Ben’s List 23
While there may not be any one underlying motif connecting all 10 articles that make up this week’s reading list, there is at least one general theme and that’s how f****d up the economy is, with or without technological innovation.
Also see more startups coverage: /category/startups/
At least we’re on the right side of history here in Paris, taking most of the benefits of innovation. The dominant narrative in our industry is that technology enables more democracy, both in terms of access to resources and distribution of power.
I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t – yet – started drinking the Kool-Aid, but I’ve never really bought into that story. And that’s certainly why I tend to bookmark news that reinforces my skepticism.
Generational wealth gaps, MegaCorps, DeFi, anti-vaxxers… you’ll find at least 4 articles below that question the status quo.
We also talk Product Marketing, HR and Newsletters. The Classics.
Policy
Anti-vaxxers are weaponizing Yelp to punish bars that require vaccine proof
- technologyreview.com/2021/06/12/1026213/anti-vaxxers-negative-yelp-google-reviews-restaurants-bars :: Tanya Basu
Crypto
The Brilliance of Yield Farming, Liquidity Providing and Valuing Crypto Projects
Mark Cuban explaining DeFi … “The crazy part of it all, is that because these businesses are token driven and the costs are distributed and operations are decentralized, it is FAR LESS EXPENSIVE to operate than a traditional centralized business. So where a crypto based business competes with a traditional business, the crypto business may have a significant cost of capital and cost of operations advantage. There are a lot of financial institutions that should be concerned.”
- blogmaverick.com/2021/06/13/the-brilliance-of-yield-farming-liquidity-providing-and-valuing-crypto-projects/ :: Mark Cuban
Marketing
The What, When and How of building a marketing team in an early stage tech startup
“But there is (much) more to a product than technology on the one end and a disrupted market on the other. In-between lies a roadmap, a competitive positioning, a SWOT, an interpretation of the USP and the needed extension of the first P of the four Ps of strategic marketing. And, eventually content to communicate, explain and demonstrate all of this to the world. This is Product Marketing.”
- medium.com/elaia/the-what-when-and-how-of-building-a-marketing-team-in-an-early-stage-tech-startup-2c306438885 :: Marc Rougier & Elnaz Giboulot
HR
Shishir’s Guide to Distributed Teams
“I’ve often wondered why we don’t spend as much energy designing meetings as we do designing products. Try designing your meetings like a growth team approaches a product.”
State of Chief of Staff in Tech — 2021
“Executives attend a lot of meetings… Chiefs of Staff serve as an information exchange taking in inputs from what’s really going on in the business, helping executives make better decisions and creating outputs to communicate those decisions.”
China
Understanding China’s Young Consumers
“In China, the joke goes, there’s a generation gap every three years. The sheer scale and speed of change in the country during the past thirty years actually makes it impossible to capture a 20-year swath of population using a single designation such as Millennial or Boomer.”
Newsletter
Passport
When an indie subscription publication launches its own product
Quantum Computing
Exploring the Mechanics of Quantum Computing Algorithms
“‘Can quantum algorithms become eventually beneficial for data-driven industries?‘ In the long run, quantum physicists believe so.”
- medium.com/swlh/exploring-the-mechanics-of-quantum-computing-algorithms-179399ec8715 :: Thasmika Gokal & Luke Kamols
Space
The 123,000 MPH Plasma Engine That Could Finally Take Astronauts To Mars
“Chang Díaz’s invention will do little to reduce the dangers of liftoff. Plasma engines depend on the vacuum of space and still require ‘venerable chemical rockets,’ as Chang Díaz calls them, to reach Earth orbit. But outer space is where his work stands to vastly improve the safety of a crew. As he points out, a lot can go wrong en route to another planet.”
- popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/123000-mph-plasma-engine-could-finally-take-astronauts-mars/ :: Sam Howe Verhovek
Serious Games
Serious Games: Future of Money (run at Mozfest)
The game is set in Money City in an alternate timeline where MegaCorp controls much of the economy and government has mostly faded away. Players take on the role of three key factions that are working to gain autonomy from MegaCorp and advance their own visions for the future of the city.”
