News and updates

SHOWING NEWS 551–560 OUT OF 739

FACTFULNESS

If we were to vote for the best non-fiction book of the 21st century, our top candidate would be Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. Indeed, perhaps no other book can tell you as much about the real state of the world as this one. What’s more, it prepares you for the future with useful guidelines that put data and facts above typical human errors.

If Hans Rosling (famous also for his TED Talk The best stats you’ve ever seen) didn’t pass away before its publication in 2017, he would be nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, for sure.

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HOW INNOVATION WORKS

How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley is a book that delivers 100% on its title. His writing is well-researched, engaging and full of applicable insights — if you happen to be anywhere near an innovation.

However, Ridley warns that Europe, in particular, has stalled: “Of Europe’s 100 most valuable companies, none – not one – was formed in the past forty years. In Germany’s Dax 30 index, just two companies were founded after 1970; in France’s CAC 40 index, one; in Sweden’s top fifty, none at all.”

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THE BIG PICTURE

This may seem unrelated to freelancing, but unfortunately, it isn’t. Europe is quickly losing its grip on global markets, while “China and America dominate like never before,” writes The Economist about The new geopolitics of global business:

• “America and China account for 76 of the world’s 100 most valuable firms. Europe’s tally has fallen from 41 in 2000 to 15 today.”
• “America accounts for 24% of global GDP, but 48% of business activity. China accounts for 18% of GDP, and 20% of business. Other countries, with 77% of the world’s people, punch well below their weight.”
• “Of the 19 firms created in the past 25 years that are now worth over $100bn, nine are in America and eight in China. Europe has none.”

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THE UNSUBSCRIBERS

A funny insight from our regular newsletter cleaning — this happens all the time:

1. Some employee@companyXY.com subscribes to our newsletter.
2. A half year later, that mailbox doesn’t exist. New freelancer, perhaps?

We’ll be sending out our next issue on Monday, June 21 😉

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WEBEXPO

European Freelancers and Where to Find Them is the title of Robert Vlach’s talk at WebExpo this September. For freelancers working with web technologies, this is one of the best conferences in Europe — held in Prague since 2010, as well as online.

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UK’S NATIONAL FREELANCERS DAY

June 17 marks this year’s National Freelancers Day organized in the UK by IPSE as an online conference. Free for members and £40 for everybody else, participants can choose from a packed programme of four online streams: Finance, Winning Work, Wellness, and Workshops.

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DEEPL TRANSLATOR

Forget Google Translate → DeepL is now arguably the most advanced AI translator available to all. It leaves competitors in the dust and even challenges human translators in quality and eloquence. Their profession may shift towards AI-assisted translation in the future. You can try DeepL online in 26 languages for free, or download an app for your device.

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FREELANCE FRIENDS

On June 25, we are launching our first online event titled simply Freelance Friends. There will be three talks from experienced international freelancers, sharing their stories and business insights:

• Elina Jutelyte is an event manager and freelance angel: As an expat, she founded the Belgian Freelance Business Community and produces large events for European freelancers. Here, she will share her own freelance origins story and lessons learned.
• Vita Valka is a graphic and UX designer known for his digital-nomad lifestyle and a new project CamperGuru. Each year, his family spends a few months in a camping van, traveling, working and networking all over Europe. Get ready for a talk of a lifetime.
• Jan de Graaf is a German business consultant for European trade with Asia and especially China, where he has spent 15 years. Jan will share his freelance journey and describe the rich cultural background of his successful freelance business.

Do you want to be part of this, for free, and make friends with us? Send us an email titled I AM IN to hello@freelancing.eu — and you’re in! The event will run on Zoom from 2 to 7 p.m. (CET, June 25).

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REVOLUT

Revolut has virtually revolutionized European smart banking and fintech industry by offering a free app-based multi-currency bank account available to all. As a digital wallet, it enables freelancers to automatically track their expenses, as well as exchange common currencies at a fair market rate (up to ca. €1,000/month).

Tip: You can register via this link to get a small bonus for ordering a card and making your first 3 payments before June 22.

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BULLSHIT JOBS FALLACY

“The bullshit-jobs thesis is largely bullshit,” reports The Economist in an article about a newly published empirical critique of late David Graeber’s book, which claims that more than half of societal work is pointless. Although Graeber’s thesis has been cited more than 800 times by academics, not to mention media, the data often show the exact opposite of what he claimed:

“In contrast to the high share of bullshit jobs reported by Mr. Graeber, in 2015 only 4.8% of respondents in the EU felt their work was useless. And this proportion had fallen, not risen, in recent years, from 5.5% in 2010 and 7.8% in 2005.”

Note: A more recommended reading would be Graeber’s older book Debt, or Hans Rosling’s Factfulness.

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