WELCOME TO THIS WEEK’S EDITION OF SALIENCE

This week we cover how to beat Amazon at its own game, why your next watch will be different, and what can be done for struggling hospitality workers. Plus, the power of podcasting, and the answer to our admin woes?

You can let us know your thoughts on these stories and any other topics that you would like covered by emailing [email protected].

Even the $2bn man can’t have it all his own way – and Amazon is being beaten by several European startups. Like Greek heroes with delivery drones and factory-sized vending machines, these challengers are taking on the Amazonian behemoth.

Watch this space!

Thanks to Instagram influencers, the world of designer watches will never be the same again. Rigid style codes have been loosened, unleashing attention-grabbing designs on social media scrollers. The question is: where next?

And I would walk paddle-board 500 miles…

Nobody needs a merry Christmas this year like hospitality workers. That’s why Sapience client Burgh Island Hotel has joined the Hospitality Positivity Challenge, raising money – and spirits – for hospitality workers as 2020 wraps up. First, a 768-mile challenge featuring running, cycling, and, yes, paddle-boarding!

Music to Spotify’s ears

As we silently judge our friends’ Spotify Wrapped revelations, the streaming giant can reflect happily on last year’s Anchor acquisition. Anchor, which produces podcast creation software, has powered more than a million new podcasts on Spotify in 2020 – just about enough to get us through lockdown!

Virtual assistants have come a long way since that officious paperclip in Microsoft Office – but we aren’t living in a real-life sci-fi film just yet. While outsourcing our least favourite tasks seems like a no-brainer, it isn’t as simple as it sounds.

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