Weekly Links #15

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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• The world will only get weirder
  
  Some reflections about incidents and accidents and a world with more and more rules.
• Why Mass Surveillance Can’t, Won’t, And Never Has Stopped A Terrorist
  
  This is a text I wish policymakers around the world would read.
• It’s a Trap! TIDAL and the Common Fallacy of Music Royalties
  
  Jay-Z and a bunch of other music super stars are not happy with how little they earn from streaming. That’s why they are launching their own high-priced streaming offering. Somehow they must have missed the memo about who takes the majority of the streaming revenue: The labels the artists are signed with.
• Messaging apps shouldn’t make money
  
  I admitedly was skeptical about how the makers of the smartphone chat app Telegram claimed to care much about privacy and user integrity. I am still not sure whether the company is really as much driven by idealism as it claims, but this profile by Wired has impacted my opinion at least a bit.
• How Your Need For Detergent And Coffee Will Fuel Amazon’s Smart Home
  
  Through intelligent household gadgets such as the new Dash Buttons, Amazon tries to establish itself inside the smart home. Smart.
• Dropbox Versus The World
  
  Despite its success so far, Dropbox is under pressure from many sides. Lenghty article profiling the cloud company and how it wants to remain relevant in a fast-changing environment.
• Moore’s Law & Deflation
  
  Thought-provoking: Moore’s Law might force the global economy into a constant deflation mode.
• The “niania.pl mafia”
  
  They say success breeds success. The so called “PayPal Mafia” is a typical example of that. Interestingly, Poland seems to have its own version, and the impact reaches even into Germany’s Internet industry.
• The Most Important Thing on the Internet Is the Screenshot
  
  The headline is exaggerated, but I cannot disagree with the general observation that screenshots play a huge role in today’s smartphone usage.
• Meerkat is dying – and it’s taking U.S. tech journalism with it
  
  Wow, that was fast. From nobody to alleged “next big thing” to “dying” within less than 2 months. The tech industry’s hype cycle is merciless.
• The interesting problem with Periscope and Meerkat
  
  “The one-to-many broadcast model on the livestreaming apps works fine. But the one-to-many communication model just does not scale. “
• The Economist’s Tom Standage on digital strategy and the limits of a model based on advertising
  
  Long interesting piece including some catchy quotes and insights.
• Apple still #1 Brand in House of Cards’ 3rd season
  
  If you watch a whole season of House of Cards, numerous brands are being placed in your field of attention through product placement. Apple and Samsung are leading the pack.
• RBS chairman leaves role weeks after his ‘bored at work’ Snapchat messages were discovered
  
  Possibly one of the first high-profile damages to a career caused by Snapchat.
• We Don’t Sell Saddles Here – A Memo from Stewart Butterfield
  
  How the founder of Slack prepared his team ahead of the launch. Highly inspiring internal memo.
• A Farewell To Jobs
  
  Jon Evans, whose articles on TechCrunch almost always are worth reading, explains why the “sharing economy” is not the one responsible for destroying jobs. Instead, it is just a symptom of an excess of supply relative to demand.

And recently on meshedsociety.com:

• Estonia’s innovative and ambitious e-residency project takes an important step
• Facebook’s new Messenger platform could lead to a Messenger OS
• It took one Uber to get from real-time photos to live video broadcasting on mobile