Happy Monday.
To be ITK, know this:
Read this: Death for her was a political act: Why the Queen chose Scotland: Elizabeth II did nothing by accident, including her final journey to Balmoral. Was she loading the dice for the Union? Tanya Gold
+ A survey by the think tank British Future this summer indicated that 45 percent of Scots want to keep the monarchy, and the latest polling suggests that 46 percent want to leave the Union
+ Death, for her, was a political act.
Read this: The monarchy is Britain’s most successful (Re)invention: Royalty is the biggest British brand — bigger than James Bond, bigger than the Bard, bigger even than the Beatles. How did it happen? Martin Ivens
Read this: Scientists gather to study psychology of the queue: Scientists are studying the queue for the Queen’s lying in state, as “crowd psychologists” from universities around the country descend on London for a unique chance to investigate how Britons behave at mass ceremonial gatherings. The Times
+ The “ordeal” of the queue was part of the experience. “That hardship is part of why they take part, to demonstrate commitment. It’s precisely because it is hard that it is meaningful. That sense of: ‘The Queen showed service for 70 years, I can show commitment for seven hours.’”
+ Some groups were just “physical” crowds with little in common, while others were “psychological” crowds with a shared sense of purpose and values.
Read this: Personality and Power by Ian Kershaw: Churchill, Stalin, Thatcher, and more: They matter less than we think, and their influence is usually for the worse, argues Hitler’s acclaimed biographer. The Times
+ Do individual leaders really make that much difference in history?
+ Although Kershaw believes leaders matter, he thinks context is no less important. An individual matters most, he argues, during crisis points such as wars and revolutions, “when existing structures of rule break down or are destroyed.”
Read this: Ryan Gellert on Patagonia’s future after Yvon Chouinard gives the company away: Chouinard donated his empire to fight climate change. His chief executive explains to Sam Chambers what it means. The Times
+ When Patagonia surpassed $1 billion in annual sales, its founder, Yvon Chouinard, described it as the worst day of his life.
+ "Yvon loves looking at the whole world going in one direction, and then very stubbornly and intentionally choosing to go in another.”
+ Two objectives in handing over the company: funnel more money to fighting climate change today, and preserve Patagonia’s values and independence for the long term.
+ On a winter climbing trip to Scotland, Chouinard bought a rugged Umbro rugby shirt and then started selling them back home, planting the first seeds of the “Patagonia” clothing range.
Read this: The race to reinvent the space station: NASA is funding American companies to build commercial replacements for the trailblazing International Space Station. FT
+ The race to outline that future is already under way.
+ The ISS has been the trailblazer, the greatest global collaboration in the history of technology. During 22 years of continuous habitation, it has hosted 258 astronauts and cosmonauts from 20 countries and thousands of groundbreaking experiments.
+ The ISS has cost more than $159bn over its lifetime and some $3bn a year to operate, roughly one-third of NASA’s annual budget for human space flight.
Read this: What The Merge means Ali Yahya
+ The Merge – the major Ethereum upgrade that happened early Thursday morning – will go down as one of the most important moments in the history of open source.
+ Transitioning Ethereum to “proof-of-stake” (PoS) – an alternative to “proof-of-work” (PoW) mining for reaching consensus on blocks of transactions – was an insane feat.
+ The Merge is a big deal. It’s an important step forward for crypto and web3.
Read this: Biden talks up electric vehicle revolution – but is America ready to give up gas? Tom Perkins
+ Biden test-drove a Cadillac Lyriq SUV at the Detroit Auto Show. ‘It’s a beautiful car, but I love the Corvette,’ he said.
Biden aides are quietly assembling a 2024 campaign as they await a final decision on his political future: NBC News reoports buoyed by recent legislative wins, the president’s team is laying the groundwork for 2024, with plans to rely on DNC resources and talks about who would manage the campaign.
Generation X + Millennials, who are now middle-aged or approaching it, have maintained or even expanded their identification as political independents in recent decades, according to Gallup.
+ More Millennials identifying as independent as they get older
+ Generation X maintaining higher levels of independent identification
+ Republican identification is much higher among older generations
Brigadoon Monthly Call | September
Communicating innovation
2:00 pm ET | Wednesday, September 21
Suzanne Zurn
Head of Strategic Communications
National Security Innovation Network
For more information and sign-up, click here.
Read this: How LinkedIn became a place to overshare: “This isn’t Facebook,” users complain. But others are finding it a valuable place to talk about much more than work. NYT
+ “The way you can go viral is to be really vulnerable. Old school LinkedIn was definitely not like this.”
+ LinkedIn started in 2003.
+ LinkedIn is not encouraging, or discouraging, intimate posts.
+ In one survey of about 2,000 employed adults earlier this year, LinkedIn found that 60 percent said their definition of “professional” had changed since the start of the pandemic.
+ John Nemo, a consultant who specializes in generating business leads for clients on LinkedIn, said that he coaches people to follow a formula: “personal story + business lesson = the content.”
Parody viral LinkedIn post generator: Use AI to write the perfect LinkedIn post. Click here.
Clothsurgeon, which opened in August, is the first bespoke streetwear brand on Savile Row.
Read this: Could ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ really be done? We found out. The day moves pretty fast, so channeling your inner Ferris and meticulously planning your Chicago tour is key. WP
+ "I’ve always wondered whether it’s possible to do everything Ferris accomplished as he dodges school in the 1986 film."
The San Diego Wave broke in Snapdragon Stadium by setting a National Women’s Soccer League attendance record on Saturday night as more than 32,000 fans watched a 1-0 win over fellow expansion side Angel City.
Scrum: The US will host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Caracal produces ITK Daily.
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Clients are Chief Communications Officers with global responsibility who rely on Caracal for help navigating today's interconnected business environment with political intelligence, research, strategic planning, public affairs, and communications.
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