May your bouncy house be as big as your dreams (Credit: Lance Ulanoff)
I’m back
I know, it’s been a little while. How are all of you? I’m pretty good after a mostly tech and social-media-free week. Okay, I might’ve used some tech, but I did steer almost entirely clear of social media for a solid week. It was freeing.
But now I’m back and things are heating up.
I’ve been watching the insanity around Twitter, which no longer solely revolves around the I-don’t-want-you-anymore battle with Elon Musk and has expanded, thanks to a former employee-now whistleblower, to encompass a scandal that could lead to a lot more questions for Twitter’s leadership (new and old) and may bolster Musk’s case.
I hardly know what to make of it all.
At issue, though, is Twitter’s honesty. Has the company been lying all along about bots? Is it really playing fast and loose with our data?
My gut is still telling me no. I know, perhaps I’m naive, but there’s this sense among Twitter detractors that the whole operation is smoke and mirrors and instead of millions of people interacting on it, it’s just a smaller set of people surrounded by millions and millions…and millions…of bots. It’s a balloon that’s big and taut on the outside but empty on the inside. And it’s about to pop.
I still don’t believe that’s the case, but that’s immaterial. The social media platform is about to enter some very rough waters and I don’t know what it will look like when all is said and done.
Even if the whistleblower is only partially right, I think, a bit of cleanup is probably in order. Maybe Twitter will come out of all this a stronger and better operation. We’ll see.
In the meantime, I still find moments of serendipity and surprise on what remains my favorite social media platform.
Apple
As you’ve probably heard, Apple is holding a big product event on September 7. It’s gonna be the iPhone 14. It might also be a lot more. I’m going out to Cupertino to find out. I also have a crazy ask for Apple.
But not before going to Berlin.
IFA
Yup, I’m going to a big consumer technology trade show in Germany late tonight - one I haven’t attended in years, to see a wide variety of gadgets and deliver the news to my home base: TechRadar.
It occurs to me that, with all these in-person events, it’s beginning to feel more and more like the old days, before the pandemic. On the other hand, I’ll be traveling with my vax card and lots and lots of masks.
By the end of all this tech excitement, I probably won’t know my days from my nights, but it’ll all be worth it. So much good technology to share.
The Blackberry Story
I’m kind of enjoying this era of looking back at big tech companies and their even bigger collapses (Theranos, WeWork) and agree that the tale of the rise and fall of BlackBerry is ripe for a juicy retelling.
But I have a problem and it’s with the movie’s casting. Filmmakers selected the talented Jay Baruchel to play co-founder Mike Lazaridis. I met and interviewed Lazaridis during the height of BlackBerry’s power and as it struggled to remain relevant (does anyone remember the BlackBerry Playbook?). Mike is a big, white-haired guy with a broad face and sometimes gruff demeanor. Baruchel often comes across as just nerdy. Maybe for a tech movie, that works, but it won’t be the guy I knew.
Even so, I’m sure I’ll watch the movie to see how it depicts some moments I witnessed firsthand.
Spaaaace
As you’re reading his Artemis 1 is probably (or maybe not - as I type, they’re on hold for a hydrogen issue) on its way to the moon. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you know I love space.
The SLS rocket is a monster (NASA’s biggest rocket ever) and I would love to be there when it launches, but I’ll have to settle for watching the live feed or through my Oculus headset. The mission is, by the way, Step 1 on our road back to the moon and beyond.
And…….The launch was scrubbed. Next possible launch date is Sept. 2.
Also: Yes, I want a satellite phone.
P.S. Said goodbye to Medium this week.
Stay safe
See you soon