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I like to call this fusion “the inspiresting.” Stylistically, the inspiresting is earnest and contrived. It is smart but not quite intellectual, personal but not sincere, jokey but not funny. It is an aesthetic of populist elitism. Politically, the inspiresting performs a certain kind of progressivism, as it is concerned with making the world a better place, however vaguely.
What Was the TED Talk? - The Drift
Issue 6
The last few years saw a big rise and fall in the “iBuyer” business model, where companies like Opendoor Technologies Inc. and Zillow Group Inc. used their scale, data and pricing algorithms to get into the market-making business for houses. The iBuyers would offer to buy houses instantly, for cash, with not much in the way of due diligence, which was all very appealing to sellers; they would then have a big inventory of houses that they could flip to buyers. Instead of buyers and sellers meeting each other in messy imperfect markets, the sellers could all sell to the iBuyers and the buyers could all buy from the iBuyers and the iBuyers could intermediate every trade and earn a spread for providing liquidity.
iBuyers Bought High and Sold Low
bloomberg.com
States have been the primary actors in global affairs for nearly 400 years. That is starting to change, as a handful of large technology companies rival them for geopolitical influence. The aftermath of the January 6 riot serves as the latest proof that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are no longer merely large companies; they have taken control of aspects of society, the economy, and national security that were long the exclusive preserve of the state.
The Technopolar Moment
foreignaffairs.com
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