WTF is a smile curve + 2 more things

I was reading a recently published book by Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba called Breaking the Mould, and I came across this concept of a ‘smile curve’ - found it interesting, so sharing with you.

The image above is from a different source but this is pretty much what it is. Let me paraphrase how it’s explained in the book…

"…smile curve of value added in a product's global supply chain.

The value added in the early services segments of a supply chain, including the R&D and design that go into a into a product, is very high.

The middle segments of the supply chain, that is, the actual manufacturing, adds only a modest amount of value.

The end services segments of the supply chain before the product reaches the customer-branding, marketing, advertising, sales, financing and product content-once again constitute a lot of value added.

When we plot valued added in the sequence of segments in a global supply chain, we get a smile."

Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba, Breaking the Mould

Alright, now onto the other two things

Thing 1

There are two types of passion - one leads to burnout, the other doesn’t

In the above video, I share findings from a research paper on the difference between harmonious and obsessive passion and why one makes sense, while the other needs some reflection, if you don’t want to burn out.

Thing 2

ActivityPub - a tech that allows interoperatbility across different social networks

I came across this concept some time back (article link) and I think it’s fascinating.

ActivitiyPub is technically an old standard, governed by open protocols, and aims to give control back to users. Essentially, it’s like a decentralized social media platform.

“…to decentralize social networking is to completely separate the user interface from the underlying data.

Any time you sign up for a new social app, you won’t have to rebuild your audience or re-find all your friends; your whole following and followers list come with you. Those things should be part of the internet, not part of an app.

Alright, that’s it for the time being. Now you know what a smile-curve is + 2 more things. Have a great new year - may you get to do more of what brings you joy and less of what sucks it away. See you soon!

PS: Here’s my Linkedin URL - give me a follow if you are active there. Thank you.