Weekly Links #10

Here is a weekly selection of important information bits, thoughtful opinion pieces and interesting analyses from the digital and technology world. Published every Thursday.

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• Jeff Bezos Takes Washington Post into Digital Future
  
  A very insightful long read. I am sure that after reading this some employees working for other publishing houses wish for a guy like Bezos to take over their company as well.
• Inside Ashton Kutcher’s celebrity-powered viral media empire, which no one knows exists
  
  I learned about the site a month ago and was totally surprised to see that Ashton Kutcher is behind.
• Google and tech’s elite are living in a parallel universe
  
  This elitism is a concerning development, I’d argue.
• How digital is Europe? New EU Commission index ranks countries based on ‘digital performance’ (spoiler: Denmark wins)
  
  Pretty much non-surprising results.
• Android, iOS control 96.3 percent of global smartphone market
  
  So far, Microsoft has completely failed in the smartphone market.
• Berlin bicycle theft circuit busted
  
  The Startup Lock8 has developed a smart and connected bike lock. I can only speculate about how happy the team must have been when one of their own bikes was stolen. Since this led to an entertaining story about how they used their own product to catch the thief.
• E-commerce enables massive reduction in consumer travel
  
  As I wrote here: If done in a smart way, e-commerce can help to create a better environment with less pollution and less traffic jams.
• First Look At Beatport’s Free Dance Music Streaming Service
  
  When a legendary download store for digital music (among fans of electronic music) decides to launch a free streaming service this is a good example for not being afraid of cannibalization – a strategy that has worked for some companies, for example for Apple.
• Looking up Symptoms Online? These Companies Are Tracking You
  
  It will be pretty hard in the future to keep personal health issues private. It seems to be the case already today.
• The Independent Internet Is Worried About The Wrong Part Of The Social Takeover
  
  Alex Kantrowitz of AdAge is worried about that the major Internet platforms’ highly effective and targeted ad networks will eventually dry out publishers’ ad revenue streams.
• How Japan’s Line App Became A Culture-Changing, Revenue-Generating Phenomenon
  
  Long interesting piece about the “WhatsApp of South-East Asia”.
• Amazon Prime Is One of the Most Bizarre Good Business Ideas Ever
  
  Indeed.
• Digit is the automated savings plan we’ve been waiting for
  
  A fantastic idea to help people save some money: Automatically taking a few bucks here and there during times when consumers will feel it the least. I hope this catches on even outside the U.S.