Weekly Links & Thoughts #34

Here is a weekly selection of thoughtful opinion pieces, interesting analyses and significant yet under-reported information bits from the digital and technology world. Published and commented every Thursday, just in time so you have something good to read during the weekend.

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• 26 reasons Google created Alphabet
  
  Fantastic and comprehensive list. The best article I have read about the launch of Alphabet (except for the annoying alphabet-list format).
• Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse”
  
  I planned to recommend this slightly one-sided but still great piece already before it became widely spread thanks to Tinder’s seemingly impulsive and intense criticism of it. If you haven’t read it yet, go for it, I’d say.
• Conspiracy theories: There’s something behind that
  
  Personally I see conspiracy theories as a big issue, especially in today’s connected world. They spread like a virus and successfully exploit bugs in the “human operating system” which systematically causes people to turn to the most unlikely explanation as the most likely (which obviously does not make any sense). Deliberate misinformation that can be found in many corners of the Internet makes things worse.
• When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China
  
  For better or worse, WeChat could be the future of the mobile web everywhere, which makes this an essential piece to read if you are interested in that topic.
• Don’t Hit Send: Angry Emails Just Make You Angrier
  
  “E-vent” is a great term found in this article. I have rather a lot experience with sending angry emails. A few times I have regretted them, but sometimes they also had the intended impact. But possibly I might have reached that goal in other ways as well. Generally giving in to negative emotional impulses is not a good advise, I guess.
• Google’s $6 Billion Miscalculation on the EU
  
  This lengthy article starts off a bit dry, but gets more entertaining half-way in.
• The ethics of modern web ad-blocking
  
  In the grand ad-blocking debate that is unfolding in 2015, I usually take a neutral position (I have never used ad-blockers). But I have to admit: This post was to me the most convincing argumentation pro ad-blockers that I have ever read.
• Never mind driverless cars – we need intelligent transport systems
  
  Exactly. I’d add: Always just focusing on the cars is a very narrow-minded approach which arises from within the car-centric culture of the Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, there and elsewhere in the U.S., public transport is seen as social welfare. However, that means big potential for European or Asian innovators (for example) who could bring autonomous driving tech to transport systems at large and turn it into a common good. I have a hard time seeing Uber doing that. It’s not in their DNA.
• Tesla’s Response to Hacked Car Offers a Road Map for Fast Fixes
  
  Other car manufacturers can learn from Tesla when it comes to software patches.
• Are connected cars worth the risk?
  
  Fair question but only a theoretical one because it does not look like there is any choice.
• The Challenge of Disrupting the Wireless Business
  
  Excellent explainer for why there is so comparatively little disruption and innovation happening in the wireless business.
• I’m The Best Programmer In The World*
  
  The advise from this short post can be applied to any profession, I think. Being able to say “I don’t know” is an important character trait, not only during recruiting.
• What We Got Wrong About Self-Management: Embracing Natural Hierarchy at Work
  
  Insightful report on what the startup Buffer learned when it moved to a flat structure, letting everyone go figure out what they want to do and work on, without too much guidance or leadership.
• Sidecar Puts Passengers Aside, Pivots To A Mostly-Deliveries Company
  
  In the U.S., it is officially between Uber and Lyft now.
• I spent a month replying to all of my PR emails with “I love you”
  
  Funny how people reacted.