Congrats to MrBeast on 300 million subscribers on YouTube! Watch out, buddy! I’m right on your tail. 😉
How tech saved lives in Georgia school shooting
A tragic shooting at Apalachee High in Winder, Georgia, left four dead and nine injured. It may have been worse without a new safety system — teachers used a digital panic button to save lives. Plus, Amazon Alexa loses billions, Taylor Swift surveillance, and FB censors opinions.
Swift thinking: Taylor Swift revealed her twelfth album, The Life of a Showgirl, not on stage but on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast, precisely at 12:12 ET on Aug. 12. No songs, no date, just a master class in soft-launch hype engineering. Within 15 minutes, she had over 1 million views. Dang, how do I get Taylor on my show?
Over 1 million reposts
That’s what Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement announcement pulled in, breaking Instagram’s record. The post hit the milestone in just six hours and has already racked up more than 33 million likes. The couple had been dating for about two years before Kelce popped the question. Swifties, you can finally breathe.
🎊 Hey, Swifties: If you search “Taylor Swift” on Google, you’ll get a confetti shower and a flaming heart that says, “And, baby, that’s show business for you.” A number counter pops up (already in the millions), and if you click it, more confetti drops. Why the celebration? Taylor announced her 12th album.
Swifties, avert your eyes: Grok’s “spicy” video mode just casually turned AI Taylor Swift into a nude dancing avatar on the first try. No warnings, no real age checks. While other tools block NSFW celeb content, Grok was like “Sure, let’s get weird.” Somewhere, a lawyer just woke up sweating and didn’t know why.
$1.3 billion
That’s how much Lucy Guo is worth, dethroning Taylor Swift as the youngest self-made female billionaire. She cofounded Scale AI at 21, got fired, kept her stake, which grew to $1.2 billion, and casually launched another startup that raised $40M. Way to go!
$1 million
Royalties Spotify paid nearly 1,500 artists in 2024. You need over 20 million streams a month to earn that. Guess who is the number one earner on Spotify? Yup, it’s a “Tay Day” pay day for Taylor Swift who made an estimated $79.8 million to $133 million from 26.6 billion streams.
$5,700
Asking price for 509-SWIFTIE. That’s the phone number 509-794-3843. Taylor Swift-related phone numbers have become a hot commodity. Also for sale: 75-ERAS-TOUR for $4,500 and 41-SWIFT-ERA for $3,300. I have a Roomba that I named “Taylor Swiffer.” I named my iPhone “My little phoney.” Before you ask, none of my tech is named “Hugh Jass.”
Why the Pentagon is watching Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s superfans — aka Swifties — are on the government’s radar. Why? I’ll tell you the scoop in this short podcast.
Is your Wi-Fi router spying for China?
Federal officials are raising red flags over TP-Link, warning their products might be linked to Chinese espionage. Plus, Redbox files for bankruptcy, Taylor Swift drops cassettes, and Apple’s next iPhone features AI.
Stick-it master: Hackers stole 193 million Ticketmaster barcodes valued at $22.6 billion. This includes 440,000 tickets to future dates of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Hackers accepted $1 million for the data, but now they want $8 million. Who’s paying those “processing fees” and “venue charges” now? If you have concert tickets, make sure they’re legit before you head out.
China preps to hack the U.S.
The FBI says Chinese gov-backed hackers are waiting to ‘deal a devastating blow.’ Plus, Taylor Swift’s album leaks, Meta’s AI chatbot goes live, and lots of big retailers are shutting down (so long, 99 Cents Only store).
It's a huge threat: China targets U.S. home routers
Kim, Andrew and Allie talk about tracking Taylor Swift’s jet, a YouTube science discovery and AI product placement on TikTok. Plus, the inventor of Bitcoin? No one knows who they are, here’s the story.
Taylor Swift gotchas
Are you a Swiftie? Here’s why you’re a scammer’s big target online.