Tech News for MBAs with Professor Paul Canetti: Recent Episodes
Professor Paul Canetti
A weekly podcast hosted by Professor Paul Canetti that explores the biggest themes in tech through the lens of the latest headlines.
Paul Canetti is a professor at Columbia Business School and sits on the Strategic Advisory Board of Riverside Acceleration Capital.
He was named one of Inc.'s “30 Under 30” and has founded multiple software businesses including MAZ and ClickEasy (originally Bounce House), both of which were acquired in 2021. He is an angel investor, startup advisor, and the author of an upcoming book about the business implications of augmented reality.
I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the 3 different parts of generative AI tools like ChatGPT: inputs, outputs, and training data. There are many new applications that will be built using 1, 2, or 3 of these parts.
It's important for us to understand what is possible. The whole internet is about to change...
– PC
Links
ChatGPT
Disclaimers and Disclosures This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried have imploded, sending ripple effects through crypto and well beyond. But is this really an example of web3? Or is this just a classic case of fraud?
Technically, no, this is not web3. But do the semantics matter? The damage is done.
I usually edit my rants down to < 20 min but I couldn't do it this week. SBF has betrayed us.
Is it possible to create a system where we are truly no longer vulnerable to these sorts of con artists?
– PC
LinksBankrupt FTX's new CEO outlines fund abuses, untrustworthy records
The Collapse of Crypto Exchange FTX More Like Enron Than Lehman
Disclaimers and DisclosuresThis content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
There was some debate in the web3 community about whether Apple was going to apply its standard 30% fee to NFT purchases made in iOS apps. Spoiler alert: Yes, they did. Is it fair? To discuss! – PC
Links App Store Review Guideline updates now available Apple has new App Store rules for NFTs and cryptocurrency Apple Allows In-App NFTs In App Store, But Slaps Its 30% Levy On Transactions
My new online course web3 for Business
Disclaimers and Disclosures I own Twitter and Apple stock. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
Wait 'til I get my money right
Then you can't tell me nothing, right?
– Kanye West
Links
Kanye West to Buy Parler, Joining the Right-Wing Social Media Crowd
My new online course
web3 for Business
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
The metaverse will not built in a year.
But it has been one year since Facebook rebranded to Meta and stated its intention to build the next phase of the internet. Let's talk about where they are now, and why so many people keep hating on them.
– PC
Links
Meta Connect Keynote 2022
Meta Quest Pro
Tech News for MBAs: Meta - What you need to know and why it matters
Hypothetically Great: Facebook bought Oculus, now Oculus owns Facebook
TechCrunch: Meta announces legs
NY Times: Skepticism, Confusion, Frustration: Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Struggles
My new online course
web3 for Business
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
It turns out that creative tasks are not immune to the robot takeover. Meta AI researchers have created a new AI that can generate video content on the fly from a simple text prompt. Basically, you send a text of what you want, and it creates a video of that exact thing. Film students everywhere, beware. – PC
Links Meta AI: Make-A-Video DALL-E GPT-3 DreamFusion
My new online course web3 for Business
Disclaimers and Disclosures This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
Welcome to Season 4! It was a big week in the world of crypto with the success of The Merge, in which Ethereum transitioned to a proof-of-stake network. As if that wasn't enough, Helium Mobile was announced– the world's first decentralized cellular network.
Buckle up, web3 is upon us!
– PC
Links
The Ethereum Foundation: The Merge
Bloomberg: The Ethereum Merge Ups the Stakes—and Reshapes the Crypto Universe
Helium Mobile
For $5 A Month, Crypto Now Has Your Cell Plan Covered
My new online course
web3 for Business
Disclaimers and Disclosures
I hold ETH. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
We end Season 3 in the same place we started: Meta's latest earnings report. Spoiler– it's not looking good.
Why is this happening? Is it general market conditions? The maturation of social? Apple's "bullying"? All of the above?!
Companion episode from a year ago: Apple and Facebook Battle for the Future
H.A.G.S.!
– PC
Links
Meta Reports First Quarter 2022 Results
Meta says its metaverse biz lost another $3B, but the 2030s will be "exciting"
Apple Podcasts: Apple and Facebook Battle for the Future
Spotify: Apple and Facebook Battle for the Future
Other links: Apple and Facebook Battle for the Future
Also - my new online course
Customer Experience Strategy
Disclaimers and Disclosures
I hold $TWTR and $APPL. (but not $FB) This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
"Oh hi lol" <-- what Elon Musk tweeted Monday morning.
Why? Because he had just bought 9% of Twitter's stock. Is this good or bad for Twitter? For its users? For society??
We shall discuss.
– PC
Links
Elon Musk on Twitter
WSJ: Elon Musk Takes Surprise 9% Stake in Twitter, Sending Shares Higher
Parag Agrawal on Twitter
Forbes: The World's Real-Time Billionaires
Bluesky
Also - my new online course!
Customer Experience Strategy
Disclaimers and Disclosures
I hold $TWTR and $TSLA. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
This week I talk about two seemingly unrelated stories: a paralyzed man who is able to communicate using only his thoughts and the first ever basketball game captured through a new technology called volumetric video.
What do they have in common? Both have to do with how we perceive and communicate our reality, and both represent a way to essentially bypass our normal five senses.
As I like to say, the future is gonna be weird.
– PC
Links
Nature - Spelling interface using intracortical signals in a completely locked-in patient enabled via auditory neurofeedback training
NYT - Brain Implant Allows Fully Paralyzed Patient to Communicate
Wait But Why - Neuralink and the Brain’s Magical Future
The Verge - The first NBA broadcast rendered with volumetric video puts basketball in the uncanny valley
HG - The future of photos isn’t cameras
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
Substack announced its new iOS app that looks a lot like... every other news app. I thought this was a tool for writers to sell email newsletter subscriptions?
There are a lot of great business lessons embedded in their strategy, which is perhaps the hardest kind there is: B2B2C.
Also, I briefly touch on Apple's new product releases and the Biden administration's latest executive order on crypto.
– PC
Links
Introducing the Substack app
Apple unveils all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display
Biden Takes Step Toward Regulating Cryptocurrencies
Donate to Ukraine
A step-by-step guide for a new crypto user to donate to Ukraine
Flags of Freedom– My first NFT project, 100% of proceeds to Ukraine
Flags of Freedom on OpenSea
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
The war in Ukraine is an atrocity, and it has been a long time since there was a military invasion in Europe. There are a lot of interesting ways that internet technology is playing an outsized role in this modern age. Live images and video on social media, propaganda campaigns, and as we will discuss in this episode– the benefits of decentralized tech are being put into practice in this conflict.
Ukraine is soliciting donations in cryptocurrency, SpaceX is delivering internet connectivity via a distributed satellite network. And it has only been a week.
I have also launched an NFT project to raise money for Ukraine and a guide for donating crypto. Please consider giving. Links below.
– PC
Links
A step-by-step guide for a new crypto user to donate to Ukraine
Flags of Freedom– My first NFT project, 100% of proceeds to Ukraine
Flags of Freedom on OpenSea
@Ukraine on Twitter
@elonmusk on Twitter
Mykhalio Fedorov
Starlink
Helium – Introducing The People's Network
Disclaimers and Disclosures
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
Super Bowl LVI was chock-full of ads for cryptocurrency exchanges, reaching over 100 million people who were all wondering the same thing: "Should I be buying crypto? And also, what is crypto?"
I thought this would be a good excuse to do a cryptocurrency 101 episode. What is a blockchain? What are cryptocurrencies? What is Bitcoin? What is Ethereum? Spoiler– I spend a lot of time on Ethereum. First, because it's awesome. But also, because it's a good example of how cryptocurrencies are often associated with a rich underlying project or business. (Bitcoin isn't, which actually seems to be the exception, not the rule.)
I recorded even more but ended up cutting out a bunch. It's just too much info for one ep! I am positive this will not be the last crypto/web3 related episode of this season, so hopefully this will give you enough of a baseline to have some deeper conversations as we go.
– PC
Links
YouTube: Coinbase Super Bowl Commercial
YouTube: Don't Miss Out on Crypto: Larry David FTX Commercial
YouTube: The Moment of Truth | Crypto.com
YouTube: eToro’s Big Game Ad: Flying Your Way
Disclaimers and Disclosures
I hold $BTC, $ETH, and other cryptocurrencies. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
To kick off Season 3 we did our first ever live recording, in front of the classroom of my Intro to Product Management class at Columbia Business School. We just set up a mic and went for it! Now everybody can have a taste of the classroom experience.
I have to say, it was way more fun to record with a live audience of 80 students, in a big beautiful room at our new Manhattanville campus, instead of by myself, in a small office.
We talked about Meta's record stock drop, Amazon's record gain, Apple's intense defending of its fully integrated stack, and how all three companies are trying to achieve verticalization, at scale.
Thank you to the students who helped to make this a successful experiment. Season 3 is off with a bang!
– PC
Links
Meta’s market value plunges by $230 billion in one day
Amazon surges with record $190 billion gain in value
Amazon has a $31 billion a year advertising business
Facebook Feels $10 Billion Sting From Apple’s Privacy Push
Our new classroom
Disclaimer
I hold $AAPL and $AMZN. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
We review these last 12 insane months, drawing out a central theme: community. Again and again, we saw examples of collaboration via digital tools to accomplish things in the physical world.
A lot to think about as we head into 2022...
And also, thanks for listening to the first year of Tech News for MBAs!
– PC
Disclaimer
This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
Netflix, Venmo, and Roomba were all down for hours on Tuesday. Why? Because they all use Amazon Web Services. We are incredibly reliant on just a small handful of solutions to power our entire society. Is that a smart idea? What if the web3/decentralized crowd have a point...
- Some thoughts on Instagram's Senate hearing.
– PC
Links
Lawmakers urge the head of Instagram to better protect children.
An Amazon server outage caused problems for Alexa, Ring, Disney Plus, and deliveries
Disclaimer
I hold $AMZN. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
We are going deep down the web3 rabbithole this week with a bizarre tale of anonymous strangers raising almost $50 million to buy a physical copy of the US Constitution, only to be outbid by an internet villain, and then in the end lots of people make a lot of money, completely accidentally.
I'll tell you the whole story through my own experience, where in the last few weeks I made a 50x return in crypto without even knowing I was investing in the first place. 🤔💸
– PC
Subscribe to my free newsletter Hypothetically Great
Links
@jack on Twitter
Square, Inc. Changes Name to Block
ConstitutionDAO
NY Times: They Love Crypto. They’re Trying to Buy the Constitution.
Hypothetically Great: How I made $10,000 out of thin air a.k.a. incentives in web3
Disclaimers
I hold $TWTR, $SQ, and $PEOPLE. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
How the times have changed! It used to be you couldn't raise a seed round without some traction– now you can go public. Rivian, the company creating "electric adventure vehicles", just had one of the biggest public offerings in history. We will dive into how a company that doesn't even have a business yet could be valued at over $100 billion, electric vehicles generally, and the macro trends around speculative trading.
– PC
Links
Rivian announces pricing of upsized initial public offering
Disclaimers
I hold $TSLA and $LCID. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
This is a Hypothetically Great podcast.
Oh Twitter, my beloved Twitter. User growth has almost stalled, but revenue growth is still going strong– and now, for the first time, a major social network has a SaaS subscription product available to its users. Twitter Blue is $2.99/mo and represents not only a new revenue channel for Twitter, but perhaps a new model for social products altogether.
Also, we'll kick things off with a bunch of metaverse-related announcements from this week.
– PC
Links
Introducing Twitter Blue - Twitter’s first-ever subscription offering
Microsoft Teams enters the metaverse race with 3D avatars and immersive meetings
Niantic Opens Lightship Platform Globally, Empowering Developers to Build Their Visions for the Real-World Metaverse
As Nvidia pushes for leadership in metaverse, here’s everything it announced at GTC 2021
Qualcomm launches new AR dev kit, acquires Clay AIR
Disclaimers
I hold $TWTR and $NVDA. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice.
This is a Hypothetically Great podcast.
My favorite shoe brand IPOed this week to much fanfare, and its success says a lot about the state of enabling technology platforms like Shopify, which Allbirds is built upon.
We also breeze through a couple of other headlines about the new laser eyed major of NYC and Airbnb's blowout quarter. And, I couldn't help myself, so I had a couple more things to say about Meta.
– PC
Links:
Eric Adams on Twitter
Airbnb Announces Third Quarter 2021 Results
Yahoo Finance: Allbirds surges 90% on IPO day
There is no Facebook, only... Meta.
Mark Zuckerberg has laid out a longterm vision for his company in a way that most public CEOs wouldn't dare– and if he pulls it off, Meta has the potential to be much bigger and even more influential than Facebook ever was.
We'll dig in on what was announced and what it means for the future of the internet.
– PC
Links
Meta.com
Connect Opening Keynote
Meta: Founder’s Letter, 2021
The fall semester is in session, and we're back for Season 2!
I talk a bit about what to expect this season, what I've been up to over the summer (spoiler: a lot), and we will take a tour through the headlines from this week that set the stage thematically for where tech is going.
Welcome back to Tech News for MBAs.
– PC
Links:
CNBC: Bitcoin jumps to new high above $66,000 after landmark U.S. ETF launch
Jack Dorsey on Twitter
The Verge: Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name
Reuters: PayPal in $45 billion bid for Pinterest
Fox News: Trump announces 'TRUTH Social' network will be rolled out first quarter of 2022
NY Times: In a Blue Origin Rocket, William Shatner Finally Goes to Space
Hi! As we approach the fall semester, I'm just checking in with a quick mini-ep to let you know what I've been up to, why Tech News for MBAs has gone dark the past few months, and to assure you that I will be back at it soon!
Fun trivia: My band in college was called Missing In Action.
– PC
Tim Cook gave a rare and revealing interview on Kara Swisher's Sway podcast responding to Mark Zuckerberg's assertion that Apple is one of Facebook's biggest competitors. (Spoiler: Cook says they're not.) But what if their competition isn't set for the present, but for the future? Professor Paul Canetti goes deep on his theory about how Apple's defensive moves against Facebook are less about advertising and privacy and more about handicapping a future challenger for the next paradigm shift in tech: augmented reality.
Links
Sway - Is Apple's Privacy Push Facebook's Existential Threat?
MBA Media & Entertainment Conference 2021
We do a deep dive on a popular but difficult to execute tech strategy that manages to connect the dots between many disparate customers into a massive (and valuable!) network, exemplified by new features from Slack and Stripe that were announced this week.
Links:
Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs face House grilling
Bounce House
Come for the tool, stay for the network
Slack - Start a direct message with someone outside your company
Stripe - 1-click payments using Link with Stripe
A deep dive on Stripe, now worth almost $100 billion, Facebook’s moves into emerging markets, TikTok’s monetization strategy, and Uber faces new regulatory changes in the UK. Plus a new Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of.
Links:
Stripe has raised a new round of funding to accelerate momentum in Europe and reinforce enterprise leadership
Facebook targets emerging markets with the launch of Instagram Lite, an Android app that takes up just 2MB, in 170 countries
TikTok will make personalized ads mandatory on April 15th
Uber 'willing to change' as drivers get minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions
Bounce House
Shelf Engine
Pandemics are the worst… unless you’re talking about tech. Reflections on a horrible year in physical reality that was great for software, the Roblox IPO (no pandemics inside virtual worlds is a plus!), Facebook moves deeper into the creator economy, Russia is pumping the brakes on Twitter, and Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of.
Links:
12 Charts That Show How Tech Took Off During a Year of Shutdowns
Roblox goes public: What to know as RBLX stock debuts on the NYSE
Hangio
Facebook expands fan payments, subscription options in appeal to creators
Twitter plans to roll out Twitter Spaces to everyone in April
Russia slows down access to Twitter
JAY-Z and TIDAL join Square, new privacy laws and the death of third party cookies, Netflix launches a TikTok killer, Instagram tests out life without likes, and a random startup you’ve never heard of.
Links:
Jack Dorsey on Twitter: “Square is acquiring a majority ownership stake in TIDAL”
Axios - Privacy laws push online ads beyond tracking
Sponsor: Bounce House - Sell your service online
Random startup you’ve never heard of: Kumospace
The Verge - Netflix has created a TikTok clone that lets people scroll through funny clips
Insider - Instagram is testing removing public 'like' counts and influencers say it would be good for the industry. Here's why.
Special guest Seyi Taylor helps explain what NFTs are and why it matters, Twitter wants you to pay for certain tweets, Spotify launches a new ad network, Random Startup You’ve Never Heard Of, and more!
Links:
What you need to know about NFTs, the collectible digital tokens that are selling for millions online
Seyi Taylor on Twitter
Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge for tweets
Mirza
David Dobrik's retro photo app Dispo raises $20 million
Facebook says it will pay news industry $1 billion over 3 years
Spotify announces major expansion, new ad network
Australia tries to bully big tech and Facebook fights back, Bumble goes public, robots take selfies on Mars, and Shopify challenges Amazon. Plus our new segment “Random startup you’ve never heard of”
Links:
Augment Nation: Moving Humanity to the Software Layer
Facebook Newsroom - Changes to Sharing and Viewing News on Facebook in Australia
CNBC - Bumble IPO: The female founder behind the dating app making market history
App Store - Dispo - Live in the Moment
Engadget - NASA's Perseverance rover lands safely on Mars
Shopify Announces Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Financial Results
Our first expert guest! Shawn Cheng of Consensys Mesh explains the basics of Bitcoin so we can understand why Elon Musk is so obsessed with it. Clubhouse has Facebook hot on its heels. And soon you won’t even be able to tell who has a real face. So... just a typical week in tech. Links: AP - Tesla buys $1.5B in Bitcoin, will accept as payment soon Shawn Cheng on Twitter NY Times - Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse Digital Humans | MetaHuman Creator - Unreal Engine
This week we got hit with the news that Jeff Bezos is resigning as CEO of Amazon, Apple promoted an executive to work on a topic secret project, and we go through an overview of earnings reports from Amazon and Google.
Links:
Email from Jeff Bezos to employees
Apple Newsroom - Dan Riccio begins a new chapter at Apple
Amazon.com Announces Financial Results and CEO Transition
Alphabet Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2020 Results
A busy week of tech, and it’s still only January. Subreddits > hedge funds. Newsletters > tweets. Audio > video. Apple > everyone.
Links:
NY Times - 4 Things to Know About the GameStop Insanity
NY Times - The GameStop Reckoning Was a Long Time Coming
Bloomberg - How ‘Flows Before Pros’ Is Disrupting Stock Markets
Twitter Blog - Making Twitter a better home for writers
Clubhouse Blog - Welcoming More Voices
Apple Reports First Quarter Results
Microsoft Earnings Release FY21 Q2
Facebook Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 Results
Tesla Q4 and Full Year 2020 Financial Results and Q&A Webcast
This week we discuss two major funding events in the new class of car companies, how people are worried about WhatsApp's new terms, the latest on Parler, Nancy Pelosi's stolen laptop, and changes to the way you will shop at the airport (and in general).
Links:
TechCrunch - Rivian raises $2.5 billion as it pushes to bring its electric RT1 pickup, R1S SUV to market
TechCrunch - Microsoft invests in Cruise in new $2 billion round
BBC - WhatsApp and Facebook to share users' data outside Europe and UK
Business Insider - India is reportedly asking WhatsApp to reverse a controversial change to its privacy policy
The Verge - Parler resurfaces on Sunday with an updated timeframe
Business Insider - What we know about the laptop that was stolen from Nancy Pelosi's aide during the Capitol siege
Forbes - Hudson Creates New Store Concept Around Amazon’s ‘Just Walk Out’ Technology
This week we discuss the fallout across the Internet as a result of the siege on the Capitol including the removal of President Trump from many major platforms, its implications, and what it says about how ingrained technology is in our society. Other headlines include OpenAI's DALL-E, Apple's car initiative, and the failed acquisition of fintech startup Plaid by Visa.
Links:
Wizardest - The limit of process
OpenAI Blog - DALL·E: Creating Images from Text
Bloomberg - Apple Targets Autonomous Car for Consumers by 2024 (paywall)
Plaid Blog - The Year Ahead
In this brief introduction, Professor Paul Canetti explains what Tech News for MBAs is all about and its origins from the classroom.