B*tches in Bookshops
Amazing & hilarious re-mix of Jay Z and Kanya West’s “N*ggas in Paris”
Shout-outs to NY Startups Foursquare & Warby Parker.
“Dancers Among Us” is photographed by Jordan Matter, featuring top professional dancers in everyday situations around New York City.
As one VC recently told me, “You can’t walk down the block without someone talking about mobile payments these days.” With new entrants (Square, Groupon, Dwolla) in this space, as well as incumbents (Paypal, ISIS, Google) increasing their payment offerings, there’s no doubt that the sector is ready to take off.
Ultimately, each provider is offering a very similar proposition to the user: a convergent application that provides convenience and makes both online and offline payments more frictionless. There are clear advantages to the merchants as well, including comprehensive transaction data and consumer loyalty management. Most importantly, next-gen payments are disruptive because they’re trying to undercut the transaction costs traditionally set by the large payment networks (Visa, MasterCard, AmEx.)
Here’s a breakdown of the transaction fees for some of these providers:
- Square: 2.75%
- PayPal Here: 2.7%
- Intuit GoPayment: 2.7%
- Verifone Sail: 2.7%
- Phone Swipe: 2.69%
- Groupon: 1.8% + 15¢
- Dwolla: 25¢ for transactions above $10 (implied 2.5% ceiling)
Unsurprisingly, Dwolla’s pricing structure is dramatically different (read: lower) than all other competitors. And for good reason, too.
Classic economics teaches us that in perfect competition, where products/services are undifferentiated and nearly identical, the market moves towards pricing that is equal to marginal cost. Or, in other words, MR = MC. By building its own FiSync backend, Dwolla is able to materially lower its marginal cost to near zero. As such, Dwolla not only preempts the market by offering the equilibrium price, but also understands that in a world of perfect competition, scale is the way to win the payments game.
I’ve always flattered myself to believe that I was somehow unique in my background as a banker interested in tech startups. This is a screenshot of our internal “craiglist” of sorts, and apparently, others have starting paying attention as well.
buzz:
iOS UI Proportions (from Principia Arbiter: New Visual Proportions for the iOS User Interface, via Timoni West)
One thing I’ve noticed in a lot of custom iOS UIs (particularly ones designed by engineers) is a lack of attention to proportions. As this diagram demonstrates, the standard iOS UI has a visual rhythm—a major rhythm of 44 pixels and a minor rhythm of 11 pixels to be exact. When you work within this system for your sizing, spacing, and padding, your app will generally look and feel harmoniously iOS-like, even if the UI is heavily custom. When you don’t, it tends feels subtly off (as in the iPod playlist screen example given in the article).
(via kylewpppd)
It’s not often that a brand’s image accurately reflects company values. Or, conversely, it’s rare to see companies practice what they preach. Pantagonia’s Yvon Chouinard (a fellow French-Canadian!) has succeeded not only that, but also in creating a personal and professional life that are one and the same.
Among the few times I saw him truly light up: When he spotted some ring-necked doves on the shore near his house; when he showed me a new pair of Patagonia aluminum crampons that he’d had a hand in designing; when he described the best wave he’d ever caught, which happened at age 50, off the South Pacific island of Moorea. He still occasionally blacksmiths in a little tin shed on the Patagonia campus, and he showed me his latest project, a metal mussel knife that he’s been beating into perfect shape—sharp at the blade to pry open the shells, blunt at the handle to knock away the barnacles. He was dissatisfied with all extant mussel knives. So he made a better one himself. He looks forward to testing it in the shoals.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Mesmerizing in a opening-credit-of-a-movie kind of way.
And… cue scene.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
On repeat at work today, having rediscovered the joys the Hype Machine. Also, the classic rap + lyrical mash-up combo never gets old.
German photographer Christian Stoll‘s “Epic” series features epic wide angle photographs of futuristic locations. His work reminds of that of Ed Burtynsky, but I think that Stoll does a better job of capturing scale and immensity.
