Michael Asulin: The corona crisis will simply exacerbate the geo-strategic competition between Beijing and Washington https://hvr.co/2KrNUx9
"Beijing’s propaganda campaign, while designed to divert any criticism of the regime, has poisoned relations with Washington, not to mention other countries."
Mitt Romney: America is awakening to China. This is a clarion call to seize the moment. https://wapo.st/2VXxd20
Experiential retail is figuring out new footing in virtual world: Brands known for in-store experiences are attempting to translate them online, but some fear a post-pandemic shift in consumer behavior. https://on.wsj.com/3btaSzT
This open-source program deepfakes you during zoom meetings, in real-time: Avatarify runs on Skype and Zoom and face-swaps your own face with a celebrity in live video calls. https://bit.ly/3byCDr4
From 60 to zero: The Economist reports, the world’s car giants need to move fast and break things. They have dawdled for too long.
"When carmakers sold 95m cars and commercial vehicles in 2017 the 100m mark seemed just around the corner."
Credit Suisse expects GM and Ford to burn through $10bn and $14bn of cash, respectively, in the first half of 2020.
Analysts at Jefferies estimate that the eight biggest carmakers in Europe and America could, in all, burn over $50bn of cash in the second quarter. At that rate, they may run out of money by the end of the year.
COVID-19 may slow electrification—but will not derail it.
More consolidation looks certain, though perhaps not through full mergers, which have a mixed record in carmaking.
Carmakers of the future may yet look back nostalgically to 2017 as their industry’s peak.
The lost worlds of Soviet space graphics (slideshow): A new book captures the pioneering, propaganda-infused visions of mid-20th-century Soviet space exploration. https://bit.ly/2S1SoyJ
Lauren deLisa Coleman: Zoom is bringing out the worst in every would-be professor, keynote, and schoolmaster. Here's how to not bore your Zoom attendees to death. https://bit.ly/3cGf3ZB
Loren Feldman: On the future of movies and entertainment https://bit.ly/3eLEYRu
#DroppingKnowledge
Why do we even listen to new music? Our brains reward us for seeking out what we already know. So why should we reach to listen to something we don’t? https://bit.ly/3bHujoE
Rory Sutherland: The illusion of certainty https://bit.ly/2XY8oWi
"The newspapers are full of stories about how small groups of engineers from Formula 1 teams have been able to design, prototype, and manufacture essential health equipment incredibly quickly.
"So why aren’t organizations allowed to perform such super-human feats of brilliance the rest of the time? Or to put it another way, why is it that companies and governments always call on McKinsey when they could call on McLaren?"
