Borrowed, Hitched, Misery, Words and all 💐

Weddings have become crazy expensive. With inflation and supply chain issues pushing up costs, the average wedding in 2023 is estimated to cost a whopping $29k.

But people are getting smarter with their wallets. They're turning to creative solutions to make their dream weddings happen without breaking the bank. And guess what? Some awesome startups are stepping up to the plate to help out.

Stillwhite is an online marketplace based in Australia that's all about pre-worn wedding dresses. It used to be a thing for brides on super tight budgets or older brides who weren't all sentimental about their dresses. But now, savvy shoppers from all walks of life are hopping on the pre-worn dress train to get the best bang for their buck.

And it's not just dresses, we're talking flowers too! Something Borrowed Blooms is turning the floral industry upside down with their rentable silk flowers (image above). Why silk? Because Fresh flowers may look lovely, but they're pricey and not as reliable with all the supply and demand chaos. With silk flowers you can get all the beautiful floral arrangements you'd find at a typical florist but for a whopping 70% less. 

And what about bling? The startup Verstolo has a jewelry rental program. You can rock the jewelry of your dreams for the entire wedding weekend at only a fraction of the retail cost - like 1% to 3% - and then send it back when you're done.

Renting used to be all about tents and chairs or for budget-strapped folks, but now it's a trendsetter! People who care about sustainability, flexibility, and having more choices are loving this idea. Plus, with younger generations prioritizing travel, why blow all those wedding checks when you can save up for a dream honeymoon, right?

For those who coughed up the cash for Twitter Blue and are now second-guessing that decision because of the prominent blue badge plastered on your profile, guess what? Twitter's got a solution for you. 

The $8-per-month premium subscription service has just rolled out an update that lets you conceal that distinctive blue tick. So if you’re being bullied for your Twitter Blue subscription or blocked for clogging up people’s feed, you have much to rejoice. 

But the question is, why would anyone want to hide something that they’re paying for? It’s possible that owning a Twitter Blue account has quickly turned from a matter of pride (something that only lasted for a blink of an eye) to a matter of embarrassment. Did Twitter (or X) predict such embarrassment and plan to make more money out of people’s misery? Or are they just so smart that they’re turning the whole Twitter revamp and blue tick subscription fiasco into an opportunity to push the company out of a red line? After all, it seems that Elon Musk still needs at least 10 million more Twitter Blue subscribers to pay the interest on his loans

Much is left to be seen. 

Quiet quitting, quiet hiring, Bare Minimum Monday, the Great Resignation…, corporate buzzwords seem nearly unavoidable. But why are we suddenly naming every workplace phenomenon as if it didn’t exist before? Does giving them a name tag make them less demonic or more tolerable? 

Here’s a recent survey on the proliferation of corporate buzzwords and how those words affect our work perceptions. 

Speaking about work in a new way makes sense after the pandemic. Long travel times got replaced by work from bed. business trips evolved into an unending series of virtual meetings. Given this shift, it’s only natural that employees have started putting into words the trends that have been haunting workplaces for years. 

Quiet quitting and bare minimum work aren’t new. They’ve always exited in the background. But most people didn’t have the guts to act on them earlier. Now, however, 32% of survey respondents said that these terms have influenced their actions or decisions in the workplace. Many employees said they’ve made decisions related to the term “act your wage,” and have refused to take on more work without additional compensation. 

“I work my wage because I do not care about my job and it does not care about me,” wrote one employee.  

These newly coined terms have validated employees’ feelings or frustration, burn out, or exploitation. On the flip side, some of these terms even added to employee anxiety. When Bare Minimum Mondays entered the lexicon, some employees became nervous that the practice would become an assumption.

But not everything’s so gloomy. There are a few silver linings too. 74% of survey respondents said the buzzwords have made a more open and communicative work culture.

🔥 Fiery Cars - Hyundai and Kia are recalling close to 92,000 cars in the US over fire risk.