TECH

Facebook Gives a Reality Check

Facebook held its annual virtual/augmented reality conference yesterday, and you have to respect its commitment to 2020 themes—it was held remotely and we'll never look at the world the same way again. Before we get into the gadgets and gizmos, let’s put Facebook’s growing presence in virtual reality in context. 

Zuckerberg likes smoking meats

But he loves virtual reality. In 2014, Facebook acquired the virtual reality pioneer Oculus for $2 billion, signaling its ambitions to bring VR to the masses. While other Facebook acquisitions like Instagram and WhatsApp have mainly operated outside of Zuck’s immediate gaze, Oculus leadership has taken up a unique position close to Facebook’s core. But its consumer products haven’t always flourished. 

• Set back by supply chain issues and bulky hardware, 2018’s Oculus Quest headset settled into more of a niche product for gamers than the multi-purpose device Facebook envisioned. 

Enter yesterday’s event. Facebook rolled out a lighter, cheaper, higher-res version called the Quest 2 that’s earned positive reviews so far. It’s not Elon Musk’s Neuralink, but you can still do a lot, like play a growing catalog of videogames or watch Netflix in a virtual movie theater. 

But wait, there’s more

Facebook wants its VR devices to be used for more than weekly Social Network screenings—it also demoed Infinite Office, a new feature that will allow users to spawn a virtual office environment right at their physical desk. 

• Other companies, including Microsoft, have also dipped their toes into VR-enhanced work environments, and mass WFH-ing is accelerating adoption.  

But if immersive VR headsets aren’t your thing, Zuckerburg also confirmed Facebook will be releasing its first pair of consumer “smart glasses” next year. While details on the wearable tech are murky, you may not look as nerdy as you think—the glasses will be made and branded by Ray-Ban. 

Bottom line: The scope of yesterday’s announcements shows that Facebook is serious about a future where virtual reality is as much a part of the company's offerings as ignoring your high school gym teacher's friend request. 

+ While we’re here: If you want to dive deeper into the future of virtual reality and other emerging technologies, check out our Emerging Tech Brew newsletter. 

PHARMA

There Is an I in Vaccine

Which may explain why U.S. health officials weren’t on the same page in their public statements about a coronavirus vaccine yesterday. 

• CDC Director Robert Redfield told a Senate subcommittee that he anticipates a widely distributed vaccine coming in “late second quarter, third quarter of 2021.”
• But Department of Health and Human Services deputy chief of staff for policy Paul Mango said in an interview every American could get a vaccine by the end of next March. 
• Top infectious disease official Dr. Fauci is Team Redfield, putting a return to normal “well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021.” 

Zoom out: Health officials’ projections consistently estimate longer timelines than the Trump administration (Mango is a political appointee), and some critics have said the administration is pressuring health agencies. President Trump has claimed a vaccine may be approved within four weeks.

Once a vaccine is given the green light by the FDA, we'll witness a breathtaking race to get it to top-priority individuals. Pharma companies are already making doses, and the government released a plan yesterday to ship out Covid-19 vaccines within 24 hours of regulator approval.

ENTERTAINMENT

Finish the Netflix Library? Help Is Coming.

Vaccines are one thing, but this story is about the return of one of life’s absolute essentials—TV. Shows from teen drama (Riverdale, Outer Banks) to medical drama (Grey’s Anatomy) to police drama (Law & Order: SVU) have resumed production. 

Game shows and variety shows are also cold opening their doors—Saturday Night Live is bringing in Jim Carrey to play Joe Biden in its upcoming season, and veteran Maya Rudolph will return to play Kamala Harris. Jeopardy! returned Monday for Season 37.  

TV-making during a pandemic takes some adjustments. Jeopardy!’s crew is serving as its audience, and players have to apply their own makeup and mics. Contestants are being recruited via all-remote casting. 

• SNL is experimenting with limited audiences for its signature live shows. “With comedy, when you don’t hear the response, it’s different,” executive producer Lorne Michaels said. 

Not everyone is adjusting well. Riverdale star Lili Reinhart said she “genuinely [felt] like a prisoner” shooting in Canada.

SPONSORED BY FIDELITY

The Next Big Thing: Investment Edition

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Learn more about thematic investing with Fidelity right here.

AVIATION

House Panel: Boeing, FAA Need to Clean Up Their Act

A Democrat-controlled House committee spent 18 months investigating the two fatal crashes of Boeing’s 737 Max planes and came to one conclusion: They didn’t have to happen.

The committee slammed a) Boeing for a culture that didn’t prioritize safety and b) its regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, for punting on its responsibility to keep an eye on Boeing. 

• “The fact that a compliant airplane suffered from two deadly crashes in less than five months is clear evidence that the current regulatory system is fundamentally flawed,” the report stated. 
• Democrats called for a total overhaul of the FAA’s plane certification process...but Republicans aren't on board.

The 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling plane, has been grounded since two crashes killed 346 people in the span of five months. Boeing and the FAA have been working to get the plane in the air again, but the ordeal has undermined both their reputations.

Looking ahead...the Max began test flights this summer, and could get approval to fly again by this winter.

FITNESS

Might Be Time for a Living Room Bike Rack

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: An at-home fitness company is crushing it during the pandemic. Zwift, a training aid that hosts virtual bike and running races, raised $450 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion yesterday. 

It’s not a Peloton clone

Instead of a roster of toned instructors yelling fortune cookie phrases at you, Zwift takes training a step further, immersing athletes in a 3D virtual world on a device of their choosing. 

• Investors are confident there’s a healthy appetite for screaming “On your left!” at your iPad; about 117,000 riders participated in a virtual Tour de France Zwift hosted in July. 

But Zwift says it’ll eventually use the funding to go handlebar to handlebar with Peloton—it plans to introduce an indoor bike of its own in the near future. 

Zoom out: Zwift is hoping its unique product will help it stand out in the crowded at-home fitness industry; Apple's Fitness+ service just entered the gym on Tuesday.

MARKETING

Marketing for Beginners: The Best Articles and Expert Resources

The marketing and advertising industry is a multitrillion-dollar colossus with exciting professional opportunities. But for people looking to begin their journey in marketing, it’s impossible to know where to start. There are just too. Many. Articles. And, frankly, too many boring articles.

That’s where we come in. The expert curators at Morning Brew have tapped industry pros, sifted through years of blog posts, and watched every Nike ad since sneakers were invented to bring you a 10-step guide to the best resources in the marketing industry. 

• What you won’t find here: Fluffy listicles that tell you what you already know, like "it's all about authenticity."   
• What you will find: Insightful case studies, videos, articles, and more that people in the industry actually use to make them better professionals.

Check it out. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Snowflake jumped 112% in its IPO debut, making it the biggest software company IPO ever. The cloud data company is now worth $70 billion.
• Sen. Marco Rubio and other GOP senators urged President Trump to reject any TikTok-Oracle deal that leaves Chinese company ByteDance with ties to TikTok in the U.S.
• The Big Ten reversed course, saying it’ll play football again starting the week of Oct. 24. 
• The U.S. Open tees off today at a time when the golf industry is surging.
• Not The Onion: Rapper Travis Scott’s collab with McDonald’s has led to ingredient shortages.

SPONSORED BY FUNDRISE

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(Here's all the legal jargon we know you love reading).

BREW'S BETS

Level up: Take any of LinkedIn’s 20 most popular courses for free through the end of the month, or try a Coursera class from universities like Stanford and Yale.

Wind down: If you’ve already rewatched Vampire Diaries this year, it might be time to spin the Netflix Roulette wheel for a fresh pick. 

• The offline option: Grab a recommendation from Whichbook, browse this sea of classics, or check out all the business reads on Brew's Bookshelf.

FROM THE CREW

Your Ears Need More Brew

On our podcast Business Casual, host Kinsey Grant goes beyond the headlines and explores the business world from diverse perspectives. Here are some recent topics you should check out:

• Are recessions good for startups? What if the worst of times for the economy is actually the best of times for entrepreneurs? 
• There’s a lot to unpack with Netflix. Specifically, what's behind its success?  
• With birth rates falling across the U.S., we need to change the system to make it more accommodating for people who want both a career and a family. Here’s how to do it.

Bottom line: Sign up for Kinsey's Sunday column and subscribe to the pod here. We also partnered with one of our favorite business podcasts, Popcorn Finance—check out the 13-minute episode.

COLLEGE TOWN TRIVIA

To mark the Big Ten's return to playing football, let's do some college town trivia. We'll give you the town, you have to figure out the university/college that's located in it. (If there are multiple, go for the bigger/more famous one). 

1. East Lansing, Michigan
2. Hanover, New Hampshire
3. Provo, Utah
4. Ames, Iowa
5. Fort Collins, Colorado
6. West Lafayette, Indiana

COLLEGE TOWN TRIVIA ANSWERS

1. East Lansing, Michigan = Michigan State 
2. Hanover, New Hampshire = Dartmouth 
3. Provo, Utah = BYU
4. Ames, Iowa = Iowa State
5. Fort Collins, Colorado = Colorado State 
6. West Lafayette, Indiana = Purdue University 

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Investing involves risk, including risk of loss.

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