Dear Quartz members—
We’ve published 58 field guides since launching Quartz membership late in 2018, and as a member you have access to all of them. We write them to be lasting guides to the most important trends in the global economy so you can draw on them when you need to.
This week, we’d like to share some of the guides that were most popular among members. From CBD to batteries to Microsoft, your favorites ranged across topics but shared a few themes: new industries, the race against climate change, and the changing geography of both business and geopolitical influence.
OMG CBD
At the intersection of the $4 trillion wellness-industrial complex, the $17 billion legal cannabis industry, and the anxiety epidemic crippling America sits a little bottle of CBD oil. To some, it’s a radical cure with massive, untapped potential. To others, it’s snake oil. But CBD’s popularity is only growing: by 2022, analysts estimate CBD will be a $20 billion industry. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest gold rush. Read our guide to CBD.
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BATTERIES
Our future is electric. It must be, if we’re to move away from fossil fuels. But that transition relies on a technology that is, at root, centuries old. The battery is a key part of our zero-emissions future, and there is a current contest spanning the globe to dominate the technology that will power the future. Read our guide to the battery revolution.
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MICROINFLUENCERS
The ranks of “influencers” are growing as the number of social media followers required to pique brands’ interest shrinks. A new era of marketing is upon us, and it has upended ideas about what is an ad and who is a celebrity. Your social profiles could be next. Read our guide on the microinfluencer economy.
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CHINA IN AFRICA
Chinese conglomerates are making the most of Africa’s cheap labor, natural resources, and need for infrastructure. We examine how much those countries benefit; what political influence China gets from its investments; and the culture clashes that arise between locals and Chinese already living and working in African countries both large and small. Read our guide to China in Africa.
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THE NEW MICROSOFT
Microsoft isn’t just “the Windows company” anymore. CEO Satya Nadella has revitalized the company for the new era of tech, when services matter more than software licenses. But the changes are deeper than marketing; Microsoft has fundamentally shifted its business model, without sacrificing growth, to build the 43-year-old company bigger than ever before. Read our guide to Microsoft’s present and future.
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Best wishes for a restful end of the year,
Walter Frick
Membership editor, Quartz