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Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

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Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#61
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think car sharing will go extinct either, but be careful with your analyses. Uber and Lyft are precariously balanced on a system of ( substantial ) low-income demand, high-income demand, and subsidy. If prices rise, low-income demand plummets, ending subsidies. High-income pricing could rise significantly higher than you might expect, at which point you no longer have "ride sharing" so much as you have privat…

To your point, I want to know what share of Uber/Lyft customers are converts from public transportation versus taxis (maybe these categories aren’t very distinct). There are so many times when I’ve missed the bus ($2.50) and opted for a $5 shared ride that will deliver me in 10 minutes (same as bus) instead of waiting 15-30 minutes on the next bus. It leads me to wonder how many people almost never took taxis before,…

I never really used public transit or cabs, but I make pretty heavy use of ridesharing. It's insanely convenient when I want to have a few drinks out somewhere, and I also almost exclusively use it to get to / from concerts and sporting events.

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#62

As the years go by, I feel more and more underwhelmed by these. It feels very surface level, handwavy. How would one execute anything but decisions based on confirmation bias using this information?

It's not supposed to help you execute anything; it's an advertisement.

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#63

Dear Mary, Social Security is not an entitlement in anything but the strictest sense of the word. Every year you put it in your report and group it in like it's some sort of handout by the federal government, but it's not. And every year, you put up a few slides pushing your politically-motivated world view of cutting "expenses", but never bother to note what USA Inc. could do to increase revenues like raising taxes…

Why do you believe Social Security isn't an entitlement?

There's a connotation of entitlements that they are merely demanded and not earned. But Social Security benefits are, at least through a hotly debated and ever-changing formula, related to the amount a person paid in.

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#64

Dear Mary, Social Security is not an entitlement in anything but the strictest sense of the word. Every year you put it in your report and group it in like it's some sort of handout by the federal government, but it's not. And every year, you put up a few slides pushing your politically-motivated world view of cutting "expenses", but never bother to note what USA Inc. could do to increase revenues like raising taxes…

A 91% top marginal tax rate would be a net negative on taxes, because most of the rich people would leave the country.

There's a fine art to setting the tax rate at a level that people dislike, but not strongly enough to do something about it, because the other benefits of being here outweigh.

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#65

Please link to the PDF[1] if possible. [1] https://www.bondcap.com/pdf/190611_Internet_Trends_2019.pdf

Thanks! Changed from https://www.bondcap.com/report/itr19/.

(pdf links aren't the first choice, but that slide interface was confusing, as others have pointed out.)

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#66

Dear Mary, Social Security is not an entitlement in anything but the strictest sense of the word. Every year you put it in your report and group it in like it's some sort of handout by the federal government, but it's not. And every year, you put up a few slides pushing your politically-motivated world view of cutting "expenses", but never bother to note what USA Inc. could do to increase revenues like raising taxes…

Please don't take HN threads on generic political tangents. Your points may be good but this is clearly a step into generic flamewar and therefore the wrong direction for HN.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#67
post #14
post #13

From page 29, average customer acquisition cost has risen by ~33% in just the last two years ... they make the point on the next slide that having customer acquisition costs exceed a customer's lifetime value can't really succeed for long. I think this, specifically, is what will spell the doom of Uber and Lyft, and potentially many of the food delivery companies -- they rely on insane growth curves to generate new i…

> will spell the doom of Uber and Lyft Car sharing isn't going anywhere. It's too convenient. The prices will rise, the number of drivers and passengers will fall and the companies will shrink, but they'll still be around. I have trouble seeing suddenly seeing a day when there's no car share service because they all finally went belly up.

I think, for me, the idea is that these companies aren't really gunning to make profits immediately and all are really in the play to get to automated taxis.

I'd assume automation of the vehicles plummets labor costs and then subsidizing the prices due to increased rider volume would be permissible.

That may be in the 10-15 year range, but I think they'll float along until something like that occurs. It's just a matter of time.

But I'm just a wild speculator.

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#68
post #66

Dear Mary, Social Security is not an entitlement in anything but the strictest sense of the word. Every year you put it in your report and group it in like it's some sort of handout by the federal government, but it's not. And every year, you put up a few slides pushing your politically-motivated world view of cutting "expenses", but never bother to note what USA Inc. could do to increase revenues like raising taxes…

Please don't take HN threads on generic political tangents. Your points may be good but this is clearly a step into generic flamewar and therefore the wrong direction for HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

This isn't a tangent. I really think it's important to note her bias as I feel it has a clear impact on how HN readers will interpret the rest of her stats and analysis.

I didn't mention political parties because she has a whole section showing how important open immigration is, pointing out the huge number of jobs related to 1st and 2nd generation immigrants. So it's not like she's towing a party line blindly.

But her macro-economic viewpoint has always been consistently screwed up. For years she's been outright duplicitous with her stats about the U.S. debt and deficit. Which makes you wonder, what other facts is she manipulating?

Re: Mary Meeker’s 2019 internet trends report [pdf]

#69

As the years go by, I feel more and more underwhelmed by these. It feels very surface level, handwavy. How would one execute anything but decisions based on confirmation bias using this information?

do you think they would have anything to gain by disclosing the actual nitty gritty business intelligence?
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