2021 Round Up

Essential Sociology of Business reading & listening

For those in need of a little stimulation over the holidays, I collected here the most popular Sociology of Business posts, my Harvard Business Review and Highsnobiety columns, and podcast conversations.

The next Supreme will come from the metaverse. Just as Supreme hones its cultural and social flex through limited-editions and collaborations, community-building, iconic logo and brand aesthetic, and generative art, the metaverse-native brands like Bored Ape Yacht Club or CryptoPunks develop their intangible flex through blockchain, digital assets, and PFPs. Read about why a crypto-native brand is the ultimate flex.

Drip is the new drop. A drip is a continuous stream of products, signals, content, incentives, rewards, tokens, points, interactions, events or access. Perennial newness gamifies the brand experience and makes it more individual and unique. The mechanism of drips is accumulation and collecting. Collect enough tokens and unlock an auction or use it as a membership card for future promotions. Drips reward long game over short-term gains. Drips also galvanize communities, incentivize collaboration and membership, and decrease competition. Drips are the opposite of the winner-takes-all: they are decentralized and governed by activity in their communities. Current retail market is not yet made for drips.