TLDR 100

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 100

Published: 2017-06-02 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to issue 100 of TLDR. I'm planning on a reflective post after sending out this week's issue to indicate what I've learned about the process and product over these 100 issues.

This week's issue is all about forecasting the future.

This week it was announced that I was selected as one of the members of the Mozilla Network 50. This is a collection of individuals that have worked to make the Internet a healthier place. You can learn more about the other members of the 50 here. My interviews were conducted this week and they should go live on the site soon.

🔖 Key Takeaways

This Video Illustrates: This video illustrates part of the story when we talk about the future of work. It provides a good starting point to make sense of the future (and present) changes.
If You Accept the Facts: If you accept the facts, then the next step is that we need to change our behaviors, develop new technologies, and prepare for the future of jobs.
There Are a Couple: There are a couple of reports I wait for each year to help me make sense of trends in technology. One of these key reports is the Internet trends report from Mary Meeker.
The Results Indicate: The results indicate that this group continues to have lower rates of adoption while the group as a collective is more digitally connected than ever before.
The Reason That This Is Important: The reason that this is an important ruling is that it provides opportunities for lower prices, and new revenue models as tech companies cannot threaten patent infringement when you try to use or reuse their products.
With These Challenges: Manjoo shows how Twitter serves as the "guts for the news business." With these challenges, we have to wonder why we use this communication platform.
As I Work These Tools: As I work these tools into my everyday use, I'll continue to share what I learn.

📺 Watch

The future of your job in the age of AI

This video from the WIRED YouTube channel shares insight about how robot co-workers and artificial intelligence are becoming more common in the workplace.

This video illustrates part of the story when we talk about the future of work. It provides a good starting point to make sense of the future (and present) changes.

📚 Read

The Paris Climate Deal: What you need to know

Thursday afternoon, President Trump announced that he would start the process to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. This post from the NY Times pulls together pretty much all of the facts you'll need to know to have an intelligent discussion.

If you accept the facts, then the next step is that we need to change our behaviors, develop new technologies, and prepare for the future of jobs. Of course, the problem may not be with the science, it may have to do with human psychology.

Mary Meeker's 2017 Internet trends report: All of the slides, plus analysis

There are a couple of reports I wait for each year to help me make sense of trends in technology. One of these key reports is the Internet trends report from Mary Meeker.

This year's slide deck weighs in at 355 slides, and contains some insights that I found interesting:

Global smartphone use is slowing
Voice is starting to replace typing on devices
TV viewership continues to decline, while streaming services like Netflix continue to expand
Internet growth is slowing globally while it is also expanding in India
Healthcare and wearables are increasing in popularity in the digital health market

Pew Research Report: Technology use among seniors

This recent report from the Pew Research Center shares insight into the technology use behaviors by Americans over the age of 65. The results indicate that this group continues to have lower rates of adoption while the group as a collective is more digitally connected than ever before.

Another key result to note is the distribution of Internet use and broadband adoption among seniors across demographic groups. These adoption rates are understandably modified by age, household income, and level of education.

The full report and topline are available here.

Fans of cheap drugs and printer ink just won big in the Supreme Court

This week a very big decision was reached by the U.S. Supreme Court. In short, Lexmark International, Inc. was suing Impression Products, Inc. to stop them from buying empty printer cartridges, refilling, and reselling them. The decision indicated that Lexmark exhausted their patent rights as soon as they sold their printer cartridges domestically and abroad.

The reason that this is an important ruling is that it provides opportunities for lower prices, and new revenue models as tech companies cannot threaten patent infringement when you try to use, or reuse their products.

How Twitter is being gamed to feed misinformation

A thoughtful piece on Twitter and its role in spreading misinformation and propaganda by Farhad Manjoo in the NY Times.

Manjoo shows how Twitter serves as the "guts for the news business." This is compounded by the fact that Twitter is full of fake people and bots that create fake swarms and buzz. Finally, Twitter may serve a role in ultimately ruining democracy.

With these challenges, we have to wonder why we use this communication platform.

🔨 Do

VPNs for dummies...or Dads...or why it's time to finally take the plunge

Here in TL;DR we regularly talk about privacy, security, and encryption as you use digital tools.

One of the sources that helps me think about this work is the ModernDad YouTube channel run by Phil Nickinson.

This week Modern Dad shared this video all about setting up and using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to use as you browse online. The video, along with this accompanying post from Android Central provide a good primer on how to get a VPN started and actually understand what you're doing.

As I work these tools into my everyday use, I'll continue to share what I learn.

🤔 Consider

"Men Argue. Nature Acts." — Voltaire

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🌱 Connected Concepts:

Future of Work — AI and automation transforming workplace dynamics, with robot co-workers becoming more common, requiring society to prepare for significant shifts in employment and develop new skills for an evolving job market.
Privacy and Security — VPNs provide essential protection for online browsing, requiring users to understand encryption basics and privacy tools as fundamental digital literacy skills for safe internet navigation.
Platform Manipulation — Twitter serves as infrastructure for news dissemination while being gamed by bots and fake accounts to spread misinformation, raising questions about why we rely on platforms vulnerable to manipulation and propaganda.
Technology Adoption — Mary Meeker's Internet Trends Report and Pew Research on seniors reveal uneven technology adoption patterns shaped by age, income, and education, with global smartphone growth slowing while voice interfaces replace typing.
Climate Action — Paris Climate Accord withdrawal highlights tension between scientific consensus and policy decisions, requiring behavioral change, technological innovation, and addressing psychological barriers to accepting climate facts.

Part of the 📧 Newsletter archive documenting digital literacy and technology.