Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 01/20 – Meta Wants To Bring NFTs To Your Insta Profile

Starting point is 00:00:00 On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Thursday, January 20th, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough today. Meta is working on NFTs for Instagram and Facebook while Google is starting a blockchain team. Instagram subscriptions launches, Google Play Games, launches on Windows, Amazon launches its first physical fashion store, and why by this summer you will only be able to pay the IRS your taxes online by doxing yourself. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Sources are telling the financial times that meta is working on plans to let users create and sell NFTs on Facebook and Instagram, also show NFTs on user profiles, and also may be an NFT marketplace.

Starting point is 00:01:19 Because, of course, they're doing all this, by which I mean, yeah, with all the hype around this stuff, the big platforms aren't going to dabble in it? Of course they are. Would you be surprised if at WWDC Apple announced some sort of NFT integration for iPhones? I maybe would be, but maybe not surprise, surprised, you know? Anyway, quoting FTE. Teams at Facebook and Instagram are readying a feature that will allow users to display their NFTs on their social media profiles, as well as working on a prototype to help users create or mint the collectible tokens, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Starting point is 00:01:54 Two of the people said that meta has also discussed launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs, essentially a digital asset representing art or imagery that cannot be replicated. The move comes after Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg last year said NFTs could one day be wielded to support a market for digital goods in its planned metaverse, an avatar-filled world that the company is investing $10 billion annually in building over the coming decade. Instagram head Adam Mosseri in December said it was actively exploring NFTs without sharing specific details, but Instagram is now internally testing its NFT showcasing feature, said to people with knowledge of the fast-deafes.

Starting point is 00:02:33 developing plans. The Instagram NFTs project was initially spearheaded last year by Kristen George, Instagram's director of product and creators, and David Marcus, the former head of Facebook's payments and crypto arm, who left the company in December, another person said. Marcus has now been replaced by Stefan Casreal, former chief executive of freelancing platform Upwork, end quote. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has seen an internal email suggesting that Google is creating a unit under its Labs division for blockchain and other distributed tech, because, again, of course they are. Quote, Shiva Kumar van Kada Raman, an engineering vice president for Alphabet's Google, is now running a unit focused on blockchain and other NextGen distributed computing and data

Starting point is 00:03:24 storage technologies, according to an email viewed by Bloomberg News. The executive will become a founding leader of labs, a business division in which Google houses its various virtual and augmented reality efforts, according to the email. A company spokesperson declined to comment. To date, Google has offered some cloud services to companies working on blockchain technology, but otherwise Google, a company famous for its experimentation, hasn't launched public projects in the area where some rivals, such as meta platforms and Twitter, have devoted considerable resources. Google's payments and commerce president, however, recently said the company pays, quote, a lot of attention to crypto, end quote. But before the hotness for NFTs,

Starting point is 00:04:09 and Web 3 was the hotness for creator economies. To that end, Instagram Subscriptions has officially launched as an alpha, initially letting just 10 U.S. creators offer their followers paid access to exclusive Instagram live videos and stories, quoting TechCrunch. Through the subscriptions, product, creators can choose their own price point for access to their exclusive content. There are eight price points to choose from starting at 99 cents per month to as much as $99.99.99 per month, depending on how much a creator believes their content is worth. Most creators will likely start toward the bottom of that range at price points like 99 cents, $1.99, $299, $499, or even $9.99 per month, before experimenting with higher pricing like $19 or $49.99 per month. Once subscribed, users will be able to

Starting point is 00:04:58 access prior subscriber-only content, like stories saved as highlights, for example. They'll be alerted to exclusive broadcasts where they'll be able to engage more deeply with the creators, as the viewing audience will be naturally smaller. In subscriber-only stories, indicated with a purple ring, creators may share things like behind-the-scenes content, special polls, and more. Subscriber badges, also purple, will help fans stand out in the comments of public content, and will help them be identified in creators' message request folders in the inbox, end quote. We're sort of ping-ponging back and forth here, so back to Google, which has launched a limited beta of Google Play Games, which brings Android games to Windows 10 and Windows 11, quoting Android police.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Last year, Google told us at the Game Awards that it planned to bring Android games to Windows PCs under the Google Play Games banner, basically launching an Android app store for Windows limited to games. True to its prior promises, Google has more to share with us now that it's 2022. Starting today, interested parties can sign up for a limited beta of the new Google Play games for PC, but only if you're in Hong Kong, South Korea, or Taiwan. A full list of launch titles for the beta wasn't provided, but games beta testers will be able to enjoy include Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Summoners War, State of Survival, the Joker collaboration, and Three Kingdoms Tactics. Google tells us the games will be playable on Windows during the beta, courtesy of a standalone application built by Google, with support for mouse and keyboard input and cross-platform achievement and save sync. No, it's not clear how much of that will be functional at the beta's launch, or if all titles will be compatible with all features. Minimum requirements start with Windows 10-plus, V-2004, and at least an 8-core CPU with hardware

Starting point is 00:06:49 virtualization support, also 8 gigabytes of RAM, 20 gigabytes of faster SSD storage, and a handful of selected gaming class GPUs. All that means you'll need a reasonably high-end and recent machine, but it doesn't require Windows 11. Google tells us these requirements will be lower in the future. Android game developers can also express their interest in Google Play Games for PC, documentation for developers is also coming today with information like making sure your game is optimized for Windows PCs, etc., end quote. Let's go ahead and break the pattern, though, by talking about how Amazon is going to launch Amazon Style, its first physical fashion store in Los Angeles later this year.

Starting point is 00:07:34 Customers can use an app to send items to the fitting room and do all sorts of other fancy things, quoting Geekwire. The first location will open later this year in the Glendale area. area of Los Angeles at the Americana at Brand, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Amazon last year surpassed Walmart as the number one apparel retailer in the U.S., according to Wells Fargo research, which estimated $45 billion in revenue for Amazon's apparel and footwear revenue in 2021. Amazon style is designed to feature a less cluttered array of display items on the floor rather than giving over space to racks or stacks of inventory. Shoppers looking for women's and men's

Starting point is 00:08:13 apparel, shoes, and accessories can use the Amazon Shopping mobile app or scan QR codes to see sizes, colors, overall customer ratings, and additional product details. Shoppers can then tap a button in the app to have an item sent to a fitting room or directly to the pickup counter if they don't need to try it on. Once inside that reimagined fitting room, another larger screen allows shoppers to, quote, continue to shop a seemingly endless closet of great styles without leaving. Shoppers can't rate items, request different styles, and sites. and get new selections delivered from a heavily stocked back of house. Amazon says the quick delivery to fitting rooms by human employees is facilitated by the same technologies and processes employed at its

Starting point is 00:08:55 fulfillment centers. Personalization is key. Machine learning algorithms produce real-time recommendations for customers as they shop and scan items. Customers can also get a more tailored and refined experience by sharing style preferences, fit, and more, end quote. By the by, just confirming that Crypto, has confirmed that it has indeed suffered a cybersecurity breach. They say the plan is to reimburse the around 400 or so affected customer accounts, and they plan on sharing more about the breach in the coming days. Quoting Bloomberg, an exact value of cryptocurrencies affected is still unknown, although estimates are in the millions. Chief Executive Officer Chris Marzilek said, Crypto.com plans to release more information in a blog post in the coming days. System hacks have

Starting point is 00:09:47 been a persistent problem since the earliest days of cryptocurrencies with rogue programmers probing the software code of protocols for vulnerabilities. The firm, which moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore last year, is currently awaiting license approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, or Moss. The Moss is aware of the cybersecurity breach at crypto.com and is following up with the applicant, a spokesperson for the central bank said Thursday, in an emailed statement without providing further detail, end quote. And let me squeeze in one more crypto thing here real quick. Say hello to Pope, P-O-A-P, or proof of attendance protocol, which issues NFTs as mementos to attendees of real-world events. Pope is, I guess, also the name of

Starting point is 00:10:39 the startup behind this idea. Quoting TechCrunch, Pope is organized around badges as the visual signifier of their protocol. In the real world, a user could scan a QR code to receive an NFT memento that could unlock admission to an online community and earn them future drops. Plenty of this functionality exists elsewhere across Ethereum projects made possible by some of the underlying features of the blockchain, which allows developers to create snapshots of active wallets, which have been linked to the project at a given time. The POP ecosystem also includes a number of other tools, including Ethereum-backed polling, raffle contest mechanics, and private chat verification tech.

Starting point is 00:11:18 The startup announced this week that they've raised a 10-3,000. million dollar seed round led by archetype and sapphire sport with additional participation in the funding from sound ventures, the sharonin group, and Advance it Capital, a host of crypto-native funds also invested including collab currency, 1KX, Libertus Capital, Redbeard Ventures, Sixth Man Ventures, Delphi Digital, and A Capital. Pope met some challenges in 2021 as NFT community growth accelerated and the number of people looking to tap into their platform created an overwhelming influx of spam, that brought the platform to a crawl. In a blog post, the company says it plans to use its new funding to invest in its application

Starting point is 00:11:57 and platform layers, end quote. And finally today, I'm not sure what to make of this, but I got to be honest with you on first blush, it does not thrill me. Apparently, this summer, the IRS will require users to log in via ID.me, which uses facial recognition in its authentication process just to file taxes, make payments to the IRS, and more. Quoting Gizmodo. Online tax filers will soon be required to submit a selfie to a third-party identity verification company using facial recognition tech in order to file their taxes or make IRS payments online. Starting this summer, users with an IRS.gov account will no longer be able to

Starting point is 00:12:45 log in with a simple username and password. Instead, they will need to provide a government identification document, a selfie, and copies of their bills to Virginia-based, identity verification firm ID.Me to confirm their identity. That change, first noticed by Krebson security, marks a major shift for the IRS which previously allowed users to file their taxes without submitting personal biometric data. In a statement to Gizmodo, an IRS spokesperson said users can still receive basic information from the IRS website without logging in, but added they would need to sign in through ID.Me to make and view payments, access tax records, view or create payment plans, manage communication preferences, or view tax professional

Starting point is 00:13:27 authorizations. So here's how filing taxes will work for most people later this year. Users attempting to log in to their accounts using ID.Me will have to create an account with the company by uploading either a driver's license, passport, or passport card. Users are then told to use a cell phone camera or their computer's webcam to take a selfie. According to ID.Me's website, the company uses a face match facial recognition system to verify the selfie matches the provided government document. If approved in ID.me's system, users can then use these credentials to verify their identity across any of ID.m.me's partners. If ID.m.me's system fails to verify a selfie or flags other issues that could be considered fraud, the user may then join a

Starting point is 00:14:08 recorded video call with an ID.combe representative called a trusted referee. ID.me claims it has verified more than 2.8 million people through these referees and has begun implementing some in-person identity verification options. across the country. ID.Me offers multiple relief valves or escape hatches to ensure there is always a path forward for everyone, the company said. We are committed to a policy of no identity left behind, end quote. Though that may be the case in many situations, it's unclear if IRS filers have any equivalent escape hatch. When asked whether there were alternative options for filers who lack access to adequate technology or who are unwilling to submit their personal biometrics,

Starting point is 00:14:46 an IRS spokesperson directed Gizmodo to a site providing details on how to request physical transcripts by mail. Neither the IRS nor ID.Me could provide any specific examples of how to access tax documents online without providing a face scan. At least as of this writing, ID.me's verification process does not work perfectly either. One member of Gizmodo's staff was unable to verify their image due to the quality of their webcam. Unable to resolve the issue, that person opted to ditch the digital system entirely and file their payment by mail. I went through the first stages of completing an ID.me application to see what it was like. The process required me to submit a photocopy of my driver's license as well as a face scan using my phone's front camera.

Starting point is 00:15:28 ID.me then required I submit my social security number, and it requested permission to see information in my credit profile. Feeling sufficiently creeped out, I stopped short at that final stage, but had I continued, I would have given up a treasure trove of personal identifying information, including government documents, credit history, and detailed biometric data. quote. Yeah, as I said, this doesn't sound great. By the way, if like me you have to file stuff on the IRS.gov website all the time, have you ever noticed that you can never log in the first time anyway? Even just using login credentials and passwords requires two login attempts every

Starting point is 00:16:07 single time without fail. It's been this way for years and years and years. ID.Me apparently raised a $200 million round last summer. And so given my already skeptical belief in IRS.gov as a, you know, secure online resource, now they're asking me to docks myself to access my own tax records, even to pay my taxes. Like what crazy, generous stranger would be giving money to the government on my behalf? Quoting Don Moynihan on Twitter, private companies extracting rents by offering to reduce administrative burdens while also increasing burdens for their customers and everyone else, end quote. Brian Crabs of Krebs on security tried out the system as mentioned and found similar frustration with the experience, but he ended his piece by saying this, quote,

Starting point is 00:16:57 Over the years, I've tried to stress the importance of creating accounts online tied to your various identity, financial, and communication services before identity thieves do it for you. But all of those places where you should plant your flag conduct identity verification in an automated fashion using entirely static data points about consumers that have been breached many times over, like SSNs, data bursts, etc. Love it or hate it, ID.Me is likely to become one of those places where Americans need to plant their flag and mark their territory. If for no other reason, then, it will probably be needed at some point to manage your

Starting point is 00:17:28 relationship with the federal government and or your state. And given the potential time investment needed to successfully create an ID.comi account, it might be a good idea to do that before you're forced to do so at the last minute, such as waiting until the 11th hour to pay your quarter. or annual estimated taxes. If you visited the sign-in page at the U.S. Social Security Administration lately, you'll notice that on or around September 18th, the agency stopped allowing new accounts to be created with only a username and password. Anyone seeking to create an account at the SSA is now steered toward either ID.me or login.gov, a single sign-on solution for U.S.

Starting point is 00:18:03 government websites, end quote. Tonight, Twitter space, very interesting guests will give us a deep-dive background on the state of venture capital and the startup ecosystem generally. As we begin 2022, can't name them yet for various reasons, but this is a timely topic that we've been meaning to get to for a while now. We'll be at the usual time 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific. Turn on your Twitter app. Look for us and join us in the space. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 01/20 – Meta Wants To Bring NFTs To Your Insta Profile

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