Trends & Signals
By: David Bracken
Explore the latest insights, thought leadership, and research from FCAT®
Making Sense of the Employee Burnout Epidemic
July 5, 2023
Changes to how we live and work have made us more susceptible to burnout. Our excessive use of technology in daily life is causing mental strain. This, combined with stressors created by the pandemic, is leading more people to check out and lash out.
Finding Community Online in an Age of Individualism
April 18, 2023
Over the past 60 years Americans’ social, political, and economic lives have been dominated by a strong emphasis on individualism. But there are signs this dynamic may be changing. Social activism and labor organizing are on the rise, fueled by digital media and networks. While Americans will always value individual freedom, changing online behaviors portend a shift in priorities that could have a profound impact on business.
Rethinking Time and How We Invest It
April 3, 2023
The pandemic. Inflation. Rising Interest rates. Over the past three years we’ve experienced a series of shocks that have altered how we perceive and value time. How we save, spend, manage, and invest our time are all now top of mind concerns. This is challenging many of our accepted notions about mental health and wellness, productivity, and financial planning.If anything’s changed since the pandemic began it’s our shared sense of the value of time.
DAOs: What Are They Good For?
May 5, 2022
Over the past year Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have emerged as a much hyped yet intriguing new way to organize communities online. Owned and run by their users, these digital-native collectives operate transparently via smart contracts on the blockchain. While still in an experimental phase, DAOs early use cases provide a glimpse of their potential.
Video Games and the Rise of NFTs as a Digital Asset Class
October 26, 2021
Blockchain-based video games promise to accelerate the adoption of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and greatly expand the digital asset ecosystem. By making in-game items NFTs that are embedded in the blockchain, players can take ownership of the digital assets they accumulate while gaming and then sell or trade them for real-world value. Such functionality could restructure the economics of the $175 billion gaming industry and turn legions of gamers into digital asset investors.