The the wake of the US election and the increasingly weird vibe on X, there has been yet another exodus of users to the promised land of "any text-based timeline but Twitter".

That means people are talking about Bluesky again. In this episode, we revisit the erstwhile decentralised social media platform and check in on its progress, asking the question on everyone's lips: does it have the juice?

Also, prices of Down Round Premium are sensibly increasing in line with Australian PPP. But we're offering the current pricing for yearly subs for the next couple of weeks. Subscribe here.

The the wake of the US election and the increasingly weird vibe on X, there has been yet another exodus of users to the promised land of "any text-based timeline but Twitter".
That means people are talking about Bluesky again. In this episode, we revisit the erstwhile decentralised social media platform and check in on its progress, asking the question on everyone's lips: does it have the juice?
Also, prices of Down Round Premium are sensibly increasing in line with Australian PPP. But we're offering the current pricing for yearly subs for the next couple of weeks. <a href="http://downround.memberful.com/join">Subscribe here</a>.

Bluesky Thinking

It's the first week after the US election, and Down Round is officially making the leap into being an American politics podcast.

OK, not really. But there's actually plenty of Down Round relevant themes here. In this ep, we talk briefly about the new state of tech politics now that the conservative side of the industry is on the march. Then, we go into three big tech narratives that got the most attention at the election: podcasts, X and prediction markets.

It's the first week after the US election, and Down Round is officially making the leap into being an American politics podcast.
OK, not really. But there's actually plenty of Down Round relevant themes here. In this ep, we talk briefly about the new state of tech politics now that the conservative side of the industry is on the march. Then, we go into three big tech narratives that got the most attention at the election: podcasts, X and prediction markets.

The Podcasting President

We are joined once again, for our sins, by the Australian Financial Review's Rear Window columnist Mark Di Stefano.

A freewheeling episode on everything from smartphones to AI girlfriends, where we all perform some ruthless self-critique and ultimately come out happier, more self assured and about 10 IQ points dumber.

We are joined once again, for our sins, by the Australian Financial Review's Rear Window columnist Mark Di Stefano.
A freewheeling episode on everything from smartphones to AI girlfriends, where we all perform some ruthless self-critique and ultimately come out happier, more self assured and about 10 IQ points dumber.

Is Technology Good? (ft. Mark Di Stefano)

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here.

We're putting on our hazmat suits and going back into the world of crypto. Or, at least, one promising part of it.

 Stripe recently bought Bridge, a startup which built a stablecoin issuance and settlements API. That sounds boring, and perhaps it is. But one day, it could play a serious role in helping pay the person or bot who replaces you.

In this ep, we talk about why one of the biggest payments providers in the world is suddenly enamoured by stablecoins.

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head <a href="https://downround.memberful.com/join">here</a>.
<hr>
We're putting on our hazmat suits and going back into the world of crypto. Or, at least, one promising part of it.
<a href="https://fortune.com/crypto/2024/10/22/stripe-announces-1-1-billion-acquisition-of-stablecoin-start-up-bridge/"> Stripe recently bought Bridge</a>, a startup which built a stablecoin issuance and settlements API. That sounds boring, and perhaps it is. But one day, it could play a serious role in helping pay the person or bot who replaces you.
In this ep, we talk about why one of the biggest payments providers in the world is suddenly enamoured by stablecoins.

Coins, But On The Computer

It's Halloween this week, and we've got an appropriately spooky episode for you. We're looking back at a random selection of some of our favourite dead and/or zombified companies, platforms and products of the past couple of decades.

From instant delivery and Google Reader to Adobe Flash and the Microsoft Zune, prepare to be utterly terrified by these terrifying spirits from tech's past.

It's Halloween this week, and we've got an appropriately spooky episode for you. We're looking back at a random selection of some of our favourite dead and/or zombified companies, platforms and products of the past couple of decades.
From instant delivery and Google Reader to Adobe Flash and the Microsoft Zune, prepare to be utterly terrified by these terrifying spirits from tech's past.

The Halloween Spooktacular

Today's ep is the first and last edition of the Down Round Book club. We're talking about Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment, by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier. It documents the story of Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind WarCraft, Diablo and StarCraft which is as of last year a subsidiary of Microsoft.

James read it last week and felt it hit on some interesting Down Round areas, namely:
The evolution of monetisation
Why eSports was never going to work
The tension between art and commerce in creative businesses
Laundry powder, which we discuss for at least 5 minutes

Today's ep is the first and last edition of the Down Round Book club. We're talking about <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Play-Nice-Future-Blizzard-Entertainment/dp/1538725428">Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment</a>, by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier. It documents the story of Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind WarCraft, Diablo and StarCraft which is as of last year a subsidiary of Microsoft.
James read it last week and felt it hit on some interesting Down Round areas, namely:
<ul>
<li>The evolution of monetisation</li>
<li>Why eSports was never going to work</li>
<li>The tension between art and commerce in creative businesses</li>
<li>Laundry powder, which we discuss for at least 5 minutes</li>
</ul>

The StarCraft Losers Club

We're lauching a bonus episode this week to officially welcome in the silly season (commences mid October).

We're joined by James Chin Moody, CEO of Sendle, a virtual courier service who is quite likely responsible for some proportion of the treats you receive via mail.

We discuss the Australia Post monopoly, the funding environment and the future of ecommerce.

We're lauching a bonus episode this week to officially welcome in the silly season (commences mid October).
We're joined by James Chin Moody, CEO of Sendle, a virtual courier service who is quite likely responsible for some proportion of the treats you receive via mail.
We discuss the Australia Post monopoly, the funding environment and the future of ecommerce.

BONUS: Arming The Rebels (feat. James Chin Moody)

It's another Tesla event, folks. At the tail end of last week, Elon Musk got up on stage and showed off the CyberCab, the company's attempt at a robotaxi. He also gave us some updates on Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus, and even had some of these evil computer men walking around the event and serving beers.

But there was some digital trickery afoot, and not everything was as it seemed. In this episode, we discuss.

It's another Tesla event, folks. At the tail end of last week, Elon Musk got up on stage and showed off the CyberCab, the company's attempt at a robotaxi. He also gave us some updates on Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus, and even had some of these evil computer men walking around the event and serving beers.
But there was some digital trickery afoot, and not everything was as it seemed. In this episode, we discuss.

Unpacking Tesla's Robotaxi Fantasy

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here.

Fun times create happy people, happy people create lovely times, lovely times create fun people.

It's another loose, shot from the hip premium ep, folks. ChatGPT’s voice mode is finally here, while OpenAI itself s going through more weird palace intrigue for us to pick through. 

A digression into AI podcasts.

Meanwhile, all the VCs and founders are arguing about drugs. So we will too.

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head <a href="https://downround.memberful.com/join">here</a>.
<hr>
Fun times create happy people, happy people create lovely times, lovely times create fun people.
It's another loose, shot from the hip premium ep, folks. ChatGPT’s voice mode is finally here, while OpenAI itself s going through more weird palace intrigue for us to pick through. 
A digression into AI podcasts.
Meanwhile, all the VCs and founders are arguing about drugs. So we will too.

Talking About The Computer While Talking About The Computer (PREVIEW)

In last week's premium episode, we sounded off about the state of VR and smart glasses. In true Down Round fashion, Meta had already announced its concept product, a pair of AR-enabled smart glasses named Orion, by the time the ep aired.

We will never admit we were wrong. Instead, we press forward. In this ep, we talk about Orion, Meta's plans, and why it seems like everyone is now locked in on the idea that smart glasses are the smartphone successor.

In last week's premium episode, we sounded off about the state of VR and smart glasses. In true Down Round fashion, Meta had already announced its concept product, a pair of AR-enabled smart glasses named Orion, by the time the ep aired.
We will never admit we were wrong. Instead, we press forward. In this ep, we talk about Orion, Meta's plans, and why it seems like everyone is now locked in on the idea that smart glasses are the smartphone successor.

The Society of the Spectacles

The number one podcast about tech business and culture, from James "JR" Hennessy and Raph Dixon.

Down Round

Social links:

Follow the podcast:

210 clip(s)