Data Science

In the face of overwhelming evidence that "something must be done," my fear is that they are going to do something. It will be a political knee-jerk reaction to a problem so complex that the most informed people in the world cannot come to a consensus about a regulatory strategy, let alone a tactical regulatory roadmap. Continue Reading →

Adam Mosseri, Facebook's Head of Instagram, just sat for a live interview on NBC's Today Show. He shouldn't have. Continue Reading →

There's an amazing video interview on YouTube of Bill Gates from 2015 where he predicts the pandemic. How did he know? The answer is simple: everyone who was paying attention to world health was aware of the threat. Continue Reading →

Nielsen has been part of the answer to most of these questions for as long as anyone can remember. Yesterday, the Media Rating Council (MRC), a third-party industry watchdog, officially suspended its accreditation of Nielsen. Said differently, the MRC no longer trusts some of Nielsen's numbers. Can you? Continue Reading →

In partnership with Shopify, TikTok is adding in-app shopping. What does that have to do with tapping on Jennifer Aniston's sweater? Continue Reading →

Walmart and Walgreens are entering the mobile-first banking business in a big way. It's a solid strategic move, as an estimated 169 million Americans regularly use mobile devices for banking. Continue Reading →

With all the talk of reigning in big tech, we are hearing far too much about antitrust issues and far too little about data regulation. There may or may not be good reasons to break up big companies -- that's for others to decide -- but there is one very good reason we need to regulate data aggregation: people are being materially harmed by data abuse. Continue Reading →

Mike Novogratz has a good reason to believe that crypto is valuable. In March 2021, he revealed that cryptocurrencies made up nearly 85% ($4.8 billion) of his $5.65 billion net worth. But is crypto useful? Continue Reading →

I have often wondered which would be worse: a world where social media platforms are not held responsible for the content people post, or a world where they are. This "thought experiment" just became less hypothetical, as Twitter is testing three levels of warning labels for tweets its algorithm scores as potentially containing misinformation: "Get the latest," "Stay Informed," and "Misleading." Continue Reading →

If you have an Alexa-enabled device or any Amazon device that is Amazon Sidewalk-capable, you are automatically opted in to sharing up to 80Kbps (capped at 500MB per month) of your WiFi network with Amazon and your neighbors. After I tell you how to opt-out, I'll tell you what it is and why Amazon thinks it's a good idea. If you want to use the service and lend part of your WiFi network to Jeff Bezos, you don't need to do anything. You are opted-in unless you do the following. Continue Reading →