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Starting Benign

If these small ad that runs on top of a car, proved to be effective, then it won't be too long before such ads would run on digital wraps that can be changed on demand. Advertisers would subsidize people's cars based on the routes they drive and the number of eye-balls they can attract along the way. It usually starts small and even appearing to be a beneficial idea. 

I remember the first time, I got a laptop at work in addition to a desktop computer. Back then, there was no expectation that having a laptop meant the employee was always available for work. It seemed like a good idea to have access away from work specially that you could now work from home if needed - that felt very empowering. Over time that changed, constant encroachment into personal life and time became the norm unless you pushed back hard. I learned never to respond to emails over the weekend and later not engage in text exchanges after work hours. The space had to carved out diligently every single day. The early feelings of empowerment faded away over time.

At first, the idea of running ads atop or around a car at no cost to the driver or rider may seem like a good thing but it can also be the beginning of the end as this Atlantic article says about how the laptop ruined your life. But as they say - that was then and this is now. The inability to work from home in the present situation could be the difference between having a livelihood or not at all. There is no work-life balance or integration depending on your preference - if you able to work from home while managing kids and domestic obligations all at the same time, you are in the lucky minority.

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