In Case You Missed It
A roundup of the best posts from Wiser! in February 2022
Top Stories from the Tech Economy
Insights
Are NFTs a passing fad or the future of asset ownership? (NFT Part 1)
Wiser! #62 (Premium): A year ago, nobody outside of the blockchain community had heard of NFTs. A year later, NFTs are a $40 billion industry and the Word of the Year. But is this a passing fad, or an enduring technology that has re-written the rules on digital asset ownership? Link
The intoxicating power of status is fuelling growth in NFTs (Part 2)
Wiser! #64 (Premium): NFT prices are being fuelled by Status and Scarcity. It's more than just speculating for a huge pay day, NFTs are about bragging rights. And access to a closed community. Sprinkle a limited supply and, voila, you have a $40 billion market! Link
Facebook v Apple; the battle of Privacy versus Surveillance
Wiser! #60 (Premium): A disaster for Mark Zuckerberg as $241 billion is wiped off the value of Facebook. The largest one-day wipe-out in corporate history. But who's to blame? Apple and their privacy changes, or TikTok's addictive attention machine. Link
New Services, Subscriptions and Apple's pursuit of $1 trillion in Sales
Wiser! #66 (Premium): What's next for Apple? They were the first corporation in history to hit a $3 trillion market cap. Can they be the first to earn $1 trillion in sales? What's coming next will define Tim Cook's legacy. Find out more in this Wiser! Insights. Link
Newsletters
👩🔬 Meta/Facebook in the Metaverse / Car Thing / Apple's $1 trillion ambition
Wiser! #67: It's been 6 months and cost $500 million, but The Zuck is determined to turn Facebook into Meta(verse). Meanwhile, Spotify released the Car Thing and different nations have different attitudes when it comes to crypto and Bitcoin. Link
🕵️♀️ Privacy v Surveillance Capitalism; a disastrous day for Facebook; BigTech post BigNumbers
Wiser! #61: Apple are going one way and Facebook are going the other. It's a proxy for the Privacy v Surveillance Capitalism battle. Plus BigNumbers from BigTech and a host of snippets. Link
😱Headwinds for Facebook / TikTok's attention grab / NFTs / MacDonalds in the Metaverse
Wiser! #65: Facebook are in the wars. As the share price is down a third and regulators line up to take them on, Zuckerberg unveils new company values. Plus: TikTok's attention economy and NFTs Part 2. Link
Creator Economy
Starting a Newsletter on Ghost
TechStack: Choosing the right tech platform when you are getting started with your newsletter is a daunting experience. There are so many options to chose from. When you ask an expert, the answer is usually, "it depends". Not much help! In this article, I'll give you my 2-penneth of experience. Link
How to double your output with Quillbot's AI writing tool
What if you could generate a single piece of content and reuse it across multiple platforms, saving you time while still giving value? The good news is that you can do it just like me. Using the AI-powered writing tool from Quillbot. Link
Essays
What's Meta/Facebook doing in the Metaverse?
Wiser! Essay: When Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would refocus on the Metaverse, it created more questions than answers. So, 6 months on and half a trillion dollars worse off, what is The Zuck up to? Link
10 Highest Grossing NFT Art Sales of 2021
Wiser! Essay: In January 2021, hardly anyone could spell N-F-T. By December, NFT was Word of the Year and the market was worth $40 billion. If you're asking yourself what that was all about...read on! Link
US lawmakers weight up new rules to limit TikTok & other foreign apps
Wiser! Essay: Donald Trump huffed and puffed over TikTok, but it was all hot air. Joe Biden now seems to be doing the same. Why? It's all about data sovereignty and stopping the other side from getting their hands on it! Link
It's all about ME: Facebook's new corporate values & more headwinds for the ad business model
Wiser! Essay: Facebook's troubles continue following the disaster that was the earnings call 2 weeks ago. Now Google had added more pain to Zuckerberg's world. Meanwhile, he's decided to revamp the corporate values...and it's all about ME! Link
Is Replika the AI cure for Loneliness?
Wiser! Essay: Half of Americans experience loneliness, which increases mortality rates by a quarter. It's a problem. So, is the likes of Replika and their AI chatbots the solution to loneliness? And what happens if they start to go wrong? Link
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