Business
A $400 Million Bet Says This Is the Mall of the Future. I am skeptical of this model. It makes sense to add more experiences to wow shoppers. However, a developer has to sink plenty of money into these experiences. As a consequence, that developer likely won’t have enough money to invest into too many sites. Even if there are sufficient funds, will developers want to dilute the appeal by having many malls with similar offerings? In addition, an important consideration is that as developers splurge on investments, will they charge tenants more? Will that make goods and servicers more expensive?
Why Walmart’s quick success in generative AI search should have Google worried. I think Generative AI’s capabilities remain more hyped than proven at this point. Of course, Google has to stay vigilant and strive to stave off any potential threat or competition. However, at the moment, it seems more speculative as to what Generative AI can do and how it can damage Google. I don’t question Gen AI’s ability to offer solutions. I do question how it can change consumer behavior. For instance, you ask a prompt and get an answer. Now what? Can you trust that answer from AI? Will you “Google” it again for assurance? What if you want to look at multiple sources for different viewpoints?
TikTok Crackdown Shifts Into Overdrive, With Sale or Shutdown on Table. The best card that Tiktok can play is to rally all influencers to oppose the ban and put pressure on lawmakers. Biden already signalled that he would sign the bill once it is approved by Congress and no lawmaker wants to be the only one that advocates on behalf of a controversial company like TikTok. Hence, the odds that TikTok can turn this around by lobbying seem low. As the company admitted that siloing the US operation was not possible, the legislation is effectively a ban from the US market, the biggest advertising playground in the world. Can’t imagine that any business executive or investor would favor that.
Building Under Regulation. A long yet very sensible blog post on the EU Digital Markets Act and it breaks the brand promise that Apple builds. The topic of Apple and the App Store is so controversial and polarizing that I don’t think we will ever have a consensus and that’s…fine. What I value is a sensible argument, a first-principle approach and a fair debate. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen often. When it does as is the case with Steven’s writeup, I like it a lot. We need more grounded, honest and thoughtful opinions like his.
America’s Biggest Circus Is Back From the Dead. We went to watch Cirque de Soleil once and were very impressed by the skills and the performance. I hadn’t heard of this Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey before, but I am intrigued now. It’s interesting to read about the transformation of this circus over the years to stay competitive and about the way they scout talent all over the world.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
Two Canals, Two Big Problems—One Global Shipping Mess. “The Suez’s problems are geopolitical and those in Panama are climate-based, but both are roiling global trade. Cargo volumes through the Suez and Panama canals have plunged by more than a third. Hundreds of vessels have diverted to longer routes, resulting in delivery delays, higher transportation costs and economic wreckage for local communities.”
‘First of all you must be patient, then you need spatial memory’: The man behind the puzzle that 99% can’t solve. It’s incredibly fun, incredibly rewarding if you can solve it and incredbily frustrating if you can’t. It’s good to learn about a phenomenon that delights millions of people around the world, an invention that originally stemmed from desire to teach others. Hats off to Erno Rubik.
Automakers Are Sharing Consumers’ Driving Behavior With Insurance Companies. I hope the FTC and other authorities will look into this article and start an investigation. Sharing any data without customer consent is unacceptable, no matter what excuse these companies cook up.
Inside the organized crime rings plaguing retailers including Ulta, T.J. Maxx and Walgreens. “The verification process that Amazon conducted for Michelle Mack’s store after the Inform Act passed wasn’t enough to raise the company’s suspicions, either. As part of the law, marketplaces are also required to provide a way for people to report suspicious product listings. But the law doesn’t require the marketplaces to do anything with that information.”
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Minh Quang Duong 
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