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Speak with any finance expert and they'll tell you the key to long-term wealth is asset accumulation. This is for two reasons. First, assets earn you money while you sleep and, second, they usually appreciate the longer you hold on to them. A house will be worth more in twenty years than it is today if past performance is anything to go by. Likewise, a bar of gold will be too. Our finance expert should also tell you to invest in assets that pay you income, like a business, rental property or a dividend stock. Owning an income-paying asset usually requires an upfront investment. To own a piece of a business you either need capital to buy into it or time and sweat equity to build it. Likewise, owning rental property requires either a large cash lump sum or a long-term mortgage. In other words, acquiring physical assets requires time, effort and/or capital. Intangible digital assets are a new investing opportunity We're in a period of accelerated change and are deeply entrenched in the digital revolution which started in the 1990s and has many decades more to play out. We're in the era of what MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor, calls the "dematerialization of industries." This is where individual products and entire industries are becoming digitised largely because of the iPhone. "The iPhone has dematerialized everything you can hold in your hand. Books, cameras, wallets, TVs etc have all dematerialized into the Apple network. Every wealthy person I know has an iPhone which means 90% of the wealth on the planet is going to get everything from the multi-trillion dollar Apple network." Michael Saylor Dematerialization is nothing new. The idea of buying a CD to listen to music or a DVD to watch a film seems ridiculous today. And, of course, no-one has sent a letter in decades. Dematerialization is making intangible digital assets a new investing opportunity. The internet is creating new asset classes that perhaps can benefit everybody not just the wealthy. Bitcoin is the ultimate digital asset The current bitcoin narrative is it is the digital version of gold. This is because both gold and bitcoin share similar intangible properties. Tangibly they couldn't be further apart since gold is a lump of metal and bitcoin is lines of code. Intangibly they share qualities such as scarcity and fungibility which help to increase their value. Michael Saylor believes bitcoin is a better asset than gold and has put his money where his mouth is. Earlier this year, MicroStrategy bought $425 million worth of bitcoin with its cash reserves. The reason being is that the cash was losing value each year - especially in the Covid era of quantitive easing - and bitcoin is proving to be an excellent store of wealth. This meme video explains his reasons well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFwj-6RGGC8 Domain names are one of the oldest digital assets Saylor obviously understands the long-term value of holding digital assets. MicroStrategy owns several premium domain names which the company has held for many years. Some of these include stategy.com, glory.com and speaker.com among others. Last year the company sold voice.com for a cool $30 million. You don't have to own a premium domain name to consider it an asset. For example, take my site's URL. Given my name is the actual URL, chances are it will only have value to me and those who share the same name as me. Nevertheless, a digital asset it is. It's not just TLDs that have value also. Social media handles and names can go for thousands on the black market. Social networks such as Twitter does not permit the trading of its usernames but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Domain names are one of the oldest digital assets and despite the increase of new domain extensions (.co, .biz etc) and country-level domains (.co.uk, .de etc) they continue to hold and increase their value today.

Josh Lachkovic is the founder & CEO of Wine List. Prior to launching Wine List, Josh had a career in marketing & growth, starting his career in content, SEO, and insights at PR agency Hotwire. He then joined Pact Coffee's growth team to turn his hand to print marketing and partnerships. Following this he went to an education company where he was responsible for breathing startup process into an established business. Before founding The Wine List he spent three years as employee number one at digital health company, Thriva, where he led and built the growth side of the business. Show highlights 3:55 Josh introduces himself and how he got to where he is today. 7:21 From a passion to a business. How Josh got into the wine business. 9:38 The Wine List business model. 14:34 Josh teaches Ste a bit about wine. 20:52 Acquiring customers for The Wine List. 24:48 How Covid-19 has accelerated the ecommerce industry. 33:44 Is Amazon making it difficult for DTC brands to compete? 38:56 The current state of Facebook ads. 44:21 The one book Josh recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast The Wine List - thewinelist.net Josh on Twitter - @JoshLachkovic The Wine List on Twitter - @thewinelist_uk Jeff Raider on founding Warby Parker and Harry's - Spotify Taylor Lorenz article on TikTok - nytimes.com Josh's book recommendation - Alchemy

Dan is the co-founder of 3Speak.online, a video platform providing a censor-free environment for content creators who have been de-platformed or demonetised by Silicon Valley. Dan is also an entrepreneur, investor and crypto enthusiast. Show highlights 3:03 Dan introduces himself and how he got to where he is today. 5:40 Mainstream censorship and why Dan co-founded 3Speak. 13:22 Dan the formation of Hive and the Steem controversy. 19:48 The benefits of using Hive. 22:33 EOS and Voice.com. 24:51 Consensus and community. Moving from Web 2 to Web 3. 30:40 Bitcoin maximalism vs the tokenisation of everything. 32:40 Applying lessons from poker to investing. 34:40 Dan's currently dancing in the markets. 37:00 The one book Dan recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Dan on 3Speak - 3speak.online PeakD - peakd.com Steem to Freeze Another $5M in Tokens Associated With Hive Supporters - cointelegraph.com LBRY - lbry.com Voice - voice.com Brave browser - stedavies.com Dan's book recommendation - Mastery

Danny is currently the CEO and co-founder of CoinCorner, a bitcoin exchange in the UK. A software developer turned entrepreneur, Danny first heard of bitcoin during University in 2009, but didn't pay attention to it until 2011/12 while working at an internet startup that looked to use it as a competitive advantage. After this company was successfully acquired he went on to co-found a software company in 2012. Providing software solutions, the business worked with clients such as Microsoft and Tunstall Health Care. After trying to buy and mine bitcoin (both proved difficult to do in 2013) with his co-founder, they recognised that there was a gap in the UK market for a safe and simple place to buy bitcoin. CoinCorner was founded in 2014 with the aim of making bitcoin easy and accessible to UK customers and now, 6 years on, CoinCorner is one of the UK's leading bitcoin exchanges.  Show highlights 1:57 Danny introduces himself, CoinCorner and how he got into bitcoin. 14:30 How to explain bitcoin to someone who's new to it. 18:50 The big picture narrative of bitcoin. 26:56 The concept of money has changed throughout time. 29:31 The current state of bitcoin in 2020. 34:21 Bitcoin adoption in the UK and how the government and public have responded to it. 48:02 Bitcoin maximalism vs altcoin acceptance. 55:34 The advice Danny would give to someone looking to get into bitcoin. 60:52 Danny's one book he recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast CoinCorner - coincorner.com Danny on Twitter - @CoinCornerDanny Mt. Gox - wikipedia.org The bitcoin whitepaper - bitcoin.org The Lightning Network - investopedia.com Paul Tudor Jones buys bitcoin as a hedge against inflation - bloomberg.com FCA provides clarity on current cryptoassets regulation - fca.org.uk Hyperbitcoinization - stedavies.com How to buy bitcoin in the UK Danny's book recommendation - Factfulness

"Markets are conversations" is the central theme of the 1999 book, The Cluetrain Manifesto, which predicted that the internet was about to unleash new ways for people to communicate with each other. This Cambrian explosion of conversations would inevitably allow businesses to be a part of them creating a new dynamic of brand and customer interaction. The book says as the internet proliferated throughout the world, new channels such as websites, forums, chat groups and email would revolutionise how consumers and businesses interact. Noticeably the authors failed to predict the rise of blogs, podcasts, online video and social media platforms, as well as the smartphone revolution and its accompanying apps. They also failed to predict the major cultural and political impact social media would have (and is still having) on society too. Predicting the future is hard and anything beyond five years is just a guess. The world was a different place in 1999 yet The Cluetrain Manifesto provided (an underestimated) glimpse into the changing paradigm that was heading our way. Financial markets are conversations too Another trend on the horizon is the coming together of mobile, social media and the financial markets. A perfect storm is brewing between smartphone apps that provide easy access to the markets and the formation of communities and influencers who can collectively manipulate the price of a financial asset like a stock or crypto. These apps are giving people around the world access to high profile stocks, ETFs and commodities on well-known indexes like the Nasdaq, S&P and FTSE. You don't have to be rich to use them either. You can buy a fractional share of a stock meaning you don't have to buy a whole one but instead a fraction of one. For example, a 19-year-old in Europe can invest in Tesla by buying a fraction of a Tesla stock. All within seconds and from the comfort of her home even though Tesla is an US company listed on a US exchange. What's more, most of these apps don't charge a fee to buy and sell stocks so our budding investor can buy as little as £1's worth without having to pay a charge. She can then brag to her friends about which 'super brand' stocks she owns such as Nike, Visa, Apple, Amazon and now Tesla, all for as much or as little investment she can afford. The app that's received the most coverage in recent months is Robinhood. With 13 million users it's had a dramatic rise during the coronavirus pandemic as furloughed Americans invest their hard-earned money in the attempt to make more of it. The app is not without controversy, of course, but Robinhood has given Americans access to the stock markets that was previously reserved for only a few. The video below outlines the story behind the app and why the founders created it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3rk5aWKcg The Robinhood story Financial apps in other countries are providing a similar service too. Trading 212 in the UK, Stake in Australia and INDmoney in India to name a few illustrate this is not just a US phenomenon but a growing global one too. The proliferation of these apps come with risk and the occasional story in the media about an amateur trader who lost their life savings make the point. But it's the democratisation of the markets that seem the most interesting to me. What does it mean when anyone anywhere can trade and invest in the same financial instruments as professionals do on Wall Street and in the City of London? Unless there is some government ban there is not going back from here. The technological infrastructure is in place and communities of amateur investors are growing at a rapid rate. This is more than just a passing but rather there is something more fundamental and long term taking place. While we're still in the early days we're seeing a growing number of examples of where online communities and influencers are moving asset prices.

If you've spent any time lurking around the bitcoin community on Twitter or Reddit as I have you may have come across the term 'hyperbitcoinization'. This is the theory where bitcoin surpasses all global currencies, including the US dollar, to become the world's reserve currency and, ultimately, the world's only currency. The hyperbitcoinization theory is, of course, just that - a theory. At the time of writing, the dollar is very much still the world's reserve currency and the eleven-year-old bitcoin has a market cap of $183 billion with comparatively low adoption. If hyperbitcoinization was ever to happen it would require a devaluation of the world's major currencies and thus forcing governments and people to adopt The Bitcoin Standard. Given we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dollar's position as the world's reserve currency is likely to strengthen in the short-term as investors see it as a safe-haven to temporarily preserve wealth as financial turmoil and trade wars begin to play out in the coming years. As the Federal Reserve continues to print off trillions of dollars via quantitive easing to prop up the struggling US economy this may eventually devalue the dollar or, worse, destabilise it. The severity of the situation in the years to come will dictate the odds of bitcoin - or something like it - becoming the global reserve currency. While this might sound farfetched it is in fact the normal state of play. New currencies have surpassed old ones for thousands of years. The changing of currencies The Latin definition of the word currency means 'in circulation' and before the invention of coins shells were the most circulated form of money and traded throughout the world. So too was silver and more recently gold. Modern paper money was originally backed by the amount of gold stored in a country's vaults known as the gold standard. Today, however, paper money is not backed by anything other than a country's promise to honour it. The world's reserve currency has also changed throughout history and is usually correlated to the country with the most powerful military. From 1450 to 1530 the world's reserve currency belonged to the Portuguese. Then from 1530 to 1640 the Spanish, 1640 to 1720 the Dutch, 1720 to 1815 the French, 1815 to 1920 the British and from 1920 to present day the USA. The connection? The country with the world's reserve currency was (or is) the global superpower at the time. If history is anything to go by, the US dollar will lose its status as the world's reserve currency eventually. The question is what will dethrone it? Despite being the world's second largest economy China has little to no interest in making the renminbi the global reserve. As an exporting nation and with cheap labour the Chinese government prefer to keep the renminbi relatively weak alongside other currencies. It's also worth noting that historically the changing of a world reserve currency usually involves war. The last time followed World War 1. The function of money Money has to fulfil three functions to be a viable currency. These are: A medium of exchange - facilitating the exchange of goods and services A unit of account - a measure of value in the economic system A store of value - allowing individuals to decide when they spend it All currencies throughout history have, to some extent, met these three criteria. The dollar, pound, yen etc all do along with being backed by strong democratic governments. Most currencies are increasingly losing their function as a long-term store of value as you can see with the dollar in the illustration below. Decline of the dollar / howmuch.net To preserve wealth today one must keep it in assets rather than money because of inflation. The value of the dollar decreases over time where the value of an asset such as gold, stocks, property and so on tends to increase over time.

Scott Guthrie is a strategic influencer marketing consultant, conference speaker, guest university lecturer, top 10 PR blogger, and media commentator. He is co-chair of the CIPR influencer marketing panel, a PRCA council member, a founding member of the BCMA influencer marketing steering group and an editorial board member of both Talking Influence and Influence publications. Show highlights 1:57 Looking ahead to 2020 and beyond in influencer marketing. 2:45 The shifting demand for influencer data. 7:37 The importance of storytelling. 11:40 The virtual influencers. 17:07 Michael Bloomberg's campaign working with influencer marketing platform. 21:40 Influencers exploiting the coronavirus to increase engagement. 26:44 Influencer marketing on Instagram. 38:33 The wider influence sphere going beyond influencer marketing. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Scott's influencer marketing trends for 2020 - sabguthrie.info Scott's influencer marketing in 2019 review - sabguthrie.info Scott on Twitter - @sabguthrie Scott and Ste's first podcast - stedavies.com Lil Miquela - wikipedia.org Billionaire presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg assigns chunk of advertising budget to influencer platform Tribe - mumbrella.com.au

Alexandra Pavliuc is a social network analyst, whose research on disinformation operations has been published by NATO Defense Strategic Communications and funded by the Mozilla Foundation. Findings from her research have been disseminated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Engineering & Technology Magazine, and The Startup. Alexandra has collaborated with government bodies to develop disinformation research tools, and teaches data science for Decoded in London. Alexandra holds an MSc in Data Science from City, University of London, as well as a BA in Professional Communication and a Minor in Physics from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. Show highlights 1:13 Alexa introduces herself and her main focus areas in social network analysis. 2:06 Alexa introduces the research she carried out looking at state-backed disinformation operations on the Twitter platform. 5:28 Alexa provides a description on what disinformation in social media means 8:27 Comparing the datasets from six different state-backed disinformation operations. 15:07 Are the social networks more open with sharing data and information with third-party analysts? 17:33 Describing the Internet Research Agency. 20:55 Which countries are the most sophisticated when it comes to influence operations. 23:55 China's use of Twitter accounts during the Hong Kong protests. 27:47 The growing industry of social network analysis for disinformation campaigns. 32:38 The one book Alexa recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Alexa's Twitter research - medium.com Alexa on Twitter - @APavliuc Alexa on LinkedIn - linkedin.com Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax - wikipedia.org Twitter shuts Chinese accounts targeting Hong Kong protests - apnews.com The Global Disinformation Order: 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation - ox.ac.uk Alex's book recommendation - How To Win The Information War

Des Martin is Head of Marketing & Growth at Brave. Prior to joining Brave Des lead marketing teams at Qualtrics, nearFrom and Perkbox. His north star is to do interesting things with interesting people. He is passionate about building a better web with new business models for content creators. Show highlights 1:48 Des introduces himself and the Brave browser. 10:59 Do consumers understand how much surveillance capitalism is tracking them and what is driving adoption? 14:43 User growth and migrating from Google Chrome. 17:59 Engaging with the Brave community on social media. 19:51 The Basic Attention Token and privacy-respecting adverts. 27:25 The two books Des recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Brave browser - brave.com Des on Twitter - @dessie_martin Des on LinkedIn - linkedin.com Ste's deep dive into his online privacy - stedavies.com Brave founder Brendan Eich - @BrendanEich Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - Amazon

Trey Ratcliff is an artist on a somewhat quixotic mission to help spread consciousness and mindfulness to the world through photography and creativity. Running the #1 travel photography blog in the world, StuckInCustoms.com, has taken him to all seven continents over the past decade, and Google has tracked more than 140 billion views of his photos, all while building a social media presence with over 5 million followers. Chris Anderson from TED called him a “pioneer” of the now ubiquitous genre of High Dynamic Range photography. Ratcliff had the first HDR photograph to hang in the Smithsonian Museum and, sales of his large-format limited edition prints to fine art collectors worldwide have grown into a multimillion-dollar business. In 2012, he moved his family and photography business to Queenstown, New Zealand, before it became a trendy doomsday contingency plan. He is based there with his wife, three children, and their dog, Blueberry. Show highlights 2:18 Trey introduces himself and what he does. 3:45 Trey discusses the background of his new book came about and why he decided to write it. 7:53 Influencer hollowness, identity crises and personal growth. 13:23 How big is influencer fraud? Is Instagram complacent or complicit? 15:31 If Instagram is the economy and engagement is the currency what do we do when a lot of the currency is fake? 21:21 How do we get back to the early days of social media when it was a positive and optimistic place? 23:50 Psychedelics for mental health and emotional trauma. 28:50 Narcissism and higher consciousness. The conflicting effects of social media 31:23 Trey's journey into photography and mindfulness. 32:34 Are there still opportunities for budding photographers in the era where everyone has a camera? 38:45 Trey's favorite city, meal and quote. 39:22 The one book Trey recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Trey's blog Stuck In Customs Under the Influence - How to Fake Your Way into Getting Rich on Instagram: Influencer Fraud, Selfies, Anxiety, Ego, and Mass Delusional Behavior (Amazon) Trey on Instagram Trey on Twitter Trey's How To Build Real Influence online course Sapiens book Dunbar's Number Alan Watts Terence McKenna

Nic Yeeles is the co-founder & CEO of Peg.co, an end-to-end software platform that powers influencer marketing for 1,700+ leading brands & agencies, across 169 countries. At just 12 years old, Nic started making videos as a hobby. He has since founded a video production company, a creative agency and co-ran the fastest growing YouTube channel in the world (gaining ~100m views) prior to building Peg. Along the way he’s worked with major global brands including Sony Music, Unilever, Adidas and Microsoft, as well as working with high profile online and offline personalities including Simon Cowell, Skrillex and Zoella. In his spare time he hosts Ponder Wanders, where he brings together the brilliant minds of deep thinking entrepreneurs, scientists, writers and more, to discuss some of the toughest philosophical questions facing humanity over long walks in the countryside.  Show highlights 1:51 Nic introduces himself and Peg the company he co-founded. 5:48 Why Nic believes influencer marketing is becoming more performance focussed. 6:49 Nic's thoughts on the democratization of influence. 8:25 Removing content stimuli. 13:21 Why the EU's Article 13 could be "devastating" for YouTube and creators. 17:43 Is YouTube trying to be more like Netflix and abandoning creators? 21:25 Why YouTubers develop a deep connection with their audience. 26:30 Nic's experience of learning to code and the benefits of it. 31:03 Nic's predictions on the future of influencer marketing over the next 12 months and the next five years. 36:55 Quickfire three: Nic's favourite city, meal and quote. 38:18 The one book Nic recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Peg Nic on LinkedIn Article 13 The Power of Glamour book Superfreakonomics (Amazon)

Rachel Miller is the Director of All Things IC and advises Internal Communicators via training, consultancy and her popular blog. Her clients include ARM, BBC, LEGO, NHS, Transport for London and British Red Cross. She’s a highly experienced and multiple award-winning practitioner who has trained hundreds of Comms pros via her monthly and bespoke Masterclasses. Communicators say working with her increases their skills and boosts their knowledge and confidence. Rachel is a Chartered PR professional and Fellow of both the Institute of Internal Communication and Chartered Institute of Public Relations. You can find her online via her website www.allthingsic.com, @AllthingsIC on Twitter and @rachelallthingsic on Instagram. Show highlights 1:21 Rachel introduces herself and her background. 3:27 The current state of employee advocacy. 6:29 Glassdoor and internal communications. 9:41 The original promise of employees being the voice of a brand didn't materialise. 13:37 Are brands concerned about advocates using social media in the current climate of toxicity? 15:02 The benefits of employee advocacy and what should a brand consider when embarking on an EA program? 20:20 What makes a good employee advocate? 23:38 Where Rachel sees the future of employee advocacy in the next 12 months and the next five years. 25:46 Quick fire three: Rachel's favourite city, meal and quote. 27:07 The one book Rachel recommends everyone should read? Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast All Things IC Rachel on Twitter Rachel on Instagram The Cluetrain Manifesto Social Pro's podcast with Qualcomm's influencer marketing director

Andrew Kamphey curates insightful articles each week as the editor of Influence Weekly. He has lately turned his editorial lens to encompass all of the creator economy. Creating lists and charts that explore different aspects of influencer marketing. Andrew has been working as a content creator for ten years, five of which spent on cruise ships as a videographer as well as working in the LA Film and TV industries. Andrew is currently traveling Southeast Asia. Show highlights 1:35 Andrew introduces himself, Influence Weekly and how he got started. 5:22 The different ways creators can create money online. 11:15 How Instagram photographers monetize. 13:38 The platforms that are the most lucrative for creators. 15:38 How many content creators are making a full-time living. 18:56 The projected financial growth of influencer marketing. 21:51 Andrew's advice on anyone starting out and looking to monetize. 23:25 Are we in the golden age of influencer earnings? 27:14 Where Andrew sees influencer marketing heading in the next 12 months and the next five years. 30:25 The one book Andrew recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Influence Weekly Influence Directory RewardStyle Lost LeBlanc SecondLife

Harry Hugo co-founded influencer-first marketing agency, Goat, in 2015 and since then the company has grown from 3 to 120 staff in three years, with offices in London, New York, Singapore and Monaco and has worked with brands including BBC Sport, New Look and Malibu. As Chief Campaign Officer Harry oversees campaign success, ensuring the strategic fit of influencers with wider brand goals. Harry set up his first business when he was 16, a football fan site network with 60 websites and over 500 global writers. He was then invited to write for Liverpool’s official website as an influential blogger. He then became Head of Social at Sportlobster by 18 during which built relationships with every major influencer in the UK. Show highlights 1:35 Harry introduces himself, Goat and how they got started. 3:58 Human to human marketing. Goat isn't a tech platform. 6:58 Where the current opportunities are for influencer marketing. 9:50 Vlogging on LinkedIn. 12:07 Harry's view on influencer marketing platforms. 14:03 Instagram potentially removing the visibility of engagement. 15:58 On the Tools and the opportunity for niche content and audiences at scale. 17:57 Which part of a brand's budget are new influencer agencies like Goat getting? 18:40 The industries Goat predominantly work in. 19:57 Working with influencers in Formula E. 24:04 Harry's advice to someone looking to grow their own brand in social media in 2019. 25:57 Where Harry sees the future of influencer marketing in the next 12 months and the next five years. 28:57 The one book that Harry recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Goat agency Goat's vlog on LinkedIn Influencer marketing platforms Arron Shepherd on LinkedIn On The Tools Ste's podcast with Chris Henley Ste's podcast with Chris Stokel-Walker Formula E Zac and Jay show crash The Drum Awards

Rand Fishkin is the founder of SparkToro and was previously co-founder of Moz and Inbound.org. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through the Whiteboard Friday video series, his blog, and his book, Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World. When Rand’s not working, he’s most likely to be in the company of his partner in marriage and (mostly petty) crime, author Geraldine DeRuiter. If you feed him great pasta or great whisky, he’ll give you the cheat code to rank #1 on Google. Show highlights 1:51 Rand introduces himself, his background and what he's up to at SparkToro. 3:59 Moving from an SEO specific role at Moz to a broader influence-related one with SparkToro. 5:43 Going beyond Instagram and YouTube and taking a holistic view of how people are influenced. 15:05 Rand's Twitter algorithm experiment where he found it prioritizes comments over retweets and likes. 17:37 If Instagram hides likes will it impact third-party companies that depend on using them for data? 22:42 Ste asks Rand if he thinks we're moving into an era where 'traditional' disciplines are merging. 26:03 Keeping up to date with SEO changes and trends is a daily practice. 27:09 Influence... not Influencers. Rand's presentation on why the current field of influencer marketing is too narrow. 31:58 Rand's advice on building a brand in an era of where we're up against the search and social algorithms. 34:44 Influencer marketing in the B2B space. 39:15 The algorithmic censorship of reach. 42:50 The one book Rand recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast SparkToro Rand on Twitter Rand's book, Lost and Founder Rand's wife, Geraldine, wins James Beard Award Engagement analysis of Facebook Live and YouTube watch times vs podcast listen times Jack Dorsey wouldn't introduce the like button if we was starting again Instagram creator accounts Instagram is testing hiding likes Rand's Slideshare deck - Influence... Not Influencers No-click searches SparkToro's trending section Rand's To Retweet or Not To Retweet flowchart Student mocked on Tinder now modelling Asos dress

Chris Stokel-Walker is a British journalist whose work regularly appears in WIRED, The Economist and Newsweek. He is known for breaking major news about YouTube and often reports on the site for television, radio and podcasts. For YouTubers he has travelled around the world, attending YouTube events and speaking to behind-the-camera producers and powerbrokers, including key creators and talent managers. The Atlantic’s Taylor Lorenz has said: “No one understands the intricacies of YouTube like Chris Stokel-Walker. His reporting on the platform and its creators has been groundbreaking and unparalleled. He captures stories about how YouTube shapes modern life in ways you would have never thought of.” Show highlights 1:45 Chris introduces himself and why he wrote the book. 4:00 YouTube the cultural phenomenon in numbers. 7:03 The traditional media's understanding of YouTube. 12:12 Niche content creators on the YouTube platform. 15:49 YouTube as a search engine. 17:37 Is YouTube moving away from the creator space to be more like Netflix? 21:50 Is there still an opportunity to grow a YouTube channel from scratch today? 24:35 Chris gets called out by YouTube sensation, Casey Neistat. 28:37 YouTubers growing out of their online personas as they get older. 34:25 Chris's predictions for the future of YouTube for the next twelve months and the next five years. 38:45 The one book (other than his own) Chris recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast YouTubers: How YouTube shook up TV and created a new generation of stars. (Amazon) Logan Paul MrBeast Ultimate Handyman Moorsey Scratchcards Lofty Pursuits YouTube Adpocalypse Casey Neistat calling out Chris's Bloomberg article Chris's Bloomberg article Charlie McDonnell Parasocial relationships TwitchCon Europe Everybody Lies book

There are two companies in the world that know more about you than perhaps you know about yourself. Both of which are, of course, Facebook and Google/Alphabet. In this podcast we focus specifically on Facebook Inc and how to stop its list of services (namely Facebook, Instagram and Messenger) from harvesting your public and private data and behaviours and selling it on to advertisers. Data collected from what we do online is used against us. There are no benefits to us, the Facebook Inc user, in the surveillance and data harvesting exchange. The phrase, ‘If the service is free, then you are the product’ is often used to explain why Facebook's services don't come with a financial cost but author Shoshana Zuboff explains in her book, Surveillance Capitalism, ‘You are not the product; you are the abandoned carcass.’ In this podcast you'll learn how to stop Facebook Inc from tracking your every move both on its own platforms and across the web. You'll learn how to turn off advertising tracking, location tracking, face recognition and more. Show highlights 2:14 Timeline of Facebook's data breaching events 5:33 Everything Facebook knows about you 9:46 Why care about your privacy and what Facebook knows about you 12:00 How to stop Facebook tracking you in your ad preference settings 18:20 How to turn off your location so Facebook can't track where you go 19:19 How to turn off Facebook's facial recognition 20:17 Turn off the 'Off-Facebook' activity 21:15 Unlike Facebook pages 22:15 Using a privacy browser so Facebook can't track you around the web 24:19 Using a smartphone firewall to stop non-Facebook apps from sending data to Facebook about you Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Turn off Facebook ad preferences - facebook.com Turn off Facebook location settings - facebook.com Turn off face recognition - facebook.com Turn off 'off-Facebook' activity - facebook.com Unlike Facebook pages - facebook.com Why you need to ditch Google Chrome and use the Brave browser - stedavies.com Brave browser – brave.com Tag Explorer - chrome.google.com Lockdown iOS - apple.com

With a passion for technology, marketing and sales, Aron Levin co-founded the leading global influencer marketing agency Relatable in 2015. As Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Relatable, Aron is leading Relatable's rapid expansion across its offices in Stockholm, London, New York and Los Angeles. Working with clients like Heineken, Google, Chiquita and Ralph Lauren, Relatable is rapidly changing the modern digital media landscape for Fortune 500 consumer brands, brave startups and the 10 million creators in their network. Aron is also known for his background at King Digital Entertainment (Maker of Candy Crush and 100+ other games) where he led Advertising Operations and in his role as Director Growth at music-streaming service Spotify. Aron is also the author of The Influencer Marketing Handbook and The 2019 Content Marketing Calendar. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and two kids. Show highlights 2:30 Aron introduces himself, his background and the co-founding of Relatable. 3:50 The decentralization of attention and the fragmentation of the media. 6:58 The founding of Relatable in Sweden and influencer marketing in the US. 10:55 Lessons from Coachella. How social media is changing popular culture. 15:50 The democratization of celebrity. 19:37 Are influencer marketing platforms disrupting the traditional agency model? 21:05 Aron's thoughts on Spotify moving into podcasting and the podcasting industry in general. 25:56 Instagram testing hiding likes and why this is the evolution of the platform. 32:12 Instagram inviting influencers to test creator app. 33:59 Aron's thoughts on the current state of IGTV. 36:48 The biggest pain points for brands getting into influencer marketing. 39:50 Where Aron sees the influencer marketing industry heading in the next twelve months and the next five years. 44:35 Why distribution power is more important than building a brand. 51:43 The one book (or three books) Aron recommends everyone should read. Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Relatable Aron on LinkedIn Coachella Killed Music Spotify's podcasting acquisitions Podcast strategies for Spotify Instagram is testing hiding likes Instagram is inviting some users to try creator accounts The New York Times internal memo about BuzzFeed Black Swan by Nicholas Taleb The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan Deep Work by Cal Newport

In this podcast we discuss the importance of good password hygiene and management. Too many times people use weak passwords across multiple sites and services exposing themselves to hackers and data breaches. In fact, a recent study by the UK government's National Cyber and Security Centre found people are still using ultra-weak passwords like 123456 and qwerty leaving themselves wide open to a hack. Every password you use across every website needs to be at least 15 characters long, made up of letters, numbers and symbols, and, most importantly, has to be unique and used only once. Of course remembering these types of passwords is almost impossible unless you have an autobiographical memory. For those of us who don't, this is where a password manager comes in. In this podcast we discuss the rules of good password hygiene, using password managers, the different types of password managers and much more. Show highlights 1:27 The basic rules of good password hygiene 3:19 A guide to two-factor authentication 6:54 What is a password manager? 7:20 The benefits to using a password manager 10:40 The types of password managers available 17:10 Which type of password manager should you use? 18:26 How much do password managers cost? 19:59 Backing up your passwords and password manager Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Most hacked passwords revealed - ncsc.gov.uk Google Authenticator - google-authenticator.com Authy - authy.com/ Yubikey - Amazon KeePassXC - keepassxc.org Bitwarden - bitwarden.com LastPass - lastpass.com

In this podcast we discuss the Brave browser - a privacy browser that's been developed to prevent you from being tracked across the web. The humble web browser is perhaps one of the most important software creations to date. It turned the internet into a consumer-friendly medium spawning the creation of the various online services we use today. It is one of the few online tools most of us use multiple times a day. Yet, many people still don't give much thought to the browser they use. In their eyes, all browsers are the same which in reality is far from the truth. While Google Chrome is a good browser, it is laced with tracking software that makes it more like spyware than a helpful browser. Using it, you subject yourself to thousands of data trackers every single day. Your data is valuable and that's why consumers need reclaim the web back from corporate surveillance. A good place to start is by taking back control of your browsing data. Brave will help you do that. Show highlights 2:02 Why you need to get rid of Google Chrome 3:30 Why you need to use a privacy browser? 4:48 Why I recommend most people should switch to Brave 5:56 The privacy benefits of using the Brave browser 8:31 Brave's usability alongside Chrome 10:05 How Brave is looking to reinvent the broken online ad model 13:49 Final thoughts on using the Brave browser Resources/people/articles mentioned in the podcast Brave browser – brave.com Browser market share – netmarketshare.com Brave reaches 12 million MAUs - cryptobriefing.com Browsing the web with privacy with Des Martin from Brave - stedavies.com Brave deemed most private browser in terms of phoning home - zdnet.com Basic Attention Token (BAT) - basicattentiontoken.org