Curated Commons // Edition 21
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the Twenty First edition of Curated Commons. Let’s dive right in.
‘Vultures’ at the stadium?
Big private equity firms are turning their attention to sports. Not just teams, but the governing bodies running various sports.
https://www.ft.com/content/24e9fc43-4187-4884-8efe-7a6efb496f24
Hollywood is changing
The pandemic has significantly changed Hollywood, and the people and companies that make it. Good read capturing some of the big shifts (also, Christopher Nolan is likely leaving Warner Bros).
In a sign of how dramatically the shift is remaking Hollywood, Warner Bros., owned by AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia, for the first time in its nearly 100-year history, doesn’t have a single executive whose sole job is to oversee the production and distribution of movies meant for the big screen.
The death of America’s local newspapers
Good long read into the future, if any, of America’s local newspapers, coupled with the entry of private equity.
https://www.ft.com/content/5c22075c-f1af-431d-bf39-becf9c54758b
Stock market meets Reddit
In a sign, among many, of how weird stock markets are currently, Redditors are taking on a short seller and winning. An army of Reddit day-traders have taken GameStop to new highs.
Bitcoin and religion
How much of this sentence made sense a decade ago?
There’s a TikTok star using her online popularity to expound bitcoin investment choices using astrology.
And while on the topic, Joe Weisenthal over at Bloomberg writes on why you should think of Bitcoin as a faith-based asset.
Gaming is part of youth culture now
For the older generations, music was an integral part of growing up. Video gaming now appears to have taken on that role. Good read.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/11/video-games-music-youth-culture
Beating embargoes, with chemistry
Fascinating read on how embargoed Venezuelan oil makes its way into China. Dope it with another chemical, change the name, and voila, you aren’t selling crude any more!
Tech industry and media
A16Z, which produces a whole range of consistent high-quality content already now wants to take the next step and expand its media operation. Good read from Eric Newcomer
https://www.newcomer.co/p/the-unauthorized-story-of-andreessen
The distrust with traditional media is not hard to fathom why. One sample.
The history of the PDF
Good read on the history of the love-it-hate-it file format. Apparently at launch in 1992, Adobe priced the reader at $50 and the creator at $700.
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Chennai and Chess
Out of 67 Indian Chess Grand Masters, 24 are from Tamil Nadu. Most are from Chennai. Very good read on Chennai (Madras) and Chess.
https://fiftytwo.in/story/madras-check/
Deepfakes, but for text comments
This was waiting to happen. A public authority asked for comments from the public on a proposal. Around 1,000 comments came. Over half of them generated by an AI algorithm. And a study found that people could not distinguish the real comments from the fake ones.
The Internet of Insecure Things is already here, and hurting us
Today in things which you can increasingly assume are happening - a home security technician has apparently accessed camera feeds of his company’s customers. It wasn’t as much a hack even - the technician just went ahead and added his email address to the accounts of people he wanted to peep on - and accessed the feed directly!
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/home-security-camera-hacked-adt
When you are too big to be acquired
Harry's, a grooming products startup among a new breed of direct to consumer CPG companies, got a $1.37 Billion offer to sell. But the FTC wasn't sold. Very good recap of the whole saga.
The founders of the razor startup relished their challenger status, picked a fight with a consumer goods giant, and made the biggest deal of their lives. Then they learned some of the toughest lessons of hardball capitalism.
Robots, inspired by spider legs
Never underestimating a spider again! Apparently, spider legs can build webs without help from the brain. In effect, “each leg functions as a semi-independent “computer,” with sensors that read the immediate environment and trigger movements accordingly”.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spider-legs-build-webs-without-the-brains-help/
Other good reads:
Apparently some men are still wearing formal business wear while working from home- https://www.wsj.com/articles/meet-the-men-wearing-suits-to-work-from-home-11611249573
TikTok is becoming the place for terrible financial advice - https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22229551/tiktok-personal-finance-day-trading-tesla-scam
Ahead of the pandemic, auto makers went on overdrive on subscription models. Many are now shutting them - https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/14/22231451/bmw-access-subscription-shut-down-nashville-cancel
Capitalism + Veganism = A planet saved? Or something like that, says the FT editorial board - https://www.ft.com/content/2659dbf4-7209-4094-8327-bdf0dde9eadd
With the growing number of low-earth orbit satellites being launched, how do we tidy up space? No easy answers - https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/01/14/its-time-to-tidy-up-space
Fascinating read on the impact of less, not more, human tourism on nature, from a Swedish island - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/science/seabirds-covid-tourism.html
Stay safe, and happy reading! And if you liked the newsletter, please do share on your social networks. My DMs on Twitter are always open for any feedback.