Zag To The Zig #41 :: Underwater servers, undercover hackers & understanding super-apps
Greetings to you all! Over here, I’m enjoying those final days of Indian Summer. If the weather is the same where you are, go out. 🌞🚶♀️
Then, when you get back, you can read this. It won’t go away.
In the Tech Basement this week
France is to launch an experiment for a digital euro, the so-called Central Bank Digital Currency and it has chosen to partner with Tezos. Quite interesting, as we say, because the objectives of the program are about “identifying benefits” and “analysing effects on financial stability”. To me, that sounds more suitable to the Deloittes of this world, rather than a public blockchain tech company. Hence, Quite Interesting.
Super-apps are (often Asian) apps that aspire to have every possible functionality, and therefore customer touchpoint. Here in the west we always refer to WeChat as the typical example. The EastMeetsWest blog digs a little deeper into how these apps actually become Operating Systems in their own right. And interestingly: Blackberry gets a mention!
🌊⚓ “Guys, just floating an idea, but…". I can see the meeting where this one was decided. 😉 (sorry)
Microsoft is experimenting with storing servers at the bottom of the sea.
In the Ethics Corridor
Earlier this year, UK innovation agency Nesta launched an essay competition on decentralisation and the future of work and the winning articles were published this week. I haven’t read all of them, but so far the quality of insight varies. Still, this contrarian view by Grace Rachmany triggered my interest: decentralisation is not a better way to run businesses.
(Note: And no, I’m not bitter because my pitch didn’t get picked. I’m not).Sure, we’re all keen to have control over our own data. But - friend of ZTTZ - Wessel van Rensburg challenges that (as he does) & asks the very valid question: what about the societal value of data?
Purely empirical and academics will laugh at it, but I did like this guy quitting social media and monitoring his mood (also check the ‘infographic).
Hacking is not (always) about crazy software. This is a full-on, geek-humour, hilarious report about how one ‘hacker' used Instagram to get a little bit too much data on the Australian Prime Minister.
In the Writing Room
You could see this as pedantic or full of name-dropping, but I guess that would contradict lesson number 4. And 12. And …. Writer Ryan Holiday shares the 33 learnings he stole from other people.
💩 The art of copy writing. It’s in understanding your users. Obviously. But there’s a difference between the theory and doing it. This copy-writer used the theory to sell her brown, sorry pumpkin-spice, sofas. 💩
Random ZTTZ
I’m seriously showing my age here, but remember the WinAmp player? This is a gallery with WinAmp skins. Which one did you have?
🏁 End note: 1 thing I’ll be doing this week
I’ll be contributing to a panel chat at the European Research and Innovation Days. It’s about digital grant platforms & I’ll promise I’ll try not to mention user-centric nor blockchain too much ;-)