🆕 anything new

absolutely not

Feb 25

Ellen O'Connell Whittet @oconnellwhittet

A writing residency where someone pays my entire family to go live in a cabin in the woods while I stay home and write

If a croque madame speaks to another croque madame about something other than a croque monsieur, that’s called passing the béchamel test

Ingrid Burrington @lifewinning

once again thinking about how making more centers and institutes for Make Computer Less Bad seemingly hasn't made computer less bad

👋 Hi,

Writing with a little R2R update. For 2022, my goal is/was to publish 2x/month - scaled down from 4x/month. I benefit from a consistent writing practice and R2R is FUN as hell. BUT I really need to have the right MOJO + spark combo OR it feels forced and I’m fussed and use capital letters a LOT.

Three reasons for no newsletter(s) this month are:

the vibe hasn’t quite been there for me (it’s changing, etc.) because my brain has had to compulsively consume ALL convoy-related content with the ambition of sense-making;
I have a side project that I am working on with Jesse Hirsh which means I have joyfully re-allocated most of the “side of my desk” (night/weekend) time;
there’s been an avalanche of encouraging competition stuff in Canada.

Two weeks ago, Minister Champagne announced some competition-related objections in service of a “dynamic, fair, and resilient economy.” While the press release doesn’t explicitly mention a review, it was a key part of the exclusive announcement. 🤞

Star Business @StarBusiness

Ottawa announces review of Canada’s competition law, with focus on wage fixing, deceptive pricing and ‘anti-consumer practices’

Ottawa announces review of Canada’s competition law, with focus on wage fixing, deceptive pricing and ‘anti-consumer practices’Government considering near-term changes to crack down on wage fixing and deceptive pricing, plus an increase to fines under the Competition Actdlvr.it

A couple of days later, I published this independent working paper with two co-authors, Robin Shaban and Ana Qarri. The paper was covered in the Logic and we ran the contract through Vivic Research, which is an economic consultancy focussed on social impact. 📝

Vass Bednar @VassB

What a privilege to spend [all of...] my spare time last fall collaborating on this independent paper that looks at competition issues in data-driven markets in 🇨🇦 published today via @VivicResearch. I am thankful for the opportunity to take on the work. vivicresearch.ca/work

Vivic ResearchVivic Researchvivicresearch.ca

📻 Around the report’s release, I participated in three podcast interviews, each of which touched on competition in some way: Georgian Partners (a venture-capital firm), IPSOS (a market research firm), and Policy Options (via the Institute for Research on Public Policy, a not-for-profit focussed on improving policy in 🇨🇦).

Georgian @Georgian_io

Today we live in a data-driven world where privacy 🔒is presented as a competitive advantage. We use tech products usually at the price of our own privacy. Listen in on our chat w/ @VassB on the intersection of privacy, public policy, and innovation. grgn.io/3AYKmfs

Ipsos Canada @IpsosCanada

In the latest Educated Conjecture #podcast, @VassB joins hosts @MikeDColledge & Sean Simpson to talk about competition & the benefits of creating a competitive marketplace with room for all sizes of businesses. Listen now: ow.ly/ZuQP50HPIRO

IRPP/Policy Options @IRPP

NEW PODCAST! As part of our series exploring Canada's #CompetitionAct, @Colmfosullivan speaks with @VassB and @RobinShaban about the Acts current deficiencies, and how to modernize it on the #PolicyOptionsPodcast. Listen here! 🎧 options-po.li/3BHXJRy

💃🏽 I also kicked off a new Policy Options series on competition in Canada.

Tag yourself! I am the baby fish. 🐟

IRPP/Policy Options @IRPP

Canada's Competition Act is integral to our everyday lives & our economy's vibrancy. To kick off our series, @VassB explores why Canadians must confront our cosiness with large firms that may exploit their power to influence the Act. #IRPPCmptn #CdnPoli

We need to talk about Canada’s painful lack of competition – Policy OptionsMeta desc. (135-140) Lack of competition is basically a part of our heritage. We must confront Can-ada’s coziness with large firms that can abuse their powers.options-po.li

I hope you’ll check out the series, it’s full of fantastic writing from fresh voices and runs until March 2nd.

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🎸 AND I got to jam on a Twitter “Spaces” on competition and data w/ Robin + Dr. Jennifer Quaid - big thanks to writer, recovering journalist, rookie shinny player & friend James McLeod for hosting us and muddling through the report. 🏒

𝙅𝘼𝙈𝙀𝙎 𝙈𝘾𝙇𝙀𝙊𝘿 @jamespmcleod

Earlier today I had the chance to moderate a conversation with @RobinShaban @VassB and @quaid_jennifer talking about data-driven markets and Canadian competition policy. It was super interesting and a ton of fun. You can listen to the audio here: https://t.co/OUVTM9BLQo

I was also named a Senior Fellow at CIGI (the Centre for International Governance Innovation). This means that I will be collaborating with members of their global network on small, high-impact policy projects as well as taking on more writing opportunities to translate digital governance issues for a wide, wonky audience.

To kick off my fellowship, I published a piece on personalized pricing in iPolitics after I got agitated about new research from the Mozilla Foundation and Consumers International that looked at Tinder’s pricing scheme.

Mozilla @mozilla

Tinder Unfair Pricing 🤝 It’s a Match! Our research with @Consumers_Int finds that @Tinder Plus can charge users in a single country more than 30 different prices. Read more ⤵️ foundation.mozilla.org/blog/new-resea…

iPolitics @ipoliticsca

OPINION: While regulators weigh the utility of possibly banning drip pricing, they should also turn their attention to the harms of algorithmic or personalized pricing, which can be similarly fraudulent, writes Vass Bednar. #cndpoli

Catfishing prices on dating apps are a hook for competition reformRecent research from the Mozilla Foundation and Consumers International reveals how Tinder’s “opaque, unfair pricing algorithm” can charge users up to five times more for the same service in New Zealand, the U.S., the Netherlands, Korea, India, and Brazil. They did so by collecting and comparing up…ow.ly

So like, I’m here and I’m doing things (*typing is my pandemic coping mechanism, plus Swiffering…I am a Swif-fluencer) - just not newsletter stuff; mostly my core work at McMaster plus some competition championship + cheerleading. THE USHE.

I guess I just wanted *you* to know I do have some R2R in the works, like:

how a teeny provincial policy change in 1991 raises big questions for health tech;
putting child labour and video games in a Canadian policy context;
and looking at whether we’re over-relying on payment processors as platform regulators in lieu of a cohesive platform regulation approach.

I will look forward to sharing them when they are ready. ✌️

🐏 sheep + glow-in-the-dark beer + woolly mammoths + eliminating hangovers 📚 🔬 🧬

I’m interviewing the authors of The Genesis Machine next week “at” the Toronto Public Library. The book is all about synthetic biology: what it can help us accomplish, and what governance + policy obstacles might impede innovation.

Sergio Elmir @dosmundos

Make sure to register for our upcoming event with @amywebb & @andrewhessel + host @VassB via @torontolibrary #OnCivilSociety Monday, Feb 28 - FREE event, register below: crowdcast.io/e/tpl_thegenes…

Amy Webb @amywebb

For more than a decade, I've kept you up to speed on the latest trends. One will be so impactful I wrote an entire book about it.🧬🧪🦠 https://t.co/QGcIjAnAgu

In Budget 2021, the federal government announced $400 million for a new Pan-Canadian Genomics Strategy, including $136.7 million for Genome Canada to kickstart the Strategy, with further investments to be announced in the future.

Vass Bednar is a public policy powerhouse.🏋🏽‍♀️

regs to riches