Source Code

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TikTok’s favorite matchmaker on dating in a digital age Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

You may know Maria Avgitidis as “Matchmaker Maria,” TikTok’s favorite reviewer of dating profiles. She’ll tell you which pictures need to be swapped out, why putting your Instagram handle in your profile is a red flag, and whether you’re sharing too much or too little before you get swiped.

Avgitidis is also the owner of Agape Match, a high-end matchmaking company in New York City. For more than a decade, she’s been working with clients to help them find love in an increasing digital, app-centric world. It’s harder than ever to just meet someone in a bar, she said — and not just when a pandemic makes bars impossible.

For our second episode in a monthlong series about how tech is changing dating, love, relationships, sex and what it means to be a human in a world filled with other humans, Avgitidis told us about what it takes to make a perfect dating profile, how she helps her clients get off dating apps and into the real world, why swapping Instagram handles is more of a second-date thing, and much more.

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For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem, Sony buys Bungie, and Amazon’s union fight Feb 05, 2022

Show notes

First, a quick update on tech’s earnings. Then, Issie Lapowsky joins the show to discuss what Spotify can and should do about Joe Rogan, and why platforms keep having the same content issues. Next, Nick Statt explains why Sony bought Bungie, and what it says about the company’s vision for the future of gaming. Finally, Anna Kramer explains what’s happening with the union fight at Amazon warehouses, and the regulation that might be coming.

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For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

Hinge’s CEO wants you out of his app and back into the real world Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

Even during a pandemic-fueled period of lockdown and social distancing, dating apps have continued to boom. In part because they’re the only game in town; people can’t meet in bars or mingle at work functions, so they’re turning to apps as a way to find love. In fact, technology sits at the center of dating and relationships like never before. What does that mean a dating app should be?

That’s what Justin McLeod, the CEO of Hinge, spends his time thinking about. Hinge has been on a growth tear the last couple of years — McLeod said it’s the fastest-growing dating app on the market — as it tries to help users be more thoughtful, intentional and effective in finding someone to be with. Hinge’s thing has always been that it is “the dating app designed to be deleted,” which feels increasingly unusual in a market crowded with apps trying to steal your every waking second. (A disclaimer: Bennett Richardson, Protocol’s president, was in a former life a co-founder of Hinge.)

For the first episode in Source Code’s monthlong series about how tech is affecting love, dating, sex, relationships and everything else, McLeod joined the show to talk about the role of dating apps, what “dating” even means in an increasingly digital world, and what it means to build an app you hope people don’t really use.

For more on the topics in this episode:

Hinge
Justin McLeod on LinkedIn
Hinge's Chaotic Voice Prompts Are the Best Thing to Happen to Dating — Jezebel
Hinge’s founder gets vulnerable about data, addiction, and ‘Modern Love’ — Fast Company

For all the links and stories, head to

Source Code’s homepage.

Crypto winter, Netflix games, and robot writers Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

Ben Pimentel explains why crypto prices are falling, the regulation that has the industry nervous, and whether this is a blip on the radar or a true crypto winter. Then, Janko Roettgers helps us make sense of Netflix’s tough earnings report, and why the company is pushing hard into gaming. Finally, Kate Kaye updates us on the state of AI text generators, and the latest in GPT-3.

For more on the topics in this episode:

For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

How to be yourself in the metaverse Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Who will you be in the metaverse? It’s both a surprisingly philosophical question and a potentially critical one for businesses everywhere, as they continue to design what virtual worlds look like and how we live inside of them.

Akash Nigam has been working on his answers for a while. As CEO of Genies, he’s worked with celebrities like Justin Bieber and Rihanna to create digital avatars they can use for album releases, commercial shoots and to generally be places they can’t physically go. Now, Genies is working on something much bigger: an open, decentralized avatar system that lets anyone build their own metaverse character, and then build a world around it.

Nigam joined the Source Code podcast to talk about how avatars should look and work, and why they’re such a powerful and important thing to get right. He also explained why he thinks digital accessorizing is going to take over the fashion industry, why he’s out on photo-realistic avatars, and why the long-term vision for Web3 is so much more exciting than the current state of things.

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Microsoft buys Activision, antitrust ramps up and 5G gets crazy Jan 22, 2022

Show notes

Nick Statt joins the show to discuss Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and what it means for the tech and game industries. Then, Issie Lapowsky talks about a big week in antitrust reform, and whether real progress is being made in the U.S. Finally, Hirsh Chitkara explains why AT&T, Verizon, the FAA and airlines have been fighting for months about 5G coverage.

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For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

The post-password password manager Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Business is booming for 1Password. The company just announced it has raised $620 million, at a valuation of $6.8 billion, from a roster of A-list celebrities and well-known venture capitalists.

But what does a password manager need with $620 million? Jeff Shiner, 1Password’s CEO, has some plans. He’s building the team fast — 1Password has nearly tripled in size in the last two years, up to 500 employees, and plans to double again this year — while also expanding the vision of what a password manager can do. 1Password has long been a consumer-first product, but the biggest opportunity lies in bringing the company’s knowhow, its user experience, and its security chops into the business world. 1Password already has more than 100,000 business customers, and it plans to expand fast.

More broadly, Shiner said he wants to help companies and users alike rethink how security works. There’s really no other choice: Thanks to an increase in remote work, the overwhelming consumerization of business software, and a litany of new security problems around the industry, the days of “just log in to the VPN” are dying and not coming back. In its place, Shiner said he hopes 1Password can help usher in a better, and more secure, system.

Shiner joined the Source Code podcast to talk about 1Password’s new cash flow, its stance on everything from crypto wallets to Sign In With Google buttons, and how a password manager could take an increasingly central role in our online lives.

For more on the topics in this episode:

For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

Wordle, Web3, and four-day workweeks Jan 15, 2022

Show notes

Nick Statt joins the show to discuss the rise of Wordle, the subsequent rise of the Wordle clones, and why it’s so easy to copy a game. Then Ben Pimentel chats about the fight over Web3, why Jack Dorsey and Marc Andreessen are at odds, and the killer app for the future of the web. Finally, Allison Levitsky explains some of the big new future-of-work trends, including the four-day workweek and dog-walker perks.

For more on the topics in this episode:

For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

The online, metaverse-y future of learning Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

Nothing about the state of education feels “normal” right now. If you’re a parent, you’re trying to navigate hybrid learning, keeping up with medical advice, dealing with an onslaught of omicron, and trying to make sure your kids keep up through it all. And if you’re an adult, you’re looking for new ways to keep up in a world where every technology, every system, every tool and every job’s basic requirements seem to change all the time.

But in the midst of all that upheaval, there’s a real possibility of lasting change and improvement in education. “We know, broadly, that learning will become more available, it’ll be more online, and there’ll be a lot more people learning for a lot more of their lives,” said Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda. Coursera is focused on adult learning rather than the K-12 set, but is still grappling with many of the same questions about the future of learning, and how to take digital education far beyond just a recording of a lecture hall.

Maggioncalda and Coursera Chief Content Officer Betty Vandenbosch joined the Source Code podcast to talk about the chaotic state of online education, what’s next for corporate training, how softer skills are becoming part of the work curriculum, how learning might work in the metaverse, and much more.

For more on the topics in this episode:

For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

The end of the Theranos trial, and the hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto Dec 19, 2021

Show notes

For our last episode of 2021, Biz Carson joins the show to talk about the closing arguments in the Elizabeth Holmes trial, along with what we’ve learned about Theranos and the tech industry in general. Then, Ben Pimentel joins to discuss the CIA’s acknowledgement that it’s working on crypto projects — and why that got everyone talking about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin.

For more on the topics in this episode:

For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.