Dror Poleg's Newsletter Archive
A Recession Won't Bring People Back to the Office
Some analysts assume that employees will lose their leverage and return to the office as the economy slows down. This theory is based on a mistaken assumption.
If nobody's there, is it still a company?
The office and the corporation are intertwined. A big box full of people and things is the physical embodiment of the legal entity that "owns" these people, their tools, and whatever they produce. Once people are liberated from the box, what happens to the legal entity? We focus
Who Needs Web3?
The internet is a meteor that crashed into human civilization. We absorbed the initial impact. Now, we need to figure out how to fit all the pieces back together.
Designing the Future of Work
A recording of Dror Poleg's conversation with Kasey Klimes about designing for emergence, with a focus on the future of work.
Focus, Remote, and Volatility
This week, I wrote about urban planning, remote work, asynchronous work, focused work, and the productivity of American volatility. All the pieces are below.
The American Meme
China approaches memes in the same way it approaches pandemics. Its "Zero Covid" policy aims to control tiny aerosol particles that carry infectious viruses. And its censorship policy seeks to control tiny bits of information that carry contagious ideas. As I pointed out in The Meme Leak Theory,
Distracted by Default
The productivity of manual laborers increased 50-fold during the 20th century. One hundred twenty years ago, looking at a mechanic or factory worker, it was hard to imagine that such a dramatic increase was possible. And yet, it happened. And it facilitated massive improvements in the quality of life of
Remote First, Async Second
As remote work becomes more widespread, companies are allowing employees to have greater control over their schedules.
Remote Work and Urban Information
Companies tend to flock to large cities for two main reasons. One is that working in-person increases the odds of spontaneous “collisions” between people, leading to serendipitous discoveries. These collisions can be between people who work at the same firm, people in the same industry, or even across industries. The
The Tikization of Location
Another week, another interesting announcement from Airbnb. Last week, I wrote about the diminishing importance of location as the driver of consumer choice. I described Airbnb's new "categories" — a way to book accommodation based on what kind of experience you're looking for rather than
All About Remote
Happy Friday! 🚀 The upcoming cohort of Hype-Free Crypto is starting next month. Learn more and apply here [https://www.hypefreecrypto.com/full/]. As you know, I'm writing a daily newsletter [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/hype-free-with-dror-poleg-6927965788498759681/] on LinkedIn for the next couple of months. This means my regular
OnlyFans and the Future of Work
Ezra Marcus of the New York Times wrote an excellent piece about the OnlyFans economy. It describes the people and systems that operate behind the scenes to ensure "creators" make as much money as possible. For those not familiar, OnlyFans enables individual people to broadcast themselves to paying
Inequality and Remote Work
"If you can do your job from Boulder, it can be moved to Bangalore." This tweet from Scott Galloway makes a common argument regarding why employees should rush back to the office. It also taps into a sense of anxiety that one's job is about to
Remote Work: An American Problem?
Last week, I wrote about in-person meetings' importance (or lack thereof). I provided some data on the emptiness of American offices, particularly in New York and San Francisco. Some of the comments on that piece highlighted that offices in Europe and Asia are doing much better. I speculated about
Playing Like You're Winning
I don't think I've ever written about basketball. But it's something I spend quite a lot of time thinking about. God forbid, I don't play basketball myself — I just watch, read, and think. We're in the midst of the fairest
Airbnb and the Abstraction of Location
Food deliveries surged during the Covid-19 lockdowns. But not just any food. Pizza, in particular, saw an explosion in demand. As consumer spending shifted online, more of that spending shifted towards pizza. It's easy to understand why. Pizza is the perfect online delivery food. It's modular,
Unavoidable Pyramids
In the future, every business will be a Ponzi scheme for 15 minutes.
