Zag To The Zig #37 :: Augmented Animals, Data Dividends & TikTok Trumped
Last week during a walk, it struck me that, one day, I would have to explain to the little one that there was once a world without emoji. Just saying. (extra: Wired’s guide to emoji).
In the Tech Basement this week
I’ve referred to Ben Evans before, but he just digs that little bit deeper than other ‘tech analysts’. In his article 'What Comes After Zoom', he actually uses one of my favourite methodologies and ways of thinking: the Job To Be Done method.
Rather than focus on functionalities, it tries to find what it is that we use a function - like 'Share Screen’ or ‘Mute' - for? Like, really, on a personal/social level. It helps with re-defining functionalities and core innovation. Just read Evans’ examples from Snap(Chat).Crazy tech industry. Turns out Amazon stopped including item descriptions in the email confirmation of your order, so other email-companies/scrapers can’t get the data.🐍🐍
@cocoadog @amazon There's an important business reason for this. My last job was at an email analytics company that had access to a large datastream of email. Before Amazon implemented this change, my company was able to provide aggregated consumer analytics as a product. After it was much harder.and
In the Ethics Corridor
This week the discussion about enabling people to sell their own data picked up speed again. Mainly, because Andrew Yang, a US entrepreneur-turned-wannabe-president, launched the Data Dividend Project. Link to newspaper report, because, weirdly, I can’t actually access the site. Fail whale. (I know, such a boomer thing to say).
But it did make me think that the way to fight Data Capitalism isn’t necessarily Individual Data Capitalism. I once coined (or stole? borrowed?) the term Data Volunteer, where - under certain circumstances - I would be open to share my data for a common goal, be it government or something similar. Azeem Azhar explored that simple question ‘Whose data is it’ about 18 months ago. 🐥🐥
The trend for brands to become transparent and privacy-aware is on, methinks. Just look at all the effort Google is going through to create the narrative. It’s changing a default setting to auto-delete data after 18 months (blogged by CEO Sundar Pichai himself). 🐾🐾
Plus, it’s making a point of telling people that they don’t sell your personal information (they use it to learn) and they explain how the ad business shares revenue with publishers.🙉🙉 Feed the data machine false data. It was TikTok activism that caused (part of) the Trump rally no-show. They were expecting millions, they got a few thousand people.
🦄🦂 This study claims that Uber prices are higher for drop-offs and pick-ups in areas with a higher proportion of ethnic minorities.
In the Economy Room
I love it when people use empirical evidence to tell a story. Here musician Steven Benjamins writes about his experience with releasing music on Spotify as an indie artist and making 800$ a month. Not a huge fan of his music, but I played it a few times anyway. #justbecauseitallhelps
On a grander scale, there was quite a bit of capitalism bashing this week. Do have a listen to the Exponential View podcast with professor Rebecca Henderson, making a claim for a more purpose-driven capitalism, combining profits with doing good.
🦎🦎 Challenging the current industry state as fragile, is this piece from a VC-investor. I particularly liked him questioning the constant drive for efficiency.
We live in a vast web of just-in-time supply chains and globalized ties, geared towards efficiency and optimization. But when faced with sudden shocks, this web can’t adapt. Instead, it simply snaps.
And on the note of efficiency: in Slate’s series on Modern Capitalism, they covered how McKinsey became the king of consulting. Fave quote: Before (early 1930s CEO) Bower died in 2003, he told a friend the firm had become “greedy fucks.” 🦈🦈
Do read this report on how customer service departments from smaller brands are getting sh*t from customers, expecting Amazon-style speed and convenience. 🦥🦥
“I think a lot of people say they want to support businesses that are non-exploitive, but they want a level of speed and convenience that can only be achieved through exploitation.”
In the Attic of Innovation
One of the main difficulties of my job (helping people identify ‘stuff to do’ in this digital world) is helping them cross the gap between ‘what can we do tomorrow?’ and ‘what to do for the long term?’. Because the future of tomorrow is not the same as the future of next decade. And actions for tomorrow are not the same as actions for the next decade (however, they probably need to start tomorrow).
This simple, little framework might help with identifying the different futures.
Random ZTTZ 🐢🐢
By the way, sorry for the delay this week. I was trying out this little thing from Google called Augmented Reality Search. Use your search engine to google for Turtle, Shetland Pony or a bunch of other animals and you’ll get access to a 3D version of the animal swimming over your keyboard.
(yes, hence, the animal emoji this week). 🦧🦧