The Killing IT Podcast

Topic 1: Lessons from the Stripe Layoffs - for tech ITs, vendors, and everyone. Stripe layed off 14% of their workforce, and were very open about the reasons. We all make mistakes in periods of rapid growth and rapid decline. This stuff is hard! https://www.businessinsider.com/stripe-layoffs-memo-tech-sector-challenges-2022-11 https://www.npr.org/2022/11/14/1136659617/tech-layoffs-amazon-meta-twit...

Topic 1: U.S. workers have gotten way less productive.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/31/productivity-down-employers-worried-recession/ No one is sure why. So we get to make up reasons!  Can this be attributed to the Quiet Quitting Phenomon? Maybe. But maybe not. (Again, we get to come up with our own theories today.) Perhaps, complexity is the enemy of productivity; thus, remote...

Topic 1: Japan pushes for digitization  https://apnews.com/article/technology-health-japan-covid-public-d47817295a647379f69da9bb16160d13 Japan has stepped up its push to catch up on digitization by telling a reluctant public they have to sign up for digital IDs or possibly lose access to their public health insurance.  As the naming implies, the initiative is about assigning numbers to people, sim...

Topic 1: Marketplaces — McBain is big on them, but how well do they scale down? AWS Marketplace makes it so you find everything you need in one spot. As a seller, the appeal is apprent. As a vendor, especially a small to medium business, the playing floor might be a bit crowded. https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/sourcecode/aws-cloud-marketplace-advantage Topic 2: Voice-Scanning AI Aims to Diagn...

Topic 1: Some juicy stats... https://www.zippia.com/advice/tech-industry-statistics/  The U.S. tech market accounts for 35% of the total world market. The U.S. tech industry is expected to grow by 6.7% in 2022. The U.S. tech industry employs roughly 12.2 million workers as of 2020. Check out these stats and let us know what stood out to you.  These stats open up the floor to new approaches to shak...

Topic 1: The Open Internet as We Know It Dodged an Existential Bullet Last Week https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2022-09-29-ITU-SG-elected-Doreen-Bogdan-Martin.aspx https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2022/08/12/the-most-important-election-you-never-heard-of/ In an election for the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), members chose Doreen Bogdan-Mar...

Topic 1: Public Cameras, Social Media, Art, and Privacy concerns Great article on how to use publicly-available surveillance systems and open source facial recognition to mash up Instagram selfies with Earthcam video.  Artist shows all the “behind the scenes” activities that go into professional selfies - all while violating copyrights and GDPR on a grand scale. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/...

Topic 1: NANC and KRUZ ETFs - Outperforming the Market  Now you too can get away with insider trading. These new Exchange Traded Funds track the performance of members of Congress.  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-15/etfs-that-track-stock-trades-of-us-congress-members-planned Topic 2: US Military on social media to engage in psychological operations.  What's new this time?  https:/...

Topic 1: Could it actually be possible that the SolarWinds hack was “good” for their business? https://www.scmagazine.com/feature/incident-response/why-solarwinds-just-may-be-one-of-the-most-secure-software-companies-in-the-tech-universe No one would argue that being the victim of “the largest and most damaging security breach in US history” is a good thing. But as a result of the hack, SolarWinds...

Topic 1: Any surprises in the research? SMBs need MSPs “A new survey of over 500 IT decision makers at small and medium businesses, from threat detection and response specialist Vade, shows 69 percent say a serious breach had bypassed their current email security solution. It's perhaps not surprising then that SMBs are increasingly likely to turn to managed service providers, with 96 percent of or...

Welcome to Episode 180 of the Killing Podcast with special guest host Nadia Karatsoreos! Nadia has assisted channel partners and customers in building their businesses by adopting best practices and resources that are proven to accelerate success and deliver an exceptional experience to the businesses they serve. A results-oriented professional who puts partners first, Nadia has many years of expe...

Topic 1: Reverse mentoring in the technology industry increases understanding and opens opportunities for both sides of the mentor relationship https://blog.hubspot.com/the-hustle/reverse-mentoring Everyone knows a person of “a certain age” who is not as connected to or fluent with a new technology … even in the IT channel. And ironically, those people are much more likely to be senior executives...

Topic 1: It’s time for cybersecurity to focus on the fundamentals instead of the “glory” case https://www.pcmag.com/news/ex-cisa-chiefs-advice-at-black-hat-make-security-valuable-and-attacks-costly In a world where we are addicted to having every possible device connected to the internet, the attack surface for cybersecurity threats gets bigger every day. But despite the dire prognosis for current...

Topic 1: Possible Topic (KP) - Apple hires Lamborghini's chief of chassis development for its Car team https://www.arenaev.com/lamborghini_chief_of_chassis_development_joins_the_apple_car_team-news-535.php Actual topic: Have we lost the distinction between industries? Can anyone get into the car business? After all, Amazon and Google want to get into it. Recall: General Dynamics and General Electr...

Topic 1: The Education Market  We have all come across a job ad looking to fill an entry level position with a PhD level education. We have also witnessed countless college drop-outs excel in high-skill, high paying positions. So what do certifications achieve if not job security?  Topic 2: Knowledge, Tagging, Researching, and Cross Referencing In this everchanging industry companies are always lo...

Topic 1: The Education Market  We have all come across a job ad looking to fill an entry level position with a PhD level education. We have also witness countless college drop outs excel in high-skill, high paying positions. So what do certifications achieve if not job security?  Topic 2: Knowledge, Tagging, Researching, and Cross Referencing In this everchanging industry companies are always look...

Topic 1: An Update Discussion on All Things Supply Chain--Is it getting any better? https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/23/chip-shortage-detroit-manufacturing/ Ongoing supply chain issues / chip shortages have caused persistent delays in the auto industry … among other impacts. The question after 2 ½ years of disruption is whether the IT supply chain is any more healthy and whether i...

Topic 1: Sony’s racing AI destroyed its human competitors by being nice (and fast) https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/07/19/1056176/sonys-racing-ai-destroyed-its-human-competitors-by-being-nice-and-fast/ Etiquette and risk analysis is the secret success! This perhaps suggest that talent and skill are not the only key factor to progress...and maybe not even the defining factor. Topic 2: The Cryp...

Topic 1: EU Passes DSA & DMA Legislation to Increase Regulation of US Tech Giants https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-lawmakers-pass-landmark-tech-rules-enforcement-worry-2022-07-05/ New legislation in Europe is designed to address a gap in GDPR that left larger tech companies unregulated by providing specific rules and significant consequences for platforms that do not do enough to moderate ill...

Topic 1: Is there value in paying these volunteers, or more value in not paying them? Online moderators' contributions to open forum platform Reddit are estimated to be worth 3.4 million dollars in a given year. That accounts to roughly 3% of revenue Reddit generated through ads alone in 2019. In other words, you can argue there is room in the budget to compensate online moderators.  But contribut...

Episode 171 - Remote Deepfakes, Roe v. Wade: Data Privacy, G7 funds Cybersecurity     Topic 1: “More” people are using Deep Fakes to apply for remote tech jobs. File under, “you thought the world couldn’t get any weirder.”...   The employment crisis has born a new adversary: Deepfake remote workers. Thankfully, their sole intent isn't to steal your job. Sort of. While these deepfake applicants are...

Topic 1: 4D Time Crystals created by Google Quantum Computing. We’ve mentioned 4D printing, which involves 3D printing with materials that then change over time. Now 4D Time Crystals designed by Google Quantum Computer. Herein we bring you the definition of a quantum computer, along with an advancement in science brought about by said quantum computer. Let the arguments begin, but it looks like we...

Topic 1: Sentient AI?   Is it real? Should you lose your job over it?    For starters, violating an NDA and whistleblowing are vastly different reasons to be fired.    Besides, this so-called sentient AI could easily just be a complex game of 20 questions; pattern matching at it's best. That said, this freaked-out-ness might be a good indicator that we are getting too close to comfort.   https://w...

Topic 1: What does tech company even mean?   RoW is a good resource to better gauge who can call themselves a tech company. We might want to reframe this seemingly exclusive title. What is the criteria a company must meet to be able to slap this title on a business card? https://restofworld.org/2022/newsletter-latin-america-tech-company/       Topic 2: Do we think subscription / consumption model...

Topic 1:  Update on that Apple Self-Repair Kit for iPhone Screen The basic program includes two large Pelican cases full of equipment and tools, which you rent for $49/week plus a $1,300 deposit. Then the repair kit is about $10 cheaper than taking your phone to the Apple store for the service. At this point, the self-repair program appears to meet enough requirements that you can check the box an...