WEBVTT - Tech News: Meta Gets Connect-ed 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.360 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:17.799 Jonathan Strickland, Diamond Executive producer with I Heart Radio, and 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:20.239 how the tech are you. It's time for the tech 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:24.919 news for Tuesday, October eleventh, two thousand twenty two. Let's 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:29.600 get to it. Today, Meta will hold its Connect conference, 0:00:30.080 --> 0:00:32.800 and folks are expecting that Mark Zuckerberg will give an 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.560 update as to the whole journey to the Metaverse thing, 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:40.479 and part of that will be unveiling of the high 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:45.000 end VR a gear that has been called Project Cambria 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.800 internally anyway, we expect it will probably be called something 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:51.879 else when it's released. The going bet now as it's 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:53.720 going to be the Quest pro By the time you 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:57.200 hear this, you might very well know that already, because 0:00:57.200 --> 0:00:59.720 I'm recording this before the conference happens. I'm not sure 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:03.800 what features this new VR device is going to have, 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.200 but the guess is that it's going to have higher 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:10.840 resolution experiences. It's gonna incorporate eye tracking that can go 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:15.480 from interesting to creepy real quick, and it might have 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:19.840 some other mixed reality features built into it, as in, like, hey, 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:22.840 you've got augmented reality and my virtual reality. Hey you 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:27.440 got virtual reality and my augmented reality? Say that kind 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:31.440 of thing. Anyway, we don't know the details, we don't 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:34.120 know how expensive this thing is going to be. But 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:37.600 since Meta not too long ago hiked the price of 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.240 the two quest two models, there's a base model in 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:45.120 a slightly better model, those prices went up by a 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:50.360 hundred dollars each. They currently cost three and four nine, respectively. 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:55.320 And my guess is that Project Cambria will be fairly expensive. 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.920 Considering that Meta has had a really bad year this year, 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:01.320 I can't imagine and that they're going to try and 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:04.160 sell this at a massive loss. The company has been 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:08.560 dealing with scandals, it's seen a decline in its user base. 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.639 It's been trying in largely failing, to fight off TikTok's 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:17.160 appeal to younger users. It's been reeling from Apple's move 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:21.520 to give iOS users the ability to cut off app tracking, 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:25.200 which is really hurt their advertising model. Uh. It's seen 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:28.040 at stock price go down over the year by more 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:31.040 than sixty percent, like more than a hundred dollars per share. 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:33.280 And I'm sure there are a lot of folks over 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:36.919 at Meta who feel the company really needs a win, 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.840 so maybe that's what we'll get later today. The conference 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.960 begins at one pm Eastern. As I'm recording this, it's 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.040 about an hour away, so I'm sure I'll have a 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.240 lot more to talk about on Thursday's episode. The New 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:55.120 York Times published an article titled quote, Skepticism, Confusion, Frustration 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:59.720 inside Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse struggles end quote, and this piece 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.919 had some light on how folks inside the company are 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:08.240 frustrated and confused by Zuckerberg's push toward all things metaverse. 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:12.120 The Times quotes several folks, many of them unnamed because 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:13.839 they didn't want to put their jobs at risk, which 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:18.440 is totally understandable. One investor that the Times quoted was 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:22.120 a guy named Matthew Ball, who I think rightfully pointed 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:25.480 out that while Zuckerberg is focusing on the metaverse, the 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:29.399 problems that Meta is facing right now are not necessarily 0:03:29.480 --> 0:03:32.840 directly metaverse related. Apart from the fact that the company 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:36.400 is investing billions into something that's still many years away. 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:40.720 I think the Ball's point is that Zuckerberg is failing 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:44.480 to address the real world problems that Meta has encountered 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:47.480 this year. Which means not only is Zuckerberg looking at 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:52.440 something that doesn't fix the issues that the company currently faces, 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.960 those issues are also getting worse because the attention is 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.360 on this metaverse stuff. The piece also rewards the several 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:03.400 employees and Meta are frustrated with Zuckerberg changing his mind 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:08.280 about projects and rapidly demanding changes. They say that the 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.760 most important project is m MH, which is make Mark happy. Obviously, 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:18.080 this whole approach disrupts processes and makes them really failed 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.640 to make a lot of progress. The piece also mentions 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.360 that Zuckerberg has been urging Meta teams to hold virtual 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:27.000 meetings within the company's Horizon Workrooms app and that was 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.240 a huge inconvenience for a lot of employees because they 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:33.720 had not purchased a VR headset or had one set up, 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.920 so it sent lots of folks scrambling in order to 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.359 catch up. Also, by the way, just on a side note, yuck. 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:43.120 I mean, if if my boss told me that I 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:45.800 needed to buy a four hundred or five dollar piece 0:04:45.800 --> 0:04:49.240 of equipment just so that I could attend work meetings, 0:04:50.040 --> 0:04:53.240 I'd be pretty angry about that. Hopefully those employees will 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:55.919 get reimbursed for having to purchase VR equipment just to 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.920 attend meetings or something. The Times piece also says that 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.920 and Helnal poll of Meta of one thousand employees revealed 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:07.040 that less than sixty of them felt they really understood 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.479 the company's metaverse strategy. So still more than half say 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:15.200 they understand it, but like more than say I don't 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:19.520 really get it now the very least I would think 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:22.520 that reveals a problem with internal communications. It's very hard 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:25.360 to be a trailblazer if the folks on your team 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:29.080 don't understand where they're trying to go to. Again, maybe 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.880 the conference later today will indicate that the company has 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:34.359 addressed some of these issues. Will have to wait and see, 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:37.120 or you won't. You probably have already heard about it. 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:42.200 Let's pop on over to YouTube next. The platform is 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:44.920 making yet another change when it comes to users and 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:49.000 their accounts. YouTube sent out emails to YouTube account holders 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:52.320 and released an announcement that says the platform will soon 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:57.040 switch to at name style handles, much like other social 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:01.520 platforms like Twitter. So users who will have a channel, 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.920 they'll be able to secure a unique handle that applies 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:08.200 across the platform. So this handle feature will allow users 0:06:08.240 --> 0:06:11.560 to mention others and stuff like video titles and comments. 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:15.120 So let's say you decided to do a YouTube video 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.919 about how awesome I am. You could tag me in 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:22.360 the title of your video, and I would be aware 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.200 that it existed, and because you're appealing to my ego, 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:29.000 I would likely promote that video because I want people 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.440 to know how awesome I am. Now, I'm not saying 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:33.600 you should do this, by the way, Specifically, don't do 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.960 this with me because my social reach is pathetically small 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.839 because I'm almost never on social these days, so it 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.200 won't do you any good. But if you try it 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.160 with folks who have a large, active following, I don't know. 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:47.640 Maybe it could work. Maybe you just irritate them. You 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:51.640 just don't know. Anyway, the apt feature can be useful 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:55.040 for community engagement, though it can also be irritating as 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:57.839 heck if it's misused, but that is the way of things. 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:01.599 I find this change interesting but because back when Google 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:05.359 Plus was still a thing, Google was really pushing to 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:10.840 require everyone to use their real legal name across Google platforms, 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:15.600 and that included Google Plus and YouTube. So this motivation 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:19.400 for this push came from a relatively good place, like 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.120 it wasn't just that they wanted to force you to 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.080 use your real name. The idea was that if you 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:28.600 hold people accountable by making them use their real names, 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:31.600 then they're going to be more careful about the stuff 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.080 they say online and you would see a big decrease 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:39.000 in stuff like abuse and trolling. But it was very 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.760 clear that the company had not considered a lot of 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:44.520 other issues that come along with forcing people to use 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:49.720 their real names. Here's a relatively benign example. There are 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.960 a lot of popular YouTube personalities who are known by 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.280 a sort of stage name or a handle, and if 0:07:57.320 --> 0:08:00.560 you forced them to change to their real name, that 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:03.400 kind of messes with branding. It also poses as a 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:07.880 potential privacy and security risk. Anyway, YouTube, throughout their history 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.600 has really followed a rocky course when it comes to 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:15.119 how we identify users and channels on the site. They've 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:18.120 gone back and forth between being able to use handles 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.600 being able to use real names. Um, and these new 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:25.040 handles aren't actually going to rename anything. Instead, in theory, 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:27.440 it will make it easier to interact with other users 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:31.880 on the platform because you can tag them. Securing handles 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:34.120 looks like it's going to be a first come, first 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:37.800 served approach. Once it opens up. But YouTube is also 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:41.080 going to reach out to some channels in advance to 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:44.680 give them the opportunity to secure their handle before the 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:46.720 general public can rush in and grab them up. Which 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.400 makes sense. You don't want, uh, someone rushing in to 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:54.080 grab Jack septic I before Sean gets a chance to 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.920 do it. I call him Sean even though I've never 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:59.079 talked to him and he doesn't know who I am. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:02.440 But anyway, that's an example, right, You wouldn't want someone 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:07.320 to to do the equivalent of website squatting or U 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:11.400 r L squatting on these handles. So those channels are 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:13.520 going to get the first chance to do it. UH 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:15.719 don't know what the criteria is going to be for that. 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:18.120 I assume it's going to be like the check marked 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:21.920 folks first and then maybe opened up to others after that. 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:26.920 We'll have to see. This past weekend was twitch Con, 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:30.319 which was an in person convention relating to Twitch streamers 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:32.760 and their fan bases. I got a couple of different 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.240 things to say about this. One is that Twitch has 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.840 been in the hot seat of criticism from creators recently, 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.320 primarily because of the company's revenue strategy. There have been 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.360 a lot of times where streamers have criticized Twitch for 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:51.560 lots of different things. For example, for uh somewhat vague 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:56.800 and uneven application of content standards, where some people say 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:02.360 it appears that certain folks get a past for publishing 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:07.200 content that other folks get reprimanded for. That's one example. 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.120 But the one that has been and in the focus 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:15.000 more recently has to do with revenue split. So until 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:18.000 very recently, Twitch had a revenue split for almost all 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:23.400 Twitch streamers. That was that means that streamers would get 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:27.560 fifty of revenue coming from subscriptions and Twitch would get 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:30.240 the rest. There are other ways that Twitch makes revenue 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:33.079 from these things, and that streamers make revenue from these 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.440 things as well, but that's really kind of the focus. Now. 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.800 Certain streamers who were kind of viewed as top performers 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:44.000 and thus likely to attract more people to joining Twitch, 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.760 they got a special treatment. They got a seventy thirty split, 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:50.560 so Twitch would only take thirty percent of their revenue 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.160 and the streamer would get to keep seventy. But that 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:58.760 was like this small elite group, and that's actually much 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:01.160 closer to the kind of revenue new split strategies we 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:05.880 see in other online platforms. But late last month, Twitch 0:11:05.960 --> 0:11:09.720 said that any remaining seventy streamers out there will also 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:13.320 get switched to a fifty fifty arrangement once they earn 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:18.120 one thousand dollars as a threshold. And for those elite streamers, 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.800 that's going to be a big setback. Going from a 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:25.800 take to take is tough, and while we have yet 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.640 to see how this is all going to play out, 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.400 it's safe to say there are some Twitch streamers upset 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.400 with this change. Now, maybe they'll try and offset it 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:38.599 by incorporating more advertising in their streams, because if you 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:40.960 have more ads, then you generate more revenues, so you 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:42.880 can make up for the fact that you are getting 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.520 a smaller cut of the revenue you generate by putting 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.360 in more ads. But if you put in more ads, 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:53.120 then you might push away Twitch viewers. They might get 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.080 fed up with how many ads there are compared to 0:11:56.520 --> 0:12:00.000 the amount of content they're getting. But anyway, let's talk 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:03.080 about twitch Con, particularly because the big story coming out 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.920 of twitch Con isn't about twitches policies had to do 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.800 with some really unfortunate injuries that were incurred by let's 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:15.720 call them enthusiastic streamers who leapt into a a foam pit, 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.880 that is, a pit that had foam blocks, like the 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:21.760 kind of blocks he would use for packing material, right, 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:25.880 those dark like charcoal gray foam blocks, that kind of 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:30.640 thing um And that pit proved to be far too shallow, 0:12:30.800 --> 0:12:32.680 and since this was all done in a venue with 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:36.400 concrete floor, and then that some folks got hurt, a 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:40.640 few of them seriously injured. One of those was streamer 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:44.440 Adriana Chichick, who, after landing in the pit, said she 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.480 was unable to get up and she ultimately got some 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.559 medical attention, and she has since said that she broke 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.320 her back in two places and is going to undergo 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.959 surgery to insert a metal rod into her spine to 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.640 correct for the damage. The foam pit was part of 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:02.600 an American Gladiator's type attraction. It was sponsored by Lenovo 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:07.280 and Intel, and it was subsequently shut down after numerous injuries. 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:09.640 And on a personal note, I just want to say, 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.719 I hope the various folks who got injured in that 0:13:12.800 --> 0:13:16.480 pit have a swift recovery. And to all those websites 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:20.079 out there that used animated gifts to show the moments 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:23.440 where folks got injured. Gross next time, just make it 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.240 a playable video. I did not want to actually see 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:30.000 people get hurt. Um that kind of stinks, And I 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:32.719 really hope that the hurt people get well soon. That's 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:37.400 obviously the most important part. All right, speaking of advertising, 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:39.319 we're gonna take a quick break. When we come back, 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:51.319 we've got some more news items. You know. I've talked 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:54.439 a lot on this show about how remote work has 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:58.600 really changed things for employees, how they are reluctant to 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.880 go back to working in the office, which is totally understandable. Like, 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.280 if you are able to do your job effectively at home, 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:06.360 there are a lot of good reasons to do it 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:09.320 that way. Right, you're not driving all the time or 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:13.239 otherwise commuting, you know, you you can really be efficient, 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:15.240 and you can stay in the comfort of your home. 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:17.280 You can help look after your family. There are a 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.560 lot of good reasons. But I've also talked about how 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.720 some companies and managers are not crazy about remote work, 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:26.960 partly because it makes it harder to monitor employees. It's 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.720 weird because, like every study you see about this kind 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:34.400 of stuff shows how that approach demoralizes employees, which ultimately 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:37.760 means you hurt the bottom line. Employees don't do as 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:40.320 good a job if they're not happy. And yet we 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:43.320 still see this happening like like it's it's like a 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:45.520 teacher having to watch over a classroom to make sure 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.080 no one's cheating during a pop quiz. You don't feel 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.520 great if you feel like your boss is treating you 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:56.280 like a misbehaving child. Anyway, there's one recent story that 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:58.760 really caught my eye that kind of turned things around 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.520 on a company that was doing the sort of thing. 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:05.640 A Florida based company called chett To hired a remote telemarketer. 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:10.240 This telemarketer was based in the Netherlands. Now, according to 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:14.480 a subsequent lawsuit that the telemarketer brought against chet Do, 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:19.960 the company managers ordered him to activate his webcam and 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:23.560 to keep it on throughout the entirety of his work day. 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.000 They also demanded that he screen share his screen the 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:31.360 entire time, and the telemarketer politely declined to acquiesce to 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:36.000 the company's request, and chatt To then fired this telemarketer. 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.840 So then he sued the company, And like I said, 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.680 this guy is based in the Netherlands. So a Dutch 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:47.880 court took up the case, and y'all, we don't treat 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.720 things like privacy that seriously here in the United States, 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.400 but they sure as heck do in Europe and the 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:56.960 Netherlands in particular. So the court found that the company 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.720 was being unreasonable and that the company demands on the 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.680 employee were quote in conflict with the respect for the 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:08.280 privacy of the workers end quote which it would be 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:11.880 very hard to agree to argue against. Rather, and that 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:16.320 that the company far overstepped the boundaries that an employer 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.280 has when it comes to its employees. So this Dutch 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:22.160 court found in favor of the telemarketer. They said this 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.520 was a case of unfair dismissal, and as a result, 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.479 the court has ordered Chett to to pay the telemarketers 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:31.920 court costs, to pay his back wages, to pay a 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:35.160 fine of fifty thou dollars, and it has to drop 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:39.400 the non compete clause from the telemarketers employment agreement. And 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:41.520 whether any of this happens or not, I don't know. 0:16:41.720 --> 0:16:44.920 Chetto did not show up for the court case. Again, 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:48.760 I'm not shocked, but I imagine this will at least 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:53.000 make companies a little less eager to hire telemarketers in 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.320 the Netherlands right or teleworkers in general. As well as 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.240 other places that are like in the EU, for example, 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.720 where you have governed moments and regulatory agencies that take 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:07.560 stuff like privacy seriously. And uh, honestly, I think that 0:17:07.600 --> 0:17:10.800 the requirement of having the webcam turned on was unreasonable 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.000 from the get go. I think it's unreasonable for any 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:16.480 company to demand that, at least as a general rule. 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:20.960 I think it's unreasonable. So hopefully we see stories like 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:28.440 this that convinced companies not to follow those kinds of tactics. Uh, 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:30.840 it might take a while for that to really filter 0:17:31.000 --> 0:17:33.760 through to all the different companies in the United States, 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:37.160 because again, we're in a country that does not traditionally 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:43.520 value or protect privacy to any great extent. Yesterday, CNN 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:48.600 decided to sunset its Vault project. So this was an 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:53.200 n f T initiative that CNN launched last year, and 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.879 and the news company was minting n f T s 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.960 that were tied to real world events and headline So 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:05.440 the pitch that CNN gave to investors was that you 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.720 could purchase an n f T and own a piece 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:13.040 of history. You could own a headline, a moment of 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:19.359 newsworthy activity, which I find absolutely laughable. I find it 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:23.000 ludicrous because really, what you end up owning is a 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:27.760 digital token that at least in theory, represents this thing. 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.119 But it's just a digital token. It's a token that 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:34.720 can be traded or sold on a digital marketplace. But 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:38.320 it's not like you actually own a moment, like like, 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.479 let's say there's a moment where celebrity, a totally disked 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.919 celebrity be at a public event or whatever, and you're like, done, 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:47.800 I need to own that. I need to own the 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.240 moment where Harry Styles spit on Crisp Pine or whatever 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.159 it was, And so you buy an n f T 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:57.360 that represents that headline. You don't actually own anything other 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:01.160 than a token. Anyway, None of that stopped people from 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.880 buying n f t s because, as we have established 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:08.240 another episodes, n f t s, especially early on, we're 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.080 really seen as a potential cash grab, both for the 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:13.639 markets that were minting n f t s and for 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:15.919 the people who were buying them. It was like a 0:19:16.000 --> 0:19:19.600 speculative market, and you can think of it as like 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:21.840 a long shot bet. You might think, all right, well, 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:25.160 each individual n f T is not that expensive, maybe 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:27.840 it's twenty bucks or something for the cheap ones that's 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:30.640 not terrible. And if it turns out that this one 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:34.639 is gonna end up being a seven digit item on 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:38.640 a marketplace, then I'm gonna make a huge profit from 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:41.159 a small investment. Of course, I'm gonna be tempted to 0:19:41.200 --> 0:19:45.919 do that. But since those days, obviously the crypto market 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:51.080 has taken a real dive across multiple blockchains. We have 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:56.880 seen cryptocurrencies and an n f T values plummet and uh. 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:00.240 More and more people have expressed skeptic skepticism or just 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:04.040 outright dismissal of n f T s, and some folks 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:07.560 who were invested in the vault are now talking about 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:12.600 talking with lawyers potentially bringing lawsuits against CNN and accusing 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:16.159 the company of pulling the rug out from investors a 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:20.800 so called rug poll. So rug pull is when someone 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:24.679 sets up a project and gets investors involved in the 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:28.440 project and then subsequently cancels the project and then runs 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:30.680 off with the cash. That's a rug pole right where 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:33.680 you've set up the scheme where you can convince a 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:36.040 lot of people to pour money in early on, and 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:39.000 then you take the money and run. Well. CNN has 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:42.119 said that's not the case, and it's planning to compensate 0:20:42.200 --> 0:20:44.840 investors by paying out the purchase price of n f 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:49.000 T s that investors were holding as captured on October six. 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:51.199 So if you bought an n f T like a 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:54.399 year ago, you don't get the value of the n 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:57.080 f T that you paid for at the point of purchase. 0:20:57.080 --> 0:20:59.720 You you get whatever it was worth on October six 0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:03.240 of this year. So CNN estimates that means folks are 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:06.639 going to recapture around twenty of what they invested in because, 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:09.840 as I mentioned earlier, crypto had a really bad time 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:11.639 of it this year, and the value of stuff like 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:14.520 n f T s has taken a nose dive. It 0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:20.040 also gets worse. Marketplaces have processing fees, so if you 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:24.320 want to extract your money from an investment on these marketplaces, 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.480 you have to pay a processing fee in in as 0:21:27.480 --> 0:21:30.679 part of that. Well, the marketplace that CNN used was 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:34.119 connected to the Flow blockchain, and the Flow blockchain has 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:37.680 a four dollar processing fee for transactions. So let's say 0:21:38.040 --> 0:21:41.000 you bought one n f T from CNN. Let's say 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:43.480 it was a twenty n f T. We You're only 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:49.159 gonna get of that value back, right, That's all you're 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:53.639 gonna get. So one fifth of what you paid and 0:21:53.680 --> 0:21:56.000 you paid twenty bucks, well, one fifth means you would 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:58.840 get four dollars back, but you also have to pay 0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:01.200 a processing fee if you want to withdraw your money 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:04.760 from the marketplace. That processing fee is also four dollars, 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:08.760 which means you get nothing. You get no money back 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:13.239 because of the reduction in the purchase price and that 0:22:13.320 --> 0:22:15.919 processing fee on top of it. This is another reason 0:22:16.000 --> 0:22:19.639 why lots of critics of n f T s pointed 0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:22.760 in f T s as being dangerous and not a 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:25.760 good investment, because on top of everything else, you've got 0:22:25.840 --> 0:22:29.400 these processing fees that eat into any profit you might make, 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:32.800 and you are not guaranteed by any stretch of the imagination, 0:22:32.800 --> 0:22:35.000 to make a profit in the first place. So it 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:38.520 may mean that you get even less back out if 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:41.199 you decide that you don't want to be invested in 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:47.040 the market anymore. Last week, six robotics companies, including Boston Dynamics, 0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:50.600 signed a pledge stating that these companies are not going 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:54.159 to develop robots that can harm humans, and the company 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:58.120 has also urged other robotics companies to follow suit. And 0:22:58.240 --> 0:23:01.760 there's been a lot of talk about robotics and how 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.760 they could be put to military use. A lot of 0:23:04.880 --> 0:23:08.159 early ones, including at Boston Dynamics, were talked about as 0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:12.200 sort of a load bearing device that could help carry 0:23:12.240 --> 0:23:15.719 heavier equipment in the field for military, so kind of 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:18.600 like a mule that it would be carrying this stuff. 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:21.959 Not necessarily weaponized itself, but it might carry weapons that 0:23:22.280 --> 0:23:25.360 you know, other soldiers can can take off of it 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:31.080 and use. But there's also been conversations about weaponized platforms, 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:35.919 whether paired with a human operator who works remotely to 0:23:36.160 --> 0:23:42.520 actually fire the weapons, or even and autonomous system that 0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:46.360 would have stuff like image recognition capabilities that would be 0:23:46.400 --> 0:23:50.080 capable of engaging in combat. So you could have a 0:23:50.200 --> 0:23:54.879 combat ready weaponized robotics platform. And that thought is really scary, 0:23:55.000 --> 0:23:59.440 particularly because we know that computer vision isn't even close 0:23:59.480 --> 0:24:02.399