Rick Huckstep - The Wiser! Newsletter

Google/Facebook collusion; dark side of Roblox; Encryption and Microsoft's largest deal

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Newsletters • 10 min read

Google/Facebook collusion; dark side of Roblox; Encryption and Microsoft's largest deal

Wiser! #57: Unsealed papers in the US anti-trust against Google has revealed the extent of the collusion with Facebook. Plus: how much does Roblox exploit kids? UK Gov spending half a million on public opinion over E2EE and Microsoft's acquisition of Activision.…

Rick Huckstep • 22 Jan 2022

Google and Facebook accused of price-fixing in the digital ad space they dominate

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Essays • 6 min read

Google and Facebook accused of price-fixing in the digital ad space they dominate

Wiser! Essay: Unsealed documents in the anti-trust lawsuit against Google has revealed a 2018 agreement with Facebook to collude to fix prices and unfair advantage to Facebook.…

Rick Huckstep • 20 Jan 2022

UK Gov launch PR campaign to change BigTech’s approach to End-to-End Encryption

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Essays • 5 min read

UK Gov launch PR campaign to change BigTech’s approach to End-to-End Encryption

Wiser! Essay: The UK Government has been amongst the most vocal when it comes to opposing BigTech's use of End-to-End Encryption. Now, they are about to spend over half a million £s on a media campaign to persuade Facebook users that its a bad thing.…

Rick Huckstep • 19 Jan 2022

AR, VR, Wearables: Apple's market opportunity

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Insights • 11 min read

AR, VR, Wearables: Apple's market opportunity

Wiser! #56 (Premium): Apple dominates the Wearables market with the Number 1 Watch and Airpods. But if Apple are to ring the $4 trillion bell, they are going to need new products. Next to come is a Mixed Reality Headset and then a pair of AR glasses.…

Rick Huckstep • 18 Jan 2022

iPhone's Birthday; CryptoScams; Google and the Metaverse

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Newsletters • 14 min read

iPhone's Birthday; CryptoScams; Google and the Metaverse

Wiser! #55: the iPhone is 15; Crypto scammers had a record year in 2021; Kazakhstan is number 2 in Bitcoin mining; Reese Witherspoon is in the Metaverse, so are Ralph Lauren; plus Google.…

Rick Huckstep • 14 Jan 2022

NFT madness; RIP Blackberry; Instagram and Predictions

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Newsletters • 13 min read

NFT madness; RIP Blackberry; Instagram and Predictions

Wiser! #54: Instagram needs to change as TikTok sets the pace. Plus the madness of NFTs, the end of the Blackberry and the origins of the iPhone. Plus more...…

Rick Huckstep • 07 Jan 2022

Trends, Predictions, Questions and Some Answers

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Insights • 19 min read

Trends, Predictions, Questions and Some Answers

Wiser! #53 (Premium): As we end one year and start another, it's a great time to reflect, consider and make a few stabs in the dark about what's to come.…

Rick Huckstep • 04 Jan 2022

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Newsletters • 14 min read

One Year Wiser!

Wiser! #52: A year in review. A round-up of some of my favourite stories and themes from the 175,000 words written in the first year of the Wiser! Newsletter.…

Rick Huckstep • 31 Dec 2021

TikTok, teenage girls, eating-disorders and the curious rise in Tics

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Essays • 5 min read

TikTok, teenage girls, eating-disorders and the curious rise in Tics

Wiser! Essay: a billion people watch short videos on TikTok every month, but what are they about? New evidence links TikTok to harmful content on eating disorders and a disturbing rise in Tics amongst teen girls.…

Rick Huckstep • 28 Dec 2021

Elon Musk to pay his dues; TikTok's unhealthy behaviour and Dorsey blocked on Twitter

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Newsletters • 10 min read

Elon Musk to pay his dues; TikTok's unhealthy behaviour and Dorsey blocked on Twitter

Wiser #53: Elon Musk to pay $11 billion in taxes, more than any American in history; plus TikTok targeting teens, Dorsey blocked in Twitter and Email as a source of misinformation and fake news.…

Rick Huckstep • 24 Dec 2021

DeFi, DApps and DAOs; where the magic happens in Web3 (Part 2)

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Insights • 10 min read

DeFi, DApps and DAOs; where the magic happens in Web3 (Part 2)

Wiser! #52 (Premium): Part 2 of the Web3 Series looks at the role of nascent decentralised technologies defining the next iteration of the Internet economy.…

Rick Huckstep • 21 Dec 2021

Gary Vee and NFTs; Instagram; Roblox plus Snap, Apple , AI and BigTech

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Newsletters • 12 min read

Gary Vee and NFTs; Instagram; Roblox plus Snap, Apple , AI and BigTech

Wiser! #51: Gary Vee makes $91m in 90 days selling NFTs (he had never heard of NFTs 9 months ago); Instagram hits 2 billion users with TikTok catching up fast; Roblox, Snap, Apple and AI, all in this issue of Wiser!…

Rick Huckstep • 17 Dec 2021

Artificial Intelligence in an Unequal World

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Essays • 6 min read

Artificial Intelligence in an Unequal World

Wiser! Essays (AI): UK Gov launches new AI standards; Nations that invest in AI do better and a roundup of some of the top stories from the world of AI…

Rick Huckstep • 16 Dec 2021

How Gary Vee made $90 million in 90 in days from NFTs

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Essays • 6 min read

How Gary Vee made $90 million in 90 in days from NFTs

Wiser! Essays: Gary Vee had never heard of NFTs 9 months ago. But he spent 50 hours understanding what it was, drew 10k sketches and sold them for $91m in 90 days.…

Rick Huckstep • 16 Dec 2021

Roblox: defining 3D gaming in the Metaverse

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Essays • 5 min read

Roblox: defining 3D gaming in the Metaverse

Wiser! Essay: Roblox are defining the creator class for the Metaverse Economy. Kids as young as 9 are building and trading in virtual games as the virtual and physical worlds collapse into a single user experience.…

Rick Huckstep • 16 Dec 2021

Even your kid's location data is up for sale!

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Essays • 15 min read

Even your kid's location data is up for sale!

Wiser! Essay: The popular family app Life360 has 33 million users worldwide. It's an app to protect your kids. But the app has been selling its location data to anyone willing to buy it. A guest essay by The Markup…

Rick Huckstep • 16 Dec 2021

Why is TikTok so addictive?; WhatsApp launchs payments on Novi; plus AI, Ethics, Apple & Bitcoin

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Newsletters • 9 min read

Why is TikTok so addictive?; WhatsApp launchs payments on Novi; plus AI, Ethics, Apple & Bitcoin

Wiser! #50: metaFacebook start trials of a cryptocurrency service on WhatsApp using Novi. Plus leaked docs reveal TikTok's secret sauce. And Timnit Gebru launches an AI ethics research team.…

Rick Huckstep • 11 Dec 2021

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Essays • 7 min read

What makes TikTok so addictive?

Wiser! Essay: TikTok is the most addictive platform on Social Media. Leaked documents reveal the how and why.…

Rick Huckstep • 10 Dec 2021

ex-Google Head of AI launches Ethics Research Group

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Essays • 4 min read

ex-Google Head of AI launches Ethics Research Group

Wiser! Essay: When Timnit Gebru raised serious questions about Google's use of AI, she lost her job. One year later and Gebru has launched an AI Ethics Research team.…

Rick Huckstep • 10 Dec 2021

Web3 versus the Metaverse; different journeys to the same destination (Part 1)

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Insights • 11 min read

Web3 versus the Metaverse; different journeys to the same destination (Part 1)

Wiser! #49 (Premium): Web3 is everything crypto and the economy that is forming around it; DeFi, DAOs, Dapps, Decentralised, NFTS. It's on the same course as the Metaverse, just taking a different route. In this 2 Part series, I make sense of what's happening and what's next for the Internet.…

Rick Huckstep • 07 Dec 2021