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Month: November 2019

Giving Thanks to Tech

Giving Thanks to Tech

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Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Thanksgiving is upon us, and how often do we all truly stop and give thanks for all that we have, sometimes whether we know it or not. Here are a few examples, with tongue held firmly in cheek:

First, here was a time when you had to read a map or ask for directions when you were driving or walking somewhere you’d never been before and weren’t quite sure where you were going. Men notoriously hated to ask for directions, and would often get lost or go in circles, from what we hear. Now, all you need do is enter the destination into that map app on your phone, and no worries. In fact, Apple or Google, depending on your map of choice, often knows precisely where you’re heading, even before you’ve finished inputting the information. Wouldn’t you be lost without them?

Google knows better than you. The Wall Street Journal reported on How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results and let’s be honest: Google has been tracking you for so long now that the company no doubt knows you better than you know yourself. Or at least, knows what’s best for you, so may gently sway you in that direction… Say amen, somebody. Read More...

The Myth of the Gig Economy

The Myth of the Gig Economy

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Image by 1820796 from Pixabay

The so-called sharing/gig economy is under fire – in California, anyway, with State Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). “Under the new “ABC” test (which is part of the new law), an individual is presumed to be an employee, unless the company can prove all of the following: A) that the worker is free from control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact; B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed,” The National Law Review explains.

There’s very little genuine sharing going on in the so-called sharing economy. Sharing/gig economy unicorn DoorDash had to change its tipping model after it was discovered that tips that were meant to go to the workers were being kept by the company. Even after they promised to change that, Vox reported that DoorDash was still pocketing workers’ tips, almost a month after it promised to stop. Now it’s Instacart that’s in the crosshairs for taking that page from the Bad Behavior in Tech playbook. “’You have demonstrated a pattern of behavior as CEO of eviscerating our pay and pirating our tips,’” Instacart independent contractors wrote in an open letter to CEO Apoorva Mehta, ahead of a three-day walkout, Mashable reports.

Meanwhile, according to Forbes, California Destroys $1 Trillion Gig Economy With New Law. Read More...

No Is an Acronym, Revisited

No Is an Acronym, Revisited

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When you were a kid how many times did your parents say No! N-O, NO! More than once, we’d wager. How many times did they say, Yes, Y-E-S, YES!’ Bet I can count the number of times on one hand – zero. Never happened.

We did notice this at a fairly young age – long before we knew that there was such a word – that NO is an acronym. It was parent-code for ‘keep trying’ or ‘change the talking points.’ In some cases, and we found that if we changed our approach or arguments, we could get a yes. Persistence pays. And the same can be said of investors. Investors hate to miss opportunities, so they don’t really like to say No. Investors like to hedge their bets and keep their options open. Sometimes they will give you a hard and fast No and mean it. Still, that said, things change, so one never knows if it truly is a hard No. Read More...