The Best One Yet - ⌨️ “QWERTY Makeover” – AI’s keyboard moment. Peloton’s TikTok collab. Walgreens’ Amazonian savior.

Episode Date: January 5, 2024

For the first time in 30 years, your keyboard is getting a new key — Microsoft is adding an AI key (but it’s really an AI ad).Peloton stock jumped 15% on its new partnership with TikTok — Prepare for Crissy Tiegen to lead your next yoga class… from Peloton… on TikTok.And Walgreens is cutting its sacred dividend, which sank the stock to a 26-year low — Which is why we think Amazon could acquire Walgreens.$PTON $MSFT $WBASubscribe to our newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. January 5th. And today's pod, it is the best one yet. It is a team boy, Jack. It's the top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, I'm sorry.

Can you whip out your crystal ball and stuff on your Merlin Road, please? Monday, yadies. We have our prediction podcast. We have our predictions pod. We got to spend all weekend like looking into the future. It's not really a prediction pod, though. It's more what we wish we're. would happen in 2024.

And we predict our wishes will come true on Monday. Jack, first story for today's pod, what do we got, man? For our first story, the computer keyboard is getting its first new key in 30 years. Clickety clack, clickety clack, yaddy's Microsoft is giving your computer an AI button. For our second story, it's Peloton. Peloton stock jumped 15% yesterday because it's partnering with TikTok. Peloton, just growth hacked, you're jumping jacks. And our third and final story is Walgreens.

Walgreens stock just hit a 26-year low after cutting their dividend in half. So Jack and I cooked up an idea for who should acquire Walgreens. But best is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories to go into the weekend with. By the way, best week of podcasts we have ever done this year, Jack. That is correct, by definition. But yet, we're only one week into this year, 2024. And yet we already have the greatest sports story of 2024.

This week, for the first time ever, someone beat Tetris. Someone beat Tetris, like Tetris, the video game Tetris. The agonizingly stressful game of falling digital blocks. Tetris, players experience a wide range of emotions playing Tetris. From the torment of the accidentally flipped T-block. To the elation of a four-row line clear with the eye block you have been waiting for. Tetris is an organizational enigma of 90-degree angled blocks. And that enigma was invented by Soviet engineers back in 1985 before we were even born.

Yeah. And since 1985, it's become the most played video game of all time. Yet in that 40-year history of Tetris, get this, no one has ever beaten Tetris. That's right. You play until you lose. You don't win Tetris. Tetris wins you. Or Jack, as they say in Soviet Russia, you don't play Tetris. Tetris plays you. Dude, there's some kind of like a leprechaun here. Give me one more, a little less Scottish. Okay, okay. So with Russia, they don't play Tetris.

Tetris plays yeh. Until now. Because Yeties, 13-year-old Willis Gibson of the great state of Oklahoma just beat Tetris. This 13-year-old boy hit a score of 99,99,999.999. points. Okay, that is literally the highest score that the scoreboard of Tetris can even physically handle. And no one's ever done that. Check, what happened after this point did what he just did. The game froze. Yeah, yeah, he had such a high score playing Tetris. This guy literally broke Tetris. The screen turned black because Tetris literally ran out of blocks. It's called the kill screen.

Willis reached the end of the game's physical possible computer code. It's the ultimate achievement of video gaming and no one's ever done it with Tetris. Tetraceous had literally had no more blocks to drop. It couldn't spare a square. So yet he's Jack and I thought we'd never see the day. Game over, Tetris. Game over. Let's in our three stars. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm.

They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know you know because we're ready to go, we can't wait no more. Let's start the show. Start the show.

For our first story. For the first time in 30 years, Microsoft is changing the computer keyboard. That's right. We're about to get an AI button on all new PCs. Jack, before we start this story, can we play a little word association together? You ready? You ready? I'd love to.

I'm going to throw out you three words and let me know what you think. All right, here we go. Here we go. Type to learn. What does that bring up for you? Type to learn. Type to learn. Do you remember type to learn?

I don't know, man. You guys didn't use type to-or. I've never been properly, classically trained in keyboard writing. You were just born with the abilities to type write, right? No, I just started by poking around and I just became fluent. You were a touch typeer out of the womb, were you, Jack? The rest of us had to take type to learn when we were in fourth grade to learn how to type. Do you pass?

I did, but it must have been nice being born known out of touch type, Jack. Well, I do have a trivia question about the keyboard. You ready for this? What's the longest English word you can type with just your left hand? It's a trick question. No, it's not. Okay, what's the answer? Sweeter dresses.

Oh, of course. But yet, he's in the 25 years since we learned how to touch type. The keyboard has been exactly the same. In fact, the standard quarti keyboard hasn't physically changed in America for 30 years. Jack, I'm looking at it right now. It's the same keyboard. Like, the B key is still really hard to reach. Yeah, but if you have to type the asterisk, you need acrobatics.

Don't even get me started on the P. I, like, pulled an. index finger on that thing when I was 12. Now, the QWERTY keyboard is considered optimal for the English language. Yes, it is because the most used letters are close to your fingers and the least used letters are further from your fingers. But Microsoft is disrupting that status quo. Here's the news, Yetis.

Microsoft is so confident in the future of artificial intelligence, they're adding AI to your keyboard. That's right. They're replacing one of the two command buttons with an AI button. Oh, Yeties, this is one. Jack and I found fascinating about this story. This is a big deal because the keyboard is not an unlimited resource, is it, Jack? The keyboard is a finite space for your fingers. It's like real estate, you know? Like, there's not a lot of it. So like, where is this item going to be, this new key? Right next to downtown. That's where it's going to be. That is some valuable

real estate. This is getting like Fifth Avenue, Oceanside real estate for this new key. The new AI key is directly to the right of the space bar and to the left of the menu button. I would pay up for that real estate check. And here's what it looks like. A little origami butterfly. It's not the letters AI. It's a little symbol. These keyboards are going to start having this new symbol that looks like two Apple Watches mating with each other.

The new AI button, it looks like a modernized Clippy. Like Clippy had a midlife crisis and Gen T gave it a makeover. That's the new AI button on PCs. That's the newest button you're going to get on your keyboard for the first time in 30 years. And if you tap that new button, then Microsoft's co-pilot, which is their AI assistant, it's going to pop up on the sidebar of your computer screen. Yetis, add it all up. And this is the biggest addition to the keyboard since Control F.

And it's coming to new Microsoft PCs this year. So time to press our takeaway. Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who use keyboards? This isn't a new keyboard key. This is a new advertisement. Okay, Yeties, let's do a little exercise together. Check out your TV's remote control. And let us know, does that remote control have a red Netflix button on it?

Probably does. And that's not just convenient for Netflix. That is an ad for Netflix on your remote. Okay, because get this. Back in 2011, Netflix paid TV makers $1 per remote to add a physical Netflix button. They spent millions of dollars on adding Netflix buttons to remote. Because Netflix knew a physical button would stand out in a world of digital apps. It's the same for Microsoft's new AI keyboard button. It's an always-there ad for their AI assistant. Because co-pilot isn't free. Microsoft is charging $30 a month right now to even use it.

Jack, does that mean what I think it means? This new key, it's an ad you'll see every day on your computer for Microsoft's new profit puppy. Jack, this is the only key on your keyboard. That is paywalled. Right. You can't use it unless you pay $30 a month. It's like they charged us a subscription to use the spaceball. So it's actually pretty ironic.

In order to get you to use the new future of technology, artificial intelligence. Microsoft is betting on an old school hardware from the typewriter. A new AI key, which is a new AI ad. For our second story, Peloton, its stock surged on Thursday, thanks to a brand new shocking partnership with TikTok. And that means Peloton has finally decided what industry it's in. It took a few years, but hey, they got there, Jack, and that is the most important point, man. Full disclosure, Nick and I are both Peloton riders.

But apparently we're the only ones. Cody Riggs would be 30 minutes still feeling it in the glutes. Yet he's, after the pandemic, Peloton pulled a hammy and its growth disappeared. But in May, Peloton announced a brand new turnaround plan. They were going to transform the company from an exclusive membership club with $2,000 bikes, to an accessible fitness app, priced a new. as low as $13 a month. Peloton's New Year's resolution is to get itself into shape, Jack.

True. But they also announced a brand new slogan. Peloton was going to be for anyone, anywhere. And starting today, that now includes TikTok. Here's the news, besties, Pelotons partnering with TikTok. Palaton stock jumped 15% like it was doing a burpee on this shocking TikTok news. TikTok carved out a special content hub where it's going to let Peloton put a whole bunch of fitness classes on the app.

Andy's Peloton is going to get featured placement on the world's number one social media app. Jack, can you please sprinkle on a little context for us over there? It's not just Nick and me riding a Peloton. There's actually 3 million Pelotonistas right now. But the brand is about to reach an audience of one billion TikTokers. But yet he's back in 2019. Nick and I actually attended our first ever IPO. Jack, I am so glad you brought up this extra context, man.

We were at the Peloton IPO in 2019. We were at NASDAQ. I remember your hair. Looked the same. You were looking fantastic, by the way. I was a different hair product. It didn't look the same. But I appreciate what you're saying.

I love what you're putting out, Jack. Nick and I interviewed the CMO at the time, and we learned a bunch about the company. So yet, as Jack and I were preparing today's story, we decided to go back to Peloton's IPO paperwork from five years ago. Back then, Peloton boasted that they weren't just a fitness company. They were also a tech company, a software company. hardware company, media company, apparel company, and logistics company. It feels like too many companies, Jack. It was too many industries.

But this TikTok deal shows they finally realize what they really are. Peloton finally realized that they're a media company. With this new partnership, they're going to offer a whole bunch of five-minute core workouts and wind down yoga routines exclusive to the TikTok app. And yet is you won't need a Peloton bike to watch Peloton's weekly stretching class exclusively on TikTok. You're also going to see non-fitness content. You're going to get the behind-the-scenes videos of Cody Rigsby as he chows down on a burrito right before his 30-minute pop ride.

It's a burrito before his pop ride. If you ride Cody, you know he does, Jack. Or you're going to see how Ali Love selects what song should be on the playlist for that class you took yesterday. Inspired by Cody Rigsby's burrito. Bestie's Peloton stock jumped 15%. Mostly because they finally honed in on their true industry. After five years, they finally realized that Peloton is really a media company. Not a company in seven different industries.

They're not a software hardware, gym media fitness apparel, but she's the same that is a network company. So Jack and I realized our takeaway. Jack, what's our takeaway for our buddies over at Peloton? Word of mouth is great. Word of famous mouth is better. Oh, I like what you did there.

Yeties, the most powerful part about this Peloton TikTok deal, we think it's the celebrity collaborations. Cody Rigsby, Ali Love, Alex Toussaint, Peloton's instructors are awesome and they're great at engaging their existing fans. But here's the key. Celebrity collaborations with influencers as instructors could bring new people to try out Peloton. It reaches the new audience. And that's what they're going to do with this new TikTok deal.

Because Melissa Wood could be teaching spiritual spinning classes on TikTok for Peloton to reach a new audience. And through this TikTok deal, Trevor Noah could do a guided run through South Africa. And that would bring Trevor Noah's audience to Peloton. I mean, Jack, I don't want to get ahead of her. ourselves here, but what of a couple of podcasts co-hosts ran a spin class while sharing that morning's business news? Just let me limber up for a second, and I'm down. I think I know a guy, and that would bring the besties and the Yetis to Peloton through TikTok. With this TikTok deal, Peloton's finally realizing it's a media company. And we think its biggest growth opportunity

is the instructor-influencer collab. Get ready to see a bunch of them on TikTok. For our third and final story of the week, Walgreen Stock, just, at its lowest point in 26 years. This is Farmageddon. With so much drama at America's pharmacy chain, we have a dramatic solution. But Jack, let's start with a really nice tradition. How about we do that, man? For more than 90 years, Walgreens has had a wonderful tradition. Walgreens has sent a quarterly cash check to all their shareholders. So nice. It's called a dividend. It's a dividend. If you own Walgreens stock, you get your share of Walgreens profits in cash. But, Walgreens just poured cold water on that tradition.

Yetis, Walgreens just cut their dividend by 50%. They just cut their dividend in half. It's their first dividend cut in 50 years. Yeti's Walgreens stock is now down 75% from its all-time high. Walgreens stock is the same place it was 26 years ago. Grab an ice pack to Advil and call us in the morning, Walgreens. Now, why is Walgreens struggling? Where do we start?

Walgreens is like a patient who walks into a doctor's office and has six different symptoms. Last year, we had Farmigan. Pharmacists walked off the job at Walgreens to protest their working conditions. Since COVID hit, workers say they're understaffed, overworked, and underpaid over at Walgreens, so they're pushing back. Meanwhile, Walgreens faces fierce competition from online pharmacies and from Walmart, too. And Walgreens had to pay almost $4 billion for their role in America's opioid epidemic.

And it's been a light flu season. Gazentine. Walgreens sold way fewer flu shots and cough drops than they hoped this fall. And full disclosure, Jack, I just walked into a Walgreens. Frankly, it's a pretty confusing experience, man. The store kind of has like health care over there, frozen food over here. They're trying to be everything to everyone, which means they're nothing to no one. The same aisle has candy, coconut water, and condoms.

What is going on? Yet he's added all up, and Walgreens basically has a cough, a cold, and post-nasal drip. So they say they're cutting their dividend to save some. much-needed cash and shore up their finances. But Jack and I have another idea to shore up their finances. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Walgreens? Amazon should acquire Walgreens. Amazon should acquire Walgreens.

Jack, let's play this one out a little more. What if Amazon acquired Walgreens? It would get Amazon physically very close to just about every American. Yeah, he's get this. 78% of Americans live within five miles of one of Walgreens, 8,700 locations. And if Amazon took over those 8,700 locations, they could renovate them to focus on healthcare and e-commerce. Amazon could stick a one medical clinic which they own in every Walgreens location. They could techify the pharmacy with home delivery and pill pack.

And they could use part of each store for Amazon returns and local Amazon delivery. And of course, they'd introduce palm scanning self-checkout, Alexa for customer service, and let Prime members skip the line. Yeties, Amazon has tried for years to crack American health care. 9,000 physical locations, that could be the solution. Oh, and the best part for Amazon, after Walgreens 75% stock drop, the whole company would only cost $19 billion to buy. Walgreens is on sale, baby. Buying Walgreens would only cost one and a half percent of Amazon's market value. Yadies, we got a prescription for Amazon and Walgreens.

And that prescription is to buy Walgreens. Actually, I'm not sure if I got that right. I think you did it. I think you did it. If Amazon wants to finally put its flag into American health care, it should acquire Walgreens. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Microsoft is adding a new key to the keyboard, an AI key. It's not an AI key. This is an AI ad. For our second story, it's Peloton.

They're getting a special content hub within the TikTok app. Word of mouth is great. Word of famous mouth is better. Great emphasis. And our third and final story is Walgreens. The stock just fell to a 26-year low as they cut their dividend in half. So we think Amazon should stick Walgreens in their shopping cart. We think Amazon should acquire Walgreens. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet.

Here's what else you need to know today. First, it is Jobs Report Friday. Yeties, we are getting the Jobs Report for December coming out this morning. Unemployment is still at a very low 3.7%. We'll see how that changed in December. And second, Mark Zuckerberg just sold $400 million of meta stock. And by the way, meta stock has tripled in the last year. No one knows more about meta than Zucka.

And finally, a good luck and stay warm to the northeast of the United States, which is expected to get its biggest snow in two years. I think they're excited for it because New York, Central Park of New York City has not had an inch of snow in 700 days. We've been missing that blankety white goodness of powdery marshmallow with snow jack. Elf hasn't been able to make any snowballs. You've got to watch out for those Central Park Rangers, man.

Never forget the Simon and Garfunkel concert of 1964. If you know, you know. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Jack Leonard from lovely Lancaster, Pennsylvania. What is up, besties? It is a new year, and that means Oscar season is right around the corner. So here is some Academy Awards trivia for you. With 14 total nominations, Titanic is the film to receive the most nominations without anyone in the cast winning in any of the best actor or best actress categories.

Don't worry, Kate and Leo both went on to win in the future, Kate in 2009 with The Revenant and Leo in 2016 with the Revenant. Have a great day. Oh man, he didn't frame it in the form of a trivia question. It would have been a good trivia question. I was so excited. I would have got the Revenant. I wouldn't have got the reader. Jack, can I share something a little personal with you?

Sure. actually never seen Titanic. And you've never seen Hamilton either. I don't even know if I was allowed. I think it was a PG-13 before we were like, you know, I wasn't violating the rules over here. I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go. I'm not even sure if that's the line, actually.

But I was thrilled that Leo's name was the same name as me. I guess you channel Leo when you touch type when you were three years old, Jack. Yeties, you looked fantastic for the first week of 2024. Jack and I are going to whip up the predictions wishes. Pod for Monday, aren't we, Jack? Our three bold business wishes for 2024, we're publishing that episode on Monday. In the meantime, celebrate some early wins of the year. Follow us at T-Boy Pod.

Drop and give us five stars, and Jack and I, we'll see you Monday. Sweater dresses. That was it. And before we go, a congratulations and good luck to our buddy Yeti, Jan Ergul, who's moving from Istanbul, Turkey. to New York City, you got this man. And a big shout-out to Brad and Rama in Piedmont, California, who look legendary in their fresh T-boy merch.

Guys, you are looking fantastic. And Bradley and Torreanne are celebrating an 11-year anniversary down in Connecticut. Happy two years together to Kenny and Maddie Young, celebrating the anniversary over in Atlanta. And J.P. Perez is not doing too shabby. He got married and he got his MBA in Chicago doing logistics. And happy birthday to Land Lee, who's celebrating with Ken.

and Keanu in Lake Worth, Texas. And Chris Thomas is on his way to his second semester of his second year of med school and join a birthday. And happy birthday to Kylie Giordano, who listened to us while studying abroad in London, now back home, just outside Boston. Just outside Boston.

And to anyone else, celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Netflix, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Peloton. Well, dude, it would have been so much fun to be in, like, the creative room where they came off for that sound. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's more, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.