Recent Readings, 10
So-called Influencers don’t influence. According a 2007 paper by Duncan Watts, “large scale changes in public opinion are not driven by highly influential people who influence everyone else, but rather by easily influenced people, influencing other easily influenced people.” Link.
This is super great! A chat bot wastes the time of a scam telemarketer. I want one of these. Link.
In-depth exploration of the real dilemma in video game architecture between “free to act” and “guided story.” A super fan of Red Dead Redemption goes deep with entertaining analysis in long YouTube episode. Link.
Extensible games is a neat new concept. When you gain levels, powers, tokens, characters in one game, you can transfer them, securely and honestly, to other games via a blockchain technology. Link.
By 2025 the next car you buy will probably be an electric car manufactured in China. Link. /
I recommend this deep dive into the precarious state of grocery chains in the US, and why their future is moving away from transactions (owned by Amazon) and into the realm of experiences. This move is not just about grocery stores. It applies to all product and industrial businesses. Link.
New Coke didn’t fail because it tasted bad. It failed because it was new and its brand was nostalgic and the cranks took over. Great writing about the true story. Link.
The science of video gaming, and an appreciation. Excerpt: “I might go further and say traveling in imaginary spaces rivals the experiences of traveling in real ones, like Venice and Rome, Lima and Machu Picchu, as I have in my life. Both the imaginary and real are emotionally moving and immersive.” Link.
