JL

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On November 20, 2016, JL commented on Amazon Dash: Riding the Data Wave :

Great write-up. It’s interesting, I never really thought about the additional uses of the Dash buttons aside from consumer convience and increased capture of consumer’s wallet to be spent on Amazon. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are other motives behind the product.

That said, I don’t necessarily agree with all the challenges outlined. As Jruivo pointed out- the same privacy concerns lie with the use of the traditional website/app. As for the forcing function, I’m not overly concerned about it either. It makes sense for Amazon and the consumer opts into it- I’m sure they’re not going to purchase a dash for a product that they do not want.

For me, the bigger concern is waste. I think producing these buttons is a wasteful physical addition to an otherwise more environmentally friendly ecommerce purchasing experience.

On November 20, 2016, JL commented on Battle for eyeballs: does the BBC face extinction? :

Definitely a very relevant topic in the current political climate. As you mention, I fear that any change to the funding model would require the BBC to exclusively cater to individual interests in order to generate/maintain the subscriber base/revenue base. I don’t particularly view the big budgets of Amazon and Netflix as a major threat to the BBC because large-scale budgets were always something that the BBC had to compete with through private TV networks and other forms of media and entertainment. I think the BBC really has to focus on its distribution methods (ie. streaming, mobile, etc) in order to account for changing consumption habits. As mentioned above, I think innovative licensing and co-partnerships will be crucial as the BBC plays catch-up in the distribution space.

On November 20, 2016, JL commented on Slacking – A new way to win? :

Interesting debate and article. It’s interesting where the culture of working is heading and I think it’s important that we build flexibility into our work days as many of the best employees need exactly that. I think it’s incredibly powerful to have the tools that can enable that. I always wonder though where is the line drawn?

Many scientists agree that 93% of all communication is non-verbal and relies on tone of voice and body language and a lot of that (if not ALL of that if it’s not a video chat) gets lost through teleworking and various platforms like Slack. While we may be saving on some sort of efficiency, at what point do we start losing on the quality of the business and ideas?

Interesting article and I love the comments above. I do think that as was discussed, Airbnb will face much tougher challenges perhaps than Uber for two reasons 1) the hospitality industry is an even bigger industry than the taxi industry and I think the lobby pressures are only going to rise and 2) there are more drawbacks and negatives that go beyond just the hospitality industry- as many consumers do not want apartments around them to be rented to strangers on a short term basis as it poses significant safety concerns. While, I think it’s crucial for Airbnb to continue to work with the governments on changing policies, I think it’s also important for the company to diversify themselves and hedge against the risk of potentially being banned in cities. Is it owning its own properties? Is it being a broker for commercial properties (like a hotels.com)? Is it becoming a one-stop trip planning platform? I think more needs to be explored.

Interesting article! I find it fascinating how digital companies (whether it’s apps/websites/even ecommerce platforms) now have such low barriers to entry that sometimes even unproven ideas can enter, raise a lot of quick capital, and then fundamentally discover that the business model has no legs. I think in more traditional economies, this was more difficult and as a result you had far fewer unicorns. The number of apps / websites / and platforms that have proliferated and failed is astounding! Below is an interesting articles about startups as a whole failing (90% of them will!):

http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2015/01/16/90-of-startups-will-fail-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-10/#62479fa555e1

As many have echoed- fantastic post that sheds light on a huge issue facing us today. It is quite surprising how much livestock contributes to climate change, yet it is truly one of the least talked about industries. It is my belief that this is because meat-eating is so entrenched in the majority of our societies, countries, and cultures. As such, being a burger restaurant, I think it will be impossible for them to remain competitive with an increased focused on just plant based protein or non-beef menu items. It’s a fundamentally different business model. To that point, I really like Evan’s suggestions above to look at lab-based meats. I think this would be very innovative, would not comprise their business model, and could signal to the industry at larger that a fairly big player like Shake Shack can sustain themselves and their business through completely new sourcing practices.

Very interesting article and much like Christine above- I’m quite surprised at a lot of facts. Particularly, I find it very surprising that growing the flowers in Kenya and air shipping them has a lower carbon footprint than just growing them in the Netherlands. How is that possible? Does the KFC have a very efficient flower growing process that the Dutch do not have?

Very interesting insight regarding rising demand and temperatures- making your original questions about whether their efforts are just green-washing or truly actions that are well intended. I wonder whether the ice cream industry can even be sustainable / avoid effects of climate when livestock contribute to 18-51% of all greenhouse gas emissions (depending on which study is used- see article below). This in effect renders the whole industry incredibly harmful. To Roanna’s point above- what alternatives exist?

http://www.new-harvest.org/the_world_s_leading_driver_of_climate_change_animal_agriculture

Great post Corina and a very interesting take. I have to admit, I knew very little about the Church’s involvement on this particular issue and I find it very inspiring that it is taking a progressive approach and as you say ‘making peace with science.’ I did find an update article from this summer that looks at some additional statistics- a new US study said that 68% of US Catholics believed humans have a part in climate change. This is significantly higher than your study from summer 2015 (perhaps the methodologies differed?), so perhaps the Pope has had some good! That said, the article does question whether the Pope had any impact as only 32% said he had an influence of them (many didn’t hear of his remarks in the first place). Interesting discussion!

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2016/06/15/catholics-buy-climate-change-popes-impact-unclear/

Very interesting. While I anticipated rising temperatures to impact the yield and taste of grapes, I did not think about impacts beyond the grapes. While I do find some of your suggestions innovative, I do wonder how feasible they are for quality and cost. For example, while glass carboys may be cheaper and would combat the Oak shortages, how will this impact the taste of the wine? From my understanding, it is used by amateur wine makers only out of cost necessity. Secondly, given Bodeaux is only 20m above sea level and the majority of is it flat- will your suggestion of elevating the wineries be geographically feasible and how cost prohibitive would it be for the smaller wineries?

Great post & looking forward to a good discussion!