Sridhar Ramaswami: “Now we are in this environment that everything is about grabbing our attention. And, this is where things like the free model that you, like, give that really nice vignette about sort of come into play. We are now in a world where we think we’re getting a bunch of free products; but in effect we have given away all of our attention–and attention equals dollars. And, I think economists sometimes have trouble understanding that. All of us are eminently manipulatable. The brands you’re going to remember are the ones that showed you ads, whether you cared for them or not. We have run studies, for example, where we ask people about remarketing ads. Every single person, if you talk to them, individually is 100% convinced that they can never be, like, persuaded to buy anything. But, if you ask in anonymous surveys whether they bought stuff that they didn’t really need because of remarketing ads, 50% of people will say, ‘Absolutely. I ended up spending money on junk.’ So, this stuff works, and free isn’t really free.”
Dev Lewis: “In my view the Modi government’s reactions— the app bans, military strategy, rejection of Chinese investment exemplified head in the sand behaviour that did very little to benefit Indian citizens (let alone India’s physical sovereignty for that matter). The PRC’s military actions and rhetoric reflected the CCP’s own sense of power in the world and disregard for Chinese business or citizen’s interests. People on both sides of the border lose while the States play their own game of nationalist narratives of victimhood, morality, and superiority, drawing power and legitimacy domestically from bilateral hostility. I see very few incentives for this status-quo to change.”
The Milk Road summarises Stanley Druckenmiller’s advice to young investors: “He encourages them to learn all the asset categories and how they integrate. Not easy… but fundamentals are fundamental…His number one advice to young people? Do not invest in the present. The present is not what moves stock prices. Change over time is what moves them. He says to try and envision a different world a year and a half from now.”
