Business
Sweetgreen Bet Big on Naomi Osaka. Then It Doubled Down. As the world becomes more divided nowadays, celebrity endorsements come with a risk that companies have to make uncomfortable decisions at times. This is one of those moments for Sweetgreen and personally I am happy that they support Osaka.
Self-Driving Cars Could Be Decades Away, No Matter What Elon Musk Said. If a company or an executive claims that their company’s bright future relies on self-driving cars, take it with a big grain of salt and ask a lot of questions because that future is highly uncertain and can be decades away.
Apple’s new App Store guidelines put scammers and bounty hunters on notice. Apple just did themselves and almost everyone else a favor by being more detailed and specific about their App Store guidelines. A major criticism of Apple and the App Store is that their guidelines are too ambiguous and not enforced equally. That’s a fair criticism and since Apple wants to hold a complete unchallenged power over the App Store, they can’t expect that we expect nothing, but perfect from them. I doubt this latest development will quell much the frustration by developers, but it’s a positive step in the right direction
An interesting chat between Kara Swisher and Margrethe Vestager on issues such as a global tax, court cases against big techs and potential remedies towards the oversized dominance of the likes of Apple.
Netflix debuted an online shop that sells merchandise related to their hit shows such as Lupin. This is a natural extension of their business. When some of their shows are fan favorites and garner enough following, why not capitalizing on such popularity? After all, that’s what Disney does. You watch Marvel or Disney movies and visit the theme parks for other experiences. I don’t think this is so much about being on level terms with Disney. Instead, this is about generating more margin and revenue.
What I found interesting
Jordan, Russell, Kareem, even the King of Pop — the astonishing mentors who shaped Kobe Bryant. Everyone wants to be like Kobe, but are they ready for the sacrifices and solidarity like Kobe was? Are they willing to go above and beyond for their obsession like Kobe?
Eddy Cue On Why Spatial Audio Is a Game-Changer
Shedding More Light on How Instagram Works. According to this post from Instagram, it uses a lot of data (they call it “signals”) to determine what content you get to see. There are two sides of this. On one side, it can be convenient and good that you get to see more of what you like. On the other hand, it means that Instagram or Facebook knows a lot about you. Had Facebook had a better track record in terms of privacy in the past, it wouldn’t have been a concern. The reality is that I am not sure users really use Facebook’s platforms because they are trustworthy. It’s likely because Facebook owns the biggest platforms in the world and users only use them out of convenience. Nonetheless, appreciate posts like this one
The World’s Northernmost Town Is Changing Dramatically
How the wealthiest in America avoid paying income taxes
In 2011, a year in which his wealth held roughly steady at $18 billion, Bezos filed a tax return reporting he lost money — his income that year was more than offset by investment losses. What’s more, because, according to the tax law, he made so little, he even claimed and received a $4,000 tax credit for his children.
Stats that may interest you
Solar makes up 4.5% of the US’s electricity, up from 0.1% in 2010
Minh Quang Duong 