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A virtual world remembering Breonna Taylor

Breonna's Garden by Lady Pheonix and the family of Breonna Taylor, US

US – Visitors to this year’s SXSW are invited to experience a transformative VR experience honouring the life of Breonna Taylor, a young woman killed by police in 2020. Built in collaboration with her family, Breonna’s Garden is a piece that harnesses the power of technology to foster a space for collective grief and healing.

Artist Lady Pheønix initially developed the project in 2021 for Breonna’s family after learning that her sister Ju’Niyah Palmer’s public grief was met with death threats. Originally intended as a safe space for the family to grieve without facing a hateful backlash, Lady Pheønix has expanded the project for public communal healing.

The SXSW iteration includes a fully immersive VR experience of Breonna’s family home where visitors will see her portrait, hear stories about her life and can read supportive letters. It aims to achieve justice for Breonna through collective healing. ‘Now, more than ever, authentic vulnerability feels paramount to collective reconciliation,' reads a press statement about the project.

Breonna’s Garden signifies the confluence of developments we explored in Virtual Sanctuaries and the Digital Afterlife Market, demonstrating how storytelling, data, AR and VR will reshape the way we mourn and understand death.

Strategic opportunity

The potential of immersive technology expands far beyond entertainment. How can your brand use these tools thoughtfully for healing and justice?

Social media app Parler expands into NFTs

DeepRedSky by Parler, US

Nashville – Parler, the social media platform associated with the American right, is entering the NFT space with its new marketplace, DeepRedSky. With potential to reach the American Middle audience, it wants to educate and democratise NFTs, enabling mainstream consumers to be part of this burgeoning asset space.

Joining established players such as OpenSea and Nifty Gateway, DeepRedSky is differentiating itself by providing consultancy services to people curious about NFTs. Those who are interested in selling NFTs for the first time will be walked through the process of creating, marketing and distributing crypto-assets.

In addition, customers will be able to purchase NFTs using their credit cards, eliminating the need to hold cryptocurrency and making the marketplace more accessible. ‘We want to offer a far more full-service provision than OpenSea currently offers, which is basically just minting and a place to put them up,’ explains George Farmer, CEO of Parler.

While competition in the NFT sector heats up, many customers remain unsure about what NFTs are. Upskilling services aimed at onboarding new members into the community, as DeepRedSky is providing, are helping to prepare consumers for a Web3 future.

Strategic opportunity

Instead of selling consumers an NFT, why not launch an educational campaign to teach consumers how to mint their own?

AI diagnostics expand to haircare

Global – In an industry first, Revieve has unveiled its AI Haircare Advisor helping people to understand the unique qualities and best practice to care for their hair.

Revieve’s mobile-led selfie diagnostics system allows users to share their haircare expectations and priorities, alongside a photo for analysis. The platform's AI delivers insights about hair type, volume, thickness, curl pattern and colour alongside an optimal routine and styling recommendations.

Developed in collaboration with haircare brand Living Proof, the project is designed to empower consumers to feel more confident about their haircare decisions when shopping or looking for information online.

Selfie diagnostics have become an integral part of the virtual shopping experience in the make-up and skincare sectors. Following the pattern we identified in Skintellectual Haircare, this AI haircare adviser applies these advances to the world of hair, helping consumers navigate the detail-rich landscape of hair products with confidence and ease.

Photography by Mart Production

Strategic opportunity

Consumers approach haircare with increasing rigour, so consider partnering with technology companies to deliver detailed information and analysis

Stat: Crypto-confidence is growing in France

Envisaging Fintech Futures by Playful for The Future Laboratory

As the metaverse continues to pervade public discourse, cryptocurrency literacy is growing in France. According to research by Ipsos, 30% of French citizens plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.

The study of 2,003 French adults aims to assess the economic opportunity and potential of cryptocurrencies in the country. With 77% of respondents already familiar with cryptocurrencies, it’s clear that the subject is no longer niche. Indeed, the study reports that the percentage of French people who own crypto-assets (8%), including currencies and NFTs, has now surpassed the percentage of citizens holding treasury stocks (6.7%), indicating a shift in public perceptions about alternative investments.

As confidence in cryptocurrencies grows, companies operating in France should consider adding a variety of services that pertain to this sector, such as alternative payment processing, blockchain authenticity guarantees and NFT memberships. To learn more about innovations in the realm of decentralised finance, readers can consult the Cryptocurrencies vertical.