Viable Underdogs

Sunday, 19 April 2020

Viable Underdogs Executive Summary (Radical Red Version)

Welcome to Viable Underdogs, and thank you for taking valuable time out of your day to visit this site and read this article.

In this ‘Red’ version of this Article, we are discussing:

1. What is Viable Underdogs? (2 mins)
2. Disruption of YouTube (4 mins)
3. Second Launch and Why (2 mins)
4. A Story As Old As Civilization Itself: Chain Letter - Red Version (2 mins)
5. A Call to Action - Red Version (2 mins)

In the other ‘Blue ’ version of this Article, we are discussing:

1. Who I am? / What I am offering? / Why you should care? (1 min)
2. Redefining the Problem / Main Overview (3 mins)
3. Answer to the V-Dogs Promotional Riddle (1 min)
4. Explanation and Timeline: Chain Letter - Blue Version (3 mins)
5. A Call to Action - Blue Version (4 mins)

NOTE: I am not a professional writer - please ignore minor typos and other writing errors.

1. WHAT IS VIABLE UNDERDOGS?

In January 2019, I officially launched Viable Underdogs.

Viable Underdogs is many things at the same time. First and foremost, it’s an attempt for me to sell my Global Consulting services, and to be clear, I have zero desire to do this job for very long. I am eager to train others on how to do it. This is why I wrote the books. There’s more than enough info in there for others to start doing their own research.

The second thing Viable Underdogs serves is that it represents a global crisis message. When the United Nations launched their CRISIS MESSAGE in September 2018, the video and corresponding transcript weren't long enough or effectively communicated enough to increase the desired urgency, so I spruced it up a bit. That’s what the combination of the Podcast-Audiobook and Uncage Human Ingenuity represent: a spruced up crisis message meant to overcome info saturation, misinformation, and disinformation. Hopefully, Viable Underdogs is seen for what it is intended to be: a global, neutral, composed, and urgent call to action.

This message is a global plea for level-headed thinking in a world in desperate need of it. And hopefully, you also see it for what it was intended to be written as: An unbiased truth. Another thing our world is in desperate need of.

On that note, allow me to introduce two other things Viable Underdogs is:

A first legitimate attempt to teach a global audience about a new academic field: Global ‘Type 1’ Management, along with the need for Generalists specializing in Lateral Thinking.

And the second is a first legitimate attempt at a media outlet specializing in Global Type 1 ‘Rogue’ Journalism. Type 1 Rogue Journalism is global, neutral, and as unbiased as possible. And, in case you want to suggest another news outlet that fits these criteria, last I checked, V-Dogs is the only outlet reminding you that there are two ongoing global crises occurring, and the other one has greater potential consequences than COVID-19 (technically, there are three crises if you count our compromised global alarm system).

I realize that’s an unpleasant reality to face, and why many are likely to initially strongly argue against me. This is why I constantly ask you if you’re buying what I’m selling. Overall, throughout all the provided material, have I made a valid case with enough evidence to appeal to your reason and logic?

2. A LATERAL DISRUPTION OF VIDEO STREAMING SERVICES

Much like airlines, video streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and Pornhub have high operational costs that make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market, since these costs require a much higher initial investment than other types of businesses. As stated when we often explore different consequences of the The Fall of Journalism, the ad revenue business model has become more difficult due to factors like increased competition, market saturation, and increased use of ad blockers.

Netflix was created in 1997 and started offering video streaming services a decade later. As you’ll read in the book, Renegades of Disruption, when Netflix launched the streaming component of its business model, it was initially targeting an entirely new market, and eventually disrupted the existing market of video rental businesses like Blockbuster Video.

Since then, new entrants, like Amazon, Hulu, and Disney, are now directly competing with Netflix’s market share. As well, there appears to be another entrant in the midst of making a lateral move to also compete in this market, YouTube.

You can read more about this move in articles like this one:

Alexander, J. (2019). The Verge. The golden age of YouTube is over.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/5/18287318/youtube-logan-paul-pewdiepie-demonetization-adpocalypse-premium-influencers-creators

As the ad revenue model continues to change from year to year, companies like YouTube appear to be moving away from the original model that created its success: user-submitted content. This leaves two questions:

#1: Is YouTube’s long-term strategic plan to compete directly with streaming services like Netflix, and to mostly abandon its original business model?

#2: If so, which business is the best suited to take over YouTube’s previous business model that primarily generated ad revenue form user submitted original content?

Here’s an article that provides a highly unorthodox suggestion:

Gutelle, S. (2019). Daily Dot. Pornhub might be the next frontier in streaming entertainment.
https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/pornhub-sfw/

Taboo

Obviously, the subject of pornography is still quite taboo, but Pornhub does appear to be doing their best to legitimize the industry. Here’s an article written a few years ago about Pornhub:

Solon, O. (2016). The Guardian. Pornhub launches explicit audio for the visually impaired.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jun/15/pornhub-launches-porn-blind-described-video

What a world we live in when even the visually impaired can access this taboo content, and due to the beauty of advertising, this explicit audio service is available for free.

Statistics

There were 42 Billion visits to Pornhub in 2019, as per the statistics that Pornhub publishes:

The 2019 year in review. Pornhub.
https://www.pornhub.com/insights/2019-year-in-review

With these numbers, is it any wonder why this was always part of the Viable Underdogs ‘launch’ plan? To be clear, this was never Plan A. As you’ll notice in the chain letter timeline, since January of 2019, I have attempted numerous ways at launching this ‘Kurt Lewin-Unfreeze-Chain Letter’ strategy from more legitimate avenues, but it has been difficult to gain any traction due to the following factors:

1 in 1000

Based on my research, outlined in the book, Renegades of Disruption, it appears that about 1 person in 1000, or 0.1%, will entertain the ideas I present. This also doesn’t account for other factors that further lower this statistic, such as those who do not speak the only language V-Dogs is currently produced in, English.

This means that in order for the Viable Underdogs Type 1 Unfreeze Chain Letter to work, it requires a communication channel that has the attributes mentioned in our ‘promotional riddle’:

-Global

-Neutral

-Relatively Quiet

Global

Most social media outlets are global, since billions of people from many nations are all connected to platforms like Instagram and Facebook. However, all of these communication channels are rather noisy. The likelihood of attracting a large enough audience to ensure my message locates the 1 in a 1000 is rather low on any of these platforms, save for one: pornography.

Neutral

Arguably, the only communication channels that uphold some form of neutrality are the fields of academia and journalism, but I have already attempted both of these channels already. These channels are also quite noisy. Other communication channels like government are, by nature, not neutral. With the exception of the United Nations, there is not really a global communication channel for government that individuals like myself have access to. As well, there exists perceptions that the United Nations is not globally neutral. I am not here to comment one way or the other. I am merely stating that this perception exists, regardless of the reality.

Relatively Quiet

Relatively Quiet means that the communication channel is not saturated with individuals and organizations seeking publicity and/or validation. In the world of 2020, quiet communication channels are practically non-existent.

There is only one communication channel that is global, neutral and relatively quiet. Unfortunately, many people may not be receptive of utilizing a taboo communication channel like Pornhub. As a reminder, this was never Plan A.

However, of all options available, this option always had the highest likelihood of success, since it’s the only option that fits the necessary criteria. It’s certainly not an ideal situation, but a compromised global communication system is a global crisis and during a crisis, one needs to use any and all resources at one’s disposal.

Does there exist a better idea?

This is sincere question. I racked my brain over this for a long time, and I never did come up with any other communication channel that fits the criteria. Keep in mind, while there may be some niche channels that are less noisy, I require a rather large initial audience to locate 1 person out of a 1000 that will help the chain letter locate the critical mass of people necessary for successful global deployment of the strategy.

If you have a suggestion that I have overlooked, then I encourage you get in touch and provide a better suggestion. I’m all ears.

On some level, I suppose I always knew that if I was going to make a final stand for the fate of our civilization, that it would always start on a site like Pornhub. ;)

3. SECOND LAUNCH & WHY

More info on the first launch and start of the second launch can be found here:

Article 9: Understanding the Numbers

Viable Underdogs is an altruistic chain letter that seeks to diffuse consistent, fact-checked, unbiased information to combat the misinformation, disinformation, and fake news that is prominent throughout many global communication channels. Based on smaller scale proof-of-concepts that can be found in the field of Business Management, the idea should work in theory.

The first launch of this idea was attempted in August and September of 2019. This included promotional campaigns on Social Media, while also attempting to present the idea to various academics and journalists all over the globe.

Following the failure of the first launch, changes were implemented to hopefully increase the success rate of the second (and most likely final) launch. This involved creating more material to further support the material presented in the Podcast-Audiobook, including some of the new material focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, since this is the exact thing that was predicted by Viable Underdogs last summer: that our ability to communicate during a global crisis is compromised. Following the second launch, I will work on creating a much more thorough and flushed out strategy for global pandemics. For a teaser on what will be presented, check out the Viable Underdogs Coronavirus Series.

Attempts to contact academics and journalists were made a second time with the new material. This was to ensure that I had completely exhausted every other option prior to diffusing the altruistic chain letter in a communication channel that arguably removes legitimacy and may turn off some potential readers and listeners.

Once uploaded into the communication channel, I will work on promoting it by using various strategies ranging from humorous to more serious. Based on the success rate after a week or two, I will reevaluate the strategy at that time. If there is still no success, then the chain letter will once again be put on indefinite hiatus. I will leave the material up, but I am out of ideas on how to promote them following this attempt. Deploying the strategies presented in V-Dogs was never intended to be done in this manner. The Podcast-Audiobook was the back-up plan and diffusing it in an unorthodox communication channel like pornographic video streaming was the backup plan for the backup plan. I do feel a great deal of disappointment, and not just directed to myself.

4. A STORY AS OLD AS CIVILIZATION ITSELF

(Altruistic Chain Letter - Red Version)

“Bullshit sells, don’t you ever forget it.”

-Sturgill Simpson

It’s a story as old as civilization itself: overwhelming resistance to a new, disruptive idea. This happened in the medical field, when doctors initially scoffed at the idea of hand-washing and sterilization. This happened with leaded fuel in the 20th century, when scientists scoffed at the idea that lead was poisonous. And it is happening right now, as I am trying to present strategies that will prevent more global crises and catastrophes that have become more frequent over the last two short decades.

Events like the 2008 Economic Crisis, the COVID-19 Crisis, and the ongoing Sustainability Crisis are all symptoms of a deeper, underlying root problem.

This is my story, but I sincerely hope, with the deepest level of humility and empathy, that you, my audience, decide to make it our story. This is the story of our planet and our species. What makes humanity great and what makes us terrible. Our strengths and our weaknesses. Our triumphs and our failures. And this is only chapter one…

‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Chain Letter

The Viable Underdogs Chain Letter is a story that spans 16 months about my various attempts to promote the ideas contained within, while simultaneously also teaching you about the concepts themselves. It is as short I was able to make it to ensure it achieves its desired effect. This 16 month long message is an attempt to shift public perception and teach the fundamentals behind a brand new academic field: Global ‘Type 1’ Management.

There are various ways you can consume the material, depending on your personal preference. It’s important to note that all my work has dates attached to it, starting from January 5, 2019 with EPISODE 1 / CHAPTER 1 in the Podcast-Audiobook. As more material is created, it builds upon the work already explored in previous materials, so it is beneficial to consume the material in sequential order by the date added, although it is certainly not necessary if you’re feeling more adventurous. The ‘Blue’ Version of this article outlines the sequential order the material was written and originally presented in.

Anything can be read, listened to, or watched on its own, and will include any necessary references on material it builds upon.

NOTE: You may notice comments I have left that encourage any reader to start by reading Renegades of Disruption. If you intend to consume all the material, then ignore the messages. If you decide not to, then Renegades is the book to read.

Choose your own adventure:

*The Academic Route (FREE PDF copies of all books included in the link)

*The 'Bookworm' Route - Read whichever book title initially interest you the most:

A Type 1 Unfreeze-Chain Letter: Laterally Applying Change Management Concepts to Correct Compromised Global Communication Channels.

Renegades of Disruption: How to Overcome Humanity's Overwhelming Resistance to Change & New Ideas.

Uncage Human Ingenuity: A Realistic, Profitable Global Transition to Sustainability Within 10 Years.

*The COVID-19 Route - start by reading the Perception 'Communication, Perception,& Reality' Series and the 'COVID-19' Series, but keep in mind, this material builds heavily on already explored concepts, so it might be a tad more challenging.

*The Sustainability Route - Listen to the Podcast-Audiobook while you read along with the written version, A Type 1 Unfreeze-Chain Letter.

*The ‘My Story’ Route (included in the Blue Version of the Executive Summary)

5. A CALL TO ACTION

(‘Intense’ Red Version)

As individuals, we all have differing motivations and ambitions. As such, what may seem as motivational to one person may be seen as offensive to another and vice versa. With this in mind, two separate and very different motivational speeches were crafted. The following Red Version is designed to be much more intense and arguably pessimistic, while the other Blue Version is a more ‘laid back’ and upbeat version. Feel free to read both, but keep in mind that it’s possible one or neither of them appeal to you very much (maybe you hate motivational speeches). On the other hand, perhaps both will equally appeal to you. The Blue Version borrows material from the very end of the book, A Type 1 Unfreeze-Chain Letter, while the Red Version borrows material from EPISODE 25 / CHAPTER 25. You can read the chapter in A Type 1 Unfreeze Chain Letter, or listen to the audio version in the Podcast-Audiobook.

Note: You may notice a tone change three quarters of the way thru. Some readers might find it off-putting, which is its desired effect, but if you don't like it, then I recommend following the sequential order of the V-Dogs Chain Letter outlined in the Blue version, rather than the 'choose your own adventure' options. This tone change occurs when the excerpt pulled from Chapter 25 of the book, A Type 1 Unfreeze-Chain Letter, begins.

Play whatever music gets you fired up, grab your favourite beverage, slap on your favourite aviators, pop your collar, and get yourself psyched. ‘Cause here comes another motivational pep talk:

Red Version

This message goes out to every human being living everywhere on this rock. This is a plea for level-headed thinking, and mostly free from cognitive biases and associative barriers. This is a call to action. This call goes out to every individual, city, nation, and international body that exists on our planet. This call goes out to every religion and system of belief. This call goes out to every business and organization, big and small, and entrepreneurs. This call goes out to every worker in every occupation. This call goes out to every leader and government on this globe.

Compromised global communication channels is unprecedented in all of human history. When soldiers lose their ability to effectively communicate with each other, it loses battles (much like some battles lost on COVID-19). Effective communication and intelligent management is no joke. We are at war, ladies and gentleman, make no mistake about it. Don’t trivialize it either. We are in a war to defend truth.

This isn’t some type of conspiracy. It’s just problems that occur when an organization as large as ours, our current global civilization, grows to the level it currently is. And while, thankfully, traditional war seems less probable in this style of organization, it leaves itself far more vulnerable to other problems. Problems like our global pandemic and sustainability.

Our ability to communicate is compromised and you’re seeing this on the current pandemic. I need to temporarily hijack our communication systems to restore our alarm system. But I can’t do this alone.

If enough people forward Viable Underdogs and embed the #YouBuying hashtag, the strategy will work. This was written with the idea that 80% or more of people will agree with 80% or more of the material. I doubt more could ever be possible (as per the Pareto Principle).

"Dear friends, let there be no doubt about the urgency of the crisis"

The only thing that will save us is doubling down on human ingenuity. Every solution I propose already has proof of concept in another field. It’s just never been attempted on this scale.

This is the biggest fight in the history of our species, and I signed onto the losing side. This isn’t a fight against an obvious enemy:

This is a fight against ignorance.

This is a fight against pride.

This is a fight against fear of change.

This is a fight against human insecurities.

This is a fight against bias and prejudice.

This is a fight against our own ‘law-of-least-effort’ natures.

But most of all, it’s a fight against apathy.

Hey. Earth. Wake the fuck up!

Your home is on fire.

-Originally published on June 30, 2019.

#YouBuying?

#ViableUnderdogs

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References

United Nations (2018). United Nations. UN Chief on Climate Change and his vision for the 2019 Climate Change Summit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsi5Vp_6tdE

A Lateral Disruption of Streaming Services:

Alexander, J. (2019). The Verge. The golden age of YouTube is over.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/5/18287318/youtube-logan-paul-pewdiepie-demonetization-adpocalypse-premium-influencers-creators

Heritage, S. (2019) The Guardian. Streaming TV is about to get very expensive - here’s why.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/27/streaming-tv-is-about-to-get-very-expensive-heres-why

Kovach, S. (2019). CNBC. Alphabet had more than $70 billion in market cap wiped out, and it says YouTube is one of the problems.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/youtube-algorithm-changes-negatively-impact-google-ad-revenue.html

Liedtke, M. (2009). ABC News. Guessing game: how much money is YouTube losing?
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=7868311&page=1

Solon, O. (2016). The Guardian. Pornhub launches explicit audio for the visually impaired.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jun/15/pornhub-launches-porn-blind-described-video

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix

Saturday, 18 April 2020

Acknowledgements & Thanks

Since many of the blog posts were a tad on the bleak side, I figured it would be appropriate to try and complete this work on a slightly more positive note and I also think it’s important to provide credit where credit is due.

Throughout the course of my life, I have been very fortunate at some of the opportunities that presented themselves, including living abroad and so far traveling to over 25 countries. Our species is far from perfect, but it’s a truly magnificent world we live in comprised of fascinating cultures and many beautiful people all around the globe. If I didn’t think that, I never would have embarked on this Viable Underdogs adventure.

Chapter 33 - Part 2 (A Type 1 Unfreeze-Chain-Letter)

The audio version of this chapter can be listened to here:EPISODE 33 / CHAPTER 33

(Originally Published August 14, 2019)

The famous scientist, Isaac newton, is often quoted as having said: “I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” This quote is often used to show appreciation for those that came before and added to the Sea of Knowledge. Without all the discoveries passed along from our ancestors, we would not have the world we have today. Though, to be fair, some think that Newton was being sarcastic, particularly as he had a reputation for being about as humble as Drax. The quote is often originally attributed to John of Salisbury, but its also possible he snagged the quote from someone else.

However, the underlying meaning of the quote is still relevant. Even the most ‘least dumb’ people that have ever lived on Earth could not have made the same discoveries they did without the others that came before them. But I think it even goes further from that. This may be a tad ‘fromage,’ but it’s a society that allows people to make discoveries, since discoveries require the following:

* Access to the Sea of Knowledge. Even right now, millions of people constantly ensure that this access grows every single day.

* Time. Discoveries typically take lots of time and hard work. Sometimes they require the undivided attention of the person doing the discovering. This would not be possible without a society providing easy access to food, water, sanitation, electricity, emergency services, cold beers for yours truly, etc.

* Funding. Often times, sources of funding are hard to come by, and requires those that believe in the discoverer’s ideas to pony up the cash.

* And then, other times, the discoverer requires different types of unconventional support.

Dmitri Mendeleev

To illustrate, here is the story of Dmitri Mendeleev’s mother. In the mid 1800’s, when Dmitri was still a young boy, his father went blind, so his mother was forced to reopen the family glass factory as a way too support a ridiculous amount of children. Many of our ancestors were kinda like rabbits, so historians cannot even agree on just how many children there was in this family. Shortly thereafter, the father died, leaving the mother to tend to the children on her own, and then the glass factory burned down.

Despite all the hardships, Dmitri’s mother believed that her son was destined for scientific greatness, and this was a time where access to the Well of knowledge was more restrictive, which would probably explain why she was willing to cross the massive country with Dmitri on horseback. Today, this would be a 31 hour car ride. Imagine how much harder this would be on horseback. And imagine the thrill of finally making it to Moscow, and then imagine being told…. no dice. Moscow university would not be admitting young Dmitri. What would you do in this situation? If you said, another 8 hour car ride up to St. Petersburg, you would be correct. Except, more tired, and more horse, and no car ride, and basically poor.

Luckily, St Petersburg hesitantly accepted Dmitri, and he went on to help father the Periodic Table of the Elements in Chemistry. But it is hard to imagine he would have been able to do that without the support of his tenacious mother. Full disclosure: I.. uh borrowed this story from Crash Course Chemistry #4 on YouTube. Their version is a whole lot better too.

Even though we all know and remember many famous names, we oftentimes forget that in many cases, these individuals had many people supporting them and affording them the ability to make these discoveries.

If Stanislav Petrov had instead decided to believe the readings the early-warning detection system was providing him with, see EPISODE 31 / CHAPTER 31, we’re willing to bet you wouldn’t be listening to this podcast right now. It could be argued that he is partially responsible for any new discovery occurring after 1983. It’s not just him either. There are lots of other unsung heroes, whose actions have allowed us to live in the world we have today. There are lots of people every day, doing their part to make this world a slightly better world than it was yesterday. Although, Its often hard to see, since we’ve still got a lot of problems and challenges we need to address.

Throughout the course of my diagnostic, creating the podcast, writing the books, and crafting out strategies, I was humbled by the sheer vastness of the Sea of Knowledge. Every time I hit a snag, it turns out someone else had already encountered similar problems and had already proposed a solution. Even if these people have long since died, it kinda felt like they were still communicating with the world thru their ideas, which I am sincerely humbled to have the privilege to share with you now.

I did my best to provide credit where it was due throughout this work, ‘cause all of these names played a small role in crafting all of these strategies. Even though I never had a team, organization, or university supporting me, I never for a minute felt like I was doing this alone ‘cause I had the written works of some of the best and brightest minds guiding me along, motivating me, and providing expertise.

Every episode I wrote, I heard Howard Aiken telling me that I really needed to “ram these new ideas down people’s throats,” and that I needed to expect that this would not be an easy sell. Kurt Lewin challenging me that I can only change things I understand. And Rama Nemani, the NASA scientist, who reminded me that we are usually fairly logical as a species: If a problem exists, and no one is really fixing it, it probably means many people don’t realize the problem exists.

I am thankful for friends and family, who may not always have understood exactly what I was working on, but were open minded enough for me to engage them in order to bounce some ideas off them. Not to mention them listening to me for hours on end. If I couldn’t get them to understand, how would we then get you, my random audience who doesn’t know me, to understand.

I am thankful for educational content like Crash course, SciShow and Khan Academy on YouTube. They increased access to knowledge, and if those shows didn’t exist, it’s entirely possible that V-Dogs would not exist either. I was also able to snag additional materials for free from educational institutions and my local public library, yup those are still a thing.

I am thankful for the many awesome people I have met during my ongoing travels throughout the world.

And most of all, I am thankful to anyone who has taken time out of their busy lives to listen to my ideas. Regardless of how you decide to choose, I still thank you for taking the time. What I’m asking of you isn’t easy, but I wouldn’t for a second ask it of you if I didn’t believe in the ridiculous power of human ingenuity. And I hope you appreciate the beauty of it as much as I do. It’s pretty cool that anyone can take an idea as small as Lateral Thinking, combine it with the largest free reserve of knowledge known in the Universe, with a free state of the art search engine, to make this both terrible and awesome idea for a couple hundred bucks.

And most, most of all, I am personally thankful to my mom. Her strength and tenacity shifted some of my old beliefs and preconceptions, and in doing so, encouraged me to pursue these ideas.

If this whole thing falls flat, then, that’s on me. If it succeeds, however, then she is the one I am thanking ‘cause just like without Dmitri’s mom, there might not be a Periodic Table of Elements, without my mom, there never would have been Viable Underdogs.

Cheers.

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Friday, 10 April 2020

ARTICLE 12 - Part 3: Proof of Compromised Global Communication Channels

This article is Part 3 of the ‘Perception’ series on this blog. You can find Parts 1 & 2 here:

Problem #7: Incorrect Global Perception

Perception & Social Media Amplification

This section also builds upon ideas in our ‘COVID-19’ series on this blog. You can find Parts 1, 2, & 3 here:

An Outbreak of Terrible Communication & Leadership - Part 1

An Outbreak of Terrible Communication & Leadership - Part 2

An Outbreak of Terrible Communication & Leadership - Part 3

The problem identified in this article is a direct cause of the Fundamental Disruption of Journalism:

The Fall of Journalism

UPDATE: April 17, 2020:

Final COVID-19 update (on this blog) included at the end of this article. A much more thorough report and strategy will be available in the near future once it is completed.

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Reality + Perception = ‘Truth’

Subjective perceptions can sometimes alter objective reality. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, this occurred with products like toilet paper.

PERCEPTION: “There is a supply shortage of toilet paper.”

REALITY: “In most places, there was adequate supply of toilet paper."

If enough people subjectively perceive a shortage, they alter objective reality by hoarding supplies and creating a shortage.

When perception is not aligned with reality, it indicates there are compromised communication channels. Anytime there is a crisis, throughout News Media and Social Media, 3 conflicting messages are communicated simultaneously:

Message #1: “There is a problem, and it’s a CRISIS.”
Message #2: “There is a problem, but it’s not a crisis.”
Message #3: “There is no problem.”

Here’s a 2015 survey that shows this on a global level with sustainability:

SOURCE: Pew Research Center

54% of the global population believe sustainability is a problem, which also means that 46% do not believe it’s a problem. **

51% of the global population believe sustainability is harming people now, which indicates the problem has now escalated into a crisis. This also means 49% do not believe a crisis exists. **

These three conflicting messages create three separate perceptions, which theoretically correspond to three separate ‘realities’:

In the previous chart, for each perception + reality outcome, there are two factors to consider:

-If a problem actually exists

-If there is disagreement between the perception and corresponding reality, which indicates compromised communication channels.

Three conflicting perception messages indicate a 67% probability the problem itself exists, and a 100% certainty of compromised communication channels, since it’s impossible there exists more than one corresponding reality.

These conflicting messages (caused by compromised communication channels) are occurring presently on the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the results can be seen in countries like the United States.

And our communication systems are only able to communicate one crisis at a time. Otherwise, news sources that were reporting on sustainability as though it was a crisis in 2019 would still be doing so in 2020.

#YouBuying?

#ViableUnderdogs

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References

A list of all the Viable Underdogs material can be found here:

Book Links & Other Viable Underdogs Material

Carle, J., Stokes, B., & Wike, R. (2015). Pew Research Center. Global concern about climate change, broad support for limiting emissions.
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/11/05/global-concern-about-climate-change-broad-support-for-limiting-emissions/

** While, I admit that some may argue that I have taken some liberties with the messages in the included chart, it’s not exactly hard to find examples of these conflicting messages. Climate activists that made the news rounds in 2019 are communicating message #1. Message #2 is from the majority of news outlets who carry on as though the problem exists, but it’s not a crisis (as seen with the fact that COVID-19 is taking center-stage in April 2020 when last year it was activists like Greta). Message #3 is sent out by climate change deniers, who are still a significant minority of the population, as seen in this article:

Harvey, F., & Milman, O. (2019). The Guardian. US is hotbed of climate change denial, major global study finds.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/07/us-hotbed-climate-change-denial-international-poll

FINAL COVID-19 UPDATE:

Before the final V-Dogs launch in a few days, I wanted to post two small updates regarding the ongoing pandemic since I will no longer be adding articles in ‘real time.’ The first is an example of communication delays and two conflicting perceptions being diffused into our global communication systems. First, here are the official statements from the WHO:

World Health Organization. (2020). World Health Organization. WHO Director General’s statement on the advice of the IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus.
https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-statement-on-the-advice-of-the-ihr-emergency-committee-on-novel-coronavirus

This statement was released on January 23, 2020 - one week prior to the WHO declaring a public health emergency. Now compare this to something written over two months later, which challenges the severity and urgency of the situation and constantly challenges what numbers to be concerned about:

Bennett, J., & Leibsohn, S. (2020). Real Clear Politics. An advantaged disease, indeed.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/06/an_advantaged_disease_indeed_142867.html

I am not here to present an opinion one way or the other about who is right or wrong. This is a global problem and we can either decide to all accept partial responsibility or we can resort to childish finger-pointing.

The WHO needs to ensure effective communication by making sense of the numbers for the average person who is not an epidemiologist or statistician and doesn’t understand ‘exponential growth.’

Exponential Growth

Here’s an analogy some of you may be very familiar with:

If you had to decide between accepting a million dollars vs a penny that doubles in value every day for 30 days, which would you choose?

Day 1: $0.01
Day 2: $0.02
Day 3: $0.04
Day 4: $0.08
Day 5: $0.16

Day 6: $0.32
Day 7: $0.64
Day 8: $1.28
Day 9: $2.56
Day 10: $5.12

Day 11: 10.24
Day 12: 20.48
Day 13: 40.96
Day 14: 81.92
Day 15: 163.84

Day 16: 327.68
Day 17: 655.36
Day 18: 1,310.72
Day 19: 2,621.44
Day 20: 5,242.88

Day 21: 10,485.76
Day 22: 20,971.52
Day 23: 41,943.04
Day 24: 83,886.08
Day 25: 167,772.16

Day 26: 335,544.32
Day 27: 671,088.64
Day 28: 1,342,177.28
Day 29: 2,684,354.56

Day 30: 5,368,709.12

Infection rates are no different. Keeping this in mind, I encourage you to watch this video which was uploaded on the YouTube channel, minutephysics, which explains exponential growth on COVID-19:

Minute Physics: How To Tell If We're Beating COVID-19

References

Bennett, J., & Leibsohn, S. (2020). Real Clear Politics. An advantaged disease, indeed.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/06/an_advantaged_disease_indeed_142867.html
****Note: Although some may argue this is a niche opinion piece, this story was amplified by News Media and Social Media.

World Health Organization. (2020). World Health Organization. WHO Director General’s statement on the advice of the IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus.
https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-statement-on-the-advice-of-the-ihr-emergency-committee-on-novel-coronavirus

Wednesday, 1 April 2020

The End of the Road....

UPDATE: May 1, 2020 included at the end of this article.

A couple years ago, when I started out with these ideas and strategies, I was under the impression that 1 person out of 40 would be willing to entertain them. For more info on why I thought this, you can check out Part 4 of Renegades of Disruption: Beyond the Rogers Adoption Curve.

Sadly, as you’ll read in that section of the book, it has now become more evident that the number is likely closer to 1 out of 1000 people, or 0.1% of the global population.

Stanislav Petrov

Matthews, D., (2018). Vox. 36 years ago today, one man saved us from world-ending nuclear war.

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/26/17905796/nuclear-war-1983-stanislav-petrov-soviet-union

The reason I have mentioned Stanislav Petrov a few times within my work is that I have often asked myself if I would have responded the same way he did given the same circumstances.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to answer that question. Petrov was being asked to decide which had failed, technology or people, and he ultimately decided it was technology. But really, it was people that failed, otherwise he never would have been in that situation in the first place: forced to make a decision that would decide the fate of our species. That sort of decision should never have to be decided by one single person. It was the entire world that had failed. Luckily, Petrov stepped up and performed admirably.

Alignments

When writing or playing fictional characters, there is a spectrum that balances ‘goodness’ and ‘lawfulness’ to better explain character behaviours.

Here’s an outline on this spectrum:

http://easydamus.com/alignment.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)

Like many things, this should be seen more as a guideline than strict rules. When global change is required on the level I have identified, the success rate becomes much higher if the individual spearheading this change is defined more as ‘Lawful Good’ or ‘Neutral Good’ versus an individual who is ‘Chaotic Neutral.’

It’s better to have a Captain America or a Wonder Woman leading such a change, rather than a Catwoman or a Deadpool.

Regardless of exactly where I sit on this ‘Alignment Spectrum,’ it’s not like the consequences of the problems I have identified don’t bother me. Of course they do. The potential deaths of billions or more is hard to ignore. However, at some point, I have to make my peace with the fact that I have failed at locating a receptive audience, and it does not appear I have made any traction since January 2019 when I started the Viable Underdogs Podcast-Audiobook.

There is little doubt in my mind that this ‘Viable Underdogs Unfreeze-Chain Letter Strategy’ will work if enough people buy into it, I just don’t see that happening. My life experience leads me to believe that it is unlikely anyone would be willing to lower their associative barriers on the required level to entertain these ideas. Doing so would require an individual to abandon a part of their identity, and who in their right mind would be willing to do something like that?

Maybe I’m wrong. If I am, then I would still encourage you to forward on this Viable Underdogs Chain Letter.

What’s Next

As for me, I have to learn to make my peace with this monumental failure. Though, even given the chance to do it again, I’m not sure there’s anything I could have done differently that would alter the reception of these ideas, and increase their success rate.

There are a couple updates I will soon be adding to this article that outline:

* What I attempted for this second launch attempt (including the email that was sent out in an attempt to gain traction).

* My last promotional strategy that should be uploaded and complete by the end of April 2020.

After that, I don’t think there is anything more I can do since I cannot convince anyone to read the material and take my claims seriously. This means it is unlikely there will be more V-Dogs material being produced after a couple minor updates in the near future.

Maybe It Is Too Easy, Simple, & Obvious?

All of these global, Type 1, problems can be addressed.

All that’s required is a critical mass of people to forward and share these ideas, but after years of trying, I cannot even locate one person, let alone a critical mass. While I have located some people who think I may be onto something, they are either unwilling or unable to lower their associative barriers to fully understand the material. Who can blame them though? 999 people out of 1000 would behave the same.

My Review

Overall, if I would have to rate this V-Dogs experience over the last few years, I’d rate it 2 stars out of a possible 5. It cost me lots of time, money, and put additional stress on all my relationships. Some people no longer speak to me. And I now have to find a way to move on from all this, despite the fact these many global problems still exist.

Had my initial launch worked last year, there’s a chance the COVID-19 numbers would be a lot lower. Maybe the global pandemic could have been averted altogether. Those deaths, and the deaths that will occur based on best-case scenarios for the problems I have identified, will never cease to be on my conscience.

YOUR Decision

Would you rather be the 999 / 1000 people who bury the heads even further up their own asses, indulging their warped views of reality, or do you want to make your peace with my unpleasant truth, and work on solving these problems?

This is your world. And, as always, this is your decision to make.

Cheers,

-Your friendly neighbourhood ‘chaotic-neutral’ guy

#YouBuying?

#ViableUnderdogs

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All Viable Underdogs material, including free book downloads, can be found here:

https://viableunderdogs.blogspot.com/2020/02/book-links-other-viable-underdogs.html

UPDATE:

It’s not my intent to add too many updates, unless there is something significant to add. Recently, one of the experts I have referenced in the Viable Underdogs material responded when I reached out to them. I won’t specify too many details, since I wouldn’t want to single out the individual. As per the research outlined in the book, Renegades of Disruption, this expert didn’t exactly argue the points I made, but did appear to dismiss them and give the impression I was making a bigger deal out of something than it was.

This exact same thing happened when I presented the Peak Demand Stagger Strategy to an engineer who specialized in exactly this sort of thing. Again, although this engineer agreed the strategy was valid, they responded by saying the strategy was more of a mere curiosity than something that could yield meaningful results.

As a species, we really do seem to have a disability when it comes to seeing the bigger picture. It’s very easy for us to scale down ideas than it is for us to scale them up.

Experts Have High Associative Barriers

What all this means is that the experts whose works I have referenced continuously throughout Viable Underdogs would all likely dismiss the ideas presented within. This presents an odd dilemma to me as a researcher and writer. If I was only presenting you, my audience, with one fundamentally disruptive idea, then the success rate would be higher than the three (arguably more) fundamentally disruptive ideas present in my work:

* Incorrect Global Perception that is affecting every single person on this planet.

* The Silo Effect of Knowledge: solutions to just about every problem facing our species already exist, and merely need to be either scaled up, or laterally applied from another field.

* The Slow Acceptance of New Ideas: this includes the problems of associative barriers, cognitive fallacies, and other social and psychological factors.

The more I have attempted to present these ideas, the more it becomes apparent that people are unlikely to entertain them. The ideas are simply too large to fathom. I was unaware of the full extent of these challenges when I started Viable Underdogs.

Whose to blame for all these problems?

If you have read all my work, then you’ll notice where I have assigned the majority of the blame. This was never with the intent to finger-point. The groups mentioned would likely be the largest sources of resistance and dismissal of the ideas presented in V-Dogs, and the intent was to proactively prevent a high level of resistance.

In reality, we’re all to blame.

Our species is drowning in biases, cognitive fallacies and other social and psychological factors that detract from our ability to see unbiased truths in our world. Many of us don’t have the stomachs to entertain harsh realities, so we bury our hands deep in the sand and pretend the problems don’t exist. And last, we have becomes very skilled at distracting ourselves. We’ve chosen to mostly ignore the greater world around us; the same attitude that has allowed genocides to occur, slavery to continue, and the current pandemic to occur.

Globally, every one of us is complicit in this. If you disagree with that statement, then this is evidence of the social and psychological factors I just mentioned. It’s easy to shift blame. It’s much harder to accept responsibility and hold oneself accountable.

I’ve mentioned before that Viable Underdogs was initially my full-time job and it eventually simply became a hobby, since I was running out of ideas on how to promote these strategies. As of now, I am officially out of ideas. For the time being, I will leave the Podcast and blog up in case I come up with something else.

Even though I wrote an entire book on the slow acceptance of new ideas, it never ceases to amaze me just how slow we are.

Turning Point

When a situation has escalated into a crisis, it fundamentally represents a turning point; a fork in the road with two very different paths. As a species, it appears we have chosen the much more difficult path that has far greater potential consequences.

The offer of my consulting services will remain on the table. Even in May of 2020, I am quite confidant that the strategies I propose could dramatically mitigate the loss of life and the economic impacts of COVID-19. Not to mention, the strategies proposed could also transition our planet towards sustainability - something that, I assure you, will be taking centre-stage in the very near future.

My work is based on probabilities. Currently, there is overwhelming probability that COVID-19 represents a small tremor of the massive earthquakes looming on the horizon.

Although I have never felt so confidant in something I have worked on, never in my life did I ever want to be wrong so badly.

-The Last Clockmaker on Mars
May 1, 2020

Friday, 27 March 2020

ARTICLE 10 - Part 3: An Outbreak of Terrible Communication & Leadership

“We engage in a microscopic war against parasites that could annihilate us.”

-From Episode 15 of the Podcast-Audiobook

(Originally Published April 14, 2019)

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Viable Underdogs concerns itself with anything that is a Type 1, or global, issue. You can check an outline of all Viable Underdogs books and materials in this post. As always, I strongly recommend starting with the book, Renegades of Disruption, first:Book Links & Other Viable Underdogs Material

This is Part 3 of our continuing series that compares the ongoing Coronavirus Crisis to other crises like Sustainability. Here are links to Parts 1 & 2:

Part 1

Part 2

UPDATE: April 4, 2020: A report that outlines Taiwan's strategy and other info have been included at the end of the article.

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At the end of Part 2 in Uncage Human Ingenuity, I mentioned my concerns about our inability to communicate global messages. Here was the exact quote (typo and all):

“Not so much due to the Sustainability Crisis, but it became more and more apparent that our ability to communicate global messages [and] ideas was compromised. This is a profoundly significant notion that can carry dire consequences.” **

Compromised Communication

As outlined throughout a lot of the research presented within Viable Underdogs, our ability to successfully communicate is compromised. The book, Uncage Human Ingenuity, displays this on the subject of the Sustainability Crisis, and Parts 1 and 2 of this article display this on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Even the fact-checking website, Snopes, is having trouble keeping on top of the high level of misinformation and disinformation on the ongoing global crisis:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/snopes-coronavirus-misinformation

I have mentioned fact-checking websites like Snopes (www.snopes.com) as far back as EPISODE 8. Snopes is a popular resource used by responsible journalists to verify their information prior to publishing (Shah, D., 2019).

The high level of misinformation means there is far, far too much noise which vastly decreases the success rate of my second launch attempt (See Article 9 - Part 2). This is the reason that I will likely have to proceed with the second stage in this launch, but I’ll be updating all of that in an upcoming article.

There are no shortages of individuals and organizations that appear to trivialize the impacts of the ongoing Coronavirus Crisis. After all, if you’re a healthy individual, the odds lean very heavily you’ll survive exposure to this virus. However, this is a very shortsighted opinion to hold since a global crisis of this magnitude has the potential to create unforeseen consequences:

-It can create chaos throughout many global supply chains, including our ability to globally ensure adequate (and crucial) supplies of food and water. Although some still enjoy the luxury of easy access to clean water, there are more and more water shortages occurring globally. (See References section)

-It can initiate a massive global recession (or depression) on a similar magnitude of the Crisis in Economics that occurred in 2008. As a reminder, some experts are suggesting our ability to absorb another such global economic crisis is also compromised (Stewart, E., 2018). Even if our economic systems can absorb the impacts of this crisis, it leaves them far more vulnerable from future problems, which will increase in severity and frequency if the solutions I present are not implemented in a timely manner.

-It causes massive strain on Healthcare systems, many of which, according to Harvard Business, are also already in crisis (Harvard Business Review. 2018). This means that access to crucial life-saving emergency services can be heavily restricted or even removed if the Healthcare system fails in a particular region.

-It causes massive disruptions to everyday life, particularly in extreme cases, where governments are left with little alternative but to enact some form of heavy military or police enforcement to ensure the general population adheres to quarantine protocols.

-It also causes many issues that can compound one another. I provide an example of this later in the article with the company, Airbnb.

Here’s another example of an economic factor that many nations, like Canada, are quickly attempting to reactively deal with:

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2020/03/introduces-canada-emergency-response-benefit-to-help-workers-and-businesses.html

This article, released by the Department of Finance Canada says the following about the current Employment Insurance system:

“The EI system was not designed to process the unprecedented high volume of applications received in the past week.”

Though I commend the Government of Canada for its overall response (it has responded much more quickly and effectively than other nations), this is still indicative of reactive thinking rather than proactive thinking. Once again, if a strategy had been created prior to the crisis occurring, then problems such as these could be mitigated to a large degree and possibly even prevented from occurring altogether.

This type of global crisis is a no-win scenario for every individual, organization, business, and nation on the globe. Our economics and supply chains are so interdependent that no entity is insulated from the impacts of a crisis of this potential magnitude. However, our communication system is compromised, which means that not every individual, organization, business, and nation on the globe has successfully received this message. If they did, then there would not be conflicting messages on the current severity of the crisis. Just ask the fact-checking website Snopes I mentioned earlier. They can’t even keep up. If that isn’t further evidence of a compromised global communication system, I don’t know what is.

Are your associative barriers low enough to understand that this extends to more than just Sustainability and Coronavirus into every Type 1 (Global) problem? At the end of the article, I’ll explore this in a bit more detail.

Why isn’t everyone getting the message?

As you’ll notice in Parts 1 and 2, there are several factors that compound one another to result in this compromised global communication, but one of the largest contributing factors goes back to a story you’re likely familiar with:

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

For those who many not know they story, it’s basically about how the more people are exposed to deception, the less likely they are to take action when it’s actually necessary. Regardless of where you reside on the political spectrum (See Article 1: The Fall of Journalism), you’re likely aware of just how polarizing and inaccurate many global news sources have become. Many of them are constantly ‘crying wolf’ with clickbait-type stories and create unnecessary amplification of many issues (See: Article 12 - Part 2).

The more these types of click-bait type stories are run, the greater the possibility that the general public reacts the same way as they do when the wolf is actually present - by not taking action. This is otherwise known as Outrage Fatigue.

Outrage Fatigue

Outrage Fatigue was briefly mentioned in the books, Uncage Human Ingenuity and Renegades of Disruption, and it basically means what the name implies. Much like the townsfolk crew tired and fatigued at the deception of the boy who cried wolf, so too is the general public tired and fatigued at the the deception behind the click-bait nature of modern journalism. Here’s an article that explores this idea in greater detail:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/modern-outrage-is-making-it-harder-to-bettersociety/article38179877/

Update on the Strategy Presented in Part 2

In Part 2 of this article, I recommended the attachment of ‘stickied’ type notes from organizations and individuals from all 5 Roles back to the organization in charge to correct communication and clarify leadership. As always, I am not alone in this idea. Some businesses and organizations have already taken it upon themselves to do exactly this. Reddit has done this (but directs their audience to the CDC), and even Spotify and Tinder is also doing this within their apps:

To clarify, I provide these examples to show that most organizations would likely participate in the opt-in system I propose. The strategy I propose would also ensure far more consistency and would ensure that these are uploaded far sooner than what occurred in this crisis.

Another entity I would add would be streaming services like Netflix, due to the large amount of exposure some have on platforms like these.

The World of 2002 vs. the World of 2020

There are some major differences in our world in the short time between the last time the world faced a similar global threat in the SARS outbreak of 2002-2003.

Tourism in an age of Globalization

If we compare the global tourism statistics from 2002-2003 (during the SARS outbreak) to the statistics of 2019, then one thing becomes evidently clear:

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.DPRT?end=2018&start=1995

According to The World Bank,the number of international departures grew from about 760 million in 2002-2003 to 1.56 billion in 2018. So, there was double the tourists traveling around the world at the start of the Coronavirus outbreak than there was at the start of SARS.

This statistic does not account for another crucial factor; the increase of international departures from developing nations like China:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/rise-of-the-chinese-tourist/

The previous article cites COTRI (China Outbound Tourism Research Institute) and the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) for the data it includes. According to the article, the number of Chinese tourists has increased from 16.6 Million in 2002 to 149.7 Million in 2018 - about 9 times the amount of tourism in 16 years. The speed of globalization is compounding our ability to address these types of crises. A major contributing factor easing the spread of viruses around the globe is international travel and work.

This means that in less than 20 years, two major problems are compounding the challenges behind these microscopic threats: compromised global communication and historically unprecedented rates of international tourism. With this in mind, it makes sense that tracking any travelers at the very start of an outbreak would help in mitigating the damage caused by this style of Type 1 problem. This is why phone apps are already being proposed as a strategy to deal with this:

https://futurism.com/coronavirus-app-mit-safe-paths

https://www.france24.com/en/20200320-selfie-app-to-keep-track-of-quarantined-poles

https://futurism.com/countries-tap-phone-data-track-covid19

In order to proactively deal with this type of crisis, the minute the outbreak is known (In the case of Coronavirus this was in December, 2019), anyone currently traveling internationally could download an app similar to this style to better track the spread of the virus. This level of tracking would likely mitigate the majority of the damage caused by the virus.

There are two approaches that can be attempted with this app: One is mandatory, the other is an opt-in system. At international customs, many countries have removed some of the freedoms that are present within the nation itself (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 2018).

When I leave my country, I do so knowing there are inherent risks and sacrifices. One such sacrifice is a certain level of privacy and freedom I am afforded within my nation’s borders. Knowing this, adding in a phone app like this could be added to the loss of privacy a person can expect when they travel internationally. However, this could also be released as an opt-in system. After all, the greater the economic toll (not to mention the loss of life) this crisis takes on the world, the more likely the general population will want to prevent a reoccurence. After all, as Rama Nemani likes to remind us of what should seem obvious: “Once people realize there is a problem, they tend to fix it.”

If the current trends and statistics are any indication, international travel will only increase over time, which means the risks and collateral damage of viral outbreaks will increase as well. Knowing that this is another style of no-win scenario, then it is more than likely that the majority of international travelers will download and use such a tracking app of their own accord. After all, it’s much better to do that than it is to quarantine yourself at home for possible months on end.

There are a lot more specifics to this type of proactive approach that I would like to elaborate on, but this will have to wait for another time.

Back to the Economic Impacts

As I have repeatedly stated, the communication of the Coronavirus Crisis is rather compromised. This creates a whole range of problems, one of them being that the average person may not understand the level of urgency based on different factors that Type 1 global problems can severely aggravate. This won’t be a popular opinion, but mitigating the financial impacts of the crisis is just as important as mitigating the loss of life. If the crisis continues to be managed and communicated as terribly as it has been, then you’ll unfortunately soon learn about these economic factors. It’s appearing more and more likely that this crisis will have financial impacts similar to the 2008 Economic Crisis. This is troubling given that some experts don’t think our global economy has a much greater tolerance for the amount of abuse we continually subject it to. Even if we are able to absorb the possible trillions in financial damages, what about the other crises that are still ongoing like Sustainability?

We’re choosing a high-risk strategy where we are constantly rolling the dice for the fate of our planet. While I applaud the metaphorical cojones our species has in engaging in this high-risk behaviour, it will eventually lead to our downfall. Here are a few articles I encourage you to read if you are unfamiliar with the interdependence of our global economic system:

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-coronavirus-pandemic-global-economic-risk/

There were also articles previously mentioned in Parts 1 and 2:

https://hbr.org/2020/02/how-coronavirus-could-impact-the-global-supply-chain-by-mid-march

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51539322

And here’s another example, mentioned earlier in this article, of a global problem that can further compound existing economic issues:

https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-hosts-upset-that-theyre-paying-for-its-cancellation-policy-2020-3

Airbnb is a global organization, which means that any Airbnb host that depends on the funds they make to either support themselves or pay off their mortgage have now lost that source of income (Givetash, L, & Kane, L., 2016). If further economic stresses then impact their main source of income, then it’s likely there will be foreclosures soon occurring if those hosts cannot afford to pay their bills for the length of the crisis.

This leads to an unpleasant dilemma that governments and taxpayers already faced in the 2008 Economic Crisis - whether to approve financial assistance and other bailouts to these types of businesses. Airbnb has already contacted the U.S. Congress seeking financial assistance and tax breaks (Eaglesham, J., Grind, K., & Rana, P., 2020). If this crisis worsens, the number of businesses doing the same will also likely increase.

Sunday, 19 April 2020