What I Wrote Last Week
Book Review: The Wealth Ladder
Business
Inside Disney’s Abrupt Decision to Suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s Show. At the end of the day, it’s all about interests and business. The most important factor is whether Kimmel’s action furthers interests of ABC and the parent company Disney. The executives did not think so and acted accordingly. Plain and simple.
Inside the fakes and scams on Walmart.com. Walmart risked a dent in reputation to pursue growth and drive sellers away from Amazon. I think it’s short-sighted. Reputation takes years to build and days to ruin. If they have a lot of consumers, sellers will come running to join their marketplace. Now that some shoppers lost trust in their marketplace and turn elsewhere, how are they going to convince sellers?
How is tariff uncertainty impacting tech? Two things stood out to me: confusion and the fact that we likely won’t see an increase in domestic manufacturing output following these tarfifs.
At the Airport, There’s a Fancy New Lounge Everywhere You Look. I never stop being amazed by the American consumer. It’s facinating to see that while we have had inflation for the last 3 years and everything is more expensive, alongside a difficult job market that sees a lot of white-collar workers lose their job, consumers still flock to credit cards with high annual fees. The fact that more lounges and high-end cards show up is proof of that. This is an expensive game that is only feasible for players with deep pockets. I don’t see regional banks or no-frills airlines join this arm race. But then they risk missing out on lucrative customers who may concentrate all their spending on these high-end cards.
Inside the Starbucks Plan to Get 200,000 Baristas on the Same Script. What would make baristas believe in the strategy more is to see Mike Grams or Brian Niccol in a green apron delivering drinks for at least half a day while adhering to the standards they preach about.
How Aldi revamped its social media strategy — and why it’s working. “Despite less obvious showboating on Aldi’s part, this new social media strategy is allowing the discounter to stand out from its competitors. While most grocers show off their private label assortments and in-store features, Aldi is garnering the attention of thousands by bringing a playful voice to its content and tapping into viral moments. The social team consists of a manager and two associates, and this trio works with the rest of the marketing team or other company departments, Sodeika said. “[The social team is] just cranking out awesome content, and they have the support of the wider department, feeding ideas and also always integrating it with what our wider market objectives … of acquiring new customers and growing the trips and the spend of our existing customers.”
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
Inside the Apple audio lab where AirPods are tested and tuned. It is fascinating to go behind the scenes and see how these tech products are made and tested. I think Apple is the victim of its own success. The iPhone is such a brilliant once-in-a-lifetime innovation that the company has been held to that standard ever since. Anything that is not iPhone-like is deemed not innovative. That is not true in my opinion. When you read about how they invest in testing of AirPods like this, what should be called innovative and what should not be?
Trump administration to add $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. There are a lot of talented scientists and workers who came to the US via H1-B and have contributed tremendously to American companies and the country in general through taxes and spending. The US has long been a beneficiary of immigrant talents. This policy will hurt the US in the long run and drive future workers into the hands of other competing nations.
Hard-Fought Treaty to Protect Ocean Life Clears a Final Hurdle. It’s disappointing that France is the only country of the G7 that ratified this treaty. Powerful countries don’t want to kneecap their own efforts to mine the deep seabeds and stay competitive. Hence, noone wants to take the first step. While other countries’ participation should not be diminished, the most powerful nations are the ones that can move the needle. I hope for the sake of future generations, we can get together to protect the oceans and the nature.
Syria’s quest to build its own Silicon Valley. This is what technology is supposed to do: bring a better life to those that need it after years and years of living in poverty, suppression and fear. It’s great to see that the startup and tech community in Syria is growing and that the country itself now has no sanctions from the US. Someone from the article says it best: “He described Syria as a “greenfield” of opportunity. “Here is a market of 22 million people that needs absolutely everything, because they have had nothing,”
Stats
Wildfire smoke already kills 40,000 Americans each year
ChatGPT has 700 million active weekly users
Starbucks made up 62% of domestic coffee-chain sales in the US in 2024
Minh Quang Duong 
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