Happy Friday! How is it closing in on the end of week 3 of January?

Something that jumped out this week…It’s official, Fortnite is now a “sport” in colleges and schools in the 🇺🇸, how times have changed since playing a sport in a vest and shorts in the freezing cold! What keeps the kids happy and engaged is good, especially with the money and emphasis in gaming currently.

❺ The 5 Must-Reads You Might Not Have Seen This Week ❺

I always like to share a few stories you've unlikely read or seen so here are 5 Must Reads you might not have seen:

1. 🇸🇳 Remember music producer and artist Akon, well he has his own city (yes, Akon City) and wants to have its own bitcoin (Akon Coin) and wants it to be a tourist hotspot in Senegal. Maybe he will give everyone an iAkon and an Akonbot too. Why not 🤷🏻‍♂️

2. 🧊 The average body temp has dropped across men and women in recent times, find out why

3. ⚽️ Why there is a trend of new injuries (and why they are not being picked up) in football

4. 🚨 The Head of Instagram was the latest person to be SWATTED (SWAT team called to your house) & the police don’t know what to do to prevent it. This first became popular through twitch streams.

5. 💯 Your content creation, curation, collaboration opportunities, tips to win and the future trends 

👌 If you are in and around London this week or this weekend, definitely take a visit to the Winter Light Festival 👌

😍 The Must-Reads Of The Week 😍

1. 👏 Good analysis from Faris on Creme Eggs new advertising strategy & campaign

2. 🍆 Lush as gone hard for Valentines Day When I first saw this I wasn’t convinced but this is smart marketing.

3. 📺 Harry & Meghan to join Netflix, that would be a global statement

4. 📽 Netflix reported great earnings, why…original content

5. 🤔 Apparently being a WhatsApp admin in politics is a powerful job, who knew of its power - Group chat can be stressful but imagine them full of MP’s & power hungry people, no thanks.

6. 🖼 How Instagram has revolutionised the tattoo industry - You can also argue this has also happened for barbers too

7. 🌟 TikTok stars can earn over $150k per post (Taylor Lorenz wrote another good article on why TikTok is always shot in bathrooms)

8. Growth opportunity: 👏 How to double your keywords on the App Store

9. 🗣Apple are considering highly produced podcasts to promote its TV shows - if you have seen Truth Be Told (its very good) you know, if not, it’s centred around a podcast and a cold case, it would have been a great way to retell and re-promote the show

   1. 🔗 I also share my favourite podcasts of the week🔗 - Let me know what I have missed

10. 🤖 Google CEO wants AI to be regulated Microsoft also agree on AI to be regulated, their CEO also suggested what’s next for the 46 billion devices around us

11. ☀️ Tripadvisor are letting 200+ people go, Google’s aggressive move into the market is to blame (those competitors are not a click away anymore are they Google - this should concern many businesses!)

12. 🖐Amazon wants you to pay for things by your hand & it might just take over payments Amazon have been leaps ahead in tech and payments for a while, no surprise that this could win out. Prime hands only  

13. 🐝 A deep dive into Bumble’s differentiations and why the future is female marketing

14. 👟How Gen z powered StockX to $1b and powering a new type of community

15. 🎤 Do you want to know how to get paid and the going rates for being a public speaker, well here they are

💭 FYI If you’re on telegram and prefer to receive must reads as a message you can, just click here and add Must Reads! 💭

👏You Made It To The End 👏

Thanks for reading this week’s Must Read’s. Go have a great weekend!  

Danny Denhard - About Me: 19 years in Marketing, Product, Business Leadership and Growth. I recently presented RIP to the CMO role presentation and write this weekly Must Reads Newsletter.

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Disclaimer: All views & recommendations are my own until you click through on the stories.This week’s gif is from NYT.

About Must Reads - This is your hand-curated weekly newsletter by me (Danny Denhard), covering Marketing, Growth, Business, Culture, Product & sometimes as a treat I throw in a few weird and wonderful reads, that will make you think. I add commentary to a number of stories to add some personality and flavour to your Friday's or whenever you open your email.