Thursday Thoughts, March 25, 2021

Tech:

• Facebook explained some of the steps they've taken to counter disinformation on the platform. It's amazing that, despite removing millions of pieces of content and billions fake accounts, it's still so bad (funny how they complain about lost engagement when propaganda was downranked in feed). One interesting tidbit: putting a warning screen in front of potential misinformation reduced click-throughs by 95 percent. Meanwhile, Axios has a great summary of the battles in the social media disinformation war.
• The former guy, banned from Twitter, is reportedly looking to launch a competing service.
• Getting close to making the RobinHood app's name ring true, the WallStreetBets crew is using GameStop proceeds to help protect endangered species.
• Ben Thompson has a good writeup on the Substack business model.
• Microsoft published some solid research on the future of hybrid and WFH work models. Seven key takeaways: 1. Flexible work is here to stay. 2. Leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call. 3. High productivity is masking an exhausted workforce. 4. Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energized. 5. Shrinking networks are endangering innovation. 6. Authenticity will spur productivity and wellbeing. 7. Talent is everywhere in a hybrid work world
• The Anti-Defamation League put out an important report on the state of racism/harassment online.
• Prince Harry joins the tech world as the Chief Impact Officer for BetterUp.
• Get ready to trade Robinhood...on Robinhood.

Privacy:

• Well, that didn't take long: the French data protection regulator (the CNIL) is investigating Clubhouse for alleged violations of the GDPR.
• Wired Magazine has a very jaundiced view of Google's move away from cookies to FLOCs, calling it 'privacy theater.' The DOJ is reportedly interested in the antitrust component of this move.
• HBR, not to be outdone, asks a provocative question: "is your privacy governance ready for AI?" For many, the answer is probably "not really."
• If you're like many people on LinkedIn, you probably signed up for a whole bunch of online services during the past pandemic year. It might be worth taking a minute to look back at the privacy choices you may have made as a result.
• This probably won't end well: Instagram is reportedly considering a pre-teen version of the app.
• Sorry, Facebook: the Supreme Court isn't going to help out with that $15 billion Wiretap Act lawsuit.
• An appellate court in Michigan has set precedent regarding privacy expectations vis-a-vis drones.
• Amazon is asking its drivers to 'consent' to AI-based video monitoring when on the road.
• The Swiss data protection regulator (the FDPIC) recently issued guidance on the revised Swiss data protection statute. Read more about it here.

Sports:

• ICYMI: People Magazine had a great piece on how pro athletes are using LinkedIn to diversify their personal brands and promote their businesses.
• The NFL signed a major deal with Amazon, giving it exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football (among other things).
• Speaking of making money off of sports, Axios had a great overview of the NCAA machine.
• I hadn't thought of skiing in Romania, but now I'm pretty sure I won't: bears have been chasing skiers on the slopes over there.
• As a result of covid risks, no overseas spectators will be permitted for the 2021 Olympic/Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Speaking of Tokyo, you can tune in Friday for the British Olympic marathon trials in London. And the roster for the sports climbing competition is set.
• Times have changed: Katherine Welch, an American ultrarunner in Germany, set an FKT for running the route of the former Berlin Wall.
• Boston Marathon legend Dick Hoyt has passed away. Want to learn about his story? Check out his Jimmy V award segment from 2013.
• The Barkley Marathons happened (and the Marathons won).
• Trail Runner magazine has a good write-up on the group Runners for Public Lands.
• Speaking of trail running, it's primed to explode when restrictions lift.
• Stanford cut its wrestling program; last weekend, Stanford's 'last wrestler' Shane Griffith won the national championship.
• Quartz dives into Nike's efforts to turn the Dunk into the sneaker of 2021.

Climate Change:

• Damned if you do, damned if you don't: stalling economic growth to help protect the climate has lots of advocates (hello, Greta Thunberg) but, given the current state of the world, would result in consigning hundreds of people to remaining in the global poor. The answer isn't as simple as "constrain growth" when there are ~700m in extreme poverty globally (unless there are accompanying efforts to redistribute global wealth for humanitarian purposes).
• Scary: we could be moving towards a two-season environment with 6 months of summer as a result of climate change. It may sound like great fun (who doesn't love summer?) but it won't be.
• CO2 PPM levels are going to reach 2x pre-industrial levels in 2021. Not good.
• Deforestation contributes to climate change and it's horrible for many other reasons. Add 'hugely negative business impact' to the list of reasons to be anti-deforestation: global businesses will take a $53 billion hit as a result of deforestation at the current rate.
• Speaking of environmental dangers, the entire U.S. West is facing significant risk from an extended and extreme drought.
• Here's a deep dive on how India may confront its emissions challenges.
• Mastercard is now tying exec bonuses to meeting environmental and social goals. Good move! Another good move: HSBC may dump environmental bad actors as clients.

Covid:

• Great news for California residents: vaccines are going to open up to all residents soon.
• The club is likely going to grow: AstraZeneca's vaccine did well in U.S. Phase 3 trials, putting it on a path towards use in the U.S. (and also helping assuage global concerns about the shot's safety). Too bad that they still are encountering challenges (this time relating to the age of their data).
• Vaccine or no vaccine, Hollywood's best won't be able to Zoom into Oscar acceptance speeches this year.
• Early on, California Governor Gavin Newsom decided to outsource California's vaccine roll-out to Blue Cross and HMOs. It's been a mixed bag since.
• Much has been made of California vs. Florida covid comparisons. The SF Chronicle recently dug into the facts on the topic.
• Dreading going back to 'normal'? You're not alone.
• The vaccine rollouts have been hit-or-miss. Microsoft is unveiling some tools to hopefully help governments improve their processes.
• There's a big race on right now between variants and vaccines. Let's keep our focus, folks -- the next few weeks/months are critical for getting covid under control. Bloomberg has a good read, by the way, on the mRNA vaccines and how they work.
• Small businesses in the SF Bay Area have been crushed by covid, with enormous levels of debt piling up.

California:

• Outside Lands + Halloween 2021. Assuming the pandemic has wound down (or is close) this should be an awesome set of concerts.
• And Disneyland is back (as of April).
• Yosemite still won't be the same this summer. But it'll be closer to normal than it was last summer.
• Mandatory, drought-related water conservation measures might be here soon.
• A year-in retrospective on the retail we've lost in SF as a result of the pandemic.
• Good news! Condors are returning to the northern California coast, in historic Yurok lands near the Redwoods National and State Parks.

Etc.:

• Maybe it's more than just window-dressing: Corporations are one of the largest sources of funding for racial equity efforts in the U.S.
• It turns out that one of the most significant components of modern design--the golden ratio--likely originated in Africa, not Greece.
• Proxy fights over resources will continue to grow as a feature of geopolitics going forward.
• The Suez Canal has turned into a logjam as a result of a super-freighter getting stuck during adverse weather. Oil, animals, goods, etc. are piling up on either side.
• Trump wasn't wrong for once: the news media probably misses him.
• The lockdown and WFH environment has, in some ways, been helpful for people with disabilities.
• Super-cool: a Navajo Nation skateboarder has gone viral on TikTok.
• Also super-cool: Native Americans may have been among the (if not the) first coppersmiths.
• Sounds like CERN found more than just the Higgs Boson.