✨ Meet fv/pro

🔼 Return to office momentum. According to a new survey, London’s young professionals say they’re more productive in the office »»

🔽 Electric truck demand. Ford’s cutting production of its electric F-150 Lightning pickup in half »»

💬 “I would say in practically every case, [fancy houses] make the person less happy, not happier.” Warren Buffet’s right hand man Charlie Munger gleaned some lessons from watching his friends grow fabulously wealthy over the decades. He passed away at 99 last month »»

🛫 2024’s “most exciting” travel destinations »»

👗 The 5 biggest trainer trends to invest in now »» 

💎 The most highly-anticipated private aircraft on the horizon »» In the meantime, request a quote from Villiers, the charter service that’s like Uber for private jets »»

Has Elon’s luck finally run out? »»

Berlin’s hottest startups »» And Amsterdam’s »»

Disney’s getting into gaming »»

The tried-and-true way to break a bad habit »»

Why Vegas was the ideal host for the NBA’s first ever in-season tournament Final »»

More than 15% of teens say they’re on YouTube or TikTok ‘almost constantly’ »»

London is officially the world’s most desirable place to travel for Christmas »»

And, attention East Londoners: plant-based filled-pitta merchants Pockets are opening a permanent takeaway in London Fields. The cult favorite stall with the massive queues has been closed since July »»

4 tricks to get around ChatGPT’s character limit »»

A new app called FuseBase is here to help professional services firms better serve clients, using a time tested metaphor: restaurants. “Kitchens” (aka workspaces) are internal collaboration zones, while the “Dining Area” are the portals where you present your products and services »»

Related: Try the CRM software built for relationship-based service businesses. Give Less Annoying CRM a go. fv/ readers get 60 days free »»

Security guards, bribes, two-hour waits, and $100 orders: Welcome to CosMc’s opening week in suburban Chicago »»

Related: McDonald’s is using tech to understand what prices consumers will accept —and it’s increasing flow through rates »»

British Vogue set out to find the best colognes for men. Here’s what they found »»

iOS 17.2 is here — 17 new features coming to your iPhone »»

Related: Apple’s next CEO: Tim Cook’s possible successors »» The newsletter's writer owns Apple stock

The most hyped Jordans coming out in 2024 »»

fv/ is becoming more professional

LET’S TALK NEWSLETTERS

Specifically, this one.

As fate v/ future’s readership has grown to several thousand of you over the past two years, the format has changed.

While this email has always focused on culture, tech, travel, media, marketing, and business, and has always shared content in two ways (as outlinks to interesting stories of the day and a deep dive into a specific topic), not everyone knows that fate v/ future used to have a completely separate additional section: a crypto glossary, defining all sorts of crypto terms, exchanges, chains, DAOs, dApps, and more— all written daily(?!) by yours truly.

LISTEN TO FEEDBACK

When readers —without any prompting from me— told me they weren't reading the crypto section, I dropped it. I was expecting some complaints. Instead, all I got was: “good call,” and “about time!”

My point is that a newsletter is a living, breathing entity. It should change as the readership grows and their interests evolve.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

Over the past few months, our newsletter has included a number of surveys. These surveys have asked questions like whether or not you read the “Got 5 minutes?” deep dive, or what country you’re in, or what specific topics you would like to see more of.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer one (or all) of the surveys sent. Your feedback has made fv/ better, and helped turn this newsletter into a more responsive, and professional endeavor. (You may have noticed that some recent issues have been sponsored.)

January will mark two years of fate v/ future, the newsletter. It has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done —but that is also why it is time to shift gears and adapt.

Don’t worry! fate v/ future is not going anywhere.

It’s simply becoming more professional.

LONG LIVE “THE DEAL”

First off, we are not moving to a paid subscription model. I love the idea of this newsletter being free forever.

As many of you know, I really believe in the advertiser-supported business model. I call it “The Deal,” and it's been a pleasure to have ads find their way into fate v/ future. The Deal, supporting my own words. How cool is that?

UH, SO WHAT’S CHANGING?

Readers have different expectations for this newsletter. While I enjoy the wide range of topics and the varied formats of the information (i.e., short outlinks and long-form deep dives), not everyone reads all three sections.

According to one of those recent reader polls, half of you don't even make it to the “Got 5 minutes” deep dives at all.

So, starting next week, fate v/ future will be delivered as two separate emails:

The “Got 60 seconds?” leaderboard and “Got 2 minutes?” outlinks will be sent as fv/.

fv/ will continue to focus on global popular culture, travel, luxury, business, media, and marketing. (Life and work hacks are also popular with you.) This type of content is, in the words of a longtime reader, all the stuff you want to know. It's a fun, two-minute (or less) read for anyone who is interested in where our world is headed and loves knowing things like the price of oil, when the iPhone 16 is coming out, what Hailey Bieber's nail art is looking like, where Paris’s best hotels are, and what happened at The Row's recent sample sale.

The “Got 5 minutes?” deep dives will continue as a media and marketing and generative AI focused newsletter called fv/pro.

fv/pro will cater to marketers, creatives, founders, and anyone else interested in marketing best practices, where AI is headed, and how all of these forces will affect all types of businesses —with specific attention paid to those who run their own brand or agency.

I did not make the decision to split this newsletter in two lightly. But I’m confident it’s the right call.

BOTTOM LINE

If you like this newsletter, very little will change. You’ll still get the same content, at approximately the same cadence. The only difference is that the “Got 60 seconds” and “Got 2 minutes” headlines and outlinks you like will come to you in one email, and the “Got 5 minutes” deep dives will come to you in another email.

I am doing this to be more focused on you, the readers, and to professionalize both emails, so that they can continue indefinitely.

If you decide to unsubscribe to one or the other, that’s actually the point.

My aim is for either (or both) to be the favorite thing in your inbox.

Written by Jon Kallus. Thanks for reading.