One of the most important things we think the media can do is connect small business owners and creatives across industries and markets to give them an opportunity to learn form each other. The insights on trends in particular can be transformative if our communities were better connected and so we’ve tried to create a space where folks can share the trends they are seeing and read about trends other sharp entrepreneurs are seeing.

Xinting Yu

I am a graduate student majoring in graphic design. I believe that the trend in our industry involves the expansion of designers’ roles. Designers are no longer solely concerned with the details of design, aesthetics, and typography. Instead, greater expectations are placed on designers, such as incorporating storytelling. Branding is one of the main tasks for graphic designers and is an area where the skill of storytelling is particularly crucial. Read more>>

Brad Hendricks

We’ve recently considered this question within Blind Squirrel Games leadership, and in 2024 we anticipate publishers wanting less risky investments with stability and a potential for consistent returns, with risk mitigation at the forefront of business decisions. Based on these factors, moves toward games based on licensed IP, remasters of existing titles, and re-imagined IP will be trending during the coming year. Read more>>

Paula de Pano

There have been a few things that I’ve noticed after moving on from the restaurant industry to retail, the most prevalent being consumers being more in-tune with where their money is going and how it is being produced. While my shop is located in Chapel Hill, and it has been considered a progressive town, I found it refreshing that this curiosity translates even to wine. Read more>>

Kayla Murphy

The biggest trends I am seeing in the social media industry is a push for video content, especially on TikTok and Instagram. You have to look at social media not as a competition with each other, but as competition with each social media platform. Instagram is in competition with TikTok, who’s in competition with YouTube, who’s in competition with Netflix…. it’s all a competition to see who can keep you on their social media platform the longest. Read more>>

Diane Roney

In recent years, we’ve witnessed a remarkable surge of African American women making significant strides in the digital AI world, particularly through the creation of innovative digital products. This trend is not only transformative but also inspiring. Let me share some insights into the biggest trends in this industry and my thoughts on them: Trend 1: Increasing Diversity and Inclusion. Read more>>

Jessica and Matt Doyle

Vacation rentals definitely had their moment in the last few years as families decided to stay closer to home during COVID times. As travel opened again, people are torn between staying close to home and taking larger, farther trips they have been unable to go on. We went from seeing multiple requests for every weekend throughout the year without doing any marketing, to needing to market a bit to fill every weekend. We are so lucky to have guests from all over the US and many are repeat guests! Read more>>

Selena Francois

It’s been ongoing for the past several decades actually; Artificial Intelligence is not a new concept by any means. I think, with many technological advancements, it has its pros and cons. I’m nearly sure it was developed as a solution to a projected issue by a group of administrators and has been slowly simmering on the back burner to the point where we’ve seen it flourishing today. Some of my concerns are the same as those who reject the establishment of AI in our society.  Read more>>