The Curious Corner / Issue #2

Welcome to the second issue of The Curious Corner! The week of the monsoon settling in India and the realisation of one half of the year having zoomed past. But let that not deter you, as I take you to some interesting reads I enjoyed this week -

• Many across India are stunned by the rise and rise of super-fast delivery apps like Zepto and Dunzo. As a new breed of apps promise the Indian consumer groceries and staples within 10 minutes, should we expect a real threat to Indian kirana stores? And how are these apps changing the cities they live? All this and more in this detailed read around the opportunities and challenges in this space.

?Today, kiranas account for more than 95% of India’s grocery market, according to research published in March by the consulting firm Redseer. Modern supermarkets still account for only about 4%, even though they first appeared 30 years ago, and online groceries haven’t cracked 1% in a decade. Roughly two-thirds of India’s 1.3 billion people live in rural areas largely untouched by these more modern forms of retail.

• Airbnb does some crazy things.. crazy good. It recently announced a $10,000,000 fund for something it calls the OMG fund . This is to fund some of the craziest builds that are available as Airbnb rentals - sample this, there are Airbnbs you can rent that are actually remodelled submarines, camping buses and much more. If you have a crazy idea to build something that is better than these options, Airbnb will fund you. What a great marketing idea that stays true to the consistent OMG feeling you get when you book a great Airbnb that is perfect for your next vacation.

• One aspect of psychology that has always fascinated me has been decision-making and how we weigh decisions in everyday leadership scenarios. I really enjoyed reading this piece on the Cobra Effect - of the many ways our linear cause-and-effect thinking limits us from the impact of our decisions and fixes to problems.

Have you ever tried to fix a problem, only to make things worse? That’s called the Cobra Effect—when an attempted solution results in unintended consequences. Because most of our cause-to-effect experiences involve very simple, direct relationships, we tend to think in terms of linear chain of events. But the world is much more complex than we realise

• If you thought influencer marketing is new, think again. Social influencers have been around for a very long time - right from the philosophers of ancient Greece who literally made people think differently to the gladiators of Rome. Surprised? I was too. Not in my wildest thoughts could I imagine product endorsement and influencer marketing to have such a vivid history. Definitely a fascinating read .

• I know the creepy feeling you get when you discuss a vacation spot with your friend and some time later, your phone shows you an ad for the exact same place. Is your phone listening to you? How bad is it? What does it mean for our privacy and marketing aimed at us? A privacy tech worker revealed a lot of details in his viral thread . Check it out!

To round things up, I have been processing some really hard-hitting truths of urban design, psychology and how women access cities and public spaces as I finished reading Why Loiter? . The book "maps the exclusions and negotiations that women from different classes and communities encounter in the nation’s urban public spaces. Basing this book on more than three years of research in Mumbai, Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade argue that though women’s access to urban public space has increased, they still do not have an equal claim to public space in the city". I really recommend reading this book to everyone - not just urban design, this book forces you to think in a truly inclusive manner in terms of access as defined not as a good-to-have but a non-negotiable access that must be built into the life of every citizen. It has a a lot of cultural and psychological insights worth exploring.

I would love to know what you have been reading, or the articles that interested you or an interesting podcast episode you'd like to share. If you have a great suggestion, I would be happy to feature it in the next issue of The Curious Corner.

Wish you a great weekend!