Ruction

A disturbance or quarrel.

The Ruction is a weekly rundown of the top ten emerging issues from the past seven days shaping commerce + culture.

The Ruction is for communication strategists and global business executives.

#TheRuction #Caracal #Mars #Perseverance #Australia #Google #Facebook #MODSquad #BigAlcohol #BigTobacco #BigPot #USCannabisCouncil #UberEats #Deliveroo #PlasticPackaging #Jaguar #Tesla #LandRover #EVs #BillGates #GreenInnovation #Texas #Energy #Electricity #MarioDraghi #Italy #WorldTradeOrganization #WTO #NgoziOkonjoIweala #Nigeria #Africa #Granfluencer #SocialMedia #InfluencerMarketing

Memo: The Ruction | Edition 10 | February 19, 2021

1. Planet Mars: NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars, joining two other spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China exploring the Red Planet this month.

Presently there are six operational Mars missions between the United States, India, China, and the United Arab Emirates, plus a joint Russia-European Space Agency effort.

2. In Australia, Google makes publisher deals, Facebook walks: Google is striking deals in Australia to pay for journalism, but Facebook is playing tough and restricting news sharing as Australian lawmakers consider forcing digital giants into payment agreements. Facebook's failure to notify Australia's government or publishers before pulling the plug has provoked a furious Aussie reaction.

"They are behaving more like North Korea than an American company." -- Mark McGowan - Premier of Western Australia

3. The MOD squad is expanding: Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco have garnered a much-deserved reputation in the lobbying arena, now Big Pot wants to shape politics and policy. Players from the cannabis industry banded together to form a new organization, called the US Cannabis Council, to influence governments across America.

4. Nineteen meal delivery companies in France, including Uber Eats and Deliveroo, have pledged to reduce their operational waste. The companies signed a charter to end the systematic delivery of disposable cutlery and sauces, use 100% recyclable packaging by 2022, and limit single-use plastic packaging to 50%.

5. Jaguar is to recreate itself as the West Midlands' Tesla and become a fully electric car manufacturer within four years. The company vows to keep all UK' core sites' open under a 15-year strategy to phase out diesel. Jaguar Land Rover will also release its first all-electric Land Rover brand vehicle in 2024, with five other EVs expected by 2025.

6. Bill Gates has a plan to save the world: His new book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," is devoted to reconciling the legitimate aspirations of billions of people for economic advancement with the environmental harm that results. If humanity is to win the great race between development and degradation, he writes, green innovation must accelerate.

7. Frozen Texas exposes America's infrastructure failings: At the worst point of the storm, 4.5 mm Texan households were cut off from power, as providers were overloaded with demand and tried to shuffle access to electricity, so the entire grid did not collapse.

There is nothing more political than energy.

8. Mario Draghi was sworn in as Italy's prime minister, having secured the support of almost all of the country's main political parties. The European Central Bank's former head named a new cabinet filled with technocrats like himself looking to jumpstart Italy.

Per sempre Italia.

9. It's official. The World Trade Organization has formally selected Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's former finance minister, as its first woman and first African leader.

10. Granfluencer: A senior citizen who is an influencer on social media.

Don't count grandma out when it comes to growing your followers. Granfluencers are shaking up social media representation and influencer marketing.