Great analysis Azeem. One parallel I would draw is to the changes in corporate behaviour caused by the 2008 financial crisis, especially in discretionary spending areas. At that time I was helping set up an innovation unit in a public relations firm. We found major clients decimating (or worse) their marketing budgets, and seeking ways to continue promoting their products and services. Social media suddenly went from hobby to prime focus in many cases and it’s fair to say many of the things we did in those early years have been improved and industrialised in the past decade, to become a central form of corporate communication. That said, as levels of innovation have dropped so costs (and rent-seeking) have increased, making these once-new channels and behaviours now resemble the past, in an Animal Farm sort of way.
Azeem, thank you for a thorough and thoughtful article. I want to respond to your question about travel and the effect this disease will have in it. I owned an agency that focused on tourism. SARS happened in our first couple years in Business. COVID-19 will have a short end mid term effect on business travel but it won’t last, in my opinion and experience. The travel industry is very influential. It is the second or third largest industry in our country. There is a tremendous amount of money in the industry so the leaders will respond quickly to push the focus toward the need to connect in person vs long distance meetings. In many cases they are right. After a year or so of cutting back on travel there will be pent up demand for travel and the doors will open again. I do feel that small business owners will rethink nonessential travel but in the end they too will forget. We have an amazing ability to forget.
Thanks for the helpful perspective. SARS, of course, took place before the iPhone and 4G. Today the quality of video confernecing is so much better. And their are climate-change pressures to travel less.
I would hazard that this creates conditions for firms to innovate around business travel (and whether they need it as much), leading to a longer-term attenuation than would otherwise have been the case.
Of course, we can't run the experiment in any disciplined one, so my hypothesis is untestable!
Your MP3 did not play properly. Amazon Polly does great TTS processing with no limit. The result is deposited in Amazon S3 for public download. TTS is free. Last time I checked, S3 is free until you exceed a limit.
Dear Azeem, what is the story behind this weird photo of Pres. Trump surrounded by black people putting their hands on him? I am an European and might not understand that instantly…?
I'm a geek, not a doctor, but what you need is a Furin Protease Inhibitor. Blocks the receptor the virus uses for cellular ingress. There is a substance called luteolin. Which works with Dengue fever, etc, as the mechanism is the same. Luteolin is in fair abundance in Rooibos tea, a cup will protect you for an hour, unsure about onset. Also available on Amazon, €65 for a bottle as a supplement, but no idea on dosage. More in my Twitter replies @praxis22 to @ftalpha on Friday. Buckle up.
Great analysis Azeem. One parallel I would draw is to the changes in corporate behaviour caused by the 2008 financial crisis, especially in discretionary spending areas. At that time I was helping set up an innovation unit in a public relations firm. We found major clients decimating (or worse) their marketing budgets, and seeking ways to continue promoting their products and services. Social media suddenly went from hobby to prime focus in many cases and it’s fair to say many of the things we did in those early years have been improved and industrialised in the past decade, to become a central form of corporate communication. That said, as levels of innovation have dropped so costs (and rent-seeking) have increased, making these once-new channels and behaviours now resemble the past, in an Animal Farm sort of way.
Azeem, thank you for a thorough and thoughtful article. I want to respond to your question about travel and the effect this disease will have in it. I owned an agency that focused on tourism. SARS happened in our first couple years in Business. COVID-19 will have a short end mid term effect on business travel but it won’t last, in my opinion and experience. The travel industry is very influential. It is the second or third largest industry in our country. There is a tremendous amount of money in the industry so the leaders will respond quickly to push the focus toward the need to connect in person vs long distance meetings. In many cases they are right. After a year or so of cutting back on travel there will be pent up demand for travel and the doors will open again. I do feel that small business owners will rethink nonessential travel but in the end they too will forget. We have an amazing ability to forget.
Stay well.
Thanks for the helpful perspective. SARS, of course, took place before the iPhone and 4G. Today the quality of video confernecing is so much better. And their are climate-change pressures to travel less.
I would hazard that this creates conditions for firms to innovate around business travel (and whether they need it as much), leading to a longer-term attenuation than would otherwise have been the case.
Of course, we can't run the experiment in any disciplined one, so my hypothesis is untestable!
Azeem,
Your MP3 did not play properly. Amazon Polly does great TTS processing with no limit. The result is deposited in Amazon S3 for public download. TTS is free. Last time I checked, S3 is free until you exceed a limit.
Sorry, I discovered the podcast app. No problems here.
Dear Azeem, what is the story behind this weird photo of Pres. Trump surrounded by black people putting their hands on him? I am an European and might not understand that instantly…?
I'm a geek, not a doctor, but what you need is a Furin Protease Inhibitor. Blocks the receptor the virus uses for cellular ingress. There is a substance called luteolin. Which works with Dengue fever, etc, as the mechanism is the same. Luteolin is in fair abundance in Rooibos tea, a cup will protect you for an hour, unsure about onset. Also available on Amazon, €65 for a bottle as a supplement, but no idea on dosage. More in my Twitter replies @praxis22 to @ftalpha on Friday. Buckle up.