🎙 Podcast #8: NFTs | Artemis | Twitter Abuse| Dessert Dilemmas

Co-host Shaun Weston and I discuss NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. What are they? Are they a fad or the future? Also, Nasa's Artemis programme, Black Gold, Premier League Twitter abuse, and apple pie.

w/Podcast

Episode #8

0:00 Preamble

In the latest episode of Big Tech Little Tech, Shaun talks about Artemis, Nasa’s project to get people back on the moon, the first time since 1972. It’s not so much about the project itself, but the fantastic website produced by the BBC Visual Journalism Team.

🚀 Rick's been watching a TV series called Black Gold, which charts the early days of climate change as a consumer issue, and the alleged coverups that occurred.

Black Gold (TV Series 2022– ) - IMDb

Black Gold: With Anthony Leiserowitz, Al Gore, James Hansen, Marc Morano. Reveals the story of the boss atop a trillion-dollar industry who discovered a shocking truth 40 years ago, hid the evidence by creating a black ops conspiracy, and would keep the money flowing as the world burned.

IMDb

Further Reading

• Artemis 1: Why Nasa scrubbed Monday’s Moon rocket launch and what’s next (Independent)
• Nasa’s Artemis website
• Climate rebellion at Exxon marks a new era of shareholder activism (University of Oxford)
• Exxon knew CO2 pollution was a global threat by late 1970s (DeSmog)

9.05 Tech News

• 90% of people aged between 18 and 24 choose streaming services over traditional UK TV channels. The Ofcom report says Netflix is the most common destination.
• Trademarks have been filed by legal firms in various international locations for Reality One, Reality Pro and Reality Processor. Analysts who know about these things reckon it’s what Apple's reality headset will be called, and we may find out more during Apple's 7 September event.
• Popular password manager LastPass was recently compromised by a security breach. The intruders took portions of source code and some proprietary LastPass technical information.
• Meta has launched its first WhatsApp shopping experience in India. Shoppers will be able to add items to their cart and make a payment without leaving the WhatsApp chat environment.

10.19 What is an NFT? (Part One)

NFTs may be loved, hated and misunderstood in equal measure. Rick and Shaun try to unravel the mysteries behind what it all means, and whether it’s something that’s going to outlive us or not.

• What is a non-fungible token, otherwise known as an NFT?
• Understanding blockchain.
• The nature of unique digital records.
• The history of CryptoKitties.
• NFTs may be subject to being dumbed down
• King of Leon first to release NFT album
• How NFTs enable digital perks or benefits
• Naysayers think it's a cooked-up way to get people to buy crypto
• Is that fair? Is it a problem if it's true?
• Digital wallets and charitable aid – how could NFTs help deploy aid?

Further reading

• Half of Americans still haven’t heard of NFTs (Quartz)
• The non-fungible token bible: Everything you need to know about NFTs (OpenSea)
• Introducing digital collectibles to showcase NFTs on Instagram (Meta)
• Are NFTs a passing fad or the future of asset ownership? (Wiser)

What does fungible mean?

28.38 Statistics corner

A new show segment is the statistics corner, where we’ll reveal interesting numbers related to big tech or little tech. In this episode, we learned a few nuggets about abusive tweets and Premier League footballers.

The statistics are courtesy of The Alan Turing Institute in partnership with Ofcom.

A project was launched that analysed tweets directed at Premier League Footballers with an account on Twitter. This report comprises a review of 3,000 tweets by experts, and large-scale data analysis of 2.3 million tweets.

29.41 What is an NFT? (Part Two)

• Anthony Hopkins’ The Eternal Collection in partnership with Orange Comet
• Status and scarcity, and driving cost
• The Panini World Cup sticker analogy
• Is metaverse the enabler of NFTs, and vice versa?
• What might the tipping point look like for ordinary folks’ acceptance of NFTs?
• Events and ticketing

Further reading

• The Eternal Collection Trailer on YouTube
• The status games we all play (Vox)
• Budweiser NFT collection sells out in an hour. 75% up for resale (Ledger Insights)
• How can NFT ticketing disrupt the ticketing industry? (LeewayHertz)

w/Support for Wiser!

Wiser! is a free and paid newsletter thanks to the donations of readers like you. It is easy and quick, and only costs €2 for each virtual cup of coffee that you donate. 100% of your donations go towards the running costs of the tools and technology behind the Wiser! Newsletter. 🙏

w/Promotion

🐦 Create Better Tweets

Typefully is a must-have for Twitter creators who are serious about crafting quality content and engaging their audiences meaningfully.

The Newsletter of Newsletters: The Sample

The Sample is an AI-powered newsletter recommendation machine. You tell The Sample the type of newsletter content you like. And leave it to The Sample to recommend a newsletter based on your preferences.