A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort

 

 

Thought for the week

“Google and Facebook get away with things other companies wouldn’t.” Evgeny Morozov- author of To Save Everything, Click Here: Technology, Solutionism, and the Urge to Fix Problems that Don’t Exist- commenting on the rise of Silicon Valley, interestingly in the same week Google slammed China’s government for its attempts to control the Internet.
 

Weekly high

Whether we participate ourselves, or it’s one of our friends, ‘social smoking’ is rife across the world. Some blame the booze, others dangerously weak willpower. Either way, it’s a very bad habit considering the health consequences, and as this Canadian Ministry of Health advert proves, the whole concept is ludicrous and rather pointless.

 

Weekly low

Key reasons behind Apple’s success are reliability and after-purchase cover. At least that’s true for most of the world, whereas in China customers have to put up with reduced warranties and limited repair services once they buy one of the luxury computers. When the story broke Apple U.S. referred critics to the Beijing PR office, but so far no statement has been made. Maybe silence really does speak louder than words.
 

Things that might happen in the next week…

The petition to make online retail giant Amazon pay its fair share of UK income tax could well reach 100,000 signatures, Cypriot MPs will vote on bank reforms and capital control as the island becomes the latest insolvent European country, and on Thursday an NUJ-organised BBC strike will see staff leave their posts for a 12 hour walkout to protest compulsory redundancies, excessive workloads, bullying and harassment at the broadcaster.

Just in case you missed it…

Following the epic Leveson inquiry and subsequent report, Britain’s highly respected weekly news magazine sector, including New Statesman and The Spectator, has slammed the new press regulation reforms, with The Economist condemning the agreed deal as ‘a shameful hash’. Read more on the story here.
 
If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!