Premium Friction

But when the stopwatch stops, we flip. We crave other people. Leisure is a hall of mirrors, and only another mortal can polish the glass. A robot could throw perfect strikes forever, but no one would pay to watch. We want the thrill of potential failure. The human tremor that turns repetition into story. Stockfish calculates deeper than Magnus... See more

What's in the cards?

The closer technology brings us to the cusp of feeling like we are the gods of our time, the more incredibly offensive it seems to be reminded of all the ways in which we still aren’t. So you get this utterly bizarre situation where the world speeds up and gets more and more efficient, and we have all this technology for saving time, but it

Krista Tippett • Oliver Burkeman – Time Management for Mortals

"Real-time conversations are exhausting. You can't edit what you say, you can't take time to craft the perfect response, you can't just ghost if it gets uncomfortable." – 18yo, Male, LA.

IN THE AGE OF AI, RIZZ IS THE MOST VALUABLE DIFFERENTIATOR

Microtrends are finally losing their grip. In a shift away from fast, flashy content, fashion lovers are leaning into slower, deeper engagement. We’re entering the post-dopamine era where consumers crave meaning, not just a quick hit. Think: fewer impulse buys and aesthetics that actually retain attention.

Silence, Brand! 07.23.25

The digital world has almost no friction.

The physical world is full of it.

And in certain curated space s - like the West Village, or your AI companion -friction has been turned into something you can pay to remove.

Kyla Scanlon • The Most Valuable Commodity in the World Is Friction

There is a growing inability to cope with, or unwillingness to deal with, the friction that is inherent to most real-life social interactions (i.e. disagreement, discomfort, annoyance).

IN THE AGE OF AI, RIZZ IS THE MOST VALUABLE DIFFERENTIATOR

Yeah the squeeze bottle isn’t necessarily innovative but when it comes to olive oil, it was not something you saw before. You can’t unlearn convenience , once Millennials and GenZ got ahold of this format and embraced it, the race to squeeze olive oil began across the world from new brands to legacy, beyond olive oil to avocado and and more.

Grazification of Condiments

All you have to do is take out your phone to disappear into the frictionless universe of technology. And companies definitely want you to! AI is the newest terrain in a decades-long race to eliminate all forms of cognitive resistance - to build the most complete, most seamless, most profitable mind-melder that follows you across platforms, logs... See more

Kyla Scanlon • The Most Valuable Commodity in the World is Friction

This is the economy now. Not a distribution of opportunity. A redistribution of friction. But friction isn’t the enemy!!!! It’s information. It tells us where things are straining and where care is needed and where attention should go.

And it's not all bad news. Because friction is also where new systems can emerge . Every broken interface, every... See more