Is it Oil? Try to name a country that hasn't been reliant on it to survive.
OK, then what about water?
Nonetheless, arguably, a new commodity has taken over. In our new digital era, the #1 commodity is data. And countries (and businesses and people) are becoming even more reliant on it.
Consequently, some of the new tech titans - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft - have an unprecedented amount of data (and power).
The new tech titans also make a massive amount of money. According to the Economist, they collectively made over $25 billion in net profit in Q1 2017.
With those titans controlling so much of the industry, they're facing calls for them to be broken up, as Standard Oil or AT&T was.
There are questions, though. Is size, alone, an issue? Are these titans abusing their power? Do we need new forms of antitrust laws (or consumer protection laws) to handle them?
At this point, most of these titans' sites are monetarily free to use for consumers ... But, does that mean that they don't require regulation? Realize, the free sites are a way to attract users, and then to sell data and ads to companies marketing to them.
One thing is for sure ... Privacy is a rare commodity in a time of digital omniscience.
In her lifetime, she saw trains evolve from steam engines to bullet trains. She saw horses fall out of use, and cars and planes come in to use. She saw the rise and fall of many countries , two world wars, and she saw Italy's transformation from a kingdom to Mussolini's fascist regime to a constitutional republic.
Not to mention computers, the internet, and cell phones.
117 years alive is currently a HUGE amount of time - approximately 40-50 years longer than the average lifetime, but in our lifetime - it'll likely become closer to the norm.
Think of the innovations seen in her lifetime - and think of the fact that innovation spurs innovation.
9 years in front of entertainment devices - another 10.5 years spent working. You get the idea.
If you have goals you want to accomplish, aspirational travel and lifestyle plans - this really puts the idea of finding and living your passion in perspective.
Here's another representation of the same data, using jelly beans. I think it's pretty powerful and worth watching.
In my TEDx talk, I talk about the Time Value of Life ...
In finance, the "time value of money" refers to the principle that the purchasing power of money can vary over time (meaning, money today might have a different purchasing power than money later). In part, this is because the value of money at a future point in time might be calculated by accounting for other variables (like interest earned, or inflation accrued, etc.).
A similar calculation applies to life ... or living.
Live Like You Only Have a Year Left.
During the last part of my Dad's life, I think he would have done almost anything for a little more time.
Things that used to be unimportant, or even mildly irritating, took on increased importance. For example, a dinner together became almost a sacred event; a kiss goodnight was truly heart-felt; and saying good-bye meant something ... because it could be the last time.
Nevertheless, as a result of that focus, he took more life out of that time.
Shouldn't we do the same thing? Think about it ... We are never going to be younger than we are, right now. We are never going to have more time to fix a big mistake. Isn't it likely that the time value of your life, is worth maximizing?
If you realize that the time you have now is worth more - what can you do differently to get the most out of it?
So, if an average person only gets 2,740 days to do with what they want, those days are precious.
Based on who's reading this, you may have half that time (or a fourth).
What are you going to focus on? Making the most money? Helping the most people? Spending the most time with your family? Relaxing?
There's never a better time than now, to live a life worth living ... and only you can decide what that means!
I often talk about how robots are changing the workplace (For example here, and here) because it's a topic that hits close to home.
I remember, back in the late 90's, starting to trade based on my knowledge and my insights (and feeling like I had an edge). By 2003, most of my trading was automated. But, I wouldn't have believed how much of today's daily volume is now traded by computers.
Likewise, I remember the tech bubble and recognizing that more businesses were going online. But, I wouldn't have believed what the Internet did to retail, music, TV, banking (face it, to Business and the World in general).
Regardless of the veracity of the statement, it's evidence that we have a tendency to think emotionally, and aren't always great at rationally analyzing facts.
As proof that it's everyone, the week after the election, many Democrats believed the economy had already worsened.
Roddy Roediger is a leading expert in learning and memory, and he says there are 3 key principles that make false information believable:
Plausibility;
Suggestions and innuendo can be just as convincing as assertions; and
The more we engage with the lie, the more we misremember.
The World's New Most Valuable Resource ... Data!
What is the #1 world commodity?
Is it Oil? Try to name a country that hasn't been reliant on it to survive.
OK, then what about water?
Nonetheless, arguably, a new commodity has taken over. In our new digital era, the #1 commodity is data. And countries (and businesses and people) are becoming even more reliant on it.
Consequently, some of the new tech titans - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft - have an unprecedented amount of data (and power).
The new tech titans also make a massive amount of money. According to the Economist, they collectively made over $25 billion in net profit in Q1 2017.
With those titans controlling so much of the industry, they're facing calls for them to be broken up, as Standard Oil or AT&T was.
There are questions, though. Is size, alone, an issue? Are these titans abusing their power? Do we need new forms of antitrust laws (or consumer protection laws) to handle them?
At this point, most of these titans' sites are monetarily free to use for consumers ... But, does that mean that they don't require regulation? Realize, the free sites are a way to attract users, and then to sell data and ads to companies marketing to them.
One thing is for sure ... Privacy is a rare commodity in a time of digital omniscience.
Posted at 02:53 AM in Business, Current Affairs, Ideas, Market Commentary, Trading, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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