
Estonia's Tech-Savviness - sethbannon
https://m.mic.com/articles/146542/the-unexpected-story-of-how-this-tiny-country-became-the-most-tech-savvy-on-earth#.PaJNIRo6I
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nolepointer
I was really enthusiastic (especially about Estonia's flat tax) until this
bit:

>The country is plagued by another issue that is all too familiar to the
Silicon Valley: diversity. "We are still dominantly white and male," said Sten
Tamkivi, co-founder and CEO of Teleport and a former early executive at Skype.
"Estonia has a lot of work to do."

This isn't an issue unless you constantly try to make it one.

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niftich
It's not relevant in the Estonian context -- a largely ethnically homogeneous
country where the largest minority is Russians -- but could be relevant in a
global context.

I don't agree with the article's slant on leading in that quote, but the
person being quoted is right; they don't have the nature of diversity that
other western countries have attained, and increasingly, have come to expect.

But in their case, it's not because of malice, but just a consequence of
history.

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byoung2
In many ways it is much easier for a tiny country to achieve what Estonia did
(fast internet, teaching every kid to code, gov't services online, pay parking
meters by mobile phone). When the central gov't is in charge of a country the
size of an American city, there can be less red tape. Online voting in the US,
for example, would require the agreement and cooperation of cities, counties,
states, and the federal government.

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rahimnathwani
Is this about size, or about the number of layers in the administrative
structure?

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byoung2
They go hand in hand...small countries (geographically) like Singapore or
Estonia can arrange themselves in a single layer, where the central government
controls everything down to the police and parking meters. Large countries
like Canada, Mexico, or the United States tend to arrange themselves into
states, provinces, counties, and cities with some degree of autonomy. I
suppose there could be a large country with a single layer or a small one with
multiple layers.

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wepple
I'm not convinced that "posh designer suits" is at all a necessarily positive
drawcard, but I really like the general gist of what's happened.

I'm surprised there aren't more countries looking to invest in this area. New
Zealand will never be a major international in many areas due to proximity and
size; however it could make a fantastic place to incubate tech companies. It's
somewhat frustrating to see these opportunities not being embraced.

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OpenDrapery
Didn't click link. Just came to comments. I would have guessed Japan.

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DarkLinkXXXX
It's not Japan. It's Estonia. Please don't comment without looking at the
article first.

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honkhonkpants
TL;DR: low denominator.

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michaelvoz
Mods/Admins can you change the title to How Estonia Became the Most Tech-Savvy
on Earth?

Edit: It seems to have been done. Please disregard.

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garrettgrimsley
The article is about Estonia. The title is linkbait in the same vein as "This
One Weird Trick."

