?? Midweek Wiser! - Elon, Elon, Elon | Trump's NFT Cards | BigTech's Headwinds | What's ChatGPT? | TikTok Security | SBF Jailed
In this issue of Wiser! - Trump's NFTs. Big Tech faces increasing headwinds from regulators, lawmakers, and courts. SBF is in jail. TikTok is being censored. Elon Musk only lets you play by his rules. More about ChatGPT.
w/Tuesday 20th December 2022
Hi and welcome to Midweek Wiser! - a free weekly newsletter that tries to makes sense of what's happening in the tech economy, from BigTech and the impact of Social Media, to web3 and the journey to the Metaverse (wherever that is).
Each week, I look for clues in what's happening today to better understand what's coming tomorrow.
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?? Elon’s increasingly bizarre management style
When Musk asks a question on Twitter, he knows what answer he wants. He uses every Twitter poll to gain public approval for what he’s already decided to do. His latest stunt is to ask Twitter if he should stay on as boss. Over 17 million Tweeters voted 57% in favour of Musk not being CEO! Is this what he wanted?
However, it's a dumb question because he’s already broken a broken Twitter. Who could possibly run the platform under his ownership? And who would buy it for any more than $5—7 billion (Musk just paid $44 billion)?
A day after the poll closed, the word on the street is that Musk ran the poll as "a ruse" to flush out bots and spam accounts. Bottom line, it looks like Musk is going nowhere!
To see what everyone has to say about Elon Musk and Twitter, and continue reading this post on LinkedIn, go here.
Further Reading
?? Regulation headwinds are blowing harder for BigTech
Back Story: Last week I wrote about the impact of the European Union's Digital Markets Act on the fines levied on technology firms. These fines are intended to focus the attention of decision makers. And they are working.
Epic Games fined for breaching child safety rules
The FTC have charged Epic with a half a billion dollar million settlement for breaches of children’s privacy laws using “dark patterns”. This is a technique for duping users into making online purchases. The FTC also took issue with Epic’s live text and voice communication features, which were set to be turned on by default, regardless of the users age.
The FTC claims that children were exposed to harassment and abuse because of these features, especially since Epic had no way of making sure that children and adults would not be matched together in online play.
Apple's protection of its Walled Garden
In response of the requirements of the EU’s DMA and the ruling in the Epic Games case, Bloomberg reported that Apple is going to let developers sell their apps to iPhone users without going through the App Store.
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision
Meanwhile, Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision continues to draw considerable scrutiny from US, UK and EU regulators over competition concerns. The acquisition would make Microsoft the third-largest video game maker in the world after Sony and Tencent.
Google v Section 230
Social media is protected from scrutiny because of Section 230, a US law that dates back to 1996. Section 230 says that the platforms are not responsible for what you and I post on them.
This outdated law is going to be tested in the upcoming Supreme Court case Gonzalez v. Google, which questions whether social media platforms are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Amazon's competitive advantage in its own marketplace
Amazon has finalised a deal with EU regulators to address concerns about Amazon playing both sides of the marketplace, drawing attention to its own products at the expense of its competition
?? 10 Other things ChatGPT can do
?? Starbucks kicks off its NFT-driven rewards
It might seem alien to older generations, but there’s good reason for consumer brands like Starbucks to explore the use of web3 technologies.
领英推荐
Here’s The Thing: Starbucks has a massive and hugely successful loyalty rewards program that drives as much as 50% of its revenues.
Expanding the loyalty scheme with NFT technology means that Starbucks will be able to create a new level of engagement amongst its customer base.
Customers will earn digital rewards in the form of limited-edition NFTS that they can then trade on a Starbucks NFT marketplace. The whole thing will be run on the Polygon blockchain network.
The tech will also allow Starbucks to dynamically roll out additional benefits and features to select NFT holders, such as invites to exclusive events.
??? Brand Strategies For Web3 and the Metaverse
Drop 2 of the Brand Strategies Collection went live last week. I added another 30 consumer brands to the Collection that now comprises 110 brands and their use-cases in NFTs, blockchain, virtual reality and crypto.
The latest brands added to the Collection include: Foot Locker, Kia, Kellogg's JP Morgan, Kraft Heinz, KPMG, L'Oreal, Lamborghini, Louis Vuitton, Lavazza, Lego, LGMacy's, Mars, Mattel, McDonald's, Mercedes-Benz.
To access this unique collection, buy a lifetime access via my page on Gumroad.
DECEMBER LIMITED TIME OFFER: Use the discount code BRAND50 to receive a 50% limited time reduction.
?? Big Tech Little Tech Podcast
Episode #15 - Gadget gifts, ChatGPT, Apple Music Sing, and flying cars
For links to every major podcast platform, show notes and all the details about the last show, go to BTLTpod.com
Find the podcast on all the major platforms. Or listen here on Spotify.
??Donald Trump's NFT collection made $4 million in sell-out drop
Trump knows how to sell. The NFTs sold for $99 each with an offer of both status ("be part of my community") and exclusivity ("you could win lunch with me".
Watch the video for yourselves ??
???? FTX: “This is really old-fashioned embezzlement.”
It's all crashing down on FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, having been arrested in the Bahamas this week and then denied bail. Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have filed charges alleging money laundering, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged him for allegedly defrauding investors. The Commodity Futures and Trading Commission filed its own complaint agaianst SBF and FTX.
On top of that, FTX's new CEO John J. Ray III, gave a four-hour testimony in front of a congressional committee, in which he summed up the whole sorry affair as “old-fashioned embezzlement.”
??? Tips and Tools to boost your productivity
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