05.19.26
RIP Everlane and Google Photos
Once the most impactful brand for Millennials, Everlane was built around sustainability and transparency. The DTC brand was heralded as the next Gap, filling our wardrobes with quality basics for day-to-night; now they are being sold to Shien for $100 million. I hope someone finally told their social team.
If you’re a Google Photos user, be wary: your photos are now being used to train Gemini’s image generation. If you’re excited about using your existing photos to generate new imagery, congrats; but if you’re like many of us who are concerned about how much information Google has about us and our loved ones, it’s probably time to find a new photo library system.
Money affects people, but just how much does it really impact the ultra-wealthy? At the smallest level, it’s not a transformation, but an amplification. If you can be happy with less money, you’ll just become happier with more — but even the super-wealthy experience nuances. Self-starters and entrepreneurs consider it a balancing of the scale, while inheritors can view it with a mix of gratitude, guilt, and/or embarrassment. There’s even gendered differences: female heirs tend to treat their funds as something to protect, whereas male heirs invest in more risky ways. One thing we have in common: we all hate to spend more than necessary.
You may have noticed we are losing our benches in public spaces like train stations and parks, putting us in a near-crisis of losing public seating altogether. But benches have been around since Pompeii, and serve as a true beacon of humanity, helping all ages, abilities, and demographics with the ability to take a seat and rest. As with many good things, they have also been historically rife with controversy, from Aryan-only benches in Austria to eliminating the backs and armrests to deter the homeless from having places to sleep. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats, and more public benches will benefit us all.
Is the solution to (some) of our problems simply to have more fun? The short answer is yes. Play is a transformative tool to help build confidence and community, and it’s not just for the younger generations; we could all benefit from more playtime in our lives.