This week I'm covering the latest on the Elon Musk and Twitter story, Peloton's latest efforts to grab our attention. And the minimum age for social media use and why it's important.
Read the full edition of Wiser! #73 here 👉 Wiser! #73
In this issue:
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"Twitter has extraordinary potential. Â I will unlock it." Says Musk
w/Related:
Crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi made headlines in March 2021 when he paid $2.9 million for an NFT of Twitter boss Jack Dorsey's first tweet. But his efforts to re-sell it have run aground, with a top bid of just $277.
Dogecoin to use Elon Musk's SpaceX’s Starlink for offline transactions.
Tesla stock has dropped after Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter. Concerns over his attention and the distraction this has caused.
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What's Going On At Peloton?
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Peloton uses psychology to perfect its customer experience. They use behavioral science to create a cult-like following.
A faulty API allows hackers to grab users’ private data, including weight and gender. Â
Peloton should abandon hardware and become the Android of fitness.
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Double your productivity using this AI writing tool. Here's how I use it.
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Time To Raise the Minimum Age For Social Media?
Beggars belief:Â A recent survey from Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, reported that a third of parents said their kids aged 5-7-year-olds had a social media profile. For 8-11-year-olds this is as high as 60%.
The thing is that the minimum age requirement for social media is 13!
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was passed in 1998 to protect children under the age of 13. Before collecting any personal information from a child, operators of websites and online services are required by law to get the consent of a parent before collecting that child's name, address, phone number, and screen name.
Further, to protect the privacy of children, sites are prohibited from collecting geolocation data, using cookies, tracking IP addresses, and using unique device identifiers for advertising purposes.
Problem:Â But COPPA doesn't function if a 9-year-old pretends to be 13-years-old.
Thirteen is generally considered the age when kids start to develop a cognitive awareness of such things as "danger" and "ethics". Kids under the age of 13 have a tough time comprehending the consequences of their behaviour. Â
The long and the short of it is that pre-teens are particularly vulnerable to putting themselves in harm's way. They have not developed a sense of danger that protects them from possible harm.
According to the Human Trafficking Institute, in 2020, 59% of human trafficking in active sex trafficking cases occurred on Facebook. They also found that 53% of under 18s were children.
Irrespective of where you stand on kids spending time on their devices instead of kicking a tin can down the street, the data is pretty clear. Being online can be a dangerous place for a child.
To test what my readers thought, I posted this question on LinkedIn...do you agree/disagree? Post a comment at the bottom of the webpage and start the debate.
Source: Ofcom
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Apple Gives Generously to Support Earth Day
Apple is donating $1 to World Wildlife Fund for every Apple Pay transaction that takes place in Apple Stores, on the Apple Store app, or on Apple.com until April 22nd. Which happens to be Earth Day. Source: Apple Insider
TikTok's Ban in Russia Isn't Working
TikTok is still running in Russia, although TikTok has banned all new postings and blocked citizens from seeing content posted outside of Russia. But it's not working. Kremlin-controlled media outlets are still posting fresh propaganda promoting Russia’s war in Ukraine, helping Putin enforce his narrative that Russia’s invasion was justified. From when the ban took effect to April 5, nearly 93.5% of all war-related TikToks in Russia were pro-war, and only 6.5% anti-war. Before the ban it was roughly 60:40 in favour of the war. Source: Morning Brew
TikTok is testing a Dislike button. Users will be able to show their disapproval for comments they dont like. But only TikTok can see them because the platform does not want to spread negativity on the platform.
TikTok's projected ad revenue for 2022 is more than Twitter and Snapchat combined
Meta's Cut is 47% on Virtual Asset Sales in its Metaverse
MetaFacebook's 47.5% cut includes 30% for sales made through the Meta Quest Store, where it sells apps and games for its virtual reality headsets. On top of that, Horizon Worlds, will charge a 17.5% fee. Meta’s fees for the sale of virtual assets on Horizon Worlds are significantly more than the 30% Apple charges developers on its App Store. Source: CNBC
Dancing Baby: Cyberspace’s First Cringe Meme
Remember this? Dancing Baby is now considered one of the earliest internet memes, if not THE first one. Created in 1997, it's still popping up across the Internet. Read this history of the Dancing Baby. Source: Daily Dot
Some Stats
Stripe processed over $640bn of payments in 2021, up 60% YoY.
Sky News has 1m TikTok followers.
The amount of money spent on cyber insurance doubled to $15 billion last year.