Tag: Economics

Various and Sundry Writing

How Do You Combat the Ensh*ttification of Everything?

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

This is not the first time I’ve posted about enshittification, that occurence when an online platform ceases to provide value, first to its regular users, then to its business customers. In fact, I posted about it in 2023, the same year it became word of the year (according to some). So, you’ve probably experienced this online yourself on one or more platforms. It’s ridiculous, dispiriting, and infuriating in waves, isn’t it? Well, not content to…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

A Thought for your Pennies

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

After decades of debating whether or not to stop minting the penny, the United States has finally stopping minting them. Just last month, in fact. Maryclaire Dale has a good overview article for the Associated Press that came out right around the time the last pennies were being made at the Philadelphia Mint. For example, what will businesses do now that the penny is still legal tender and circulated, but no longer produced? And now…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Milwaukee has your layover plans covered

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I knew Milwaukee’s Mitchell Airport had the added appeal of a Usinger’s store (which I no longer see listed, so maybe it doesn’t?), but I did not know it had a wonderful used book store, Renaissance Books, which you can learn about in this short piece: As with my post last week about retail stores trying to become more of an “experience,” this feels like it perfectly fits the bill. Here’s hoping they continue to…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

The Future of Retail is, if not Bright, Using Those Vintage-style Light Bulbs

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Well, maybe. Retail is the era of omnipresent online shopping needs to have some extra experiential spice of its own. And it’s no secret that retail’s “biggest season” is upon us. Much digital ink is being spent on analysis as folks try and find trends. I’m a fan of “Small Business Saturday,” but and would note: In fact it was considering how small businesses are actively working to be experiences and potentially third places that…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

The Trajectory of Global Demographics, or, A New Reason to say, “Uh oh.”

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I’ve been trying to figure out why this timeline is timelining the way it is. I mean, I’m not the only one who isn’t a fan, right? But anyway, I’ve been seeking out material that goes into how things are work, how certain societal structures are the way they are, and what forces have been and are shaping them. You know, psychohistory kinda stuff. In my travels, I came across the videos of geopolitical consultant…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

The Cult of Overproductivity

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about work-life balance, but it does feel that, in 2025, more people have the assumption that WORK has won and the imbalance is fine. We know it. We’ve felt it. I’m sure some researchers have excellent terms for it, but I’m thinking of it these days as overproductivity. And it succeeds because we have zealots, who probably get up at 4am, who push for overproductivity. And when they,…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

Hey Kids! Let’s Fix the Federal Budget!

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

The federal budget has been very much in the news for the past few weeks with a mammoth piece of legislation being talked about in Congress (in fact, it might be passed by the time this posts). So what would you do if you could craft something similarly monumental? As it turns out, several different groups have created online simulators for you to try your hand at adjusting the budget. You’ll see several are coming…

Continue reading

Producing Writing

What do Hollywood Business Models have to do with the Writers’ Strike?

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Yes, I am continuing to follow news about the Writers’ Strike and, yes, given my previous posts of Adam Conover videos, there was really doubt I’d post a video with Adam Conover talking about the Writers’ Strike? (I mean, he was one of the WGA folks in the negotiating room): One of the arguments you hear early in the video goes something like this: That got me thinking about how the studios are defining “profitable,”…

Continue reading

Various and Sundry

The Industrial Revolution & Comparative Richness of Modern Society

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Once upon a time, before the Internet was in full bloom, my dad decided to look through the latest U.S. Army guides on countries (now known as “country studies”) and compile economic data to determine people’s standard of living in various countries based on GDP and local buying power. He did this for fun. It was how he rolled. Since I had recently been living and studying in Indonesia (and yes, my dad gave me…

Continue reading