Society

This past weekend was the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the iPod, which not only quietly started the remarkable Apple renaissance but also ushered in a new era that would eventually subsu…

(Customer service is expensive) Of course it’s expensive. You’ll need to hire people inclined to be empathic and kind. You’ll need to provide systems and training and support. You…

Forget about PowerPoint and statistics. To involve people at the deepest level, you need stories. Hollywood’s top writing consultant reveals the secrets of telling them.

The Cluetrain Manifesto said this… …in 1999. And now, in 2021, it’s still not true—at least not on the Web. If it was true, California’s CCPA wouldn’t call us mere &#8…

I'll cut right to the chase: I believe a big reason why many people in this world suffer is because some other people can afford to decide irrationally. In "Was ist Autorität?" (e

Does a new technology pose serious dangers — or are we just overreacting? Philosopher Evan Selinger has some ideas on how to tell the two…

Study shows that we think Internet searches are a sign we know more than we do.

Finnish manufacturer Tomra makes "reverse vending machines" to accept can and bottle deposits for recycling. These types of machines typically accept one vessel at a time, with an internal scanner classifying each one as it comes down the chute. Even in eco-conscious Scandinavia, not everyone is willing to spend those

It’s impossible to talk about Automattic without talking about remote work. The company is a role model and innovator in this area: It has been entirely remote since 2005, and at 1,700 employees, it has helped prove that a remote workplace culture can succeed at scale. But “remote” has taken on a d…

Time to stop being a martyr to grit.

The American Bird Conservancy has repeatedly obstructed wind energy projects and become a go-to source for renewable energy opponents.

Far from unassailable, Facebook and Google act like organisations terrified they are about to peak. But we can make it harder for them to buy growth, writes Peter Martin.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen may not have mentioned copyright in her Congressional testimony or television interviews, but her focus on artificial intelligence (“AI”) and content moderation have a lot of implications for...

Back in September the Urban Institute published a ‘blog post arguing that “Equitable Research Requires Questioning the Status Quo”. The author—Lauren Farrell—argued that both “objectivity” and “rig…

“As I've gotten older, work is definitely [still] really important, but I think I've started to see it less as my identity.”

From fast food to farming, Covid-19 has accelerated the rise of the worker robots. This in turn will put more jobs at risk and makes the need to reframe society ever more urgent

We recently wrote about Joe Bernstein's excellent Harper's cover story, which argues that we're all looking at disinformation/misinformation the wrong way, and that the evidence of disinformation on social media really influencing...

The worldwide shipping crisis is bad. Here are some reasons: “Just in time” manufacturing, shipping, delivery, and logistics. For several decades, the whole supply system has been optim…

I’m currently enjoying being unemployed, and I won’t be looking for a new position until some time in 2022, but I’ve been thinking about what I want from next position. There are many things I’d like, but what are my priorities? This post is my attempt to organize my own thoughts about this so I can be more careful and systematic when I start looking for my next position. Working Less I’ll be 48 by the time I start my next job.

Snarled ports. Empty store shelves. Panicky Christmas shoppers. It all flows from one issue.