This is the first of a new series of recommender newsletters. I'm starting with two recent podcast listens I've really enjoyed, each looking at the precarious world of tech stock valuations, and reflect on what it can mean for all of us. As always you tell
It is easy to look rich if you raid the family silver.
I have a piece in the Irish Times today about Elon Musk's performative vandalism of the US government. He has unleashed a band of inexperienced twenty somethings - some reportedly still teens - to "disrupt" government. And it is profoundly idiotic (not the same choice of
What Keir Starmer’s recent policy announcements show about his hopes and fears for AI, and the potential folly of his FOMO
I cannot stop thinking about the Trump Meme Coin "$TRUMP", possibly the largest grift - and corruption opportunity - ever orchestrated by a political figure. And we can only anticipate more.
The US Supreme Court has upheld the ban on TikTok to come into effect Sunday, 19 January . What happens next?
Mark Zuckerberg's comments on Europe yesterday seem to have gone under the radar, drowned out by his announcement of a radical shift in content moderation at Meta. But they really are striking. He said that Meta would: “work with President Trump to push back on governments around the
The European Commission officially launched an investigation into TikTok today, announcing it suspected the company of breaching the Digital Services Act. Specifically, it is examining whether TikTok failed in it obligation to "assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to election integrity", which falls under Articles 34 and 35,
Get up to speed on the annulment of the Romanian election, and what it might mean for TikTok
It is late and I am at my kitchen table, over-caffeinated again. This weekend I got to be part of the general election coverage, which is my Carnegie Hall / Champions League Final. I imagine it might be for some people who read this, so some thoughts: It really is as
Hello from my kitchen table, at close to 2am. Sharing a thought I can't get out of my head on this election results day, even as the count has yet to deliver anything definitive. Do share your thoughts - either reply or I am on BlueSky - and
UPDATE: I added 2 more great pieces of reporting below, from The Journal & Dublin Inquirer, after sending this post as an email We can look at the tech story of the Irish 2024 General Election in 3 ways; tech as a campaign tool, tech companies as campaign actors, and
Before I get into it, you may have noticed that TheBriefing.ie has had a makeover. My long-time collaborator and friend Brent Gorsky did a full re-brand, including the very cool - and hand made - collages. He wrote about the strategy behind it here. And, I have added a
Irish Politics
Between Trump's appointees, mobile tech capital and changing tax rules, we are facing a possible fiscal cliff. Yet we are still hearing 2007-style auction politics. Where is the vision for a less FDI dependent economy?
With just over 2 weeks to go, we expect parties to be ramping up their ad spend. Fine Gael are, but Sinn Fein have yet to start a General Election digital campaign, at least on the paid side.
Election day is confirmed, and the money flows - and videos of high-fiving children - have commenced.
In Ireland we have our own election in less than 4 weeks time, and this time we will have a vote, and we have agency over how that election goes.
I was asked on the This Week programme yesterday to talk through the digital campaign. We only had 6 minutes (you can listen back here - including about Fine Gael's new ad push), but I wanted to make sure I squeezed in an acknowledgment of the work that
A.I.
Last night hundreds of people gathered on Dublin's O'Connell St to watch a Halloween Parade that did not exist; a spookily well timed rise of the Zombie Internet?
Let me convince you that at least 3 things are more interesting than the Taylor Swift endorsement deep/cheap/creepfake (which of course is just copying what Trump did, also for attention). These 3 things relate to political finance: 1. One party is spending 80% more in the run up
Revealing "shadow campaigns" and how AI-driven “deepfake” tools are reshaping political messaging and authenticity.
It looks like we are either 6 or 7 weeks out from the General Election. I am in full planning mode, and would love your input, advice, tips. As always, you can reply to this email to hit my inbox. I’ll be in a position to do about 2
Data Centres
In amongst the giveaways, was a opening for the Apple Tax windfall to be siphoned into state subsidies for data centres.
Tax and tech are entering their accountability era. The Irish State, which has both enabled and benefited from the previous Wild West era, faces the prospect of not just an economic but also a political crisis if it doesn’t adjust.