Meta Episodes

Facebook news and rumors, including updates on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
Feb. 11, 2021

Thu. 02/11 - Facebook Wants To Copy Clubhouse Too.

Facebook wants to copy Clubhouse too, and meanwhile I got to try out Twitter Spaces last night. Did Microsoft make a run at acquiring Pinterest, and would the government let that happen? Is Peacock the sick man of the streaming wars? And an interesting raise around the creator economy. Sponsors:Ca…
Dec. 17, 2020

Thu. 12/17 – The Apple-Facebook Cold War Is Getting Hot

Mommy and Daddy are fighting. This time it’s Apple and Facebook and it’s getting pretty heated. The EU okays Google’s acquisition of Fitbit. Substack has resurrected Google Reader, in spirit at least. And why the new antitrust lawsuit against Google is maybe the most serious yet, because we’re talk…
Dec. 10, 2020

Thu. 12/10 – The Big Facebook Antitrust Cases, Explained

I try to give you the outlines of the Facebook antitrust thing, and what it might mean for tech. Airbnb makes its market debut. Crunchyroll finds a safe home away from AT&T. I bet folks at HBO are jealous. Boston Dynamics fin...
Nov. 20, 2020

Fri. 11/20 – Facebook And Apple Trade Schoolyard Taunts

Facebook and Apple are calling each other names again. “Privacy Thief!” “Monopolist!” And why we might see more of this in the coming years. Roblox files maybe the most exciting S-1 of this IPO batch. Stadia is going to work ...
Nov. 5, 2020

Thu. 11/05 - WhatsApp Gets Disappearing Messages Ten Years After Snapchat!

WhatsApp gets disappearing messages ten years after Snapchat! A new entry-level, ultra-lightweight drone from DJI. Productivity laptops are getting interesting designs, ala gaming laptops. Ethereum 2.0 is coming. How and why ...
Sept. 16, 2020

Wed. 09/16 – Facebook Unveils The Oculus Quest 2

Facebook unveils the Oculus Quest 2, as a part of its Facebook Connect (formerly Oculus Connect) event. Amazon Music gets podcasts. Spotify puts the Apple One bundle on blast. Developers have found yet another reason to get p...
Sept. 10, 2020

Thu. 09/10 – “Campus” Is Facebook, But For College Kids (Insert Joke Here)

Facebook goes back to its roots by going back to school with Campus. The Long-Term Stock Exchange is ready for its closeup. The former head of the NSA is joining Amazon’s board. The second-gen Motorola Razr is here. And an in...
Aug. 19, 2020

Wed. 08/19 – You Won’t Be Able To Use An Oculus Without A Facebook Account

Soon you can only use an Oculus if you have a Facebook account. But bizarrely, the Facebook Portal (along with the Echo Show and Google Nest Hub Max) is opening up to Zoom. Netflix is testing a “shuffle play” feature. Blackbe...
July 28, 2020

Tue. 07/28 – Instagram Is Making TikTok-ers An Offer (They Hope) They Can’t Refuse

What to expect from tomorrow’s Big Tech Congressional testimony. Instagram is trying to woo TikTok stars. Qualcomm has some amazing new quick charge tech. Roblox continues to look like the next big thing. And Deadspin—the tru...
July 8, 2020

Wed. 07/08 – Facebook Fails Its Own Audit

Facebook fails its own civil rights audit. Details of the new Thunderbolt 4 standard. Details on the new Snapdragon chip. Unpacking what might be in store for the newly announced Samsung Unpacked event. And not an interesting...
June 12, 2020

Fri. 06/12 – Why Chris Cox Returning to Facebook is Such A Big Deal

Twitter takes down a bunch of accounts it says are government propaganda. UK regulators are gonna take a hard look at Facebook’s Giphy acquisition. I explain, in depth, why Chris Cox returning to Facebook is such a big deal. ...
June 1, 2020

Mon. 06/01 – The Facebook Walkout

What I believe is the first ever walkout in Facebook history, the biggest acquisition in Zynga history, Samsung Access is an interesting ARR play to get ahead of an Apple Prime subscription, and an Android event this week was...
May 15, 2020

Fri. 05/15 – Facebook Buys GIPHY

The US strikes at Huawei again. Apple acquires a VR startup and there’s conflicting rumors on those AR glasses. Is Silicon Valley really about to become a ghost town? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsor...
April 22, 2020

Wed. 04/22 – Facebook’s Big Play In India

Huge Facebook investment in India. Tech earnings season is back, and this promises to be a super interesting one for all the reasons you can imagine. Two iPhone zero days found out in the wild. Patreon does do layoffs but say...
March 24, 2020

Tue. 03/24 - Instagram Co-Watching

A wicked Windows zero day is out in the wild without a patch. Google is open sourcing a cool new AI architecture. Instagram wants you to co-watch your feed with a friend. A popular “challenger bank” comes to the US. And the i...
March 20, 2020

Fri. 03/20 - Instagram Copies The Last Snapchat Feature Left

Yelp is showing how the restaurant industry is in deep trouble. Instagram makes ready to clone the last Snapchat feature it hadn’t copped yet. The very interesting lessons behind a self-driving startup closing its doors. And,...
March 7, 2020

(Bonus) Inside Facebook with Steven Levy

I’ve said before, Steven Levy is the dean of the tech writers. All the way back in 1984 his classic book Hackers defined a tech space that wasn’t even fully aware of itself yet. Steven has written book length histories and ex...
Guest: Steven Levy
Oct. 25, 2019

Fri. 10/25 - Introducing Facebook News

Introducing Facebook News. Did the major US Carriers do an end-run around Google out of spite? Amazon is back to making as little profit as it possibly can, HBO Max makes its aggressive pricing move, and, of course, the Weeke...
Oct. 18, 2019

Fri. 10/18 - Zuckerberg Says Free Speech Is Good! (Facebook, Also Good!)

Zuckerberg defends Facebook as a champion of free speech, will iPhone users have unlimited photo uploads to Google Photos while Pixel 4 owners will not, dial back your expectations for the Photoshop iPad app, the Vatican has ...
Oct. 1, 2019

Tue. 10/01 - The Zuckerberg Tapes

Listen in on Mark Zuckerberg rallying the troops, GoPro hopes newer cameras revive its fortunes, prepping for the Microsoft event tomorrow, the SEC slaps a crypto company on the wrist, and Tesla’s new Smart Summon feature has...
June 19, 2019

Wed. 06/19 - The Fallout From Facebook Coin

More revelations about the horrible job that is Facebook Moderation, Best Buy now doubles as a Genius Bar—sorta, YouTube has some new AR tricks and is mulling some changes for kids, and the reaction to Facebook’s crypto play ...
June 18, 2019

Tue. 06/19 – Is Facebook Now in Crypto... or Just Payments?

Facebook announces Libra, Twitch acquires Bebo, are unmanned convenience stores something people even want, Facebook wants more houses in Silicon Valley, and LA real estate is starting to look like Silicon Valley. Sponsors: ...
May 9, 2019

Thu. 05/09 - Chris Hughes Wants To Break Up Facebook

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up Facebook, more developer details from I/O, Uber has an arbitration problem, shoe tech is real, and get ready for 64 megapixel smartphone cameras. Sponsors: Wix.com/...
May 3, 2019

Fri. 05/03 - Facebook Coin Is Coming For Credit Cards

This Facebook cryptocurrency is real, people, Microsoft has a blockchain product as well, Verizon is looking to unload Tumblr, Softbank is considering an IPO for the vision fund and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestio...