Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Weekly Business News for July 12 | Top 15 Most Affordable States in 2024

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

TAKEAWAYSDiscussion of lowest cost of living states in the USPersonal experiences and opinions related to the states with low cost of livingBusiness news of the weekLaunch of Samsung's Galaxy RingFeatures of the smart ringSurprise at Samsung beating Apple to the market with a smart ringPotential market for smart ringsInfusion of humor and personal anecdotes throughout the conversationTouching on personal experiences related to the topicsEngaging and relatable elements in the podcast episodeTIMESTAMPSThe Business News (00:00:00) Ryan Alford and Chris Hansen discuss business news and introduce the podcast episode.National French Fry Day and Pecan Pie Day (00:01:19) The hosts joke about the national food holidays and discuss their preferences.Reflection on the Presidential Debate (00:03:46) The hosts briefly discuss the recent presidential debate and express concern about the mental state of the president.Lowest Cost of Living States in the US (00:06:47) The hosts discuss the 15 US states with the lowest cost of living, mentioning each state and its average cost of living.Athletic Brewing's Investment and Non-Alcoholic Beer Trend (00:20:29) The hosts discuss Athletic Brewing Company raising $50 million and the increasing demand for non-alcoholic beer.Samsung's Galaxy Ring Launch (00:23:02) The hosts discuss Samsung's launch of the Galaxy Ring, its health tracking features, and its availability in three colors.Wearable Technology (00:24:14) Discussion on the increasing popularity of wearables for fitness tracking and the integration of features across different brands.Health and Fitness Tracking (00:25:14) Personal experiences and opinions on fitness tracking devices, including potential drawbacks and benefits.Spotify's Social Networking Features (00:28:57) Exploration of Spotify's new social networking capabilities, including comments on podcasts and video integration.Retailers Backtracking on Self-Checkout (00:34:11) Discussion on major retailers reversing their investment in self-checkout machines due to theft concerns.TikTok's AI Chatbot "Genie" (00:38:50) TikTok's development of an AI chatbot called "Genie" for Western users, focusing on its potential functions and integration within the app.Integration of AI in Social Media (00:42:39) Observations on the increasing integration of AI chat features in various social media platforms, including privacy concerns and intrusive algorithms.Podcast Recommendations and Sign-Off (00:45:24) Mention of another podcast, "Stay True," and a call to action for viewers to check out videos on Spotify or YouTube. If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. 

This is Write About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over 6 years and over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping necks and cashing checks? Well, it starts Write About Now. What's up guys? Welcome to Right About Now. It's our weekly marketing and news, business news of the week, and any other news we want to get into.

Here on July 12th, 2024, joined by my good friend, Chris Hansen. What's up, brother? How you doing today, big dog? Oh, I'm juggling, man. I'm juggling balls. I got them. Got kids out of school, wife at home. That's all over the place and, you know, managing five businesses and replacing 12 people. But other than that, good.

The hefty schedule you got going. It's good, man. It's all positive things. It just doesn't make me as punctual as I like to be. We all have stuff. Especially on a holiday weekend. Yeah, I know. So it's like, it's all good, though.

I am blessed to do what I do. And, you know, we get to talk about the news. I mean, you do know what today is, July 12th, right? Yeah. National French Fry Day. Well, you know where I'll be this evening. Maybe five guys getting some Cajun fries. Oh, yeah.

Gotta get some, no, Mickey D's, right? And like hot McDonald's fries. That's the best. It's true. Five guys I can justify. I'm like, well, they're a little healthier. But Mickey D's. It's also National Pecan Pie Day.

I mean, so it's like, okay, if you're pecan pie, did you really want to share that holiday with National French Friday? Come on. You're number two. Yeah, come on. It's sort of. Maybe in South Carolina they've got some competition. Yeah.

I'd say it reflects kind of pecans pies, like where they belong in the lineup. They're always number two or three in the dessert line. Are you really ever going for pecan pie first? It's always the, you know, something else first. I might be worried about you. Yeah. Pecan pie is like the second choice in dessert.

If you're ordering pecan pie first. Yeah. I don't know if we can be friends. It's the health food holidays weekend. July 12th, National French Fry Day, and July 14th is national macaroni and cheese day it's gonna be a good weekend i mean call me crazy it's hot as hell outside we're in south carolina heat index is 100 plus i hope you're cool out there if you're listening

stay cool but people like really i mean protect your loved ones get them inside get your dogs inside give them some water but who wants to eat some hot macaroni and cheese in the middle of july not me yeah i don't want to be sweating eating a hot mac and cheese give me an icy but those are the social media holidays you can't miss you know it's like Newsweek when we start off with, you know, National French Friday and National Mac and Cheese. It's like we had no pressing issues to get to. We didn't really get to talk about

the whole debacle that was the debate. So let's just, let's just spend a minute and say a prayer for our nation. Take a moment of silence. A moment of silence. Reflection. It's like.

Just breathe it in and know it will be okay. It will be okay. Somehow. Someway. Someway. It's just the irony of how they, you know, it was. No one needs us to sort of review. I mean, if you have half a brain, you kind of saw what, you know, if you wanted to pay attention to the last six months

was clear and just the overall mental decline of our president. And two things can be true, Chris. I can respect the office of the presidency, respect it, and respect anyone that holds it, while also thinking we need to be in more capable hands for the most powerful person in the world. Yeah, 100%. So like, we stay out of politics on this show. And this isn't about politics. This is just about, okay, we're a business show, Politics on this show. And this isn't about politics. This is just about, okay, we're a business show. And the president and his policies have a lot of impact.

And the strength of our nation matters. And what we saw the other night was not good. I don't want you running my podcast, let alone my country, just in that physical, mental state you appear to be. Yeah. And look, and then I step back with a voice of empathy. Like, if I was 80, knowing how I feel now, like 82 years old, trying to run the most powerful, like every, like I joked at the start of the episode, the balls that I'm juggling. Like, are you kidding?

You're the president of the United States. And we somehow think that, I don't know, it's not even necessarily age. It's just clear that we're going to have to do something. And, you know, their own party's turning on them. would say a few different things sometimes too like it's like but it was clear who sort of had the mental aptitude uh to lead the country just from uh no matter what the politics are just pure acuity and attention and energy so i don't know, man. It's interesting. It makes you wonder why more like 55-year-old strong candidates haven't come along on either party. Yeah, totally agree. Like, where are they? So, you know, it's going to be an interesting few months.

And we're not going to be an interesting few months. And we're not going to talk politics every week. But it's clear that we got to go a different direction. We'll leave it there. So, speaking of business, there's 15 U.S. states with the lowest cost of living, Chris. You know, there's been all this talk of inflation and cost. So a single person can live comfortably in these states on $20 an hour. 15 states. Maybe some of you expect, maybe some of you didn't.

We're going to start at the top, number 15, the Badgers of Wisconsin. I'm going to try to do like, I'll do the mask. Hey, college football season approaching in the next 45 days or so. So I'll try to do like the mascots. The college football mascot if they have one for the state or something. The Badgers coming in, the average. So the cost of living there is $42,000 and some change. Wisconsin, number 15, lowest cost of living state.

So, you know, we're all complaining that things are expensive. It's interesting that neither my home state nor Chris has made this list. I thought that mine might. I knew Florida probably wouldn't. But anyway. And we're in G Vegas, South Carolina. That's Greenville to everyone that doesn't know. Great place to visit.

Just don't move here. Just kidding. You can move here. We love Greenville. Number 14, Missouri. The Tigers of the SEC. SEC, SEC. All they do is promote their own conference.

They're pretty good at it from a Brady standpoint. Missouri, they're also at roughly at 42,000 and some change. You can live in Missouri. I'll tell you what, I've been to St. Louis once. You know what was fun to do there, Chris? Pack up and leave. I got some buddies. I've've been to St. Louis once. You know what was fun to do there, Chris? Pack up and leave. I got some buddies. I've never been out of some friends there.

I'm going to get some hate mail from St. Louis. I just didn't find anything that I wanted to come back for. That was just my opinion. It was a good place to visit. And I'm talking about one city. Missouri's probably a lovely state. Just hadn't spent much time there. Getting towards that middle America.

Alabama, number 13. Go roll tide. 41,000 and some change. Of our 15 U.S. states with the lowest cost of living. So if you're complaining, you don't make enough money, and you want to move somewhere, these are all states where a single person can live comfortably on $20 an hour. Comfortably.

We could piece $20 an hour together, Chris. Number 12, Nebraska. The Cornhuskers. 41 and some change in Nebraska. I don't know, man. Nebraska just seems like the middle of nowhere to me. It's like, I think that's why, you know, there used to be a powerhouse in college football.

I think that's why they've actually gone downhill is because, I mean, it's in the middle of nowhere. It's too isolated. Too isolated. Got those hay bales. Number 11, New Mexico. The Lobos. You thought you were going to get me with that one.

No, no, no. That's the mascot of the college football. New Mexico is at 41 and some change as well in our 15 U.S. states, the lowest cost of living. Have you spent any time in New Mexico? I have. My dad had an uncle in Taos, New Mexico. We went skiing one year. Snow skiing?

Snow skiing in New Mexico. I actually have some very good and difficult snow skiing. Okay. Are you a good skier? Yeah, that was the only time I've spent in New Mexico. I actually have some very good and difficult snow skiing. Okay. You a good skier? Yeah, that was the only time I've spent in New Mexico. I was probably 13 years old. It was fine.

I don't know, man. I think I drove through there once. Yeah, it's got a different atmosphere, you know, kind of desert-y, mountainous. Yeah. I have a lot of bad dreams about those places. A lot of Pueblo-looking architecture.

Got some funky cactus there. You take a sip of that stuff, you go, look out. Pieto, or what's it called? That peyote. Peyote. Yeah. Look out. I'll tell you what.

I like spending time in Mexico. I'm just going to tell you. One of my favorite places. The old Mexico. The old Mexico. The old country. Not the new Mexico. Me'm just going to tell you. One of my favorite places. The old Mexico. The old Mexico. The old country, not the new Mexico. Me too. Number 10.

The Hawkeyes. Iowa. 41 and some change. That's what you can reasonably a single person can live there comfortably in $20 an hour. This is the cost of living. Cost of living, 41 and some change.

That's reasonable. What we got here? Number nine. We got the top 10 now. Ole Miss, Mississippi, the Rebels. 41 and some change as well. SEC, SEC. I'm putting in college football here with this, Chris.

Our listeners, if you're into college football, you're either really jiving with this, and if you're not, you're going, what the fuck is he talking about? Yeah, you're like, what are these rent? Why are these in Cornhusker? We're blending the mascot of the college football team in with the state with the lowest cost of living.

It's about entertainment, people. Be entertained. All right. Louisiana. We'll just call it like LSU. The Tigers. LSU, Louisiana. One of the 15 U.S. states with the lowest cost of living.

They're at 41 and some change too. Number eight. Number seven, South Dakota. I tell you what. There's some places I don't really want to go to. That's real high on eight. Number seven, South Dakota. I'll tell you what. There's some places I don't really want to go to. That's real high on the list. Sorry, South Dakota. I've watched Fargo.

I mean, you know, nothing looks like anything I want to do there. I respect you, though. Everybody's got to live somewhere. Just don't turn that South dakota into south carolina about that i i will say you know i meet people every day that move in into told g vegas here i haven't met anyone yet from south dakota so maybe there's something there that it must we don't know i've never met anyone anywhere from south dakota so something's keeping them there yeah and fargo might be in North Dakota.

I don't, I really don't remember. I don't know. It was the Dakota. Somewhere in the Dakotas. Ohio. Number six. We're going to call them the Buckeyes. I mean, we could talk about Ohio, Miami of Ohio,

but let's just be honest. Ohio, OSU, Ohio State. But Ohio is number six on the 15 U.S. states with the lowest cost of living. $40,000. And a little bit of change. Number five, Kentucky. The Wildcats. Kentucky.

I think it's natural for me to say Kentucky. That's my accent. It's like a natural thing. I'm Kentucky. Kentucky. I think it's natural for me to say Kentucky. That's my accent. It's like a natural thing. I'm Kentucky. I'm Kentucky boy. Yeah. Kentucky, the Wildcats. At 40 and some change.

Some of these don't surprise me in some way. Ohio surprised me being as high as it was. I don't know. I was just kind of like, okay. You got some big cities there. I was thinking it would be a little higher. Probably the northernmost city on this list. Everything else has been middle America and south.

That's definitely the northernmost state. So Kentucky was number four. You know, you're staying in the Dakotas, baby. Number four, North Dakota Kentucky was number five, excuse me North Dakota, number four Forty grand Lowest cost of living

Number four State in the Union Number three The Sooners of Oklahoma Oklahoma Forty grand Two hundred dollars That's the cost of living The Sooners of Oklahoma. Oklahoma, $40,200. That's the cost of living. Cheap to live in Oklahoma.

Got windstorms and tornadoes and low cost of living. And some wonderful people. I like Bob Stoops. He used to coach Oklahoma. Now my boy Brent Venables, who was the defensive coordinator at Clemson, is now there, and they're all helping keeping this cost of living low. Because college football plays a real role in that. Number two, the Razorbacks, Arkansas.

We're under 40 grand cost of living here, Chris. We're in the 39s. 39K for Arkansas. Number two in the union. One of the cheapest, the second cheapest state. Little Rock. And that's why, you know what? You know why Arkansas is on this list?

Walmart was created there. Yes. Arkansas is on this list. Walmart was created there. Yes. And if you watch all these flip or flop, like all the shows now for like flipping houses, almost all of them are in Arkansas.

They're all in one of these states because the cost is low. So they're making that profit, turning them. What's the funnest thing you've ever done in Arkansas? You really want to know? Yes. I went to rehab in Arkansas. Hey, look at there. Hey, good for three months.

How was it there? Beautiful. You know? Did some caving, did some hiking. Good people, down to earth people so look chris hansen uber successful entrepreneur owner of well-respected lab business is now does not drink and recovering i don't know if it's always recovering alcohol chris i was like forever but like or recovered that's what they say yeah but one of my best friends in the world and somebody I respect highly, but just so you know

Chris's story, which you should check out. We talk a lot about a lot of these things on See My Hat, Vibe Science. But Arkansas Rehab Center. Who knew? It was owned by an ex-NFL player. He got a puppy.

A Labrador puppy. Different. It was a great place.. Yeah. A Labrador puppy. Different, different. It was a great place. Capstone. Shout out Capstone Treatment Center. Anyone looking for a good, good place,

check them out. There you go. That's how you get on the wagon or off the wagon? Is it on the wagon? On the wagon. Yeah, on the wagon.

On the water wagon, baby. Yes. Nah, man. Respect the hell out of you for what you did. Number one, West Virginia. Not surprising. Coal miner country. All I think of is coal mining and Oxycontin, if I'm being honest.

I hate to say it. Well, look, it's the mountaineers of west virginia they've had a rough go of it man yeah like they're the number one lowest cost of living state in the u.s that's your top 15 west virginia right at 39k single person can live in these states comfortably making $20 an hour. Wisconsin, Missouri, Alabama, Nebraska, New Mexico, Iowa, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, Ohio, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and West Virginia. It's your top 15. Or your bottom 15.

I don't know. It's not negative. I don't mean that negatively. These are all wonderful states, but it's like lowest cost of living. Hey, hey, a lot of opportunity for growth here is what I'm saying. I got a buddy that just moved to Kentucky, and now I'm like, damn, he's cleaning up.

Think about it this way, Chris. If you can make your money anywhere, online business, move to one of these states. Because if it doesn't matter where you live, you want that cost of living to be low. I know that's why a lot of people go nomad and move out of the country and all that. Well, good for you.

I kind of want to stay in the union, me personally. I like to visit those places, but I want to live in the U.S. So if you could make your money anywhere, you got to be living in West Virginia or Arkansas. I mean, I'm just saying. There's some beautiful places anywhere in this country. Yeah. So there's your business tip. If you, if it really doesn't matter because you're online business or, you know, work

remote, there you have it. Boom. That comes to us from our good friends at CNBC.com. They had that list. Obviously, they didn't make the list, but they had the article. Let me give them a shout out. This is also from CNBC.com. We talked about this company a few weeks ago, Chris.

And it's not surprising. Ironically, related to getting on the wagon. ironically related to getting on the wagon. Athletic Brewing raises $50 million as non-alcoholic wave sweeps beer making. Leading non-alcoholic brewer, Athletic Brewing Company, raised an additional $50 million in equity financing in a round led by General Atlantic. The brewer plans to use the latest investment to increase production capacity and expand its offering at global retailers, meeting the rising demand for non-alcoholic beer. Athletic holds over 19% market share within non-alcoholic beer

and a driving 32% of total non-alcoholic beer category growth, according to Nielsen. Dude, it's booming. It's filming yeah man and i've talked about this and maybe i'd change my tune if i didn't drink at all i don't know i'll just probably i think i still just take a diet sprite or something dude i was thinking the same thing give me a fucking coca-cola even a like a delicious juice yeah i like the taste of an ice cold beer but i think i like it because it's also like the mellowing dopamine and yeah like yeah you're gonna find like i mean i'm the epitome of a walking speedball i got a monster in the morning and a beer in the afternoon. It's legal, folks.

I mean, it's a joke. Just balancing it out through the day, baby. It's healthy. Everyone's got their formula. Yeah. You've got yours figured out. Exactly. But, yeah.

I have seen more guys online, fitness people pushing this i mean not pushing it but enjoying it i i personally look at it and i'm like i just don't like the taste of beer enough yeah i might change my tune when i stop drinking anybody else is like when it's i it? I see it. There's a tunnel. It's a dull light, but I see it. And I just don't know that I would drink it. But nonetheless, it's huge. It's a big business. And we bring it up because it's indicative of the changing tastes and overall sentiment of sort of the overall like economy and people like the younger

generations just aren't drinking as much period so we got to sell them something they can't just drink water you know can't make any money off free water yeah unless it's liquid death fucking mountain valley waiting on my delivery as we speak. There you go. Samsung. You and I are going to have a little spit on this with Aura. But Samsung launches the Galaxy Ring, a first of its kind product for the tech giant. Yeah, for them.

CNBC.com also brought us this. It's also everywhere. Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring on Wednesday, its first foray into smart rings. The South Korean tech giant is looking to integrate its products, such as smartphones and wearables, and offer health tracking features to rival Apple's push into the space. The ring has the ability to track various health metrics, such as heart rate and sleep, as well as menstrual cycles. Samsung said the Galaxy Ring will be available on July 24th, and it will come in three colors. So, I personally like this a lot.

I personally like this a lot. I was already aware of these things with Aura, though I didn't have one, but I was always sort of attracted to it because it seemed like less intrusive than some of the other things. One single ring could do that. And I am a little surprised that Samsung beat Apple to the punch on it. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I mean, does it,

you think Apple just assumes, Oh, we have the, I think the watch, they, they rather have more functionality with the watch, but I think there's a sub segment of people that are never going to wear that watch.

It might wear a ring. Yeah. Even the whoop, which does very similar things. it seems like there's definitely days i'm like i wish i didn't have this i think a ring would be more convenient yeah you know yep i think that these wearables are just increasing increasing another like okay let's tie it all together the trims you got less drinking happening, more fitness tracking happening. So you have this push overall, I think, to a healthier lifestyle, which is good.

And I think it's going to be interesting how all these features start to integrate. Like, because I was sitting there thinking like, oh, Apple doesn't have the ring. So then if you get the ring, then you got to go to a Samsung and Android. And it's like, is it strong enough to push you to want to go to an Android? No. No. I'll get the Aura. You know, like there's some lawsuits out there between Samsung and Aura, by the way.

Because Aura, I think, thought they had locked up the whole ring wearable. Yeah, the patent. And clearly did not. But that would be interesting. And if you aren't aware or it was the first i think it was the first wearable ring that really fit this tracking wasn't it yeah did you ever have one i did not i have a lot of buddies that wear them i've always been intrigued by it i mean i just started with the whoop i don't know about the wearable thing though i'm like i think it's good to have a like a data point i think a lot of people need that it's very black and white but i also think you can get ocd with oh god that's why i don't wear my i've been reading

look i love will ahmed founder of whoop been on the show respect the hell out of them love the concept but i stopped wearing mine because i'm like i'm just obsessed like looking at this too much and right you will get up and you're like oh it says i didn't sleep very good so then i'm like well i'm gonna be tired today i guess yeah i don't even my hdr is like low as shit and i'm like god i feel pretty good though no i oh well no but that's what it really is so i'll be it's like okay well yeah yesterday was like overheating i'm like well it's 99 degrees outside so yeah it's fucking hot man like i don't need you to tell me this i can feel it by the sweat running down my back my shirt's soaking wet

but i okay thank you but thanks for letting me know that my body temp's higher than normal yeah i mean it's been good in some aspects but your heart rate is elevated you must be stressed out oh let me non-stress you out let me okay all right i mean it's like i get it but there can be paralysis from analysis and for sure i think there's a time and a place for them but that's why i sort of like the ring it's like if it was not intrusive and like could show you trends yeah this is annoying i take a shower then it's wet for the next hour or if i want to wear a watch it's like all right i mean you can wear it on my other wrist or my ankle i guess but i like the thought of something and i think whoop has something similar but like give me the download of the day like give me a one page or summary like i don't want another screen or another app send me an

email with like a one page or summary that's like here's how your day was you burned this many calories you seem to have you know been stressed or whatever. Your heart rate was up, whatever. Here's some suggestions and call it like, there you go. And like just a text message summary of your day based on like your biomarkers or whatever. That sounds like a good invention. It's called the vibe science once a day. I don't know. I love it. We're creating business ideas here.

But, again, I just don't want to obsess about it, but I wouldn't mind. I like knowing the data if I don't have to, like, I don't know. What it's going to be, Chris, is going to be that injected thing into the brain. It extracts everything, you know, and gives you that feedback. Oh, boy. It's coming. Every movie is coming true. The Matrix.

Spotify is no longer just a streaming app. It's a social network. This is from TechCrunch, the opinion article, which I tend to agree with. With Spotify's recent launch of comments on podcasts, the streamer is taking yet another step towards building a social networking experience in an app primarily known for music. With comments, podcasters can now engage with their listeners directly within Spotify as they can with other interactive features like polls and Q&As, as they can with other interactive features like polls and Q&As,

combined with the app's 2023 revamp, which added a TikTok-like discovery feed, artist profiles where creators can hawk merchandise and concert tickets, as well as the ability to post to stories. Spotify's app is shaping up to be a social network centered around all things audio, not just a music streaming app. I like this just for the podcast side of things because there's never really been a feedback loop or like a commentary loop other than like social media

and stuff like that where I get feedback. But like I like the thought of this. And I'll say this. I'll go ahead and make a plug. We now have all of our episodes in video on Spotify. So all past episodes are being re-uploaded. But through, I think, May, we've already got May until now. So you can watch the full episode of this.

See Chris's beautiful face and the lovely plants behind them on the Spotify channel. So you can watch the video. And how do you do that? Let me tell you. You're listening, and if you hit the button where it kind of scrolls up to give you a bigger or wider page, brings the video up, hitting the play bar, expanding the play bar. I had to kind of learn how to do that when we got the ability.

So you can watch all of this excitement and energy and this beautiful screen that saw your develop right behind me on spotify but i do like the thought of the comments i don't know if i like of another social network but it is once you have that two-way conversation going that is sort of what social media is you big spotify. Oh yeah. It's my main, my main streaming for music. I'm in the whole podcast though. I do YouTube for podcasts.

YouTube. Cause of the video. Yeah. And the comments. Yeah. Well now you go to Spotify, get it all right there. Uh,

news to me, baby. I will say I hadn't used, I've always say I've been in the Apple kind of ecosphere. Apple Music, all the Apple apps. It's your generation. My generation. And easy, streamlined. I don't get, like, dizzy using it.

I'm not even that old. I mean, I'm more techie than most 25 year olds, but it's like, just keep it simple, baby. Keep it simple, stupid kiss. Keep it simple, stupid. And I hadn't used Spotify in a while, but I was playing with it because our videos are there now and watching a few other shows, videos, and it's kind of like best practices and things. And I will say this, best practices and things and i will say this it is it does have more than apple it's got better playlists it's got better i don't know i was doing like a few like radio stations based off the songs and i was reminded how bad apples was and how good spot spotify was like i might be coming back to the dark side here it's not even dark side it's just kind of got tired of it for a while and I don't like to support

Apple because they seem to always push us in the news and noteworthy episodes. So I feel some due diligence. We are number one over there. So it's but I will say Spotify is pretty good right now. I like it.

The but I do like the integration of video is pretty slick. I was watching Rogan the other day. Like, and it was, it did have me thinking like,

how do you make this more interesting? It's like, and you know, we've been working on that and that's a lot of what Sawyer's been doing with our set design

and multiple cameras and stuff. But it's like, you know, at the end of the day, we're talking, talking heads. it's like you know at the end of the day we're talking talking heads it's like how do you make the video experience better and i don't know if it's just like b-roll even that it makes that silly sense it's it's a interesting i don't know exercise i feel like what people want to watch while yeah they want to see us talking as part of it but the

entire time i don't know what do you want to see when you hear joe rogan talking joe for two hours or three hours talking about space aliens it's true points to ponder but spotify i do like the q a i'm going to try to get more active over there try to start to facilitate so if you're listening and you listen on spotify give us some q's and we'll give you some a's we take the bs out of business baby so just come hard don't come soft i don't want any like softballs i want some fast balls. You know? On the heaters. Yeah.

How many energy drinks do you drink in a day? A lot. How many did you have before the show? Half of one, actually. At least two. At least two. At this time. 2.5.

I had two coffees. It's similar. Yes, exactly had two coffees. It's similar. Yes, exactly. Oh, Spotify. Check them out. Go check out the video from us. Major retailers are backtracking on self-checkout. NBCnews.com.

After years of investing in self-checkout machines, some major retailers are starting to reverse course. Why? Because shit's walking out the door, I bet. I haven't even read this article fully. The honesty system didn't work? Yeah, it didn't. Weird.

Dollar General said it has eliminated self-checkout options at about 12. I've never seen one at Dollar General, but that's a whole other story. A majority of its stores after it began the process in the first quarter of this year, five below is working to remove self-checkout entirely in some of its highest risk locations. This is why you need to be watching the Spotify video. Highest risk, air quotes. Target also announced steps to limit or eliminate self-checkout options at some stores this year and amazon is pulling its just walk out cashierless checkout system from his grocery stores the the u-turn literally like microchips put in them for these things

well they had it to where literally like when you walked out and stuff in your hand, it would know or pick up what you had. Sure. I'm sure somebody was like stuffing them down in like three layers of pants or something. Yeah, for sure. Is that a sub sandwich in your pocket? I know. The U-turns are occurring at retailers that once touted the upsides of fully self-service stores.

As recently as 2022, Dollar General described self-checkout technology's potential to enhance the convenience proposition. The company had tried to test stores with 100% self-checkout kiosks in hundreds of its retail locations, but that plan has changed. Do we have to call out the obvious here? I just think it's like you tried cutting costs, saving money by getting rid of people, and it probably costs you more in theft. I'm going to call out a local company that i respect and like some of its people have had friends that work

there but i'm just gonna call out an example so we have two major chains of gas convenience stores here in south carolina especially in the upstate you got qt quick trip and you got Spinks, who's the local player. Well, one of these people have really large parking lots, really quick, highly educated cashiers, seemingly, that move fast and seem motivated. And then we have another that's trialed this exact system that doesn't have any of what I just stated for the most part. And I'm summarizing here too. I'm not out of it. And let's just say I run, I will travel like three more miles, which is, you know, when you're looking for convenience,

you don't typically do that to go to one versus the other. And that would be QT. because the freaking sphinx does this self-checkout thing and i saw them installing it this was like a year ago i'm like this is the biggest fucking waste of money i'm like who signed off on this this number one doesn't make any sense in your stores because you know the people that come in here not always the best clientele that should be trustworthy. Combined with a lack of a customer experience, it's a terrible customer experience. It's nightmarish.

And it's like, I don't know. I never bought into this. Literally. Pun intended. No. Even when it was available, I still went to a normal cashier when I would be shopping. Like at Target, I was just like, I'd rather go to a person. It wasn't more convenient.

It didn't speed things up. And it's just begging for shit to get stolen. So there you go. So major retailers are backtracking on self-checkout. Chris, I don't know what. I almost think like sometimes these half-baked ideas that get implemented, it's like I don't know what I almost think like sometimes these half-baked ideas that get implemented. It's like I don't know what they really expected. Right.

Hey, look, we take the BS out of business. If you don't want it real, then don't come and get it raw from us because I'm just being honest. I'm saying what everyone else is thinking. And Spakes, I'm talking to you, baby. Except for when I was making these decisions, right? You know what? You should have hired us five years ago to do your marketing. We might could have talked you out of this.

And now all the other retailers are doing it too. Finally today, TikTok is developing a new AI chat bot called Genie. Can't put that genie back in the bottle. Been waiting all day to say that, Chris. If I only get to laugh at myself, it's worth it. Socialmediatoday.com brought us this. With the AI race heating up, TikTok looks like it's prepping to launch its own AI chatbot to Western users. Only Western users.

Based on a recent filing in the U.S., according to Semaphore, TikTok has sought to trademark the name Genie. Who would think you'd be able to trademark Genie? But okay, I dream of Genie. I dream of Genie for its coming AI chatbot tool, which would enable users to pose questions in stream and get immediate responses, among other functions. In May of the U.S., the rival video app filed the trademark for the name Genie for an AI chatbot software that will, among other functions, simulate conversations, facilitate interaction, and communicate between humans and AI, and produce human-like speech and text. So TikTok's looking to make it more of a hub for its AI functionalities with the chatbot, essentially connecting users to different elements of the app. TikTok actually has been developing its AI chatbot for some time with users in the Philippines getting access to its taco chatbot tool in May of last year.

You know, you're going to see this everywhere. Integrated. It's interesting that they say it's going to be speech and like not just true chatbot like typing. You're going to have it. You're going to be talking with that genie. I can't believe the genie name is not already trademarked. That's hard to believe. Yeah.

Probably is. They're probably going to buy it from someone. Who knows? There was a great show in the 70s. I think it was 70s or 60s. I Dream of Genie. Are you old enough to even remember that? I've heard of it.

It was about a genie that lived with this guy. She was hot and she could do magic. And this guy who was at the Navy or something found her. And I was like, that would be the greatest thing that ever happened. Like, are you kidding? So you never want to put that genie back in the bottle. And anyway, if you're listening, you're old enough to remember that show. You know you're nodding.

You know what I'm talking about. I Dream of Genie. It's a great show. I don't make shit like that anymore. But back to TikTok. You know, you got to get on there. You got to watch some videos, some how-tos, some TikTok golf tips, whatever it might be, recipe tips.

What's the latest TikTok video you've watched? I know you stay off there like I do, but I'm sure you say something. I got on it yesterday briefly. But I got off briefly. I literally was just checking. Who are you kidding? Dude, I make it a goal. I'll go check my notifications and get off because I know if I don't, 45 minutes are going to disappear like that.

Evaporate. In 30 second intervals for, you know, and all completely useless. TikTok, also known as a microwave of time. Literally. You want to time travel? Get on TikTok. Yeah. Whoa, it's 2.30.

Whoa, it's 6 o'clock. Wow, it's 8.30. Yeah. And all with learning nothing. Absolutely nothing. Some fun facts, maybe. So, nonetheless, they've got to do AI chatbot. It's genie.

You see more and more of these chat features integrated with AI on all these platforms. You can see it already if you get on Instagram. They got the whole thing thinking like AI talking, whatever. The search results. Facebook's got it integrated i was shopping for something on facebook marketplace and it was like the ai was like trying to chat with him like this feels a little intrusive right now you know i'm looking for some used boxers on facebook and kidding but it was like furniture like outdoor furniture for a new boat. I'm like, all right, let's see if I can get like a table or something up here.

And, you know, Facebook AI is like using that search data or something in offerings. I'm like, you know, this feels a little intrusive right now. Yeah. Let me just do it myself. Don't assume you know what I want. Yeah. I want that tacky couch from 1974 like i'll be looking for outdoor furniture and you're sending me like some velour you know 1974 couch like you need to get your algorithm straight yeah that ain't gonna handle

the humidity well you're soaking up soaking up all the rain. Oh, dude. Oh, that's the news for today, Chris. What's happening down in Miami? Anything exciting? It's been quiet down here. I think the weather's just bumming people out. It's just gray and hot. So, you know, just got to make it through these next couple months of this heat wave and then we're cruising.

But I'll take it over the snow. Oh, yeah. I'll always take heat over cold. But we appreciate you out there wherever you are. You can find all our info at RyanIsRight.com. That's got links to all the content and all the social media channels, highlight clips, anything from today. You can also check out the Radcast Network that we're a part of, the RadcastNetwork.com.

If you're a show or brand looking to start a show and want to turn it into a business-making asset, that's where you go. Most podcasts are hobbies, let's be honest. We turn them into business assets. Radcastnetwork.com. You're going to find me. I'm at Ryan Alford. Chris Hansen, one of the sweetest dudes in the country.

On Chris Brody Hansen on Instagram. You can find him. Go follow Chris. He's got some great content. He's got a great other show. What's up? Be real. Is that it?

What's the other show? Stay true. Be True. Stay True. Stay True. Stay True. I was thinking of Caroline Hobby Show. Sorry.

Stay True. Chris does long-form content with some really interesting interviews, sits down, really gets into it. It's very thoughtful. It's really good. I've actually enjoyed listening to a couple of shows here recently, Chris. You do a great job with that. Appreciate you, brother.

Hey, guys. We appreciate you. We aren't number one without you. Go check us out. Those videos on Spotify or YouTube. We'll see you next time on Right About Now. This has been Right About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. Visit RyanIsRight.com for full audio and video versions of the show

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