A podcast that explores how advertising, technology, and the internet is shaping the world around us and impacting our daily lives.
Have you ever wondered why that pair of shoes is following you around the internet? Or is my phone really listening to me to inform the advertising I see? Or maybe you want to learn more about what laws and legislation are being put in place to protect you and your data? In every You're On Mute episode we will try to answer questions, uncover truths, and provide facts, all with a side of cynicism, humor, and randomness.
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COVID Sniffing Dogs, New Apple Features, Cryptocurrency, And You
In our first episode of 2022, Steve and Devon sit down to chat about some of the recent changes and happenings in the consumer privacy and technology space. No guest this episode, just two friends talking about Apple's new privacy features, what Google is up to these days, and even digging into some of those hot topics like crytpo and NFTs. We also chat briefly about how disease sniffing dogs are a thing, but we aren't exactly sure how. As always we encourage everyone and anyone to drop us a line and ask us some questions. We look forward to having new guests on this year and hopefully more episodes too! Tune in and enjoy...
5 Oct 2021
Advertising Fraud, Connected TV, PawPaw Fruit, And You
In Episode 13 Steve and Devon sit down with Marc Goldberg and Shailin Dhar of Method Media Intelligence who are fighting the good fight against advertising fraud. Ad fraud may not be something that we think about or even realize is happening, but it's an almost $20 billion dollar business. As consumers and general internet users, we see the impact of ad fraud in the cost of the content we access, the rise of paywalls around previously free content, and the decline of local news and other crucial necessities. Join us as we dig into a recent botnet scam impacting connected TV devices and explore the journey an ad takes goes on to get in front of your face. We also play our favorite game of "how do you protect your privacy" and find out my 7-month year old's favorite food. Spoiler alert - it's in the title of this episode. Thanks for listening!
27 May 2021
Data Breaches, Device Addiction, Skynet, and You
We're back with our first episode of 2021 after taking a brief hiatus due to the birth of Devon's baby boy Cosmo. For this episode, we brought our good friend Carlos Calderon, Head of Solutions at MetaRouter, and long-time builder of MADtech solutions onto the show. He recently took on a new role at a technology company but has spent a ton of time on the other side of the fence working for some of the biggest brands on earth. We went off the rails a bit in this discussion talking about everything from the ethical responsibility of consumer technology, device addiction, the latest data breaches, cognitive dissonance, and human psychology. We even dipped our toes into the facial recognition waters as well. We hope you enjoy the episode!
31 Dec 2020
Jeff Bezos, Brain Implants, Listener Emails, And You
In Episode 11, and our final YOM episode of 2020, we try to help one of our listeners solve a technology conundrum. We’ve noticed a trend over the past few months where many of our friends and relatives are trying to ween themselves off their social media dependencies by using the clunkier versions of their favorite apps on their desktop computers rather than their phones. I am sure some of you may have noticed that the desktop experience may not be as personalized, intuitive, or sometimes even available outside of your mobile device. We dig in and try to uncover why that is while exploring what data is collected and what other potential invasions of privacy you may unknowingly be agreeing to. Join us as we say goodby to 2020 and look ahead to what the future of technology, advertising, and the internet may look like.
1 Dec 2020
Facebook, Local Politics, Philadelphia, and You
In Episode 10, Steve and Devon chat with Jon Geeting, local political activist, community builder, and Director of Engagement for Philadelphia 3.0 (http://www.phila3-0.org/). We chat about the recent election, the power of Facebook and email lists, and how a visit by the Pope made it easier for restaurants to survive during a pandemic. At Philadelphia 3.0, Jon uses his skills as a writer and his computer to build lasting connections and support political candidates running for office. We learn just how important and just how easy it can be to unify your neighbors, grassroots activists, and Facebook randos to make change happen. Listen in to one of our last episodes of the year and let us know what you think or let us know if you have a technology conundrum, query, or complaint at contact@youronmute.com (mailto:contact@youreonmute.com?subject=YOM%20Technology%20Compliant%20or%20Conundrum) or call us at 1-406-748-MUTE.
9 Oct 2020
Billboards, Bus Shelters, Minority Report, and You
In Episode 9, Steve and Devon sit down with Chief Digital Officer of JCDecaux North America, Mark Costa. Before the pandemic, you may recall jumping into a cab, driving down a highway, or waiting for a bus. All of those actions were likely accompanied by an advertisement of some shape or form. How did that ad get onto that huge screen? What determines which ad is shown when? How far away are we from a Minority Report or Blade Runner-like future where each of those out of home ad is personalized to me and me alone? We discuss all of this and more with Marc, who is a leader in the Digital Out of Home (DOOH) industry. He tells us how it works, where this is going, how COVID is impacting it all. Tune in to learn more about the intersection between advertising, architecture, and the environment.
8 Sept 2020
Back to School, Creepy Ads, Instagram, and You
In Episode 8, Steve and Devon talk about what this back to school season will look like with the majority of kids learning from home. We talk tips, tricks, and trepidations in getting your kids ready for a virtual school year. What you should be looking to do to protect your kid’s privacy and increase their learning efficiency. We also discuss what this pandemic is doing to our mental health and how technology may be helping or hurting. We also take our first tech question from a listener who is concerned about a creepy Instagram ad they received after a simple text exchange with a friend. Devon also has a similar story to tell about some bootleg YOM merchandise. We hope you enjoy!
31 Jul 2020
Miracle Whip, Extra Hot Lattes, Customer Data, And You
In Episode 7 Steve and Devon sit down with Julie Fleischer, a global marketing powerhouse who has spent her career helping big brands improve their relationship with consumers using data. Julie talks with us about her experience at some pretty impressive brands and agencies including Kraft Foods, WW (formerly Weight Watchers), and Omnicom Media Group. For any of you consumers out there who want to learn more about how your favorite brands use your data to improve or even worsen your experience, please listen in. Julie continues to be one of the most outspoken voices of reason in the industry fighting for greater innovation and common sense when it comes to data-driven marketing, making sure your data is put to better use.
10 Jul 2020
Incognito Mode, Advertising, Local News, and You
In Episode 6 Steve and Devon sit down with Nick Charles and Ken Gude from The Save Journalism Project (https://savejournalism.org/) to discuss the current threats to local news and journalism as a whole by ‘big tech’. We’ve talked a lot about cookies on this podcast and this episode is no exception. Cookies allow for the flow of advertising dollars to fund the free and open internet. With cookies in decline, and large tech organizations owning a lion’s share of the advertising pie, our local news, and our communities are at risk. Over the last 10 years, newspaper newsrooms have declined in size by 45%, and in 2019, the media shed more than 7,200 jobs. 60% of U.S. counties have no daily newspaper and 1,300 communities have lost local news coverage in the last 15 years. If these numbers are alarming, they should be. Please listen to learn more about out what is being done to save journalism, what you can do to provide support, and how technology is directly impacting the future of local news.
19 Jun 2020
Prisons, Technology, Netflix, and You
In Episode 5 Steve and Devon explore technology in our U.S. prison system. We speak with Kelli, a corrections officer at a high security facility to get an inside look at how the internet and technology, is impacting the daily lives of everyone behind the prison walls. We explore restrictions on usage as well as the limitations placed on technology sophistication for both the inmates and the officers. We also talk about data protection, tools for the visually impaired, and how movies and TV has created a misleading understanding of prison tech. Enjoy!
5 Jun 2020
Family, Friends, Strangers, And You Vol.1
In our fourth episode, we introduce a new segment to YOM - Family, Friends, Strangers, and You. In this sporadic series Steve and Devon will sit down with our family, our friends, and even the occasional stranger, to talk about their digital habits, their fears about privacy, and their questions about how the internet works. We want to better understand how advertising, technology, and the internet is actually impacting our daily lives at an individual level, as well as uncover trends and commonalities between all of us. In volume one, Devon talks about true crime and brand loyalty with his wife. He discovers just how tech-savvy his mom really is. And a conversation about how being a small business owner and a teacher may be influencing the technology and protection choices, his long-time friend chooses to make. We hope you enjoy the discussion, and as always, if you have a question or have your own story that you would like to share, please drop us a line via email at contact@youreonmute or via voicemail at 406.748.MUTE.
22 May 2020
Al Gore, AOL, Privacy Legislation, and You
In our third episode, we interview privacy and data protection lawyer, Becky Burr to discuss the history and potential future of internet privacy legislation in the US and globally. We are very excited to have Becky on the show as she has spent her career working across the ecosystem to keep our data safe and our privacy protected. Working for the Clinton Administration at the FTC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Becky worked on some of the first and only federal legislation to protect consumer privacy on the internet and across telecommunication devices. We sit down with her to find out what we should know as consumers to protect ourselves, what the government is doing to protect us, and how COVID-19 may impact the future of privacy law. Stay safe!
8 May 2020
Fingerprinting, Zombies, The Hoff, and You
For our second episode, we interview our first guest, Steve Latham, a friend colleague, and industry expert with over 20 years of experience across analytics, digital marketing, software, and finance. As a continuation of our first episode about those pesky little, but apparently harmless cookies - we uncover a few other types of digital identifiers and trackers that are collecting your data across the web. Please join Steve, Steve, and Devon to learn a bit more about what is happening behind the scenes of the internet, identify ways to protect and educate yourself, and how you can learn more about how trackable you and your devices are.
18 Apr 2020
Cookies, Bitcoin, Australia and You
In this inaugural episode of You're On Mute, Steve and I explore the topic of cookies. Not the delicious baked good, but those pesky things that track your movements and interests as you browse the web. We provide a history of where they came from, what they do, and where they are going as they will soon be extinct.
We hope you enjoy our first foray into podcasting as we will continue to discuss how the intersection of advertising, technology, and the internet is impacting our daily lives. We will also look to have featured guests on the show to provide even more insight, education, and to provide some clarity about how this whole thing works and how we fit in.
Thanks, and talk soon!
Devon and Steve
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