post was prophetic.

Sci-fi inspired fashion label makes giant robot for tour set

A mecha robot by Windowsen was brought to the stage as a part of Korean music artist SilenceWang's Art of Romance tour. If you're not fimiliar with Windowsen, it's one of the latest fashion labels making a name for itself through a collage of sci-fi looks sprinkled with ballroom drag. While the clothing itself isn't

Ghetto gastro opens its first restaurant, Gourmega, in NYC

One of the co-founders of the popular culinary group and online show, Ghetto Gastro, ventures into the restaurant world with his first location in the West Village. You may be saying "YET another internet sensation opens a trendy restaurant in NYC?!!" But Gourmega is a sharp a detour from what you'd expect. It's not only a swanky intimate dining room in the evening hours but will also double as a community kitchen by day.

Has the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival taken Rhinebeck's spot as the best sheep and wool festival?

That's what some former Rhinebeck faithfuls are saying.

The whimsical cyberdeck movement is upon us.

TikTok: bossbratbimbo, built a #cyberdeck inside a pink mermaid shell

The trend popularized by young women on social media is the perfect intersection of playful design, engineering, and the creative reuse of abandoned electronics. If solar punk is to ever take off, then I think we'll know based on how /this/ movement grows and matures beyond the trend cycle. So, that said, this a category I'll keep my eyes on.

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