My kids are watching the new Percy Jackson series on Disney+ right now where only one new episode comes out each week. They get so into the episode as they watch and then it ends with a cliffhanger - and it’s driving them absolutely crazy.

Why is it only one episode? I wanna watch morrrrre. There’s only a preview for the next episode at the end - that was it??

I can’t help but chuckle. Little do they know but that was actually the allure of TV before Netflix started their streaming service. You actually had to wait for the next episode, which arguably made you want to watch the show even more.

I’m not gonna lie to you, I started watching The OC when it first came out back in summer of 2003. Originally I found myself watching because there were never any new episodes of TV shows during the summer. Meanwhile The OC was this new show that had a new episode every week ending in a cliffhanger, which obviously lead me to yearn for more teenage drama every Wednesday night at 9 on Fox after American Idol. Bruh - I know…

The fact that you had to wait a week meant you were more inclined not to give up on the show. If I were to go into my Netflix history at the moment, other than Top Boy (such a good show!), I couldn’t tell you the last TV series I actually started and finished. When you know you can watch the next episode and basically get through the whole season at once AND the show is mediocre, it’s so easy to just stop. Whereas if you had to wait a week, I feel like that’s enough time for the mediocre to wear off to potentially hook you back in.

And when you’re hooked, you’re hooked. All the way until they kill off Marissa.

What a f*cking episode this was!

This week's issue is a 3 minute read:

🤷 Google isn’t Googling well

🎙️ The world’s first AI co-host

😎 Snoop at the Olympics

Hey Google, You Suck.

When I first got a Google home I was on this trip of everything must be connected in my house because I thought it was going to be THE device that made my house turn into the ultimate automation location...automation location - I need to trademark this before Kanye does. The point is, I wanted my house to basically talk to me like it was Optimus Prime asking me how my day was when I came home from work.

And then I realized Google Home is basically just a glorified music speaker in the shape of a round hockey puck.

Am I the only one who gets into arguments with their Google Home when it replies with, “Sorry, I’m not able to answer that right now”, all while it being built by product managers that make easily $150K/year (if not more) for a company that is worth over $1.7 TRILLION. And ya can’t make your damn speaker do more than play Spotify.

This past week Google announced they’re deprecating 17 features from the Google assistant feature list. Firstly, who uses the thing for anything other than playing music and maaaaybe checking the weather?  Well, unfortunately for those of you who like to use your voice to send an email, video, or audio message through the device, you no longer can.  As well as send a payment to someone, make a reservation, checking your travel itinerary, asking to meditate with Calm, rescheduling a calendar event, amongst other features that I had no clue even existed nor would I have ever thought were good ideas to use in the first place.

And if you no longer need these solution-looking-for-a-problem features then you sure as heck don’t need the people who worked on them - a bunch of Google employees (read: hundreds) are also getting deprecated...for obvious reasons.

I just asked Google what features are being deprecated, it could only give me 5.  There’s an ironic joke in there somewhere!

Just Me and My AI

If they ever re-purposed Zordon for a radio show I feel like this would be his calling.  Will.I.Am, the musician and technophile, is starting a radio show on SiriusXM next week covering music, pop culture, and technology while being co-hosted by his AI called Qd.pi.  With Will.I.Am being “ultra freaking colourful and expressive” while Qd.pi being “ultra freaking factual and analytical”, the Black Eyed Peas musician expects the radio show to go somewhere the world has never seen.  

Qd.pi will be able to quickly provide insights and context to a broad range of topics for the show and so I’m expecting this AI will be somewhat like Joe Rogan’s Jamie who Googles everything while the show goes on to fact check and provide context for the conversation.  In Will.I.Am’s case, he’ll be bringing on guests and having conversations relevant pop cultural topics with linkages to tech.  As an example, rapper/MTV host Xzibit will be the first guest coming on for a conversation around the intersection of cars, sound, and technology.  

When interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Qd.pi said, “With me, you can just dive right into the conversation and explore whatever topics come up organically, knowing that I’ll have the information and context to support the discussion,” Qd.pi adds. “I think it’s going to make for a really dynamic and engaging listening experience for the audience.” 

What are the Vegas odds that this AI has a Microsoft Tay moment on the show??

Snoop Coming to an Olympics Near You

Expect to see a lot of clips from the olympics going viral this summer that have nothing to do with any of the sports themselves. NBC has hired Snoop Dogg as a “special correspondent” where he will be giving his take on the competitions, visiting famous landmarks, and interviewing the athletes.

If it’s anything like what he did with Kevin Hart at the Tokyo games we’re in for a hilarious ride.