What I wrote last week
Want to do something? Do it right away!
Business
What Happened When a Wall Street Investment Giant Moved to Nashville. AllianceBerstein uprooted its headquarters from New York to Nashville, Tennessee to save $80 million a year. The move has been smooth so far, but the interesting thing here is how some large corporations, once exclusive to mega cities on the coasts, are open to moving to smaller towns. My colleague mentioned his college mates got great job offers from an investment firm in Arkansas. Boise in Idaho attracts interest from tech workers too. Snowflake already moved its headquarters to Montana. It’ll be interesting to watch what this trend will do to real estate.
A great podcast with Ted Weschler, a lieutenant of Warren Buffett. Listening to him bolsters my belief that to even have a chance at being good in investing, you need to read a lot, especially what other folks don’t, to create and connect the dots.
Marriott Rolls Out Media Network That Lets Brands Reach Travelers on Its Apps and TV Screens. I really wonder how this will actually work. The first requirement is that Marriott needs to profile and segment customers such as travel enthusiasts, cooking lovers or pet owners, so that their ads can be targeted. Then, it’s a matter of scale. In a 500-room hotel or resort, how many are actually pet owners at the same time? This makes me think that at least in the beginning, the ads won’t be targeted. Also, how would Marriott measure the effectiveness of the ads? Guests will likely just look at the screens and…move on. This service will aid brand awareness, but tracking conversion will be tricky.
Mastercard launches tech that lets you pay with your face or hand in stores. We’re still a long way from having this sort of technology ubiquitous. What intrigues me when I think about this is when governments around the world can have a unified database that recognizes folks based on biometrics. The amount of red tape and administrative work can be reduced significantly.
There’s a New Media Mogul Tearing Up Hollywood: ‘Zas Is Not Particularly Patient’. The new boss at Warner Media is bringing discipline, work ethic and a new culture to the company. A pretty interesting read on Zas.
The Algorithm is a Lie. A very smart take on Netflix and the long-standing assumption that Netflix is great at mining data for actionable insights.
Other stuff I find interesting
Innovative Fish Farms Aim to Feed the Planet, Save Jobs and Clean Up an Industry’s Dirty Reputation. A super interesting read on what is being done to protect the fishing industry in Maine.
Germany Declares Crypto Gains Tax-Free After 1 Year — Even if Used for Staking, Lending. Other securities can still be taxed after one year of holding, but crypto currencies aren’t in Germany. I wonder how Germans think about this since I assume stock holders outnumber crypto investors.
Take a look inside the Finnish bunkers capable of withstanding a nuclear attack. Today, the Finnish Parliament approved the application to join NATO. Putin threatened to retaliate, but seriously, what did he expect the people of Finland to do after watching what he did to Ukraine?
An interesting read on MOBI and EPUB book format. I love Kindle, but their previous requirement that users must use MOBI format was super annoying. So I am glad that they accept Epub now.
Stats
Pollutions accounted for one out of every six deaths globally in 2019
11.3 million guns were manufactured in the US in 2020. I had to look at the figure one more time to actually believe it. 11.3 million, I mean why do you need that many?
Grab has 30.9 million monthly users as of May 2022
65% of Disney+ subscribers said Movies were the top reason to subscribe
Minh Quang Duong 