Austerity economics didn't work (in the UK at least)
Interesting piece published in the New Yorker by John Cassidy. He takes a very offensive stance against austerity economics.
In his article, Cassidy argues that George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been forced to admit that his government failed to validate targets it set to itself in June 2010:
Back then, Osborne said that his austerity policies would cut his country’s budget deficit to zero within four years, enable Britain to begin relieving itself of its public debt, and generate healthy economic growth. None of these things have happened. Britain’s deficit remains stubbornly high, its people have been suffering through a double-dip recession, and many observers now expect the country to lose its “AAA” credit rating.
A little bit of macroeconomics:
At every stage of the experiment, critics (myself included) have warned that Osborne’s austerity policies would prove self-defeating. Any decent economics textbook will tell you that, other things being equal, cutting government spending causes the economy’s overall output to fall, tax revenues to decrease, and spending on benefits to increase. Almost invariably, the end result is slower growth (or a recession) and high budget deficits. Osborne, relying on arguments about restoring the confidence of investors and businessmen that his forebears at the U.K. Treasury used during the early nineteen-thirties against Keynes, insisted (and continues to insist) otherwise, but he has been proven wrong.
“Brian’s insight is that in a world of loudest and fastest, he has turned it down, doing it slow and doing it right,” Mr. Sicha said. “And by being consumer facing, he doesn’t have to have monster numbers. The people come ready to buy.” In fact, 10 to 20 percent of its visitors click on links, a rate that would make ad sellers drool. Mr. Lam hardly invented the model. The Web is full of mom-and-pop shops that live on referral fees for things like pet supplies and camping gear. Many companies also pay for referrals — eBay, Half.com, even retailers like Gap and Old Navy. A business that used to be mired in spam is becoming far more legitimate.
Great story about Brian Lam, former Gizmodo editor and now owner of a very nifty website called the Wirecutter. I wrote about it on Warston over a year ago:
Its purpose is fairly straightforward: on the website, you’ll find a list of the best gadgets for a proper category. The thing is that categories aren’t merely named after a certain function, like Printers. The categories are rather named after the consumer interpretation of the product.
“Brian’s insight is that in a world of loudest and fastest, he has turned it down, doing it slow and doing it right,” Mr. Sicha said. “And by being consumer facing, he doesn’t have to have monster numbers. The people come ready to buy.” In fact, 10 to 20 percent of its visitors click on links, a rate that would make ad sellers drool. Mr. Lam hardly invented the model. The Web is full of mom-and-pop shops that live on referral fees for things like pet supplies and camping gear. Many companies also pay for referrals — eBay, Half.com, even retailers like Gap and Old Navy. A business that used to be mired in spam is becoming far more legitimate.
Great story about Brian Lam, former Gizmodo editor and now owner of a very nifty website called the Wirecutter. I wrote about it on Warston over a year ago:
Its purpose is fairly straightforward: on the website, you’ll find a list of the best gadgets for a proper category. The thing is that categories aren’t merely named after a certain function, like Printers. The categories are rather named after the consumer interpretation of the product.
Merry (belated) Christmas!
The last few days were about eating well, exchanging gifts and spending some nice relaxing time. I hope it’s been like that for you too.
The frenzied publishing rhythm of Warston shall start again.
Merry (belated) Christmas!
The last few days were about eating well, exchanging gifts and spending some nice relaxing time. I hope it’s been like that for you too.
The frenzied publishing rhythm of Warston shall start again.
Why mobile phones are banned inside planes
Did you think you weren’t able to call people on board a plane because your phone was interfering with the weird stuff inside the cockpit? Think again.
Excellent article on The Economist’s tech blog, Babbage:
Intentional transmitters, like mobile phones, two-way pagers and walkie-talkies, present a different sort of problem. With these, engineers worry about the so-called “near-far” effect. Even if below permitted levels, any spurious emissions they might produce would occur close to an aircraft’s avionics, compared with the weak signal from a ground-based radio beacon hundreds of kilometres away, or the whispers from a GPS satellite thousands of kilometres up in space. The concern here is that weak, distant signals might be drowned out as a navigation receiver captures a spurious signal that may also be weak but is significantly closer.
Why mobile phones are banned inside planes
Did you think you weren’t able to call people on board a plane because your phone was interfering with the weird stuff inside the cockpit? Think again.
Excellent article on The Economist’s tech blog, Babbage:
Intentional transmitters, like mobile phones, two-way pagers and walkie-talkies, present a different sort of problem. With these, engineers worry about the so-called “near-far” effect. Even if below permitted levels, any spurious emissions they might produce would occur close to an aircraft’s avionics, compared with the weak signal from a ground-based radio beacon hundreds of kilometres away, or the whispers from a GPS satellite thousands of kilometres up in space. The concern here is that weak, distant signals might be drowned out as a navigation receiver captures a spurious signal that may also be weak but is significantly closer.
What The Beatles can teach us about entrepreneurship
What The Beatles can teach us about entrepreneurship
For example, did you know that in less than 2 weeks since the Beatles arrived to the US for the first time, Americans had bought $2.5 million worth of merchandise One typical item was an ice cream sandwich called “Beatle Nut”, another popular one was a wig in the style of their haircut at that time (one newspaper described them as “75% publicity, 20% haircut, and 5% lilting lament”).
Fine article which mixes what The Beatles did with insightful business lessons for your startup. Also no one misses out a post which “Beatles” and “entrepreneur” in its title (speaking for me).
What The Beatles can teach us about entrepreneurship
For example, did you know that in less than 2 weeks since the Beatles arrived to the US for the first time, Americans had bought $2.5 million worth of merchandise One typical item was an ice cream sandwich called “Beatle Nut”, another popular one was a wig in the style of their haircut at that time (one newspaper described them as “75% publicity, 20% haircut, and 5% lilting lament”).
Fine article which mixes what The Beatles did with insightful business lessons for your startup. Also no one misses out a post which “Beatles” and “entrepreneur” in its title (speaking for me).
LocalUncle is an iPhone app made by a Swiss startup that wants to apply the power of crowdsourced, location-specific information to crack real-time questions & answers. What is the Wi-Fi password at the local hotel? Where can I find cat food in Dresden? All that and more can come from the digital lips of your LocalUncle.
Excellent idea, nicely implemented and the design looks good.
LocalUncle is an iPhone app made by a Swiss startup that wants to apply the power of crowdsourced, location-specific information to crack real-time questions & answers. What is the Wi-Fi password at the local hotel? Where can I find cat food in Dresden? All that and more can come from the digital lips of your LocalUncle.
Robert Sapolsky, a renowned neurobiologist gives the introductory lecture on human behavioral biology in Stanford University.
If the name seems boring, fear not; this course is about the subtle and complex relationship that exists between biology and the mind. It’s great to see this kind of courses available for free on the Web.
My words are meaningless so if you want to watch a very good lecturer giving a very good lecture on a very interesting subject, click play.
Read more here.
Robert Sapolsky, a renowned neurobiologist gives the introductory lecture on human behavioral biology in Stanford University.
If the name seems boring, fear not; this course is about the subtle and complex relationship that exists between biology and the mind. It’s great to see this kind of courses available for free on the Web.
My words are meaningless so if you want to watch a very good lecturer giving a very good lecture on a very interesting subject, click play.
Read more here.
Hey Instagram, find another way to monetize
While Instagram and its users are battling over the right for photo ownership (CEO Kevin Systrom wrote a superb PR blog post on the official blog, check it out, it’s quite masterful) the New York Times made a report about how users are making money using Instagram and it is interesting:
Services like Printstagram, for example, let people turn their Instagram images into prints, wall calendars and stickers. A group of designers are building a digital picture frame for Instagram photos. Some early users of the service are leveraging their expertise and sizable followings and starting consulting agencies, advising big-name brands on how best to use Instagram themselves.
And others have simply realized that the app is a great place to post photos of things they are trying to sell. Jenn Nguyen, 26, who lives in Irvine, Calif., has 8,300 followers on Instagram, where she posts images of lavishly made-up women who are wearing her brand of false eyelashes.
Hey Instagram, find another way to monetize
While Instagram and its users are battling over the right for photo ownership (CEO Kevin Systrom wrote a superb PR blog post on the official blog, check it out, it’s quite masterful) the New York Times made a report about how users are making money using Instagram and it is interesting:
Services like Printstagram, for example, let people turn their Instagram images into prints, wall calendars and stickers. A group of designers are building a digital picture frame for Instagram photos. Some early users of the service are leveraging their expertise and sizable followings and starting consulting agencies, advising big-name brands on how best to use Instagram themselves.
And others have simply realized that the app is a great place to post photos of things they are trying to sell. Jenn Nguyen, 26, who lives in Irvine, Calif., has 8,300 followers on Instagram, where she posts images of lavishly made-up women who are wearing her brand of false eyelashes.
This is a North Korean propaganda film exposing Western propaganda.
Here is its story:
Sabine is a YouTube user who, during a visit to family living in South Korea in April of this year, was given a DVD by a man and a woman claiming to be North Korean “defectors”, and was asked to translate the film so it could be posted on the internet and reach a wider audience. What the DVD turned out to be was something much more than Sabine, or anyone else, probably would’ve imagined, and something that certainly has found a widespread audience on the internet over the last month or so – it was a film called “PROPAGANDA”, a documentary about capitalism, imperialism, mass manipulation of western culture for the purpose of commodification, and how it permeates every aspect of the lives of blissfully ignorant, borderline zombie masses.
Read more here.
This is a North Korean propaganda film exposing Western propaganda.
Here is its story:
Sabine is a YouTube user who, during a visit to family living in South Korea in April of this year, was given a DVD by a man and a woman claiming to be North Korean “defectors”, and was asked to translate the film so it could be posted on the internet and reach a wider audience. What the DVD turned out to be was something much more than Sabine, or anyone else, probably would’ve imagined, and something that certainly has found a widespread audience on the internet over the last month or so – it was a film called “PROPAGANDA”, a documentary about capitalism, imperialism, mass manipulation of western culture for the purpose of commodification, and how it permeates every aspect of the lives of blissfully ignorant, borderline zombie masses.
Read more here.