It’s hard to explain to someone who didn’t live through it how transformation technology has been. When I was a child a computer was something mysterious. My Dad has managed to work his way up from the shop floor of the shipyard where he worked and into the planning office.
One evening he broad home some computer paper. I was fascinated by the the way the paper hinged on perforations and had tear off side edges that allowed it to be pulled through the printer with plastic sprockets connecting through holes in the paper.
My Dad used to compile and print off work orders using an ICL mainframe computer that was timeshared by all the shipyards that were part of British Shipbuilders.
I used the paper for years for notes and my childhood drawings. It didn’t make me a computer whiz. I never had a computer when I was at school. My school didn’t have a computer lab. I got to use Windows machines a few times in a regional computer labs. I still use what I learned in Excel spreadsheets now.
My experience with computers started with work and eventually bought my own secondhand Mac. Cut and paste completely changed the way I wrote. I got to use internal email working for Corning and internet connectivity when I went to university. One of my friends had a CompuServe account and I was there when he first met his Mexican wife on an online chatroom, years before Tinder.
Leaving college I set up a Yahoo! email address. I only needed to check my email address once a week, which was fortunate as internet access was expensive. I used to go to Liverpool’s cyber cafe with a friend every Saturday and showed him how to use the internet. I would bring any messages that I needed to send pre-written on a floppy disk that also held my CV.
That is a world away from the technology we enjoy now, where we are enveloped by smartphones and constant connectivity. In some ways the rate of change feels as if it has slowed down compared to the last few decades.
Dot as a post came out of me being zoned out and listening to a podcast while shaving as part of my weekend morning routine. Then it hit me whamo! The podcast I was listening to was by CSIS – a US think tank called The Truth of The Matter hosted by Andrew Schwartz.
The Truth of The Matter podcast in Apple’s Podcast app
At the end of the podcast I was listening to, they gave out the web address for the Center for Strategic and International Studies
C-S-I-S dot O-R-G
The Truth of the Matter
The first thing that struck me was ‘dot O-R-G’ rather than ‘dot org’; but then I started to think why wasn’t it period org (or O-R-G) for that matter.
In the UK and Ireland we call the dot at the end of a sentence a ‘full stop’. In the US they call it a period. Which made me wonder how we got to describing email and internet addresses in this way?
The history of top level domains has been well documented, but the history of the linguistics of top level domains hasn’t been.
Top level domain names potted history
What we would recognise as top level domain names like found in URLs and email addresses seems to have come about as part of the ARPANET developed and ran between 1969 and 1990. The Stanford Research Institute was responsible for the HOSTS text file that mapped IP addresses with domain names, it was assisted in this by part of the University of Southern California. It was a small network, so this ad-hoc system worked at the time. This evolved into a database based domain net system (DNS) in 1983, developed by University of Southern California when HOSTS performance started to slow the network down excessively.
Use of ‘dot com’ as a term
Since we are delving back into pre-web times, I used Google Books Ngram tool as a way of understanding the use of the term over time. 1993 was when the term took off.
This clip from NBC’s Today programme sees one of the presenters pause after each domain element rather than say ‘nbc dot ge dot com’
By the time I was watching The Site on my landlord’s cable TV in 1996, Soledad O’Brien, along with her animated co-host Dev Null* were dotting their way through email addresses and URLs like it was perfectly normal.
It’s usage peaked in 2001 and then declined as it became associated with the first internet business related bubble. Other domains such as org and net follow a similar track, but at a much lower volume.
Now the address in written form is enough, or even just a QRcode to be scanned. Oral usage lives on all around us.
The Whole Earth Catalogue was a publication that sat at the centre of so many movements over the past six decades and its influence is still with us today. The publication was founded by Stewart Brand in 1968. Brand had been a participant in the counterculture and environment movement that sprang out of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring. Brand was particularly interested in a strand of counterculture that saw hippies follow in the footsteps of pioneers in America and go back to the land.
In order to do this and become more self sufficient, Brand looked to collate and share knowledge on how to do things and the best products to get in order to facilitate it. This became The Whole Earth Catalogue which provided access to tools and knowledge.
The marble in space
The first issue published in 1968 featured a NASA satellite picture of the earth in space, the first picture of its kind.
Colour photograph of the whole Earth (western Hemisphere), shot from the ATS-3 satellite on 10 November 1967.
The publication of the photo of the earth floating like a marble in a black void gave emphasis to how fragile the earth was to environmentalists.
The Whole Earth Catalogue stopped publishing on a regular basis in 1972 and instead went to a sporadic mode of publishing until 1998 including related publications like Coevolution Quarterly, various Whole Earth Catalogue compilations and Soft Tech which predicted the empowering role of technology that influenced early netizens including The Grateful Dead. While The Whole Earth Catalogue stopped, its influence lived on through The WeLL, the Global Business Network (acquired by Monitor Deloitte), Wired magazine and The Long Now Foundation.
Stewart Brand revisited some of the underlying philosophy around the environment that begat The Whole Earth Catalogue with his 2009 book Whole Earth Discipline. Now The Whole Earth Catalogue lives on as an almost complete online archive of its issues and related publications.
Why note-taking apps don’t make us smarter – The Verge – “Thinking is an active pursuit — one that often happens when you are spending long stretches of time staring into space, then writing a bit, and then staring into space a bit more. It’s here that the connections are made and the insights are formed. And it is a process that stubbornly resists automation.”
They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie? | The New Yorker – “‘When you look at [Gino’s paper], it just makes no sense,’ [one professor] said. But, he added, ‘even in safe spaces in my world, to bring up that someone is a data fabricator—it’s, like, ‘Our friend John, do you think he might be a cannibal?’” – on Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino’s research
Neil Shen plots global expansion for Sequoia’s China spin-off | Financial Times – venture capital giant HongShan, which announced its split from Sequoia Capital this year, is establishing a global footprint as a slowdown in the domestic economy pushes it overseas. Neil Shen, the group’s founding partner, who led Sequoia’s China business for 18 years until it was forced to separate under political pressure in June, is seeking business opportunities and investments worldwide to benefit HongShan’s Chinese portfolio companies, according to seven people familiar with his plans – expect regulatory roadblocks in the west
Goldberg: The fracturing of the U.S. political left over Israel, Hamas – San Jose Mercury News – Many progressive Jews have been profoundly shaken by the way some on the left are treating the terrorist mass murder of civilians as noble acts of anti-colonial resistance. These are Jews who share the left’s abhorrence of the occupation of Gaza and of the enormities inflicted on it, which are only going to get worse if and when Israel invades. But the way keyboard radicals have condoned war crimes against Israelis has left many progressive Jews alienated from political communities they thought were their own. – I am not surprised that this has happened. The left wing terrorists of the cold war era trained in the middle east and there is a latent sympathy on the left
The End of an Era: Update on the Johnny’s Idol Scandal | J-List Blog – TL;DR – Japan’s equivalent of Simon Fuller turns about to be Japan’s equivalent of Jimmy Saville. The Japanese media was complicit, but have so far come out unscathed, and hundreds of people in the entertainment industry are struggling to work. Johnny’s victims are still scarred.
The return of Mansur Gavriel | Vogue Business – Mansur Gavriel is launching MG Forever, a resale programme for customers to buy and sell used handbags and for the brand to sell off samples. It’s the first big launch since co-founders Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel reclaimed the brand, resuming their roles as co-creative directors this year. And, it’s a statement: Mansur Gavriel is not trend-led, its products are timeless – this sounds like a definition of classic luxury rather than new luxury. Read with Platforms race to take a slice of the vintage jewellery market | Financial Times
Kazakh telco provider Altel gets AI-nnovative in new campaign | Analysis | Campaign Asia – Faced with dwindling market shares and an over-saturation of foreign imagery making up their key brand campaigns, Kazakhstan’s oldest telco provider revamps their brand persona by using AI to tap into the look, feel and desires of their national consumers. – this is going to be a problem with Image libraries (iStock Photos, Getty Images etc). When I think of the number of campaign assets I have worked on in the last 18 months alone that relied exclusively on image libraries rather than campaign photoshoots – the impact will be huge.
Driving Impact through Inclusive Advertising: An Examination of Award-Winning Gender-Inclusive Advertising: Journal of Advertising: Vol 0, No 0 – Theoretical and managerial contributions include (1) identification of how social impact is conceptualized in award-winning inclusive advertising and how impact functions through awards, (2) development in the definition of inclusive advertising to include social impacts as an outcome, and (3) a reimagining and expansion of the concept of inclusive advertising through a proposed Inclusive Advertising Spectrum, which encompasses representation
How the attacks in Israel are changing Threads | Platformer – In my dim and distant memory, I can recall how not being able to log into Friendster drove early social media users to MySpace and Facebook. Twitter has a similar issue, not in terms of being able to physically log-in, but in being able to discuss topics in a less toxic environment on other platforms. This could be Twitter’s Friendster moment.
How to use Japan’s new self-checkout supermarket carts | SoraNews24 -Japan News- – We found the system to be very convenient, but it doesn’t come without concerns for locals. One of the most glaringly obvious worries is the chance that some customers might fail to scan items, leading to a loss for the supermarket that might result in price hikes that would negatively impact all customers – but would still be far less prevalent than in the UK
BMW’s Next Car Launch Is Happening In Fortnite | Jalopnik – alignment between buyers and channel is poor, BUT, if you think about this more as aspirational brand building its spot on. And probably a better decision than a motorsports programme nowadays
Western fast fashion brands have managed to spread around the world, despite concerns over working conditions, product quality and impact on the environment. But things have gone into reverse for western fashion brands in China. Just over a decade ago saw China as a potential growth market. But over the past five years things have gone badly for them.
Looking at western fast fashion brand H&M’s presence in China, there has been a consistent decline since a 2017 peak of 507 stores in China.
Data via Daxue Consulting and South China Morning Post
The reasons cited by Chinese consumers online include:
Western fast fashion brands aren’t cut / styled for ‘Asian body types’. This sounds like a need for extended sizing
Local trends: the clothing doesn’t fit with local trends in design in the same way that local rivals can. Brands to keep an eye out for include Urban Revivo and JNBY
Other foreign brands meet the needs of young Chinese consumers better. These include Brandy Melville, and its “Malibu beach babe” look, while Chuu, is a Korean brand with K-pop aesthetics
Dentsu warns brands over tech ‘battling’ to increase ad revenue – The Media Leader – Global media buyer Dentsu’s forward-looking report said there had been an “explosion of the ad-supported segment” and that next year will see “an intensification of competition between ad platforms” with more lookalike apps, data partnership possibilities, premium subscriptions and a further proliferation of advertising formats and offerings. “Brands will have to balance these opportunities with risks to alienate audiences”, the report said. Especially given the fact digital adspend is forecast to hit $450.6bn in 2024, but its year-on-year growth is slowing to 6.2%. This means tech platforms are “battling” to increase their advertising revenue by launching new formats and carrying more placements. Some examples the report highlighted included: developments in adoption of search advertising on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the rise of retail media on commerce sites, ticketing platforms and delivery apps, forecasted “spectacular growth” in advertising on connected TV (CTV), advertising video on-demand players launching new formats like YouTube’s unskippable 30-second ads, and major streaming players (and Amazon’s Audible) trialling or launching ad-supported plans
Gulnara Karimova Accused of Running Criminal Organization in New Swiss Indictment – The Diplomat – Swiss federal prosecutors filed an indictment against Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan’s first president Islam Karimov, and an unnamed former general director of the Uzbek subsidiary of a Russian telecommunications company for alleged involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering, bribe taking, and forgery. The charges extend over a period of time running from 2005 to 2013 and mark the latest expansion and extension of criminal proceedings against Karimova and her associates. Karimova, once envisioned as a possible successor to her father, lived large and fell hard.
Power drives SK Telecom to AI pyramid strategy | EE News Europe – The AI Infrastructure plan consists of data centre, AI semiconductor, and multiple large language models (LLM) will serve as a technology platform. This will introduce energy-saving technologies including immersion cooling system and hydrogen fuel cells, and expand into the AI hosting business that generates higher margins by bundling these energy-saving solutions with Sapeon’s neural processing unit (NPU) and SK Hynix’s high bandwidth memory (HBM). – I am surprised that we haven’t seen similar ventures from Oracle, IBM and Fujitsu so far
The Humane AI pin has been hyped for a while. Now it’s been launched as a product with what seems to be a small initial batch based on a waiting list and drop type distribution model. I thought I would wait a bit to post on the Humane AI pin and let the dust settle.
The Humane AI pin is an interesting take on a personal device. particularly with its ‘AI experience’ switching – picking the right smarts for the right task. This seem to fulfil the kind of vision that the likes of Kevin Kelly have outlined in the past. It also seems to access communications services like messaging services and the audio design in the product seems interesting. There is also a projected interface of sorts on the Humane AI pin. It’s an interesting alternative direction to the spatial computing vision of Apple’s Vision Pro.
The Humane AI device falls down in being such a network-centric device. Although it has onboard machine learning technology, its reliance on a relationship with T-Mobile US’ cellular network is problematic. Cellular connectivity is not ubiquitous. It is one of several device visions that have been articulated over the years, but what I still don’t understand is the ‘why?’
What’s going to be more interesting is what the Humane AI pin does next?
US law firms rethink China future amid economic woes, data crackdown | Reuters – Of the 73 largest U.S. law firms with a presence in China, 32 shrank their attorney presence in the last decade, according to a Reuters review of data from Leopard Solutions, which tracks law firm hiring. In Beijing, 26 of the 48 largest U.S. law firms drew down their presence since 2018. Worthwhile reading with: US consultancy Gallup withdraws from China | FT – market research was sensitive when I worked in China. Gallup’s business was closer to consulting than a pollster to get around these challenges. Interesting that they can no longer thread the needle in China
China’s family-run businesses face succession challenges – Nikkei Asia – more than 80% of China’s 1 billion private enterprises are family-owned, with about 29% of these businesses in traditional manufacturing. From 2017 to 2022, around three-quarters of China’s family businesses are in the midst of a generational leadership transition
Post-pandemic party’s over as Americans shun cognac | FT – Half of all cognac in the US is drunk by African Americans, a demographic that has been disproportionately affected by the cost of living crisis, according to analysis by Bernstein. The skew to African American consumers is in part due to the fact that French spirits producers ignored the segregation mandated by America’s Jim Crow laws and “cultivated the African American market segment in ways that other producers did not,” said David Crockett, professor of marketing at the University of Illinois Chicago. French spirits producers at the time marketed to Black-owned and targeted publications. As early as the 1970s the advertisements conveyed a message of upward socio-economic mobility, said Naa Oyo Kwate, a sociologist at Rutgers University
Wong wanted to enter the U.S. consulate. The diplomats told him that only the rooms in the St. John’s Building were on offer, and that the office tower did not offer the protection of a diplomatic compound. In Washington, Ngo took the matter up with one of Hawley’s policy advisers, reasoning that the ultra-Trumpian senator might have the president’s ear. Responding at 1 a.m., Hawley’s staffer promised to pass the message on to his boss, but nothing changed. On July 1, the national-security law passed. The diplomats’ positions were the same: Wong couldn’t enter the consulate and couldn’t apply for asylum from outside the United States. Wong and Ngo knew the rules. But they were asking for the same pathway to haven that had been granted to Fang and Chen…
The focus in Washington has moved on from Hong Kong to Taiwan. The island is under constant military threat from Beijing, which claims the territory as its own, even though the Chinese Communist Party has never controlled it. But for those in Taiwan who cherish their democracy, Hong Kong’s story offers a cautionary tale. The United States gave Hong Kong’s cause its vocal backing, then abandoned the city in its time of greatest need.
Asia is much more important to U.S. interests than the Middle East | Noahpinion – East Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, and until recently, Hong Kong are arguably the world’s most magnificent — hyper-dense and efficient and bustling with life and creativity and personal freedom, but also extremely safe. East Asia is a wealthy region with high quality of life across the board, rivaled only by North Europe and parts of the Anglosphere. Maciej Cegłowski called them “Zeroth World”, and I think that is an apt description. – the burn for Hong Kong on this is real
Ideas
The challenges of sustainable societies and solar punk.
The one where Chandler Bing’s impenetrable job defined a generation | FT – André Spicer, Executive Dean of Bayes Business School, suggests a new category altogether: a “Chandler Bing job”, one indifferent to finding meaning, “low on existential rewards but relatively high on extrinsic rewards, like pay and promotion”. Chandler’s stoicism more broadly reflects Gen X’s tacit acceptance of their lot: the forgotten latchkey kids squished between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials. Jennifer Dunn, author of Friends: A Cultural History, says he “showed that we might not all find fulfilment in the first, or even the longest lasting job we will ever have.” Compared to today’s employers who are increasingly concerned about making their younger colleagues happy, few cared about Gen X’s work-life balance.
Beauty masks have been mainstreamed by the mainstreaming of Asian beauty culture norms. There isn’t the faff of having to make something up or smear something on. Instead, pop the mask on, leave it on for a specified time (usually 15 minutes) and peel off. If Switzerland is the home of fine watchmaking or chocolate; then South Korea is the home of beauty masks. Beauty masks are really relaxing to pop on whilst bingewatching a show or film series.
This footage of beauty mask manufacture in Busan South Korea intrigued me. I was surprised by how small scale production was in this factory, even though it’s a batch manufacture process, I was expecting greater scale given how ubiquitous Korean beauty masks are.
Can Echo Finally Break Through in Home Automation? – Amazon has expanded the Echo line to include models that are tailored to certain use cases and certain rooms – like small screen models for bedside, large screen models for kitchens, high quality speakers for living rooms and dens, and small, inexpensive models for everywhere. We see efforts to get Echos into multiple rooms in Amazon’s promotions, where they sold multiple device packages of the least expensive models in the early days, and aggressively discount a variety of models regularly throughout the year. Amazon clearly has room to go in pursuing this strategy. Nine years in, most Amazon Echo owners still have only one device. In the most recent twelve-month period, 69% of US Echo owners have one, and about one-quarter have two or three
You need to talk to your kid about AI. Here are 6 things you should say. | MIT Technology Review – a variant of sage advice for everyone 1. Don’t forget: AI is not your friend 2. AI models are not replacements for search engines 3. Teachers might accuse you of using an AI when you haven’t 4. Recommender systems are designed to get you hooked and might show you bad stuff 5. Remember to use AI safely and responsibly 6. Don’t miss out on what AI’s actually good at
Move over AI, quantum computing to be most powerful technology | VentureBeat – Leaders in the military and cybersecurity community believe that quantum computing could become a potentially serious threat in 4 – 6 years. Quantum computers have been proven to vastly outperform traditional computers on specific sets of problems. A vastly outperforming computer like this could pose a serious threat to cybersecurity across several critical industries like banking and logistics. While potentially impactful in the future, the technology is currently limited by a lack of ability to reduce probabilities of errors. Extreme temperatures required to operate the computers are also a barrier.
