Tech Crunch: How Twitter and Facebook could bury publishers

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techcrunchTech Crunch Editor Josh Constine has a point when he rants about the latest news-features of Facebook and Twitter. The content comes from Publishers – but you wound never know, because its stripped from all links and in essence everything that would show you where this is actually coming from.

Beyond what Josh says in this video, I find it scary to digest „news“ over social networks without knowing the source – because it means that credible news media is becoming less relevant, the social media herd instinct is becoming more relevant. Which means that we become even more vulnerable for propaganda, miss-information or „flavors“ – without actually knowing so.

This, together with the commercial impacts of these developments, I find pretty scary.

Tech Crunch´s Josh Costine rants about latest social news features

And there is more here:

Twitter And Facebook Are Turning Publishers Into Ghost Writers

5 Countries leading the way in Fintech Investment (Computer Business Review)

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Computer-Business-Review-logo_620x350The Computer Business Review CBR released today an overview of the five regions investing most in FinTech. Who would have guessed? 🙂 Interesting nevertheless.

5 countries leading the way in fintech investment

Why most Fintech-Startups will fail but there is no Fintech-Bubble

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I find this very much worth reading.

http://dailyfintech.com/2015/10/14/why-most-fintech-startups-will-fail-but-there-is-no-fintech-bubble/

How IT could change (and save?) Ukraine

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Kyiv – Maidan Square. Source: primetour.ua

In my last assignment, I was fortunate enough to get to know Ukraine and its people. Its been an interesting time – when I was there first, their cleptocratic „President“ Yanukovych was in power and you could sense in the capital Kyiv that people were unhappy with the way things went. Corruption was everywhere in the public life. Billions simply disappeared in construction for the EU soccer championship and other projects – very much in the public eye. The Elite secured the access to the money, which was something the people of Ukraine hoped to have overcome with the Orange Revolution in 2004. Plus they opted for democracy and freedom and a western lifestyle back then – things which the regime was step by step taking away from them again under Yanukovych. My understanding is, having been there and then, that this were the reasons why the people of Ukraine removed Mr. Yanukovych from power.

My contact to the Ukraine was through Software Development – and I learned that it is a very strong market for near-shoring and outsourced M&A. Software Developers enjoy a very high reputation in the society and a much higher salary than the monthly average of  EUR 417. They are the hope of many as they are well educated, well paid and want an open society and peace – and if only because that is what secures their jobs. These people have and had no interest in going back in time – they stand for the principles of the Orange Revolution today. They are peaceful, dedicated and hard-working for their future.

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EU is getting serious with Payment Service Directive 2 (PSD2)

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I am curious what will actually result from this. Will the EU be right and make it easier for new business models, allowing a better, cheaper, more consumer focussed payments market in Europe? Or will it create a large number of „skins“ on existing business models – fancy looking front-end based on the same old back-end the banks have relied on for so long? And when so many new players will have it easy to enter the market-space, will that make things better for the consumers? Or more irritating and confusing? I am not convinced that the PSD2 will actually make things better – or cheaper. Only different. It will force traditional players to re-think their business models. Also I am not sure that opening access to bank accounts (or transaction accounts of other form) to new players, basically allowing them to tap into expensive infrastructure and relationships built over long time and with large budgets, is a good idea necessarily. That much I have learned in my life: there is no such thing as „free“, there is a price. And its going to be paid somehow, by someone. I suspect it will be the consumer – as its always been – just maybe in a different way, through increased account fees for instance. Like interchange regulation in various markets have made the transactions cheaper (for the merchants), the goods no cheaper to buy (for the consumers) but the annual fees for card-holders much higher. Well, we shall see.

EU Parliament Press Release about PSD2