Ged Carroll

Category: economics | 經濟學 | 경제학 | 経済

Economics or the dismal science was something I felt that I needed to include as it provides the context for business and consumption.

Prior to the 20th century, economics was the pursuit of gentleman scholars. The foundation of it is considered to be Adam Smith when he published is work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Smith outlined one of the core tenets of classical economics: each individual is driven by self-interest and can exert only a negligible influence on prices. And it was the start of assumptions that economists model around that don’t mirror real life all the time.

What really is a rational decision maker? Do consumers always make rational decisions? Do they make decisions that maximise their economic benefit?

The problem is that they might do actions that are rational to them:

  • Reducing choice when they are overwhelmed
  • Looking for a little luxury to comfort them over time. Which was the sales of Cadbury chocolate and Revlon lipstick were known to rise in a recession
  • Luxury goods in general make little sense from a ration decision point of view until you realise the value of what they signal
  • Having a smartphone yet buying watches. Japanese consumers were known to still buy watches to show that they care about the time to employers when they could easily check their smartphone screen

All of which makes the subject area of high interest to me as a marketer. It also explains the amount of focus now being done by economists on the behavioural aspect of things.

  • Jamie Hewlett + more news

    Jamie Hewlett

    Jamie Hewlett was not someone that I would have associated with luxury menswear brand Dunhill. Dunhill have been creating interesting content for a number of years, that used to be accessed through an iPad application and their own site. This interview with Jamie Hewlett is brilliant. Hewlett’s talent as a comic creator developed early with him working in the studios of Bob Godfrey. Godfrey is famous to UK TV watchers for the cartoon series Rhubarb & Custard. After college Jamie Hewlett was recruited for Deadline magazine, which is where his iconic Tank Girl creation was formed and his relationship with Damon Albarn of Gorillaz.

    Jamie Hewlett submarined during the 1990s when the underground became mainstream drawing Get The Freebies. Eventually Jamie Hewlett teamed up with Albarn to provide the visual look of The Gorillaz.

    Economics

    Is the U.S. Startup Economy Failing? ~ I, Cringely – yes.

    FedEx Says Economy is Worsening, Cuts Outlook | TIME.com

    Ethics

    Google Bans Online Anonymity While Patenting It – Slashdot

    Ideas

    Neal Stephenson on the Future of Books and the Ubiquity of Gadgets – Technology Review

    Bringing the Future Back from the Dead | VICE

    Innovation

    Silicon Valley is in danger of losing its name | VentureBeat

    Media

    Salon Sells The Well to Longtime Members – NYTimes.com

    What’s Facebook’s Next Business? – Technology Review

    Facebook ends Reach Generator program in favor of Promoted Posts product

    Facebook’s embedded option – Chris Dixon

    Online

    Canon launches Project 1709 social image management service in UK beta | The Verge

    Security

    Facebook ends facial recognition in Europe – FT.com – EU mandated privacy regulations biting at Facebook’s heels

    German government urges public to stop using Internet Explorer | Reuters

    Web of no web

    Exploring Local » Google Maps announces a 400 year advantage over Apple Maps

    Wireless

    iPhone 5 Benchmarked: The Fastest Smartphone in the Land | PCMag.com

    Why iPhone 5 Doesn’t Have NFC – The Mac Observer

    All you need to know about nano SIMs – before they are EXTERMINATED • Reg Hardware – software SIMs apparently the future

    Apple’s A6 chip development detailed – CNET News