Instagram was Instant Money

Wikipedia

After its launch in 2010, Instagram rapidly gained popularity, with one million registered users in two months, 10 million in a year, and 1 billion as of May 2019. In April 2012, Facebook acquired the service for approximately US$1 billion in cash and stock. As of October 2015, over 40 billion photos had been uploaded to the service.

Nine years is not instant anything, but anytime you start talking billions of dollars, you are talking something superhuman.

The Strong Appeal of Destructive Behavior

I can feel this appeal personally, as can most of my family. We nave been treated badly, so why not treat others badly, just to get even?

Once we put it that way, it rapidly loses its appeal, so it has to be denied. But the simple mechanism of denial makes it even stronger.

This is true of many negative emotions: they are mutually reinforcing. And taken as a whole - very satisfying.

And once it becomes global, it cannot be stopped.

This is not a cheerful thought, but one that must be faced. And faced consciously. We cannot save the world, and it cannot save us.

Retired and Decentralized

This is a common combination in America.

Retired people move frequently, and change houses frequently.

This is especially true on the East Coast. They spend their winters in Florida, and their summers in Maine. With 30-year mortages in both locations.

They may compromize and live in North Carolina year-round. The weather is mild, jobs are avaiable, and the Universities are excellent.

This also true in Arizona, and has been true in California for some time.

People are Hard to Understand

I ought to know, because I have tried hard enough, unsuccessfully.

And I am not alone.

This must be one of the primary struggles of the human race.

In our time, in the last 500 years or so, we have come to an amazing decision: most of us have stopped trying to understand other people.

And they only exist as members of mass movements, that are not trying to make them any better.

Web App

Wikipedia

I'm glad I looked this up. It's more complicated than I thought.

I am in the process of enrolling to the Web App for the bank I am using in Costa Rica. This bank, the Bank of Costa Rica (BCR) wants to act like a bank in a developed country, not a developing country.

And this means its Web App must act that way also. Today I will visit one of its offices, and see how good its Software is.

If its Software is good enough, I will stay with them. If not, I will move on.

Why Most Software is Defective

Because programmers (or programming teams) that can write good software are expensive and take a long time.

It should always ask the user "Is this working for you?" And take his feedback seriously.

Most organizations only think of themselves (or what they think they are).

Successful compnies know Software is Hard, and Expensive. 

Not Understanding is their Preferred Way of Being

There are many ways of looking at this, for example Does mindfulness in politics make any difference? As one who has done quite a bit of mindfulness training, I can see the limitations of this approach. And my Meditation teacher would agree with her.

And I must switch subjects and speak of the importance of growing up in Los Angeles. And its effect on the many people who have grown up there - much of America has been shaped by its influence.

Every large city in the world has turned into a Los Angeles. Whether it wanted to be that way, or not!

These people have a strange way of looking at things. that everyone wants to imitate.

I grew up in the Midwest, and the people there went two ways during the winter: California or Florida. They thought nothing of driving two thousand miles to get away from the snow!

If you had a car, you used it to improve your mobility.  And to show how much better you were!