The Obliteration of the Brand

“96.3 per cent of commercial brands were wiped out during the first ten years of the economic recession.”

Holographon, The_Obliteration_of_the_Brand^Holographon^^CORE

Economic recessions

The thirty years of economic recession have had profound consequences on businesses and industries, decimating commercial brands, leading to a staggering decline of 96.3 per cent.

During a prolonged economic recession, businesses often struggle to maintain profitability due to reduced consumer spending, tightening credit, and increased operating costs. Many companies were forced to close their doors or declare bankruptcy, unable to sustain their operations in a challenging economic climate. This resulted in a significant reduction in the number of commercial brands, as companies fail to weather the economic storm.

Prolonged economic recessions typically lead to reduced consumer purchasing power, as unemployment rates rise, incomes stagnate, and consumer confidence wanes. As a result, consumer demand for non-essential goods and services diminishes, causing a decline in sales and revenues for businesses. With a shrinking customer base, many brands struggled to generate sufficient demand to sustain their operations, further contributing to their decline and disappearance from the market.

Surviving businesses sought strategies to weather the storm. One common approach was mergers and acquisitions, leading to industry consolidation. Larger, more financially stable companies acquired struggling brands, absorbing their assets and intellectual property. Consequently, the number of commercial brands would decrease as independent entities are absorbed or integrated into larger conglomerates.

Most brands struggled to pivot their business models, update their products or services, or meet changing consumer demands. This inability to adapt could contribute to their downfall and eventual disappearance from the market. Lack of innovation and failure to address evolving consumer conditions led to the inevitable collapse of most brands during an unforeseeable prolonged economic downturn.

Superzoids die Superquick

“As a new generation adapts to the new oral technology, literacy rates are set to plunge within the next two decades. Already the cheaper manifestations of zoids have made it unnecessary for a vast number of humans to read or write. With the cost of education skyrocketing, the use of language will inevitably devolved into what it was millennia ago.”

JUNK_D Superzoids_die_Superquick^Junk.D^^CORE
oral technologies

The Rise of Oral Technology

With the advent of new oral technologies, the ability to communicate and access information has become more convenient and intuitive. Speech recognition software, virtual assistants, and voice-controlled devices have made it easier for individuals to interact with technology using spoken commands. As these technologies become increasingly affordable and integrated into everyday life, there is a likelihood that reading and writing skills will become less necessary for basic communication and information retrieval.

The increasing accessibility of oral technology may lead to a decline in literacy rates. As more individuals rely on spoken communication and voice-based interfaces, the motivation and necessity to acquire strong reading and writing skills may diminish. This could result in reduced emphasis on literacy education, leading to a decline in the overall literacy levels within the population. Such a decline could have significant consequences for individual opportunities, economic productivity, and the ability to engage critically with written information.

Education

Another contributing factor to the potential decline in literacy rates is the escalating cost of education. Higher education and even basic literacy programs have become increasingly unaffordable for many individuals, particularly in marginalized communities. The prohibitive costs restrict access to quality education, perpetuating educational inequalities and limiting opportunities for individuals to develop essential literacy skills. Consequently, those who are unable to afford education may become more reliant on oral technology, further marginalizing the importance of reading and writing.

If literacy rates decline significantly, it is possible that language could evolve and revert to a state reminiscent of ancient times. Millennia ago, societies relied heavily on oral traditions and verbal communication for transmitting knowledge and preserving cultural heritage. With the increasing prominence of oral technology, written language may become less prevalent, and the emphasis on spoken communication may rise. This could lead to shifts in linguistic structures, vocabulary, and the use of non-verbal communication, as society adapts to a new norm that prioritizes oral forms of information exchange.

While the proliferation of oral technologies has undoubtedly transformed communication and information access, concerns regarding declining literacy rates and language evolution are valid. It is essential to strike a balance between embracing technological advancements and preserving the crucial skills associated with reading and writing. Maintaining robust literacy education programs and making education more affordable and accessible will be pivotal in mitigating the potential negative consequences. By ensuring that individuals are equipped with strong literacy skills alongside oral technological literacy, society can navigate the evolving landscape and foster a future that values both oral and written forms of communication.

Rule 4: PRIVATE COMPANIES

Wholly owned businesses have rigid loyalty structures which make them harder to acquire. If they don’t want to sell there’s nothing you can do about it. If they do sell or are forced to give up their business, the management void they leave behind makes it easier for you to administer.

On the other hand, partnerships have many allegiances within the organisation, making them easier to acquire but much harder to administer. There’ll always be loyalties directed to one partner or another.

Oblivion

Tech 62 repairs ‘Oblivion’

No matter how much one attempts to enjoy a work of cinematic science fiction, one cannot help but feel robbed. This is what the makers of ‘Oblivion’ have done. They promised something fantastic and poured $120,000,000 into an intriguing concept, so intriguing that even with a marketing campaign featuring Tom Cruise looking bored… 

I still felt compelled to watch this thing.

Continue reading “Tech 62 repairs ‘Oblivion’”

Reform or Die

Old West

“I think we in the Old West had a few decades to improve the economic model and failed to do so, so now we have lost the game.” – zassygirl19

“All of the end-of-the-world scenarios such as economic collapse will be in response to the government’s actions. The government is the biggest threat to the city-state especially when you have people like Edwards and Dochersky in positions of power with virtually no oversight. The Senate would not dare challenge Dochersky.” – 060Prepper090

“If we don’t do something soon, the shit will be over for the type of social-capitalism that many of us have lived through and thought was the best type of capitalism.” – zanzara2141 

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Rule 3: COMPOSITE COMPANIES

When administering composite companies, again weaken the stronger powers within each component and keep the weak powers weak. Don’t bring in outside help. This will only weaken your position. In other words, don’t acquire more than can be managed.

James Tucker – CEO of MercurEx, 25 RULES FOR THE MODERN UBERMAN

The Strategy of Weakening Strong Powers in Composite Companies

Companies can be divided into two main categories: composite companies and component companies. Composite companies are made up of separate business entities that are bought out and incorporated into a single conglomerate corporation. The challenge with managing a composite company is they have legacy loyalty and culture and political arrangments that can cause imbalances and disruptions within the company, and to the business, which can lead to vulnerabilities that could inflict long-term damage to you and your corporation.

New takeovers always cause problems for the uberman. Employees and shareholders are willing to change administration to improve their situation, but if the existing culture is antagonistic to yours they soon discover that things have gotten worse because a new administrator must damage and dismantle the previous administration. This will inevitably create enemies within the company because agents from the previous administration will plot to undermine you, depending on how misaligned the existing culture is with yours.

If takeover composite companies have similar politics and culture it is easy to keep most of the administration. As long as you do not change their way of life, you need only wipe out the old executive to keep them.

But if new acquisitions have a different culture or political customs, they are difficult to keep. They will bankrupt you. Go and work there yourself, to establish an executive, protect the allied minor powers, weaken strong factions within the business to the extent of eliminating and replacing the entire executive, and guard against external influences.

If the task is too great, do not bite off more than you can chew.

Simply stay away.

Cryptonium

Halfway through 2011, I came across the phenomenon of Bitcoin, and my head went into a tailspin. This was a revolution. I felt it in my bones. But I was reluctant to buy in and profit from it. At the time, it had the aura of an elaborate, hi-tech scam.  The ultimate in electronic pyramid schemes. And the amount of hacking going on against the Bitcoin exchanges (run from servers in people’s garages) didn’t help things either. I felt it was never intended as an alternative currency. Who in their right mind would trade commodities online or shop with them?

Sure, it (kind of) bypassed third parties and fees,  and it seemed easy to use. But once you send off a bitcoin to some address that is it. It’s irreversible. There is no redress. Online fraud using bitcoins leaves no paper trail to physically follow. Although there is an electronic trail, how does one place trust in such a new system?

Scarface
Hector the Toad: “You want to give me the bitcoins, or do I kill your brother first, before I kill you?”
Tony Montana: “This focking blockchain is 1.5 focking gigabytes. So why don’t you try sticking your head up your ass? See if it fits.”
Hector the Toad: “Okay, Caracicatriz. You can die too. It makes no difference to me.”

Even drug dealers would be hesitant to use this nascent technology. Imagine Tony Montana rocking up to a meeting with the Colombians with a laptop.

Then imagine him having to wait for the transactions to be confirmed. Chain saws. Fun and games. Even gangsters rely on strong banking institutions to keep their wealth safe. And even then these same institutions are prone to nationalisation, or bankruptcy.

This technology has yet to find a proper use, yet punters poured millions of dollars into the “early adopters” pockets. Go to their forums and you’ll find rampant spruiking and fever-pitch excitement each time some Gordon Gekko forks out money to buy these things. Try being negative on these forums and they ignore you, or you get labelled a troll.

Gordon Gekko

This is the mindset I used not to go diving in.

  • If it feels like a scam or Ponzi racket. It probably is. Why? Because the market is a mechanism for people to store value and generate income. In theory anyway. Speculators using the market as the ultimate roulette table may in fact be a healthy thing for a market, guiding investors to where to park their capital. Bitcoins don’t have intrinsic value. They don’t earn anything, and by the time they become useful in the mainstream economy as a currency, the game will have changed. Traded solely for profiteering on people’s greed and fear, nothing influences the value of Bitcoin except speculation (and hackers). At best, this is a form of gambling. Add early adopters to the mix, and you get the perfect pyramid scheme. So if it’s too good to be true, it is.
  • Bitcoin is also a technology that can be easily duplicated. It can be modified and developed, rendering the original blockchain, redundant.
  • Power rests with those who control the client software protocol. So you’re in fact swapping Bankers for Programmers.
  • Hackers. The digital wallets where the value is stored are so easy to lose, destroy or steal. One lapse of personal electronic security and your wallet is gone. One hard drive failure, one catastrophic digital error (i.e. caused by an index finger on the return key) and the bitcoins are gone.

On the plus side.

  • Bitcoins are a good way for kids to learn about trading on the market.
  • The potential for investment in new technology. Potential, since, apart from the exchanges popping up everywhere, there has not been significant investment in anything else. I’d rather invest in a start-up that is actually building a way to make cryptonium useful than speculate on the gambling habits of other speculators.

That was then. The case remains the same today. I see nothing has changed.

The current problem we have with fiat money is hoarding. Existing in a dual state, as a medium of exchange as well as a store of value, fiat currencies are vulnerable to hoarding, which starves the lifeblood out of economies. (which is another story.) Yet fiats are trusted by citizens (or forced upon them, since governments don’t give anyone much of a choice) and are at least designed to “stabilise” economies, Keynesian style. What are bitcoins designed to do? They are perfect for hoarding! They are easier to hoard than fiat cash or gold. At best, P2P crypto-currencies are designed to rob governments of their ability to collect taxes, so no hospitals, roads, and God forbid, no social security. Perhaps governments will find a way to get the early adopters will pay for such things. Fiat currencies are also backed by governments, by law or by force. What will back bitcoins when early adopters decide to cash in, flood the bitcoin casinos and send those Gekko’s screaming for the door? As long as Bitcoins remain deflationary they will be hoarded more zealously than gold or government bonds.

The Future of Cryptocurrency

Right now it’s all about fooling enough punters to part with their fiat cash so it can be redistributed to some other punter. In the future, the technology behind these crypto-currencies will eventually find a way to complement society. Key factor. The technology can be duplicated. e.g. Litecoin, Namecoin, Ixcoin. ppcoin. All corporations have to do is start their own blockchains. e.g. Google Money. Facecoin. Retailers could convert their own rewards and loyalty programs into tailor-made cryptocurrencies. Music and movie corporations could use the same peer-to-peer technology that nearly wiped them out, to create a system of distribution using cryptocurrencies. Sonycoin. Applecash, AmazonDollars. Hell, even governments could start their own bond market and social security blockchain. UScoin, Auscoin. Eurocoin.

Bitcoin

In fact, there is no doubt in my mind this will happen. It may be too late to profit from Bitcoin right now, (since I missed out on buying them at 5 cents), but expecting Bitcoin’s value to hit a million dollars per unit is tuliptistic. Once cryptonium currencies enter the mainstream economy in numerous manifestations this whole argument will become trivial. And even then, once quantum computing hits the scene, everything we understand today will become anecdotal. Unless cryptographic hash functions become so large and complex, they start grinding down machines running at light speed, since the speed of light is indeed finite and numbers are… well, infinite.

But that’s also another story.

A Dark Future

“In most areas of the world, food security is no longer a given, thus over 800 million people are poised to perish by the time we celebrate the New Year. Water and land mismanagement, climate destabilization, neo-colonialism and kleptocracies have robbed the majority of humanity of its land and capital. Wealth has been squandered protecting wealth so the capacity for any viable reinvestment in humanity has now become non-existent. What lies ahead is unprecedented, unpredictable and very, very dark.”

Travion – CAST434456XCT66_TRAVION^MOJOBLUE^^CORE
kleptocracies  - Travion

The Far-Reaching Effects of Land Mismanagement, Climate Destabilization, Neo-Colonialism, and Kleptocracies on Future Society

Land mismanagement, climate destabilization, neo-colonialism, and kleptocracies have always posed significant challenges to our present and future societies. These interconnected issues have had profoundly dark and far-reaching effects on various aspects of human life, including food security, economic development, social equity, and environmental sustainability.

Land Mismanagement

Deforestation, overgrazing, and improper agricultural practices lead to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and decreased agricultural productivity. As fertile land diminishes, food production becomes increasingly challenging, exacerbating food insecurity and jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions. This ultimately contributed to social unrest, mass migration, and conflicts over scarce resources over the past two decades.

Climate Destabilization

Primarily caused by greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in rising global temperatures, erratic weather patterns, and more frequent and severe natural climate disasters. These changes impacted agriculture, water resources, and human settlements.

This has led to crop failures, water scarcity, displacement, and increased vulnerability to extreme weather events. The consequences disproportionately affected marginalized communities, exacerbating the extreme inequalities and strained social cohesion we have today.

Neo-Colonialism

Resources, labour, and markets of less developed countries have been exploited for the benefit of dominant supranationals or multinational corporations. It often involves unfair trade practices, unequal access to resources, and economic dependencies that hinder local development. This perpetuates poverty, limits self-determination, and stifles the potential for sustainable growth and prosperity.

Kleptocracies

Corrupt leadership and institutionalized embezzlement have diverted public funds and resources away from critical social investments. These systems prioritize personal wealth accumulation over public welfare, leading to inadequate infrastructure, limited access to education and healthcare, and stifled economic progress. The resulting inequality and lack of social mobility have hindered human potential and perpetuated cycles of poverty.

It is crucial to recognize that these issues have now become insurmountable. By failing to address them with urgency and determination, we are no longer able to mitigate these negative impacts.

Effective land management practices, sustainable agriculture, and reforestation efforts have been rendered ineffective with the current pollution levels. Mitigating climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy investments, and adaptation measures hasn’t been adequate. Neo-colonial practices have exploded and fair trade agreements have disintegrated. Corruption and bad governance have established opaque centralised systems that prioritize big scramble economics.

In most areas of the world, food security is no longer a given, thus over 800 million people are poised to perish by the time we celebrate the New Year. Water and land mismanagement, climate destabilization, neo-colonialism and kleptocracies have robbed the majority of humanity of its land and capital. Wealth has been squandered protecting wealth so the capacity for any viable reinvestment in humanity has now become non-existent. What lies ahead is unprecedented, unpredictable and very, very dark.

Rule 2: ACQUISITIONS

When the acquisition is a new appendage to your existing company… Run it in person! Put your own people in there! Weaken the stronger powers within the firm! Keep the weak powers weak.

James Tucker – CEO of MercurEx, 25 RULES FOR THE MODERN UBERMAN

Acquisitions

To ensure that the acquisition is successful, it’s important to run the business in person. Putting your own executive team in the new company will allow you to maintain control and create a stronger bond between the two organisations.

Additionally, it’s important to weaken the stronger powers within the firm and keep the weaker powers weak. Doing so will prevent any single legacy group from gaining too much control, allowing the company to remain secure and successful.