Happy Monday,
A short one for this month. I have been very busy with assessments and assignments for my Master in Digital Design but still found a few great links.
Uber Money
I wrote an essay about Uber’s move into payments. After writing it I now have probably more questions than answers, but it is always good to crack your brain on a complex subject. Read the full 1700 word essay here: https://medium.com/@kentdebruin/uber-everything-kent-de-bruin-3a5b9833a892
Managing Your Friendships, With Software
A good article by The Atlantic about a mini-boom in “personal CRM” apps.
CRM stands for “customer relationship management”. It was popularized in the late ’90s and early 2000s as a way of keeping track of all the ways an individual customer interacts with a business.
A personal CRM is the same thing, but for your personal life—networking, dating, making new friends, making friends with people who could also turn out to be valuable professional connections.
“There’s something deeply unsettling about the idea that a friend is reaching out only because an app reminded them to — it’s hard to believe they truly care about you.”
Besides that, “Mediating relationships with software isn’t a purely personal decision”. Should we be worried about our friends turning us into data points?
Popular music is getting shorter.
From 2013 to 2018, the average song on the Billboard Hot 100 fell from 3 minutes and 50 seconds to about 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Why? Spotify pays by the song. Two three minute songs are twice as profitable as one six-minute song. So songs are getting shorter.
VR glasses for cows
A Moscow farm has decided to equip its cows with VR glasses to relax and feel happier. A calm environment leads to an increase in milk yield, so the cows are given a VR headset displaying summer fields.
New Paul Graham essay
Paul Graham has started publishing essays again. This one about grades is a very interesting take on education:
“The most damaging thing you learned in school wasn’t something you learned in any specific class. It was learning to get good grades.”
End note
That’s it for this month. If you’re enjoying this short email, I’d love it if you shared it with a friend or two. You can send them here to sign up.
Until next time!
— Kent