WEBVTT - UN Speaker Ritzy Periwinkle on The Importance of Tech in Activism (Part 1) 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:02.560 Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:05.040 I'd like to welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:08.760 where our mission is to foster allyship empathy and understanding. 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:11.239 I am your host Rams' job. He is Rams's job. 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:12.240 I am q Ward. 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:14.040 You are tuned inna Civic. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:16.000 Scycer, Yes you are, and we would like for you 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:17.639 to stick around today because we are. 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:21.000 Going to be talking uh to somebody who's very special. 0:00:21.160 --> 0:00:22.720 Very special guest is coming on the show. 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:25.919 Marissa Estrada Rivera, also known as Ritzy P, is a 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:30.319 un speaker, first generation Mexican American activist and host of 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.360 Word to Your Mama, the podcast that amplifies diverse voices 0:00:33.560 --> 0:00:36.360 and celebrates shared experiences. She is also the co host 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.760 of the get Down podcast, which covers policy and industry 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:43.280 trends in DeFi and Web three and emerging tech affecting Black, 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:46.960 Latino and Indigenous communities. Welcome to the show. We appreciate 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.760 you taking the time out to talk to us today. 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.080 Thank you well, Gia samagannized this for having me And 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.320 let me just start off by saying, happy Happy Block 0:00:55.480 --> 0:01:00.080 History Day, month, year, all day, every day. 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:00.880 We take that. 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:04.720 Yeah, we will take it all and you know, obviously 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.240 this is Black History Month and one of the things 0:01:07.280 --> 0:01:10.360 that we've been doing is providing excellent coverage on the 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:12.800 Black Information Network. We can't always fit everything we'd like 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:14.920 to endo this show, but for people who want more 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.120 during Black History Month, please check us out on the 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:19.840 Black Information Network, both myself and Q on the Black 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:23.440 Information Network Daily podcast. But for now, we want you 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:24.920 to stick around because we're going to be having a 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:34.399 conversation really about the intersection of emerging tech and activism, 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.399 emerging tech and marginalized communities and the opportunities there and 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:40.920 things that people need to know about. And for those 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.240 who are able to grab some additional content from our 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:48.680 podcast or online, or for those able to stick around 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:49.880 for the second part of the show, we're going to 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:53.559 be discussing the protests around the country, the Day Without 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:57.640 Immigrants protests with Ritzy on the show with us as well. 0:01:57.720 --> 0:01:59.560 So stick around for that and so much more. But 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.520 first it is time for some ebony. 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:04.480 Excellence, shall we? I think we shall. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.679 So today's abny excellence comes from Huffington Post, and there's 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:10.800 a lot of ebony excellence that has to be celebrated, 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:12.400 but this is the article that we chose, and then 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.280 we'll go from there. Alicia Keys appeared to call out 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:19.360 President Donald Trump's efforts to mix diversity, equity and inclusion 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.600 initiatives as she accepted the Doctor dra Global Impact Awards 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.560 at the twenty twenty five Grammy ceremony last Sunday. 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:26.720 Quote. 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.640 DEI is not a threat, It's a gift, she said 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.600 at one point opening her acceptance speech, prompting applause from 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.720 the audience. She goes on to say, this is not 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.200 the time to shut down the diversity of voices. We've 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.800 seen this on stage, talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds, 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.360 in different points of view, and it changes the game. 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:47.040 DEI is not a threat, It's a gift. The more voices, 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.120 the more powerful the sound. When destructive forces try to 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.320 burn us down, we rise from the ashes like a phoenix. 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:55.160 And as you see tonight, music is the unstoppable language 0:02:55.160 --> 0:03:00.280 that connects us all. It's so beautiful and you know, 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:02.720 she's not the only example of the ABNY excellence, but 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:06.160 of course her using her platform to push back where 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.320 she could and the biggest night in music, we thought 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.359 that was fantastic. I know there's another few examples Q 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:17.880 is a little bit more learned when it comes to 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:19.200 what actually happened. 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:21.680 Right, the person who pulled me into the music space 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:23.160 is going to try to make it seem like I'm 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:26.320 the senior here. Just a lot of artists shared that 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.239 stage in a way that was glorious. A lot of 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:32.480 people were more engaged with the Grammys this year than prior, 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:35.000 just because of the presence of some very very powerful 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.720 black voices. Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce and Doci among those that 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.520 were great winners and Janello. Ny got on the microphone 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:42.360 at an after party and made sure she gave a 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.720 shout out to Nelly for crossing over to the other 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.240 spicy shout out. Shout out as a good way to 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:50.280 put it, the kind of way I can say it. 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.760 But black people showed up at the Grammys in a 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:56.880 way that the Grammys hasn't always amplified us and platformed us, 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.160 and it was a really good thing to see. 0:03:58.200 --> 0:03:58.640 I love that. 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:05.920 I love that, all right, So Ritzy p family, family, 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:07.000 Welcome to the show. 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:07.960 Now. 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:12.000 We gave a brief introduction, and I think that there's 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:14.960 obviously a little bit more to the story. So beyond 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:17.280 your bio, give us a little bit more about you, 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:20.919 and in particular tell us about you know, Word to 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.120 Your Mama, and tell us about the get Down podcast 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:25.080 that this is kind of the space where you work. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:26.920 So we want to make sure that our listeners know 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.800 who they're listening to and what qualifies you to kind 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.559 of provide insight into the areas we're going to discuss today. 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:35.000 Thank you, guys, I really appreciate it. 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:39.920 So beyond the bio first gen gen X Mexican American, 0:04:39.960 --> 0:04:43.960 I'm a consultant and founder of Ritti Periwinkle. Through my consultancy, 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:47.880 I help companies navigate the ever evolving Aberni tech space. 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.919 I'm also a partner of Ola meteverso a member of 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:53.920 Women of Web three. We just released a book entitled 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.120 Women in the Web three Space Inclusive Futures. And I'm 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:01.200 also a homeschooling mom. In regards to the podcast, Word 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.080 to Your Mama, like you mentioned before, we amplify diverse 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.400 voices from oscar winners to activists, and they just happen 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.159 to be folks that are part of my tribe because 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:12.880 I've come from the music industry and the art industry 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:16.400 and emerging tech and then when we talk about The 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:20.520 Get Down that is a newer podcast that launched end 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:25.000 of May last year, and we explore policy, market trends, 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:29.239 and emerging tech and how that impacts our communities, Black, 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:34.599 Latin and Indigenous communities. So that's the gist of me 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.400 and the two podcasts that you know, including your show 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.640 and other shows like this super important right now, especially 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:43.600 right now to just take up all the space. 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:50.119 Wow, you are described as a diversity and emergent tech 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:54.279 advocate for those who are unfamiliar and a little less 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:58.920 tech savvy like myself. Give us some explanation around DeFi 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:03.560 web three, AI, blockchain, and a bunch of other emerging 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:07.279 tech and how that can potentially impact Black and Latino 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:09.360 and Indigenous communities. 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.119 So emerging tech, I don't want people to be afraid 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:17.200 of it. Emerging tech just basically means innovative tech that 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:23.359 significantly impacts industries, economies, and societies. So I'm talking about 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.839 like stuff that really changes the game. So currently, as 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:32.920 of today, emerging tech is AI, artificial intelligence, blockchain, spatial 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:38.960 web that includes augmented reality, virtual reality, extended reality, and more. 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.039 And to you know, because of time, let me just 0:06:42.120 --> 0:06:45.080 kind of break down some of the main points into 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.360 try to break it down into like laming terms. 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:49.680 We got block time, we got time, let's learn. 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:53.320 Let's learn then okay, then let me let me, let 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:53.880 me back it up. 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:54.359 Okay. 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:57.440 So you've heard like negative connotation when people talk about 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.000 crypto and web three. Right, But let me break down 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:02.400 and what I do and a lot of my presentations, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.599 whether it's for big tech conferences or if I'm speaking 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:09.120 to middle schoolers, black and brown middle schoolers, I tell 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:13.600 them about when the Internet was invented. Right, there's Web one, 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:15.800 Web two, went three. But when it first started, and 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.680 I think it was nineteen eighty six January of nineteen 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:23.440 eighty six, it wasn't invented by us. It wasn't invented 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:27.040 for us. We weren't even a thought, right, And then 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.640 you had that. It was basically the beginning. You could 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.360 have a page and that's it to give information. Web 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:37.640 two is when you were able to have a dialogue 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:42.840 online with email, social media, back and forth. Web three, 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:44.880 which some of us are in and some of us 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.960 on a two point five it's where we're on a 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:53.080 whole nother situation. We're on a network of things, we're 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:57.160 on the blockchain, and it's decentralize, we own our data, 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:01.000 we can build on it. It's immunable to break it down. 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:08.440 Blogchain is a public, decentralized ledger that records transactions via 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:11.680 a network, and you can think of it kind of 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:16.320 like a digital notebook where it records transactions and then 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:20.080 when something's written on there, it can't be changed or erased, 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.200 so it's really secure. And people say that it's immunable. 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:28.120 And then there's records and they're public records. So say 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:33.200 you know, Ramseys, you have a song, right, you came 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.000 up with a song. You're going to put it on chain, 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:38.880 on one of the different protocols, and Q you produced it. 0:08:39.720 --> 0:08:42.920 Then when you write on this ledger, there's a thing 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.640 called a smart contract that's basically a receipt saying this 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:48.040 is what I'm doing, this is what I'm putting on here, 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:51.319 and it says Ramses did this song, he gets this 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.560 percentage from all sales into perpetuity. 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:56.880 Q did the production. He gets this. 0:08:57.440 --> 0:08:59.680 So it's on that and I can see at any time, 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:01.840 so no one can go in. I can't go in 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.280 and say like, oh no, he did this and this 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:07.400 and this, No it's like on this chain of networks, 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:12.480 so people can't really change it. So crypto is short 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:16.880 for cryptocurrency, and it's basically digital money, but that is 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:21.800 also on chain, so it's digital cash that exists online. 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:27.480 And then it's not controlled currency, not controlled by banks 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.880 or governments, and instead it runs on the blockchain. So 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:35.280 you have different cryptocurrencies because they're named different things because 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:39.480 they're on different chains, right. And then DeFi is just 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:43.760 short for Decentralized Finance, and it's basically all of that, 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:47.320 all of those transactions. It's online banking without the bank. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:50.360 It's how you handle money. You save it, borrow it, 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:54.960 invest it. There's things called staking, there's stable coins, there's 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.280 all these different things, and that also runs on the blockchain, 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:02.400 and it lets you know, people manage their finances directly 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:05.400 without a middleman or and you get to own your 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:09.080 data and get to see what's happening. Sure, there's a 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.840 lot more to it, and I feel like it could 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:14.760 be very intimidating, But the reason why I'm in it, 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.360 and the reason why I'm a diversity in Emergency tech 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:21.400 advocate is because all this can and actually does right 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:29.359 now help marginalize communities domestically and globally via social, creative 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:34.600 and economic empowerment because there's less barriers to entry. There's 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.520 a study when we were sent over via the get 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.400 down to the DNC. I forget her name right now 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:43.040 and should have wrote it down. She was at one 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:45.360 of our events and they did a study. I think 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:47.560 it was through Paradigm. They did a study and that 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:54.000 showed how voters, Democratic, voters of color, how they're interacting 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:59.280 with blockchain, Web three, emergent tech stuff, and it said 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:06.839 that more are black and brown folks are interacting, not 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:10.520 according to main media, but are interacting and contributing into 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:13.720 Web three and using crypto than the stock market. 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:17.000 And why is that? Because there's less barriers to entry. 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:18.720 You can learn. 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:23.000 From communities, you can learn by yourself and just experimenting, 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:26.559 right do you I think? I think system systemically we've 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.360 been told like, oh, stock market and all this stuff 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:33.120 is kind of like a white people's type, you know 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:35.959 what I mean. So so the studies are out there, 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:39.000 but I think mass media just portrays you see the 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:43.120 negativity of Web three and and uh you know crypto, 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:45.719 and you see tech bros. And you see, but it's 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:49.560 really according to the data. It's really black, brown and 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:52.320 in genous folks that are really utilizing building and not 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.040 just consumers like we are in in you know web 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:59.160 two spaces where we we we are huge consumers of 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:00.880 a lot of things. And I think you guys recently 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:04.840 like had a conversation about that. Here we're building, our 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:08.880 people are building, you know, and it's about shifting the 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:13.040 power to the people. And when we're you know, building 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:16.280 and learning and engaging in the space, I mean, we 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:20.200 could really shift for ourselves but also for other people. 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:24.240 And so it gets a bad rap, but it's really 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:26.839 us that are in that. I've been there since the 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:30.280 end of the Fall of twenty twenty one and what 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.439 people call a bull run. When I started, it was 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:34.439 a bull run. It was like, oh, crypto people were 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:37.440 making mad money and people were also getting rugged, which 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.160 is when you know, people get you know, scammed and 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:40.880 stuff like that. 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.800 And then when that went down, everyone a lot of 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:44.439 people left. 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:48.239 But the people that stayed, including myself, were the communities 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.120 that I connected myself with, the communities that I'm a 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:53.320 part of, the communities that I build with. And we're 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:58.720 all of color, where women, you know, we're LGBTQI were disabled. 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.160 We're like, oh, this is new. We don't have to have, 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:04.880 you know, that much capital to be a part of this. 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:08.240 All we need is, if possible, a good Internet connection, 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.599 a phone and maybe a laptop. Doesn't even have to 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:14.240 be new, and I can participate in this and build 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:16.640 and you don't have to be a developer. You don't 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.040 have to have that type of skills. There's a lot 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.240 of no code stuff you can get with someone in 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:23.959 a community. You know, Like one of the things I'm 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:28.480 gonna mention, UH is on NAJU. It's a it's an 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.400 HBCU on chain. They're one of the first communities that 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:34.280 I built, UH, you know, a bridge with and in 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:39.199 different communities, connecting us all Latinos, not just in domestically, 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:40.920 but internationally and globally. 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:43.560 So yeah, a lot of a lot of. 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.439 You know, there's a lot of it's a huge intersection 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:52.600 of creative innovation, UH, emerging tech, utilizing all these different facets. 0:13:52.600 --> 0:13:55.959 There's so many different things, and then a social impact 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:59.200 and I think that's where all this connects. And you know, 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.560 as a as a advocate and activist, this is this 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:03.480 is exciting to me. 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:05.080 This is why I'm in the space. 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:06.840 Sure, and I could see that because. 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:09.680 You know, for a lot of folks who are again 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:12.840 community to organizers and activists, especially under the current administration, 0:14:16.679 --> 0:14:19.480 it very much feels like there are a lot of 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:25.560 forces out there that oppose your reality, that oppose your 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:26.320 vantage point. 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:28.560 You know. Think you know, social media. 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.840 You mentioned barriers to entry with respect to you know, 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.640 the stock market and so forth. Those are historical sort 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:37.120 of barriers, but nowadays people can kind of silence your voice, 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:40.320 People can interfere with your capacity to organize. People can 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:46.880 allow misinformation to flow and silence your correct information, you 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:47.360 know what I mean. 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:48.640 And so. 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.640 You know, I definitely see the benefit in terms of, 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:57.320 like you know, moving your finances beyond a bank, you know, 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.240 so there's you know, that might provide a little bit 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:01.800 more security actually if you're an organization or something like 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.440 that and you're you know, going against what you know, 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:08.000 the current administration is saying should be the norm. But 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:11.640 you know, speaking about you know, social media platforms and 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.440 so forth, and a figure like Elon musk Uh and 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:16.240 you know, remember we had that scare about the sale 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.400 of TikTok and that I guess that's still lingering in 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:23.800 the air. You know, I mentioned meta removing the fact checkers. 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:29.120 How can marginalized communities and activists reclaim the ownership of 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:33.880 their online voice because I remember you mentioning something about 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:36.320 there there being alternative platforms. 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:41.680 Yes, and let me just speakin with recently on social media, 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.240 something was written about this person that you mentioned, and 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.120 they said, you can take the part, you can take 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:49.840 the boy out of the aparth type, but you can't 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:55.560 take the apartheid out of the boyd. So marginalized community 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:58.240 is what we can do right now because before TikTok 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:06.359 was a place where we could learn, share resources, learn activate, 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.840 make plans for all these different things. 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:10.840 And it was a beautiful thing. 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:13.960 When we had that pause right where they took us 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:16.160 offline and came back. I don't know if you guys 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.800 noticed it, but we all did. It's not the same. 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.480 It's been compromised. And I don't know if you've seen 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:28.040 people on TikTok talking about lipsticks, been holding holding paper 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:33.160 with what they're really talking about, because they'll push beauty stuff, 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:37.080 they'll push that type of frivolous stuff that when when 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:40.880 they hear because they're listening to audio they're listening, they're 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:43.920 they're seeing what's being said and what's in the captions, 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.800 so they're suppressing those that are telling the truth that 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:52.480 are you know, there's certain trigger words. So what I 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.680 want us all to do is look for alternatives and 0:16:55.720 --> 0:17:01.080 not have to, you know, relate lie on big tech 0:17:01.520 --> 0:17:04.639 because really, right now, all the platforms are mostly meta. 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:06.239 Right, A lot of people don't know. 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:08.199 They're like, oh, well, WhatsApp Well it used to be, 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.000 but now that's meta, and so there's not even that 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:15.520 many spaces that the regular community that's not in emerging 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:19.439 tech knows up. So what are some alternatives if you 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:23.119 want to go into centralize and stay within that network 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.199 because you feel that that's safe. Then there's two that 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.040 I know that are black owned that I've found that 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:31.720 are are big platforms. There's fan base that you guys 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.760 know about. And then there's Spill that was two black 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:36.520 owners that used to work at Twitter. 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.080 I refuse to call it x and then they started 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:39.680 that right. 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:45.600 But I really feel this is a great opportunity for 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:48.520 those to know more about blockchain and to learn and 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:53.400 to be on decentralized social platforms. I'm not paid, I'm 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.080 not sponsored by them, but I believe in what they're doing. 0:17:56.080 --> 0:18:01.400 There's so many social media apps on on chain, on chain, 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:04.760 but the one that sticks out right now is blue Sky. 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:11.240 I mean there's there's institutions and activists and academics and 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:16.280 companies that are literally announcing we're leaving Twitter and we're 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:20.440 going to blue Sky because of what's happening that we're 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.480 you know, we're being silenced, it's being watched, all that 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:24.000 stuff like that. 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:25.919 I don't want to be on a platform owned by 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.439 a Nazi, No, not at all. 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:31.840 Right, So blue Sky for those who do not know, 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:33.360 because there's a lot of people that are on Blue 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.240 Sky that have no idea that it's decentralized and that's 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:38.760 a good thing that helps with mass adoption. 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:40.720 We're all on the Internet. 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:42.880 You don't know how it's built, you don't know how 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:46.520 it's run, you're just using it, right, But blue Sky 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:51.920 is decentralized. It's it's right currently in its iteration right now. 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:56.879 It's similar to Twitter. They're currently working on a TikTok 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.639 esque you know, part of it on arm of it, 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.000 photo arm of it like to to you know, to 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.240 bring more people in. But it's built on what's called 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:10.239 at protocol. It's its own type of blockchain, and you 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:15.359 can customize your algorithms. It's open source, so you can 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:21.240 dictate what you see and don't see. It's people can 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.359 build with their own things on top of the platform. 0:19:24.800 --> 0:19:29.600 And then also it's a place where you know, it 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.159 feels when you log on, you don't have to do 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:34.800 all this extra stuff that a lot of things in 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:37.280 emerging tech have you do where it's like I don't 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:39.320 know what I'm doing, this is so foreign and it 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:42.720 feels unsafe. But you can definitely just log on and 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:45.480 it just works like you don't even know. You log 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:47.200 on with the email if you want to, you don't 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.800 necessarily have to do with the wallet. So I feel 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.800 like those are great places right now, go claim your 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:56.919 your user name, even if you're not going to use 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.359 it immediately, you know, like I did to your brother, 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:02.840 I was like, claim those things because people can claim 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:04.280 them now, and then you're not going to be able 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.560 to have your name, you know what I mean. So 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:09.320 so those are the types of things that was what 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:14.400 can you do to you know, decentralize and get off 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:19.040 and have to worry and rely on big tech because 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:21.800 they make if you don't know already, folks, they make 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:24.680 money off of your data. They want as many people 0:20:24.720 --> 0:20:26.919 to be on there, they want you to post, they 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:29.920 want you to put your because if you notice, you're like, oh, 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:32.760 I was just talking about that dog food boom, yeah, 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:35.400 dog dog ads and stuff like that, because they're making 0:20:35.480 --> 0:20:38.520 money off of your search stuff like what your algorithm is, 0:20:38.560 --> 0:20:41.840 what you're into and if you're on decentralized then you 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:42.840 know that's your data. 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:44.800 Yeah. I'll take it a step further too, because I 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:49.320 saw something recently saying that Google was rolling back their 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:52.800 DEI initiatives and that felt kind of hurtful. They were 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:54.920 talking about they were going to restructure or something like that. 0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:59.240 So so yeah, kind of reducing your reliance on big 0:20:59.280 --> 0:21:01.800 tech seems like as a smart move. 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:06.159 Before we change subjects, I just want to, you know, 0:21:06.200 --> 0:21:08.399 before we move on, can you let us know some 0:21:08.400 --> 0:21:12.840 community resources, things that folks can learn more about and 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:18.879 get more information, more access to emerging tech, and ways 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:21.680 they can incorporate that into their community organizing efforts. 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:26.880 Yes, about about one minute. 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:31.480 Okay, one minute, okay, hold on one second, because I it's. 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:34.240 Not in order, and I had some listed it's. 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:37.119 Okay, okay, okay, got it, got it, got it okay. 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:40.159 So for trusted sources for our communities to learn more 0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:43.399 about emerging tech, they can go check out Ola, meta verso, 0:21:43.680 --> 0:21:46.360 they can check out on agu, Women of wib three 0:21:46.640 --> 0:21:49.440 and for those that are Spanish speaking, they can check 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:53.320 out cryptoc And as far as utilizing emerging tech, they 0:21:53.320 --> 0:21:56.280 can use it for fundraising so that it's transparent, you 0:21:56.320 --> 0:21:58.240