Pivot

Latest Episodes:

Trump vs. Iran on Twitter, more on HQ2 incentives, and 'mandatory happiness' Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about how Trump has been escalating US conflict with Iran on Twitter. They also discuss how politics were downplayed at the Golden Globes, but big tech took a lot of snark -- especially from our favorite rebel Sascha Baron Cohen. Kara's win is Richard Plepler, the former CEO/Chairman of HBO moving his production company to Apple. In fails, it turns out that New York City offered Amazon even more incentives for HQ2 than previously reported. Plus Kara and Scott give us some "mandatory moments of happiness".

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California is regulating consumer data privacy, the gig economy revisited, and Tesla’s big stock spike. Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

Kara and Scott are back to talk about a suite of new regulations in California that will give consumers agency over their data and gig workers more protection. They also talk about Tesla's big stock spike. In fails, Sharon Stone was kicked off the Bumble dating app. And Kara brings some optimistic predictions to the show -- she thinks handheld phone devices will be a thing of the past by 2030.

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"Friends of Pivot" breakdown the big stories of the decade Dec 27, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott look back at the 2010s and the biggest stories of the decade with the help of some friends. With cameos from Colorado Senator Michael Bennett, Girls Who Code Founder/CEO Reshma Saujani, and Former HBO CEO/Chairman Richard Plepler, they break down the moments in tech, leadership, politics and media that defined the time. Plus Kara and Scott reflect on some of their own personal growth over the past ten years -- with their parents.

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Impeachment… it happened, Peter Thiel’s influence at Facebook, and prediction: “FedEx gets acquired" Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about what impeachment might mean for business. Also they talk about Peter Thiel's influence behind the scenes at Facebook and their political ad policies. Meanwhile, SoftBank is on an on-going disaster. A personal win for Kara is Amazon banning third-party sellers from using FedEx (after her recent tweet-storm). Which brings Scott to predict that FedEx will get acquired in the next couple of years.

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What’s up with the China/US trade deal, why haven’t “smart guns” popularized, and who is going to stream the NFL? Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about the "Phase One" trade agreement between the US and China and what it means for big tech. It's the anniversary of the tragic Sandy Hook shooting and Kara and Scott talk about how tech could mitigate gun violence and how people are buying "ghost guns" online. In listener mail, we get a question about whether Amazon will buy rights to stream NFL games when their contracts with major networks end in 2022. In predictions, Scott says we'll hear more about Apple's relationship with China in the next year.

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Netflix Golden Globe noms, bipartisan agreement on encryption, and Amazon's plan for fashion Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about Congress' hearing on regulating end-to-end encryption on messaging apps. They discussJack Dorsey's tweet storm about building a small internal open source team. We get updates on leadership at Away. In Friend of Pivot, we hear from legendary fashion and media icon Joanna Coles on what Amazon wants out of the fashion industry. Scott's win is the Silicon Valley finale. Kara's fail are people like AG Bill Barr who continue to protect Trump. In predictions, Scott thinks we'll be talking about the effect internet porn has on developing minds.

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A letter to Twitter, Uber's data transparency, and Away proves startup culture is rough Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about a letter Scott wrote to the board about concerns at Twitter. They discuss Uber's data report on sexual assault that occurred in their rides. In fails, Kara and Scott get into a new story about the brutal culture at Away. Aviation gin's "sequel" to the Peloton ad is everybody's win!

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CEO’s are out (literally), France's "digital service tax” is in, and 'innovator privilege’ Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about leaderships shifts at Google -- Larry and Sergey are out and Sundar Pichai is in. In Friend of Pivot we hear from French lawyer, Dan Shefet about France's newly approved "digital service tax". Also, Pelosi announced that Section 230 won't carry over into trade deals with Mexico and Canada. Kamala Harris is the winner this week -- she may not be president in 2020, but Scott's predicting she'll be someone's VEEP. In fails Scott rants about Elon Musk and his defense of a defamation case in which he called someone a "pedo guy".

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Dorsey moves to Africa and streaming platforms trump movie theaters Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Pivot 2x! Our first twice weekly episode. Kara and Scott talk about the future of Twitter as Jack Dorsey announces he's off to live in Africa. They discuss the streaming wars and how movies fared on on platform versus in movie theaters. In listener mail they talk about the failures of logistics companies (specifically FedEx). Prediction: Twitter loses value next year and an activist investor steps in.

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London gives Uber the boot, the billionaire's 2020 strategy, and streaming wars continue Nov 29, 2019

Show notes

Kara and Scott talk about Uber getting kicked out of its biggest EU market, London. They parse out the ad, media and digital strategy of Michael Bloomberg in his quest for the White House. In Friend of Pivot, Kara and Scott have different takes on Google's recent firings of 4 employee labor organizers. In wins, Pivot welcomes Sacha Baron Cohen to the resistance for his speech about regulating social media platforms. Kara thinks Mark Zuckerberg failed this year in his "personal challenge" to have a series of public conversations about the future of tech -- of the 9 people he interviewed, 8 were men and they were all white.

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