Hi there,
This week and next are the deadline weeks of Lent Term here at LSE so I’m pretty busy overall. But, by this time next week, I’ll have a single essay left to write and three weeks off until my exams. Between all the academic work I actually managed to spot some good articles too, here they are.
📃In this week’s mashup:
⭐ Highlight: new EU law will open technology back up
👔 Business: delivery apps moving towards a monopoly already
💽 Data: Macron’s moment
🎁 Extra: Forest Gump’s running route
⏭️ Next
Have a great week!
⭐ Highlight: cracking open Big Tech
I recall a time before big tech closed off their platforms. On my LG Arena, I could access MSN, Facebook, and Google Talk (or Chat, or Hangouts, maybe they could finally decide on a name) at the same time. Not long after, Facebook shut down the protocol that allowed this app to exist and MSN eventually died off. Facebook saw a golden opportunity at the time to build a wall around its platform.
Technology before the “big tech era” was based on protocols that everyone agreed upon, key examples are email and SMS/MMS. Now, the EU wants to break the FOMO and allow people to communicate across platforms by mandating that big tech allows interoperability with other apps for instant messaging.
Here is a great article by the New York Times that covers the exact implications of the law. I suspect this will lead to a lot of innovation in the sector (finally).
E.U. Takes Aim at Big Tech’s Power With Landmark Digital Act - The New York Times
The Digital Markets Act is the most sweeping legislation to regulate tech since a European privacy law was passed in 2018.
👔 Business: DoorDash closing the door
For a long time, market watchers have predicted that in the end, few delivery apps would remain. They are currently spending a lot of money to gain market share, a situation that is not sustainable. The first signs are apparent now in the US. DoorDash has managed to capture a majority market share with UberEats stable and Postmates & Grubhub losing fast.
GrubHub, which was acquired by Just Eat Takeaway last year has recently partnered with McDonald’s in the US so there may be some hope left.
Here is a great visualization & article by visual capitalist.
Charted: DoorDash is Dominating the Food Delivery Market
America’s food delivery app market is evolving into a duopoly. DoorDash and Uber Eats now control over 75% of the market
💽Data: Macron’s Moment
Interesting data beautifully visualized by this article on the Datawrapper blog. It compares the effect of war on the support for Macron in the upcoming French election (April 10th) with the support for Thatcher in 1983.
If you like exploring this kind of data definitely give it a read!
Macron’s “Falklands effect” - Datawrapper Blog
The connection between the upcoming French election and how Margaret Thatcher got elected as U.K. prime minister in 1983.
🎁 Extra: Run Forest Run
Forest Gump’s running route : coolguides
Picture based reference guides for anything and everything. If it seems like something someone might print, physically post, and reference then it…
⏭️ Next
I’m in the middle of writing an article on seasonalized forecasting in supply chains. I hope to publish it next week and will share it with you in issue #13!
Have a great week!