Issue #6
The bad and good of the sharing economy, SoftBank shenanigans, USB-C chargers, missiles, WhatsApp, and asteroids.
The sharing economy has had some bad publicity recently:
Organised scams have been uncovered within AirBnB in Chicago and London
Peer to peer car rentals are being abused by Criminals across the US
Car sharing by-the-minute DriveNow, launched two week rentals in London a mere one week before announcing it’s shutting down all North America and many European operations, including London!
Also pulling out of London is the electric car-share company BlueCity.
One common thread throughout these issues is that trust is very important with these services. Even more so on peer-to-peer rental marketplaces. The platform has to earn the trust of buyers by presenting truthful listing, honest pricing, transparent terms and having helpful empowered support staff available on the phone. The platform also has to earn the trust of sellers by verifying the eligibility of buyers (to a suitable degree), ensuring funds are available (from one or more of the buyer, the platform itself, or it’s insurer) to fix any damage/loss and in such cases dealing with them promptly. The costs of building and maintaining this trust can be high which is why these platforms keep a slice of every transaction, typically between 15% and 30%. The greater the level of verification, insurance and support, the happier the buyers and sellers are, and happy members drive a sustainable business.
After the very public collapse of WeWork’s IPO in 2019 SoftBank has been pushing it’s vision fund portfolio companies to focus less on unsustainable growth and more on positive cash flow. As a result; GetAround lays off 150 (25%) of it’s staff, Brandless shuts down entirely, Zume lays off 80% of it’s staff, and now SoftBank is pulling out of signed deals at the last moment leaving founders screwed.
Advancements in LED technology & game engines and the rendering performance of modern 3D hardware means that it’s now possible to have a real-time rendered 3D background during filming. Disney has created “The Volume”, a giant virtual film set, used extensively during the filming of The Mandalorian. Read more about that at ascmag.com
“Unpopular truth: thoughtful, methodical, even sometimes 'slow' is often the best strategy to winning in tech. Reframing wins from short-term metrics to longer term measures such as sustained consumer value and potential negative outcomes makes this truth a little more favorable.”
The Apollo 11 guidance computer is less powerful than most USB-C chargers 😲 Link
As relevant today as it was in 1995, not all memory leaks are a problem 🤷♂️ Link
WhatsApp has surpassed 2 billion users 📈 Link
— and some of their (your!) private groups may not be so private 🕵️♂️ Link
20+ years since he was first defeated by a machine, Gary Kasparov says he has made peace with AI and we should too 🤖 Link
There are some big asteroids flying around our solar system. See how they compare to New York City: