?? Wiser #91: A Week In Tech
w/Wiser! #91 - Sunday 18th September
Wiser! Newsletter - LinkedIn Edition
?Hola! Wiser! readers and a happy Sunday to you! A special welcome to all the new subscribers who signed up for Wiser! this week.
This issue #91 of Wiser! was first published on Friday 16th September . The web version has more detail, content and colour. You should check it out there...or carry on reading the shorter, black and white version here.
In Wiser! this week, I covered:
Plus: in the latest episode of Big Tech Little Tech, Shaun and I look at Apple's consumer products. There are 2 new videos on the YouTube channel, including a look at the Metaverse and NFTs with James Hirst.
As always, you'll find a ton of news headlines from across tech, some tips and tricks, and?other stories, content and?stuff?I think you'll find interesting and of value.
This is the LinkedIn Edition of Wiser! - it's a shorter, black and white version of the technicolour issue emailed to subscribers 2 days ago, on Friday morning. You can read the full colour newsletter here (it's better in colour):
All the best, Rick
"I limit my read of IT tech and business because of the massive noise in the market. I always read Wiser - it really fills a gap in what's happening in a 10 minute read."?- Dean Lilly, Strategic Sales, DXC Technology.
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w/In Partnership
No Bull Economics
The No Bull Economics newsletter gives readers 15-second research posts focused on the consumer, designed to make sense of YOUR financial world.
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w/SocialMedia
TikTok: The Propaganda Machine?
There's a growing anti-TikTok narrative in the West that goes like this:
At a senate hearing this week, TikTok's COO, Vanessas Pappas got a grilling on the CCP's involvement in running the platform. And how much access did it have to US user data.
Pappas evaded the questioning and it turned into a cat and mouse game of showboating by the senators and deflection by TikTok.
I'm not entirely convinced by the narrative. Is it any different to the way the Boris Johnson Gov exerted influence over the BBC during Covid?
Plus you have the misinformation tactics of TikTok's biggest rival, Facebook (who are frankly being killed by TikTok).
I wrote a long-form article of Wiser! Premium subscribers here...
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w/Web3
Ethereum Completes The Merge
Changing The Way Crypto Works: Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency network, after Bitcoin. After years of talking about "it", i finally happened this week to Ethereum.
It being "The Merge."
What It Means: Ethereum has successfully transitioned to a new?way of working.?From what's called "Proof of Work" to "Proof of Stake". ??♂?
In layman’s terms:
Frankly, unless you're into technology, the "how" doesn't really matter.
What Matters Is: The entire energy usage of the Ethereum network is reduced by 99.9%, from 23 million megawatt-hours per year to 2,600 megawatt-hours per year.
Perception: The Merge positions Ethereum as the environmentally friendly crypto (as opposed to the all consuming Bitcoin).
As the realities of climate change increasingly draw closer every day, there's now clear blue water between the two very different ways of doing crypto.
Whilst Bitcoin was the first and is still the largest crypto by a country mile, Ethereum now has a clear differentiator for a crypto community that sees far more utility in the Ethereum network than in Bitcoin.
Speaking of saving the planet...
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w/BigTech
Some Of The Biggest Names In BigTech Converge in California For The Code Conference
BigTech's BigNames: Code Conference is an annual gathering of the Kara Swisher fan club, where the great and the good from Big Tech come together to be interviewed live on stage by tech journo Swisher.
As a signed up member of the Swisher fan base, I loved following the 3-day event from afar. It's a reflection on Swisher's standing as a tech journalist that she is able to pull in the likes of?Apple CEO Tim Cook, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and a host of other big names from the world of BigTech.
Sadly, this will be Swisher's last Code as the host.
Here's Mathias D?pfner, CEO Axel Springer,?on why he thinks TikTok should be banned internationally .?
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w/SocialMedia
Twitter Shareholders Approve Musk's Takeover Offer
All Stations Go:?Twitter shareholders have given the thumbs up to Elon Musk’s takeover bid...even though Musk doesn’t want to go through with it!
This week, Twitter's shareholders (inc yours truly) officially gave the green light for Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover to go through.
Court of Chancery:?This going to come down to the Delaware Court of Chancery next month.
A judge will decide if?Musk has to go through with his $44 billion takeover , which I think is a dead cert that he is going to have to (unless he sees the writing on the wall and buys his way out before hand). Ouch!
Coincidentally, the shareholder vote came on the same day that former Twitter security executive Peiter “Mudge” Zatko testified before Congress about Twitter’s alleged security flaws.
Mudge’s allegations include:
领英推荐
I wrote about a longer piece about it here...
Related News
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w/Podcast
?? Big Tech Little Tech #9
In the latest episode, Shaun and I discuss the recent Apple "Far Out" event, in which Apple updated the iPhone, the Apple Watch and AirPods.
We also discuss Meta’s largest ever EU fine, Canoo EVs, some wearables stats, and what Shaun would take on his desert island.
??? Find Big Tech Little Tech on all major Podcast platforms:?Apple Podcasts ?|?Spotify ?|?Amazon Music ?|?Anchor ?|?Google Podcasts
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w/YouTube
Wiser! On YouTube
I loaded up 2 videos this week to the Wiser!?YouTube channel .
In this episode of Wiser!, I am joined by James Hirst, founder of The Intelligent Brief, an AI creativity startup, to talk metaverse, NFTs and emerging utility of what we broadly call Web3.
In Wiser! #33 I focus on Apple's Unfair Advantage, Meta's largest ever fine, and 3 reasons why TikTok is as addictive as playing the slot machines.
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w/BigTech
Google Loses Appeal Against Mega EU Anti-Trust Fine
$4.1 Billion:?That's the size of the fine the EU has won again Alphabet/Google.
Ouch!?There's no denying that this is a serious blow for Google. Not so much because of the size fine as much as the way it changes Google's business model.
On the flip side, the win strengthens the position of the EU’s antitrust advocates, led by Margrethe Vestager. It's a decision that will be watched closely by US regulators, FTC Chair Lina Khan and US lawmakers like Amy Klobuchar.
Block and Tackle: Google’s main line of defence was that it is not a monopoly. Users can go with iOS, right? It’s the same defence that Apple use when it is defending against anti trust. Users can go with Android, right?
But the reality is that there is a duopoly in smartphones. It’s a 2-horse race in a market of around 6.6 billion smartphones dominated by Apple and Alphabet's Android.
Related Reading
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w/NFTs
100 Brands in the Metaverse
Thunderbirds are Go!?ITV Studios have launched a series of NFTs for the iconic 1960s TV series, Thunderbirds.
A collection of 1,000 digital assets is now available on OpenSea, including a Digital Pass to join the project’s community, aka the International Rescue Club.
Fans Love Collecting:?fans have always loved collecting collectables. There's nothing new here.
But what is new is that an NFT enables the "collectible" to come as a smart contract. This means the seller/issuer can build a whole new layer of benefits and features and personalise them inside a digital asset.
Ubiquitous Technology: Some day, sooner rather than later, everything will be a digital asset. Which means that NFTs are, IMHO, the most likely technology to hold them.
?? If you're into NFTs, web3 marketing or just curious about what's going on with Big Brands in the Metaverse, you're going to want to see the collection of over 100 NFT projects I've pulled together. The trend report is called "100 Brands In The Metaverse" and is available to premium Subscribers.?OUT NEXT WEEK!
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w/TechNews
Just Headlines
Just Numbers
Just The Markets
Just Interesting
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This issue #91 of Wiser! was first published on Friday 16th September . The web version has more detail, content and colour. You should check it out!