TPR Newsletter No. 1
Pizza arbitrage, work from home, conspiracy theories, and timeless advice by Kevin Kelly.
Business
Delivery and gig economy apps are known for having some business model issues. This article exemplifies some of the questionable practices these companies have for the sake of growth. The fact that there is pizza arbitrage involved makes it even better. >> Link
In his article, Morgan Housel presents three sides of risk. He argues the tail end consequences of actions – the low-probability, high-impact events – is the only side of risk that matters. I found this to be a pretty simple but powerful framework on how to think about risk. >> Link
More big tech companies are going remote and allowing its employees to work from home on a permanent basis. The latest to join the ranks is Shopify. >> Thread
However, Facebook is not quite ready to get on the bandwagon just yet. Mark Zuckerberg made a post outlining a 5 to 10-year roadmap for parts of the companies to be remote >> Post
Also, Shopify is Facebook's latest frenemy. On Tuesday, Facebook announced Facebook Shops. Facebook Shops make it easy for businesses to set up a single online store for customers to access on both Facebook and Instagram. Still, it also provides integration with the likes of Shopify, BigCommerce, and WhooCommerce. It seems to me that this is a threat to these eCommerce players.
Open Source Projects
Shapes and volume visualization in augmented reality >> Link
Thoughts, code, and data on Nate Silver and Nassim Taleb twitter feud >> Link
Culture
We are living in a golden age for conspiracy theorists. The Atlantic is doing a project about conspiracy thinking in America. >> Link (long read)
More on conspiracy theories culture, "I was a conspiracy theorist, too" by Dannagal G. Young >> Link
Kevin Kelly - founder of Wired magazine - put together what I believe is the ultimate listicle, 68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice. For the millennial in you, there is also a youtube video.
Economy
Hank Paulson, former secretary of the treasury and a key player on the 2007 credit crisis, on how to keep the dollar strong. >> Link
Quote of the week
"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson