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Interesting Articles - April 20th 2017


1. Codeine and Kids - What can go wrong?

Deep down we all knew the side effects of the painkillers and cough syrup, now the FDA has come out slinging against Codeine and Tramadol. On one hand FDA has decided to come against the painkillers, but on the other hand, it did nothing to stop pharmaceuticals to sell OTC cough syrups and drugs that do contain those chemical elements.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/20/524376484/dont-give-kids-cough-syrup-or-pain-meds-that-contain-codeine-fda-says

2. Emirates - The problem begins

This was my fear when the current administration signed the executive order to ban tablets and laptops for three middle eastern airlines. How long before the other two airlines cut down the stops in US and concentrate more in Europe and the rest of the world? What it means for passengers? More expensive flights for world travelers. The tourism industry is already hit with anxiety and a lot of travelers are definitely avoiding the hassle to come to this side of the pond.

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-emirates-flights-20170419-story.html

3. The Economics of Airline Class - (11 mins)

This was a fascinating video on the economics of airlines class. The last sentence made me sad!

Last sentence - Everyone in the economy is just to fill the plane.





4. Facebook and Snapchat - Facebook's Campaign to Destroy Snapchat is getting Vicious

Facebook has got the copying down to 4 hours! That's how efficient it has become when it comes to copying Snapchat features. It's become a monopoly and I get a sense, it's acting as a bully, much like Microsoft of the late 90s. They are stuck in a Platform Paradox. I am not worried about Snapchat and the whole world talking about Instagram stories eating their lunch. To me, Snapchat is not competing with Instagram/Facebook at all. The basic paradigm of using a Snapchat to its young audience is the "so called" ephemeral nature of communication. Instagram and Facebook is public by default. Most stories are sponsored stories on Instagram, paid by Facebook to content creators to gather attention. It works with "old farts" like me or even someone who is a FB user, but Snapchat knows it's audience and I am sure, Mark has sleepless night on how to change that paradigm. High school and College students will have an account on Instagram and FB, but their first choice will always be Snapchat.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/04/facebooks-campaign-to-destroy-snapchat-is-getting-vicious?mbid=nl_TH_58f68e44be45e929ab7711c3&CNDID=48149874&spMailingID=10847588&spUserID=MTc0NjAyNDAyNzQ1S0&spJobID=1141438044&spReportId=MTE0MTQzODA0NAS2&utm_content=buffer4e83c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer


5. Lost in thought:

"It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get." ~Confucius (551-479BC)


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