Dozen Worthy Reads 📰 (No. 152)
This week : Democracy, Digital Sovereignty, Product Friction, Emotions@Work, Medium's Paywall, Amazon and AB3262, Curators as creators, Stripe, TikTok v. Stories, Wealth building, Battery Free Gameboy
Hi All,
I hope you all are doing well and welcome (if you aren’t new then again) to Dozen Worthy Reads. A newsletter where I talk about the most interesting things I read the past week or write about tech happenings. You can sign up here or just read on.
A couple of weeks ago I had an interesting look at dating apps. I wrote about why we’re likely to see more and more niche dating apps (and they likely will struggle with monetization). As always comments are appreciated!
Charts of the week
Visualizing the State of Democracy, by Country - The screen capture does not do justice; you can look at each bar and see how things have changed from 2006-2019. For example Malta is now a “flawed democracy”
Tweets this week
Products this week
Stat of the day: Fascinating and important stats from the rest of world via @ProductHunt Stat of the day - Fascinating and important stats from the rest of world
Worthy reads this week
Digital Sovereignty
Literally the best written piece on Digital Sovereignty. Default to US standards or whomsoever is the next superpower or has technical supremacy. The end result is the same: the next frontier for being (or remaining) a super power is technological advantage (and America has been eroding that slowly) but China has been building that up slowly. Also India has the capability, the smarts, and the people to actually do this!
From the article : India’s TikTok Ban Is a Step Toward Digital Sovereignty
When it comes to predicting who will achieve digital sovereignty, wealth is the wrong thing to bet on. The ability to create private tech actors in strategic industries, and to protect them, matters more. Having a large population and a linguistic barrier to entry helps too, although it hasn’t been the killer app for India. Finally, the country has to be able to project power into a global market of platforms and influence. North Korea probably enjoys a type of digital sovereignty, but not one that will make it a relevant actor in the technological destiny of the human race.
Removing Product Friction
Removing product fiction isn’t always a good thing. As Product Managers we’re always thinking about how to remove friction at each stage of the user’s journey whether its emotional, cognitive, or interactional friction. The article lists some really cool examples such as Zoom, Credit Cards, Robinhood, and the App Store and how they did what good Product Managers do and removed friction. At the end this is about systems thinking and second and third order effects : Removing Friction Isn't Always Good
Managing emotions at work : 6 Small Steps for Managing the Roller Coaster of Emotions at Work
I’ve never really been one to thing too deep about work + emotions. Sure like everyone else I have good and bad days but this article has some very valuable lessons on how to manage and process life’s emotions. Here are two from the article:
You often make the mistake of allowing yourself to slip into tomorrow’s worries instead of handling the challenges of the moment. You’re suffering future pain, needlessly.
Believe that there is a version of you that will be more qualified to handle any potential future scenarios that are giving you anxiety right now.
Medium’s Paywall Changes
I have started posting on Medium again this week but I do hate the forced paywall (see below). I keep comparing Medium v/s Substack. I do like Substack way more because of the ease with which me (as a free publisher) can publish. There are LOTS of really good authors on Substack and the argument that Substack allows you to “brand” (semi-accurate) v/s Medium where you and everyone else are throw into a bundle. Medium has, per the article, “several hundred thousand” members that pay $5/month. Let’s just say its a million members. That means about $5M a month * 12 = $60M. Per Glassdoor Medium has 200+ employees so maybe they are “close” to profitability? : What's Around the Corner for Medium | by Ev Williams | Aug, 2020
Amazon and AB3262 (Strict Liability)
Matt Stoller on Amazon and how by lobbying for strict liability is pre-empting competition. Ben Thompson has written about this in the context of Facebook and regulation specially on moderation. The large companies will struggle to keep up with the legal requirements but the small company? Dead on arrival! Why Jeff Bezos Is Worth $200 Billion. Here is Amazon’s blog on the topic and they clearly say “if all stores are held to the same standards”
If AB3262 does indeed apply to all “marketplaces” would that cover food (seems like groceries are covered?)If it does and I get food poisoning, who do I go after? uber eats? The driver? The restaurant? All three?
Legislation would hurt small businesses that have turned to online sales)
Curators as the new creators
From Gaby Goldberg on curators as the new creators. As a uh well curator I absolutely agree with this but think this also related to positional scarcity that Alex Danco has written about before. The spotify’s, netflixes, TikTok’s, Universities, Twitter are all continuously curating : Curators Are the New Creators. The Business Model of Good Taste | by Gaby Goldberg | Aug, 2020
From Packy M on why he thinks Stripe is the most undervalued company.
Stripe: The Internet's Most Undervalued Company
Why TikTok beats Stories and an interesting take on content density. I have to say the creativity I see on TikTok definitely reflects that : Content density: Why TikToks trounce Stories
And watch this …
Wealth is what you don’t spend
An older one from Morgan Housel on why we earn more today but save less. I think living below one's means is the most underrated life skill these days : Wealth Is What You Don’t Spend
From the article:
To generalize only a little: In the 1950s camping was an acceptable vacation. Hand-me-downs were acceptable clothes. A 983 square foot house was an acceptable size. Kids sharing a room was an acceptable arrangement. A tire swing was acceptable entertainment. Few of those things are acceptable baselines for most households today. The average new home now has more bathrooms than occupants.
The median household’s real wage gains over the last half-century have been spent. The household savings rate fell by 30% during a period when median real income rose 40%.
Facebook, Google, and how their power affected local communities.
I think the article is interesting but I don’t agree. The article talks about how “local” and “community” were killed. That wasn’t Facebook, that was the internet. The article also talks about Google and Facebook not selling “good information” and I don’t agree with this either. To be clear there are obviously issues of size and how Google/Facebook have neglected local needs : Close to Home: How the Power of Facebook and Google Affects Local Communities
Battery Free Gameboy. How cool is that?
The first battery-free Game Boy wants to power a gaming revolution
Thank you for reading. Stay safe, be well!