Finance, Markets, Economics, Tech, Venture Capital. Let's gentrify tumblr. Big fan of the 'reblog' function but not afraid to post own ramblings when I have something to contribute.
"Don’t think you are going to win in business with a better product, more capital, or a bigger team. You can’t just throw resources at a market and expect to win. The winner in a market most often has the best strategy and exectutes it well."
Fred (via brycedotvc)
(via pegobry)
Whereas in both countries the political and business classes are indelibly connected, there are stark differences between the political process in Russia and Turkey.
Russia - the ruling party has eradicated corporate competition and all major corporations are loyal to it. The political opposition is left to its own wits and has to bootstrap most of its activities.
Turkey - the ruling party counts among its allies many key corporate holding groups and banking institutions. However, there are detractors in the Turkish business environment who directly fund the Taksim square protests. I have heard that Koc Holding and a few other family conglomerates are on the side of the protesters.
It can be concluded that out of the two countries, Turkey is the one where we really see two centers of political activity in the face of the so-called white turks, who are more secular, liberal and European vis-a-vis the equally, if not more, ambitious and prosperous rising middle class of Anatolia. Whereas in Russia, we see small offshoots of the still fledgling middle class attempting to confront a large and indifferent majority.
Unusually for WSJ stipples, the Grumpy Cat stipple actually looks like Grumpy Cat. (Via WSJ)
Grumpy Cat made it to the Wall Street Journal
"There’s also a disturbing cultishness to the Bitcoin community, where everyone is as bullish as can be. “Someone is going to get rich this year,” Peter Vessenes, the executive director of Bitcoin, said in his opening keynote. The Bitcoin documentary that was teased at the conference is called The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin. Everyone was talking about how the price was only going up. Bitcoiner Tuur Demeester, the author of a financial newsletter, gave a talk in which he projected a number of scenarios in which the price of a Bitcoin could exceed $1,000, such as hedge funds committing 1 percent of their portfolios. “That’s why I think the risk-reward ratio is extraordinary,” he said. “Everyone should own at least a few Bitcoins.” He did not discuss any scenarios which might cause the price to fall."
From Verge. “Because it’s math. You can’t kill math” (Joseph)
(Source: ftalphaville)
I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr!
We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and…
Congrats on the deal to both YHOO and Tumblr.
RIP Taylor Mead, lower Manhattan’s “last resident, the final holdout,” as described by writer Craig Hubert.
A scene from Jim Jarmusch’s film Coffee and Cigarettes with Mead and Bill Rice.
Swaps with his jockey Willie Shoemaker in the winner’s circle after the 81st running of the Kentucky Derby. Shot by John Dominis for LIFE (1955)
#FinanceDerbyHorseNames
"You know what we call those people who write a sucky paragraph, follow it by 1,200 more, and then start all over? Novelists. You know what we call people who think of a brilliant idea but never actually write it down? Everyone else. Is that not mean enough? I can do meaner. You know what we call people who think of a brilliant idea, write down thirty pages, and then stop? Everyone else. You only get points for starting, middling, and finishing a novel. There is no second place for almost finished."
Maggie Stiefvater, “Seven Steps to Starting a Novel” (via jaimecallahan)
(via mrgregfrancis)
"A common convention used when pricing a product is to offer 3 different prices - a premium option, a normal option, and a budget option. Even if you would prefer to offer just one product at one price, the three tier option is usually better. Why? Because when it comes to making decisions based on prices, people are easily manipulated. Here is a good example that summarizes an experiment from the book Priceless: “People were offered 2 kinds of beer: a premium beer for $2.50 and a bargain beer for $1.80. Around 80% chose the more expensive beer.
“Now a third beer was introduced, a super bargain beer for $1.60 in addition to the previous two. Now 80% bought the $1.80 beer and the rest the $2.50 beer. Nobody bought the cheapest option.
“Third time around, they removed the $1.60 beer and replaced it with a super premium $3.40 beer. Most people chose the $2.50 beer, a small number the $1.80 beer and around 10% opted for the most expensive $3.40 beer. Some people will always buy the most expensive option, no matter the price.” As the experiment shows, people often have a preference for the middle option, irrespective of quality or price. Although we tend to think of ourselves as making decisions by comparing the cost of a product to its quality (or our willingness to pay), we don’t always do so in practice. Instead, we often compare the options that are immediately available against each other. The type of person that always buys the premium option will go for the premium option, the person sticking to a budget will go for the cheapest option, and most people will see the middle option as the reasonable balance between quality and price.
As a result, a common sales tactic is to offer a budget and premium option around your product. If you just offer one price for one option, customers will only decide whether to purchase the product by comparing it to similar products or estimating how much they think it’s worth. But by offering three options, you can change the conversation and induce people to make their decision by comparing the three options. This principle can also be applied outside pricing to any area where you are trying to frame a decision for someone. It’s also a great way to manipulate your friends into making a decision you want.
Let’s imagine a completely hypothetical situation involving two roommates. The roommates decide to go out for dinner, but they can’t agree on a restaurant. So, one of them volunteers to research some options.
On Yelp, he finds a restaurant he wants to go to. But rather than suggest that one restaurant, he pitches his roommate on three different eateries: First a cheap Italian restaurant, next the moderately priced and conveniently located Cuban restaurant that he favors, and finally an expensive Chinese restaurant that is far away.
Now, instead of debating the merits of the Cuban restaurant in isolation (as the first roommate doubts that his roommate would want to go), the second roommate is comparing it to two other options. Comparatively, it seems great. It’s neither the overly cheap nor overly expensive option, and it is conveniently located. Of course, you probably shouldn’t suggest anything you’re not willing to actually do. In this author’s case, the plan backfired. Bucking the trend, his roommate chose the Chinese restaurant. Luckily, it was delicious.
This post was written by Alex Mayyasi. Follow him on Twitter here or Google Plus."
Priceonomics Blog: The Salesman’s Guide To Manipulating Your Friends
"Что бы там кто не говорил про славянский менталитет и особое мужество, на самом деле, Великую Отечественную Войну выиграла #водка. Но историки держат это в секрете, естественно. Под одним только Сталинградом (нынешний Волгоград) было найдено 2 млн. пустых бутылок водки, коньяка, медовухи. Но, самое главное доказательство — это то, что историки смогли раскопать секретный приказ И.В. Сталина под. номером восемь от 15 апреля 1941 года, в котором сказано: “Всем заводам по производству водки в кратчайшие сроки изготовить 147 млн. бутылок водки и 40% бутылок отправить на границу”.
К большому сожалению, немцы напали так неожиданно, что половина защитников границы были трезвы и не в силах стрелять. К тому моменту к границам было привезено всего лишь 10 тысяч бутылок. Естественно, этого было мало. В первых боях самыми смелыми были те, кто получил свою водку. Своими авианалётами немцы уничтожили большое количество русских запасов водки. Был уничтожен завод “Белочка” в городе Тверь — самый главный завод по изготовлению водки. К осени 1941 года основные заводы были перенесены в города: Новосибирск, Екатеринбург, Казань. На фронтах катастрофически не хватало водки, при том, что оружия, людей было уйма. Но главного допинга — водки НЕ ХВАТАЛО. В связи с этим, солдатам выдают паленку, чистый спирт. 28 июля 1942 года Сталин издает приказ под номером 247 “НИ ШАГУ НАЗАД”. Вводятся штрафбаты, в которые входили разжалованные офицеры и провинившиеся рядовые солдаты.
Штрафбат получал 69% водки от всех заводов. С какой целью штрафники получали такой количество водки, спросите вы. Ответ прост. Нужно было пушечное мясо, так вот, штрафники нажирались в хлам и перлись в бой, как звери. Ленинград держался в блокаде благодаря водке, ибо только русские обладают скиллом её пожирания вместо пищи. К 1943 году запасы водки советских войск были огромны, и мы начали давить неприятеля. Из дневника одного немецкого солдата: “Русские словно бешеные, в бою от них несет перегаром, они шатаются — в них сложно попасть. Прутся на танки. И главное, совсем его не боятся. На поле боя порой очень трудно передвигаться, из-за разбросанных ими бутылок и ужасного запаха мочи. Однажды мы наткнулись на засаду русских. Они втроем продержались в окопе около суток, с нашей стороны – пара убитых и несколько раненных, затем нам все-таки удалось их вытравить, но причиной этому послужила не усталость, а то, что их запас водки был исчерпан, они протрезвели и решили сдаться. Я хочу домой, в Германию, подальше от этого страшного, Б-гом забытого места”. 10 июня 1943 года.
Как все знают советские войска выиграли войну 8-го мая, но Германия капитулировала только 9-го мая. Причины, которые нам известны — вранье. #На_самом_деле, 8-го мая вся советчина, которая была на тот момент в Берлине, была настолько пьяна, что даже расстроилась из-за окончания войны и была готова пойти в бой на союзников. Подводим итоги: водка была одной или даже основной причиной победы СССР в этой войне. Все это скрыто от наших глаз и ушей. Вся правда в архивах Кремля. От нас хотели это скрыть, но нет — не получится. Все должны знать, кто выиграл эту страшную войну. И теперь, ты обязан #9_мая купить бутылку водки и сказать “спасибо водке за победу” и выпить ее залпом, зажрать шашлычком, а на ветеранов пофиг, им и «спасибо» хватит! #уроки_истории #lm"
source: Уютненкое Луркморе Lurkmore http://vk.com/wall-26406986_2261282
"You have to be particularly good at detecting the intent of other agents to manipulate you. You have to be able to fend off your own manipulation, because one thing we require of moral agents is that they not be somebody else’s puppet … In order to fend off manipulation, you should be a little bit unpredictable. In order to maximize getting what you want in life, don’t tell people exactly what you want."
Daniel Dennett on being a good moral agent. (via amaeryllis)
“As law enforcement authorities investigate today’s explosions in Boston, I ask all New Yorkers to keep the victims and their families in your thoughts and prayers. I have spoken with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and the NYPD has stepped up security at strategic locations and critical…
My thoughts are with the people in Boston.
