Hello!

Welcome to OUT OF SCOPE, the C-Suite cheat sheet for the week ahead.

We’re operating in an entirely new world than the one we left Friday at 5 p.m. Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump took office again. Ohio State also won the college football championship. Also, TikTok went dark and then went not dark within twenty-four hours. And it’s only Tuesday!

**THE CHEAT SHEET

three things to bring up in your meetings this week:

1. RedNote’s Cultural Diplomacy Era With TikTok on the line last week, an unprecedented number of Americans migrated to RedNote, a functionally comparable—and still Chinese-owned and operated— alternative. It’ll be interesting to see what this exodus means in the long run, especially since the data concerns related to TikTok, in theory, will also apply to RedNote. Data issues and questionable longevity aside, the evacuation to the app has resulted in tons of delightful stories of cultural crossover. Americans are directly encountering Chinese citizens on the app and engaging them on the bigger, most important stuff of life: arguing about college football.

2. Google Ad Policy Change Impacts Nonprofit Donations In July 2023, Google updated its trademark advertising policy, allowing companies to pay to have their ads appear when users search for a competitor’s name. This change unintentionally created a significant challenge for nonprofits relying on Google search ads to attract donors. Search engines like Ask.com and Info.com started bidding against charities for their names, causing advertising costs to skyrocket. One nonprofit reported this week that this rule change made them burn through a $200,000 fundraising budget in just two days.

3. The Anti-Social Century As we embark on a new era in this country’s politics—one already defined by rampant polarization and tribalism—Americans have never been more alone. Derek Thompson’s piece in The Atlantic analyzes America’s growing social isolation crisis, highlighting how technology, particularly smartphones, has fundamentally altered social interactions. The shift from communal activities to solitary screen time and the privatization of American leisure has impacted how Americans form relationships; it’s an issue that correlates with increased political hostility and societal animosity.

**OUT OF OFFICE

one weekend news story in-depth: MELANIA TO THE MOON

First Lady Melania Trump launched a memecoin on Sunday. Ahead of her husband’s inauguration yesterday, Melania announced the token $MELANIA just days after her husband launched his own viral memecoin, $TRUMP. The site dedicated to the announcement describes the phenomena as “fungible crypto assets created and tracked on the Solana blockchain.”

It’s not uncommon for First Ladies to have a moment all their own. First Lady of the United States is a complex role that’s evolved throughout history. They maintain their own staffs, keep their own offices, pursue their own policy agendas, and transcend the bounds of formal political power to wield cultural influence at home and abroad. For Melania, crypto seems to be her first project of choice. 

This coincides with an uptick in crypto activity around Trump’s transition of power. His White House has signaled it will be more friendly to the crypto industry than the Biden administration, going so far as to pledge to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet.” He’s appointed a crypto-friendly SEC head, and with his and her meme coins already raking in significant profits, Trump administration 2.0 has pretty squarely embraced a pro-crypto mindset.

Expect more Melania ahead. Memecoins and tokens aside, Melania has already been a very active First Lady within the last 24 hours, stirring up controversy online and making headlines in the fashion world as she is known to do. Following the launch of her autobiography this past Fall and now this crypto venture, it seems FLOTUS is dead set on building a more personal, powerful brand this time around.

**POWER LUNCH

five quick consumption recs for the time between meetings:

1. Lumon is listening. Severance director Ben Stiller and star Adam Scott break down the long-awaited season 2 premiere.

2. Baby, this is Keke Palmer. Catch up with the former child star turned powerhouse and favorite meme before seeing her new buddy comedy, One of Them Days.

3. SNL 50 keeps coming. In honor of SNL’s 50th season, New York Times writers list their favorite commercial parodies from the late-night comedy institution.

4. Ohio State dub by the numbers   Front Office Sports did a nice breakdown of the money at play in Ohio State’s big win this weekend.

5. The Brutalist used AI! Read the interview in the video trade publication that kicked off the discourse that might kill The Brutalist’s Best Picture hopes.

We'll see you online and on LinkedIn. Thanks for reading!

HL