October
27, 2020

2 min read

• “La Bracala” stood out among the five finalists as the favorite of the jury made up of influencers and motorsport experts.

• In the grand finale of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, the winner will see their car converted into a Hot Wheels cart that will be sold around the world.

The second edition of Hot Wheels Legends Tour Mexico 2020 now in virtual format announced “La Bracala”, a 1976 Brasilia as the car that will represent the country in the great virtual final of the event.

Daniel Beltrán is the winning participant who registered his customized full-scale car to Hot Wheels Legends Tour Mexico 2020. “La Bracala” stood out among the five finalists as the favorite of the jury made up of influencers and motorsport experts: Juca, Fercho Urquiza , Franky Mostro, as well as Hot Wheels designers: Mario Godoy and Ralph Benitez.

The jury was in charge of evaluating the authenticity, creativity and garage spirit of “La Bracala” to represent the Aztec country in the grand final where the winner will see their car converted into a Hot Wheels cart that will be sold all over the world.

The date for the Hot Wheels Legends Tour virtual grand finale will be announced shortly, where finalists from Mexico and the rest of the world will face off to feel the adrenaline rush and excitement of seeing their custom car transform into a legendary Hot Wheels.

October
26, 2020

2 min read

• A T-shirt was the subject of controversy.
• The company explains that the photo could be interpreted as racist.

IKEA , a Swedish multinational company, had all its 2021 catalog reprinted. The reason? the material contained an image, which according to the company, could be interpreted as racist.

As reported by Quartz at Work , it was a full-page photograph showing a young black man injured in a leg cast and finger splint, presumably from a skateboarding accident based on the accessories to the left of the frame. .

The model’s shirt is the subject of controversy: An IKEA employee pointed out that a sequence of numbers on his back (45678) could be interpreted as serial numbers on an inmate’s uniform, thus fueling a negative stereotype of a young black man.

^{Corrected photograph. Image: IKEA catalog digital version .}

“After reviewing the photo, we agree that it could lend itself to a negative interpretation and reinforce negative stereotypes,” IKEA explained to Quartz .

The company also commented that the number was only a design detail and recalled that diversity and inclusion are part of its core values. In the corrected digital edition , a black man is shown looking at parts and instructions.

October
24, 2020

4 min read

“Where were you when you realized that the pandemic was going to change your life?”

For Isabella Cota , a journalist specializing in macroeconomic issues, that moment of cold drop came when she was attending a wedding at the end of February and a friend involved in the health industry told her that at some point in the year the stock markets were going to collapse, large amounts of infections would occur and that, if the government did not act soon, a health crisis like no other would occur.

Just a few days later, the National Healthy Distance Day would begin, which practically stopped the country’s non-essential economic activity.

Perhaps the force of the spread of COVID-19 took many by surprise, but Cota asserts that “many people who were used to reading the news saw the pandemic coming and were able to take protective measures even before the authorities.”

For the journalist, information is the best tool that people can access for free to make critical decisions for their health and finances.

“If you want to invest your money well, you have to understand money and for that, you have to read news about economy, finance and yes, science,” said the expert in her participation in the virtual MoneyFest festival.

However, in Mexico we have a stigma with numbers and it is the job of the media to explain to the reader how economic news affects their daily life.

“If the medium does not land that information, it is the MEDIA that is failing the public, not the other way around.”

^{Image: MoneyFest 2020}

How to read the news to help you earn more money

Isabella Cota gives us a three-point checklist to consume financial news to make better decisions.

1. “Cure your fright” with curiosity: You have to ask yourself questions, but don’t panic. “If there is something that the pandemic has given us all, it is fear. Fear of getting infected, losing a job, saying goodbye to a loved one, etc. ”, says Cota. “We must approach the information without fear and not let ourselves be carried away by alarmist news.”

Given this, it is drastic to remember that the headlines do not report and you have to look for different sources.

2. Google is your friend: “The media are like great libraries of stories,” says Isabella. “Before making any financial decision, you have to ask Google what the media says about a brand or investment opportunity that they advertise, what information the bank can ask you by law, what are your rights before collectors, etc.”

3. You don’t have to believe everything: One of the most unfortunate effects of the pandemic has been the spread of false information that is sold as news and is not. “A study says that there are already 800 people in the world who die because of the fake news about the coronavirus.”

So how can we identify real news?

Isabella offers this “accordion” to quickly identify credible information:

• When the notes or links come without a real or reputable source, do not open them .
• If the information comes from a medium that you don’t recognize, don’t read it .
• Finally, if what the article says does not seem true or reasonable, do not share it .

“The media fails, but they also offer fascinating stories. These stories are important and they teach us something. The information that is consumed with calm, curiosity and an open mind, is the best tool for our money ”, concludes Cota.

October
23, 2020

2 min read

Amazon increased its revenues by 26% in the first quarter of the year. However, it seems that it has not invested in aspects related to supporting the environment.

This has caused strong criticism, especially with respect to its packaging that it uses for shipments regarding which it is said that materials are wasted and generate a large amount of pollutants.

Added to this, single-use plastic products dominate their ranks. It is for this reason that the company will ban the sale of disposable plastic products and those made with oxodegradable plastic in its stores in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Turkey.

These three will be the regions where you will start with the restrictions. The company’s commercial collaborators will be subject to this policy and it will also apply to all sales, including those of Amazon itself, according to EFE.

^{Depositphotos.com}

It will be from next December 21, 2020 when single-use plastic products and, among others, those made with biodegradable plastics, such as cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers or sticks used to support balloons, are banned.

In the event that a seller stores any of the products in question in an Amazon fulfillment center, “you can sell the inventory until December 20, 2020 or request that it be sent to the location of your choice at no cost”, and that from the company “no fee will be charged for removal of inventory.”

October
22, 2020

3 min read

• Will you admire this person?
• Will this person increase the average level of effectiveness of the group they enter?
• In what area could this person be a superstar?

Would you like to work at Amazon or learn about the human resources of its founder? This will interest you. One of the company’s first employees said in a 1999 interview that Jeff Bezos was in charge of interviewing candidates and that this person should raise the hiring standards for the next applicant.

However, Bezos’s schedule became heavier with the growth of his company and of course he is no longer in charge of the human resources of the company, but through a letter written in 1998, he made clear the high standards of hiring that Amazon must have and three key questions for applicants.

According to Tom Popomaronis , in an article for CNBC , although these questions were written 22 years ago, they are timeless and should be taken into account by everyone, recruiters and candidates alike.

^{Image: Mandel Ngan | Getty Images}

In his hiring meetings, Bezos would ask employees to answer these three questions before making a decision:

1. Will you admire this person?

“If you think about the people your life has admired, they are probably from whom you have been able to learn or take an example. For my part, I have always strived to only work with people I admire, and I encourage people here to be just as demanding. Life is definitely short to do otherwise, ”Bezos says in his letter .

2. Will this person increase the average level of effectiveness of the group they join?

“We want to fight against entropy. The bar has to go up continuously. I ask people to visualize the company 5 years from now. At that point, each of us should look around and say, “The standards are so high now, boy, I’m glad I walked in when I did!”

In this section, the founder of Amazon refers to the fact that they must always raise the hiring standards.

3. In what area could this person be a superstar?

“Many people have unique skills, interests and perspectives that enrich the work environment for all of us. Often it is something that is not even related to their jobs ”. This must be taken into account by employers to improve the quality of the work environment.

October
20, 2020

1 min read

Grupo Inditex and its Zara brand caused a sensation on social networks after the launch of its new collection, which included two articles almost in disuse. These are two foldable supermarket trolleys made of gray and gold-khaki padded fabric that are part of their new collection.

These products, whose price is 49.95 euros each, became the object of desire of the Spaniards, who sold out the article within a few hours of its launch, so it is expected that they will be available again soon.

^{Depositphotos.com}

The two carts are added to several models of reusable and folding cloth bags that the brand sold for 13 euros and that seek to reduce the consumption of single-use plastics, more so now that World Environment Day is approaching.

October
2, 2020

2 min read

• Some users with access to beta version 2.20.201.10 discovered this long-awaited feature.

Why do they mute people and groups on WhatsApp? Many do it for mental health, others because we need to focus during the day on things that have nothing to do with the application.

But, we agree that there are people and groups that sometimes we would like to silence forever. However, the messaging application does not offer this option, it only lets us do it for eight hours, a week or a year. Although everything indicates that we will soon enjoy the feature.

According to WABetaInfo , some users with access to beta version 2.20.201.10 discovered this long-awaited feature. This means that in the future the option to silence groups and people for life may be available.

^{Photo: WABetaInfo}

By deploying the alternatives to silence a group or person, the one-year alternative disappeared and was replaced by “forever”.

Who or who would you silence forever?

October
2, 2020

2 min read

• To carry out this project, the creators chose the Indian Pale Ale type of beer.

Technology has become a large part of our lives and with it Artificial Intelligence (AI) has intruded into our daily lives, so much so that with the help of it we have been able to create products that man normally makes.

In this context, a Swiss company launched Deeper, the first beer in the European country created with the assistance of AI. The recipe for the drink was made by the algorithm known as Brauer AI.

^{Photo: brauer.ai}

To carry out this project, the creators chose the type of Indian Pale Ale beer, subsequently the algorithm analyzed market trends and an international database with around 157 thousand recipes to choose the type of malt and hops to use.

The MN Brew microbrewery, the University of Lucerne and the Jaywalker Digital company participated in the creation of this product. On the official page of the drink, the little legend explains “we believe in the power of merging human wisdom with artificial intelligence.”

October
2, 2020

3 min read

• Tumbao, is a company of sustainable purses and wallets designed with ecological nopal leather from Mexico.
• The company was co-founded by four friends who are today looking to finance their project through a Kickstarter campaign.

Nicholas Saye, Federica Caso, Ecab Amor and María José Heshiki de las Casas have created Tumbao , a company of sustainable purses and wallets designed with ecological nopal leather from Mexico. To boost their brand, they have launched a micro-patronage campaign on Kickstarter .

“Through Tumbao in general, and with the Kickstarter campaign in particular, we would like to show that small actions can be very useful when it comes to creating positive and sustainable change,” they explain. “It is an invitation for people to participate in improving the state of our planet, while at the same time purchasing an exquisitely designed product,” they comment.

Nicholas, Federica and María José are design students, while Ecab is a law and international relations student at the Spanish university IE University. Among the four founders there are nine nationalities (Mexico, the United States, Venezuela, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, Peru and Japan). The four friends met for the first time in 2019 at the IE University Fab Lab convinced of the possibility of placing their products on the market without having to renounce ethical principles such as the defense of animal rights or the protection of the planet.

^{Photo: Courtesy.}

From the beginning, they were clear about the environmental impact of their project and made every effort to make the supply chain in the production of their wallets and purses as small and local as possible. After trying various designs and different materials, they found in the cactus the perfect ally to make their products. “We chose the skin of the nopal as a material and it exceeded our expectations, due to its texture and its positive impact on the environment,” they explain. Its suppliers are in Guadalajara (Mexico) and Nicholas, one of its founders, was able to consolidate the details of the production during his months of exchange in Mexico City this year.

With the campaign launched today on Kickstarter, the Tumbao team of entrepreneurs seeks a financial boost to make the company operational and thus do their bit in transforming the dynamics of fashion towards a more sustainable and responsible industry.