Let's get into it.

On Wednesday, Big Brother, also known as the United Kingdom, issued a nationwide ban on social media for any users under 16. This came as a massive shock to us because if there are no children on Instagram, we’re not sure who the royalty of England will send dick pics to.

With the obligatory royalty pedophile joke out of the way, it's important to understand that this isn’t the first controversial online safety law their government has implemented. Over the last 5 years, the UK has implemented a number of regulations aimed at protecting citizens online. These allow regulators to crack down on cyberbullying, online threats, hate speech, and the spread of misinformation.

Unfortunately, many citizens have lashed back, saying that they use these new regulations to overstep their bounds. They argue that they’ve infringed on freedom of speech, have led to unfair arrests, and have overall led to an Orwellian-like police state. And when you consider that the UK also has one of the largest networks of CCTV cameras in the world, it's easy to understand how some could think that.

The reality though, is that technology has, in many ways, outpaced regulation. There’s absolutely no arguing that social media has impacted our brains. You certainly know someone who is anxious about getting likes and obsessed with whatever the fuck Kim Kardashian did this weekend. We also know that AI will impact the job market. Governments like the UK clearly want to do something to get ahead of these issues. But unfortunately for us, if we don’t speak out on policy decisions, we may just end up in 1984.

President Trump announced that he helped facilitate a deal that would have Intel begin manufacturing computer chips for Apple. If he did really help get this deal across the line, and he's not just taking credit for it (who knows), then this is the second time in the last year that the US has stepped in to assist Intel.

If you recall, last August, the US government massively helped Intel by purchasing 10% of the company for $8.9B. Since then, the shares of the company have skyrocketed, going up over 6x. Now, one could argue that this latest move of Trump's between Intel and Apple is just another way for him to stoke his investment. But in reality, this is just an attempt to strengthen the US’ national security.

The truth is, Apple, among many other companies, relies entirely on chip production from Taiwanese companies. But it's not just companies, our militaries and governments rely completely on the advanced manufacturing done in Taiwan. Advanced chips go in submarines, drones, computers, satellites, your cousin's gaming PC, you name. The problem is, China doesn’t recognize Taiwan and desperately wants it back

This poses a threat to national security risk for every country in the world. China going to war with Taiwan would be a fucking nightmare for the global economy. Reduced chip production means no new chips for your favorite AI companies, new weapons, cars, and everything. A war would tank the stock market and freeze production lines. Neither you nor Trump wants that. So the solution is to bolster US-based chip production capabilities.

Building new chip production factories can take a decade. These are some of the most advanced assembly lines in the world. But Trump doesn’t need to do that. All he has to do is try to make Intel a top player again. Honestly, this is surprisingly a good idea for the US. We just have to see if Intel can keep up.

But let this be a lesson to you in diversification. Never put all your chips in one basket. Especially if China doesn’t recognize that basket and really, really wants it back.

If you’re anything like us, you probably forgot that Snapchat even exists. The company has been struggling for a decade. Apparently, building an entire business model around letting children easily distribute pictures of their genitals hasn’t been profitable. In the last 5 years, their stock has tanked. It peaked in 2021 at just over $80 a share and is down to $4.70.

They clearly need to do something different. Unfortunately for them, what they didn’t need to do was release $2,200 smart glasses. For one, 95% of Snapchat's customers are children. They can’t exactly afford to spend what their parents pay for rent on a pair of ugly glasses. And while I’m on the subject, these glasses are fucking hideous. Maybe their augmentation is great; I really don’t know. But no one is going to wear them if they look fucking awful. 

This is another example of a struggling company trying desperately to predict what the future is going to look like. Maybe one day people will wear augmented glasses rather than use a laptop. But if you’re struggling for money, you probably shouldn’t be the one to try to figure that out. Leave that to Meta and Mark Zuckerberg. They can afford to light 2 billion dollars on fire just shits in giggles. 

That's it. Go build something. Or just refresh Twitter, we won't judge.

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