Botanical Garden, Cambridge, late last year.
Quote of the Day
“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.”
Isaac Asimov
They’re Democrats, Hilary, but not as you know them…
This morning’s Observer column:
Good news for Hillary Clinton: there are very few Republican voters in Silicon Valley. Bad news: the Democrats there are not Democrats as you know them. They detest trade unions, for example, and they’re very keen on immigration – so long as the immigrants have PhDs from elite Indian or Chinese universities. They are in favour of government, so long as it’s “smart” government. And they believe that all change is good – especially in the long term.
We know this courtesy of a fascinating piece of opinion polling by Gregory Ferenstein, the guy who runs TechCrunch’s policy channel…
Ad nauseam
Now here’s an interesting idea — a browser plug-in that silently clicks on every ad that appears on a web-page, thereby swamping — and confusing — the trackers, who have to make sense of what they’re getting back.
Quote of the Day
“The stock market has predicted nine of the last five recessions”.
Paul Samuelson, writing 50 years ago, quoted by Larry Summers in yesterday’s Financial Times.
The ad-blocking quandary
Interesting Forbes column by Lewis DVorkin:
It was my first day of class as a first-time Skype instructor, so I got right to it: “How many of you pay for content?” I asked a dozen or so University of Iowa journalism students as the fall semester got under way at my alma mater. Two, maybe three, gently raised an arm. Then came my follow-up question: “How many of you use ad blockers?” Nearly everyone put a hand straight up, proudly admitting to installing software that snuffs out display ads from their daily Web browsing experience. “That’s wonderful,” I said. “You don’t want to pay for content and you don’t want to see the ads that fund the content you don’t want to pay for. You might want to consider another profession.”
He goes on to describe how Forbes tackled the problem.
Since Dec. 17, 2015, a small percentage of those with ad blockers received this message:
Thanks for coming to Forbes. Please turn off your ad blocker in order to continue. To thank you for doing so, we’re happy to present you with an ad-light experience.
The remainder of visitors using ad blockers became the control group. They didn’t receive a message and continued to have full access to the site.
And the results?
1) From Dec. 17 to Jan. 3, 2.1 million visitors using ad blockers were asked turn them off in exchange for an ad-light experience.
2) 903,000, or 42.4%, of those visitors turned off the blockers and received a thank you message.
3) We monetized 15 million ad impressions that would otherwise have been blocked.
As important, the ad-light experience has focused our attention on faster delivery of our digital screens to consumers.
Interesting. And resourceful.
How big is the ‘sharing’ economy?
A poll by Time says 44 percent of U.S. adults who are Internet users have participated in it, and 22 percent have offered goods or services.
Details:
- 22 percent of U.S. adults have participated in ride-sharing (or ride-booking), with 10 percent driving for Uber, Lyft or Sidecar (which is getting out of the business).
- 19 percent have been involved with services such as Airbnb, with 10 percent opening up their homes to host strangers.
- 17 percent have participated in the service economy, using platforms such as TaskRabbit, and 11 percent have provided services.
- 14 percent have participated in the car-sharing economy, using Zipcar and similar services.
- 11 percent have participated in the food and goods-delivery economy, using Instacart, Caviar or PostMates.
The survey, which polled 3,000 people in late November, also found that 61 percent of the drivers/deliverers/errand-runners are male, 55 percent are members of a racial/ethnic minority, 51 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34, and 41 percent live in an urban area.
Remembering the first ‘Killer App’
This morning’s Observer column:
Tidying my office the other day, as one does at this time of year, I came upon a shabby, brown, dust-covered, A5 plastic ring binder. It was the kind of thing one throws into a skip without a moment’s hesitation. Except this wasn’t something to throw away, for embossed on the spine of the binder was “VisiCalc”. Inside was a 5.25in floppy disc and a glossy manual. And as I stood there looking at it I had one of those epiphanies that James Joyce was so keen on. I was suddenly transported back to late November 1979. I had bought an Apple II computer on a research grant – the more expensive 32k model, which had an external disk drive. An academic colleague who was on sabbatical at MIT had sent me a postcard saying that he had seen an Apple II running some weird software for business planning that was driving people wild. So I asked him to get me a copy and it arrived via FedEx.
VisiCalc was the world’s first spreadsheet program. It was written by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston and came from an insight Bricklin had one day while attending Harvard Business School….
The billionth Uber ride
This from Uber:
Marvin and Ara just made our day. Their £5 London uberX ride together on Christmas Eve from London Fields, Hackney to Hoxton in Ara’s blue Honda Insight Hybrid was the billionth Uber trip.
One billion. That’s a whole lot of riders and drivers sharing the road, special moments, and celebrations together. Certainly far more than we ever imagined when we got started in San Francisco five and a half years ago.
This holiday season, we’re feeling grateful and festive crossing this milestone as we close out the year. For riding their way into our history books, we’re putting one year’s worth of free rides in rider Marvin’s stocking and our driver-partner Ara will be taking a vacation on us to the Uber city of his choice.
To celebrate the community where this special trip took place, we are also making a donation to Hackney Pirates—a charity serving the neighborhood where the billionth trip started. Hackney Pirates develops the literacy, confidence, and perseverance of young people aged 9-12 across the borough of Hackney, so that they are set up for success both in school and beyond.
Marvin and Ara’s Christmas Eve Uber ride, marking the billionth trip, is a reminder of how travel has the power to create unforgettable moments and connect communities.
Whether it’s crossing a milestone like that or simply sharing a ride with a stranger, each journey leaves behind a unique story. In the same spirit, when planning a trip to a beautiful destination like Hawaii, you can create your own memorable moments by exploring the islands in a way that suits your pace and style.
For those looking to venture out and experience Hawaii from a new perspective, scooter and moped rentals are an ideal choice. Offering great rates for short-term and long-term rentals, these vehicles give travelers the freedom to navigate the islands with ease. Whether you’re cruising along the coastline, exploring hidden gems, or simply enjoying the tropical breeze, renting a scooter or moped offers the perfect combination of convenience and adventure. It’s a fantastic way to connect with the destination while embracing the laid-back vibe of Hawaii, making each moment count.
The concierge economy is up and running.
The madness of UK planners (contd)
Apropos a previous post, it’s interesting to read this FT report:
Britain builds nearly 10,000 homes a year on floodplains, despite growing warnings over extreme flooding. One home in every 14 built in 2014 — the most recent year for which data are available — was on land that had a significant chance of flooding.