Debt, delight, and deliberation
The two sides of the US economic coin, cycles of technological advancement, and finding home on the Internet. This is Issue #002 of Forward.
Talk about suspense right? The US Presidential election sure took it's sweet time in concluding Joe Biden would occupy the Oval Office. This allows the public spotlight to finally shift back to pandemics and other pressing issues.
The pandemic is one of the most important issues Biden will need to grapple with as well, with cases in the US surging to meteoric new highs. However, he has one more problem lurking beyond the immediate health-related ramifications of COVID-19.
Debt.
The US debt level in recent years has eclipsed the figures recorded during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, hitting 122% of the nation’s GDP in April this year (as opposed to 63% in 1994).
This is not uncommon on a global scale, but with economic stress caused by COVID-19, and a generally sour international sentiment towards the US, Biden will have his work cut out as he settles into office.
Blistering growth for Big Tech
Even as the economic situation in this US looks weak, things are looking very different for big tech. Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Facebook reported stellar numbers in the last quarter, bolstered by improved demand as users and advertisers slowly begin to resume normal consumption. The four companies reported a combined quarterly net profit of $35 billion, and with marquee events like Amazon’s Prime Day sale and the launch of the new iPhones having been delayed to the current quarter, the trend looks set to continue.
Nothing lasts forever
You know what they say about history repeating itself. The world around us is governed by systems too complex for us to dissect just by looking at things as they are. But zooming out is a great way to gain perspective. Take the progress of technological innovation, which seems to occur at the same rate over time. Educator and venture capitalist Jerry Neumann, doesn’t quite agree. In this post inspired by the theories of scholar Carlota Perez, Neumann argues that progress is usually split into an ‘Installation Age’, where parallel discoveries that come together to form an economically viable solution see widespread adoption, and a ‘Deployment Age’ where regulatory oversight, consolidation, and saturation occur. It’s a fascinating read that helps decode how larger systems around us function, and how nothing is permanent. Even money (or rather, currency).
Here’s how long some currencies were in use, dating back to 1450:
Wealth is the ability to fully experience life
- Henry David Thoreau
Stuff we loved this week
Seth Godin is the kind of person people turn to for crisp insights, as evidenced by how his latest book This Is Marketing, is flying off bookshelves. If you, like us, are an admirer of the man and his ideas, check out this episode of the Tim Ferriss Show featuring Godin, where he discusses everything from how he chooses projects, to the world’s worst boss.
Do you love The Office? Trick question, we know everybody loves The Office. In which case, this old, but rather excellent essay by Venkatesh Rao explaining aspects of Organization Hierarchy using the show as a reference is pure gold.
Between social isolation and increasingly fragmented and polarising social media platforms, the need for a place on the Internet where people can ‘just be’ has been increasing, and Discord (which originally started out as a chat server for gamers) has become the unlikely hero of this story, as outlined here. Are you on Discord yet? Let us know in the comments.
Food for thought
How often do you stop to consider the long term impact of the decisions you make? Despite it being a powerful mental model, most of us don’t really understand second order thinking. Here’s a good place to start.
Want to build a dedicated following on the Internet? David Perell has some thoughts on what can work in an online world increasingly saturated by too much of the same thing.
That’s it from us this week. If you enjoyed reading Forward, do consider subscribing and telling your friends about us for virtual karma points.
Until next time,
Your friends at NEO