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Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever changing world
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of technology?
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Can Check it Out?
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Can help make some sense of it all, breaking down
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geek speak into street speak. Technology columnist, author, and TV
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personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer technology each week for every listener,
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Mark tackles the latest news, reviews, and how toos to
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help you understand what's hot, what's not and why.
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Hey everyone, welcome to check it Out. This is episode
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three eighty two. Hope everyone's doing great out there in
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radio land or in podcast land. However you're tuning into
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this weekly show that doesn't just celebrate technology, how it
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can enhance it enrich your life. But my goal is
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to help demystify technology as well, or as the announcer says,
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I aim to break down geek speak into street speak
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each and every week. All right, So for this last
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tech It Out show for February, we have three great
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guests lined up for you. We're going to kick things
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off with Twitch, the incredibly popular video streaming platform which
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just partnered with NASA to broadcast a two hour chat
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from the ISS from the International Space Station. How cool
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is that? Then after that interview for something we can
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use back down here on Earth. We'll hear all about
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the Buddy app. It's a different take on social media
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that puts a greater emphasis on in person experiences with
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your friends and family and less screen time, which I
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think is great. And so we'll have the CEO and
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co founder of the Buddy app on this show shortly,
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also on tech it Out this hour. A little bit
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later in the program, we're going to learn about charge
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fus for when you need to charge up your smartphone
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when you're out somewhere like a concert, a hockey game,
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a casino. And so these are smart kiosks that'll let
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you easily rent a portable power bang which you can
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return or not. And so we'll hear how it all
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works when we have charge fus on tech it Out
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later on all of this and more on an all
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new episode of teck it Out. All right, let's kick
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things off. While you might think Twitch is just for
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gamers who live stream their interactive adventures for others to watch,
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there's a lot more to the platform. In fact, NASA
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conducted a first of its kind Twitch stream this past
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week from Get This the International Space Station, joining us
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on the line to tell us all about it is
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Rachel Delphin, Chief marketing officer at Twitch. Hi Rachel, good
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to chat with you. Thanks for being on the program.
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Hi Mark, it's great to be with you.
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Thank you. So Hey, before we talk about this first
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ever out of this world Twitch event, Sorry dad joke,
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please give us a quick Twitch one oh one if
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you will. For those who maybe haven't spent any time
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on the platform, or they've heard about Twitch, maybe their
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kids use it, but they're not exactly sure what it is.
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Twitch is the leading live streaming service. It enables anyone anywhere,
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truly to stream what they love live. We have over
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twenty one million active creators on the service, and unlike
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places where content is pre recorded and edited, Twitch is
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live and interactive format mean there's an immediate viewer engagement
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through real time chat, so viewers can respond to the
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action or whatever is unfolding right as it happens, and
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the creator gets that immediate response or feedback right away.
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I know you said there's twenty one million creators, but
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you don't have to stream yourself. Does that twenty one
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million also include those who watch somebody else's stream and
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comments or not.
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No, we see about one hundred and five.
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Million Okay, significant numbers. Yes, yes, thanks for the clarification. Yeah,
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that's really impressive. Becoming a household word. Now I remember
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when Twitch launch, so this is great. Please now tell
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us about your exciting work with NASA.
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Yeah, for the first time, NASA hosted a live Twitch
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event from space with astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International
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Space Station. So they've done space walks in the past
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and sort of launches, but this was the first time
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they've actually done a live stream from space.
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It lasted just under two hours.
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There were over seventy five thousand unique visitors, so roughly
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the same number of people who were in the Caesar
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Stadium at the Super Bowl, and it peeps around sixteen
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thousand live viewers. The people who joined the chat had
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the opportunity to actually ask live questions and hear from
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the NASA astronauts about life in orbit, you know, from
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the mundane.
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Like how do you have hot coffee too?
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You know, more scientific like what's the value of you know,
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certain scientific backgrounds in space.
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Okay, got it. I was going to ask you what
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the chat was about. Obviously, with a two hour discussion,
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there's a lot covered. So live from two hundred and
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fifty miles above the Earth at the iss we've got
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this astronaut Don Pettitt fielding questions from interested participants on
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the Twitch platform. Was it a single camera view? And
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people would text in their questions, was it static? Was
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the astronaut able to move the camera around or at
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least show what the view would be like, for example,
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from his vantage point, we did end.
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Up taking the camera off of you know, it's stand
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at one point.
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Yeah, like a mount it would float. Otherwise, yeah, you
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gotta need to right.
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He hold the camera and show his cameras. So one
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of the questions, the early questions of the chat was
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actually about astral photography. Don Pettit shares a lot of
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his imagery and a lot of the pictures he takes
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from space, which it turns out is very difficult to
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do because you're moving really really quickly in orbit, something
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I learned but maybe should have known. And also like
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it switches very quickly from day to night, which they
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talked about also in the in the stream, And so
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the settings you have to have on your camera, you know,
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are pretty finite in order to actually capture imagery where
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it isn't a blurry blob of light, and so they
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talked about that in the chat. There was a really
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cute moment where a third grade class asked what it
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was like to return to Earth after you're spending weeks
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and months in space, and it turns out it's not
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very good. They did share details of what it's like
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to return to Earth after a lot of space, takes
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the body sometimes to adjust, They did attempt to physicstemons
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stration would be yo yo, and even talked about, you know,
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how to enjoy hot coffee and those kinds of things. So,
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you know, really fun to see chat take an interest
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what's life like on the station and also, you know,
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the life of an astronaut generally, Yeah.
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That's awesome. I once had the privilege of giving a
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keynote speech after Commander Chris Hadfield, the famous astronaut. I mean,
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he's a tough act to follow, so that aside, and
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he pulls out his guitar of course, you know, so
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that was hard to follow him. Nonetheless, I recall his
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stories about it being tough to come back to Earth
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and what the body goes through. Incidentally, and totally off topic,
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I did one of those vomit comment planes where you
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get to experience zero gravity pretty wild fifteen times. Yeah,
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it's like a modified seven forty seven above the Nevada Desert.
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All the seats are pulled out, it's all padded, and
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it performs a move called the parabola where especially trained
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pilot can angle the plane down somewhat and you're weightless
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for like twenty five seconds like an astronaut would be.
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And then when the plane is pulled up, you're then
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stuck to the ground like the g forces hardly. You
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can't even move your arm up and then it goes
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back down again and it's that constant you know, up
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and down that's really hard on the body as well.
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But that was pretty exciting and without getting too technical here, Rachel,
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how does the internet work on the ISS? I guess
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they're using satellites in some way, shape or form, Like
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how did they have internet connection?
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Yeah, it was really just a conversation between folks on
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Earth at NASA's Johnson Space Center and astronaut Don Pettit
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aboard the International.
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Space Station, so switching their.
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Regular broadcast that goes directly to NASA's Twitch channel as
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their broadcast destination, which we're told was a very simple
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technical setup.
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And then the kids and everybody else engaged on Twitch
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were connected to the ground station.
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Yeah, just as normal there. Any viewers were going through
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Twitch and interacting through chat as they normally would.
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Awesome. Was there delay?
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No, very little delay, and any limitations would be on
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the viewer's end, so it would be limited by the
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broadcast destination, so you know, depending on your WiFi or
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your cellul connection, not limited by whatever is happening in space.
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Wow. Crazy. We are chatting with Rachel delphin, Chief marketing
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officer at Twitch. We're learning about this first of its
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kind partnership with NASA. Well, to be fair, you've partnered
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with NASA in the past, but this is the first
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time that you've broadcasted live from the International Space Station
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with astronaut Don Pettitt, who fielded questions for almost two
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hours just out of curiosity. Was this a campaign that
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Twitch proposed to NASA or was it the other way around.
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Well, they've streamed content like launches and spacewalks, but this
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is the first time they brought Twitch chat directly to
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the astronaut on board. But it was you know, I
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think NASA's idea and they have come to twitch con
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before as well, and I think just saw that there's
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so much interest right from the Twitch community, and so
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we were very happy to support their idea. But it was,
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you know, all credit due to the NASA team.
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Was there a goal to this chat. Was it like
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a technical challenge they want to see if they can
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do this from space or did they want to engage
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with Twitch users in a fresh new way.
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I think it was really just about getting people interested
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in asking questions about space and what's happening, and sharing
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some of the sort of day to day details of
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the astronauts and reaching some new audiences, right hunger audiences
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and the mediums that they prefer and where they hang out.
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Yeah, and then as we wrap up, you mentioned Twitch
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is primarily a live platform. That's what separates it from say,
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the likes of YouTube and other pre recorded video platforms.
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But is this chat with astronaut Don pettit archived on Twitch?
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I'm sure a lot of listeners, even though they missed
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the date. What was this February twelfth? You did it
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that they would love to see this now? Is that possible? Yes?
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You can go to Twitch, dot tv, slash NASA and
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check out the video on demand from the live stream.
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There are also lots of exclusive clips.
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From the content, and then they have a whole archive
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of content from past broadcasts that they've done.
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All right, great Twitch, dot TV, Slash, NASA, and ASA
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and you can see this chat with Don Pettit very exciting. Rachel,
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thank you so much much for your time. This is
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really cool and I hope that this is one of
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many more to come. So thanks again for sharing the
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news with us.
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Thanks so much for having me. I hope to see
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you and chat.
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Hey, thanks for tuning into check it out. I'm your host,
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Mark Saltzman. We have a lot more to get to
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this hour. After a short break, in about a minute,
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we're going to chat with Buddy. Yeah, it's a social
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media app, but it's very different than the likes of
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x and Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and others. So we're going
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to hear about Buddy. First available for iPhone only, but
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an Android version is in the works. And then speaking
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of smartphones, after that, we're going to catch up with
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a company called charge Fus that lets you rent a
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power bank. You know those little batteries, those backup batteries
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that you can plug your smartphone into to charge up
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when you're out somewhere so you don't have to plug
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it into a wall. We're going to chat with the
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charge fus folks to hear what's new from them, where
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you can pick them up, how much it costs, what
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happens if you don't return it it's fine. So we're
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going to get to all of that as well, and
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I'll plug my social media handles to ask what you
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think of this idea or if you've used charge and
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hey next week on the show, I'm excited to go
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to New York to visit Amazon in a couple of days,
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and then after that heading off to Barcelona in Spain
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for Mobile World Congress. So I look forward to conducting
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a bunch of interviews for check it Out when I'm there.
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Excited to share all that with you in upcoming episodes.
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So hang tight, stick with us. We'll be right back
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with a lot more check it Out after this short break.
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Listen to check it Out whenever you want to find
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the check it Out podcast, Did I Too, or wherever
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you get your podcasts.
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Welcome back to check it Out. We cover cybersecurity a
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lot on this program and how you can best protect
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yourself in the digital age, even if you're not super
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tech savvy. One part of the solution is securely shopping online,
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and so I'm thrilled about my partnership with Visa on
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tech it out, as they've made some significant investments in
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fraud prevent over the past five years, as much as
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ten billion dollars yes that's billion with a bee to
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support Visa's brand promise to protect the financial information of
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individuals and businesses. Zero liability means peace of mind when
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you shop online using your Visa card. There can be
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no half measures when it comes to cybersecurity, which is
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why the company takes an aggressive and multi layered approach
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to combating the rising threat of malicious software and other
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threats by well funded and global criminal enterprises. Read more
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about Visa and how securing the world's payments is priority
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one at Visa dot Com slash Security. That's Visa dot
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Com slash Security. Not all social media apps are created equal.
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What if one put an emphasis on the social part
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as an in real life, more meaningful in person experiences
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with friends, yet still using your devices to stay connected.
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How would that work? What would that look like? Well,
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joining us on the line to tell us all about
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the Buddy app is its CEO and co founder, Claire Right.
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Thanks for your time, Claire, good to chat with you.
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Hi, Mark, thanks for having me on.
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Why don't we dive right in tell us about Buddy
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and how it differs from other social media apps out there. So,
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Buddy is.
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The first ever social utility app, and what that means
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is is that it really is something that's of use
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and does make your life better. We are the first
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non toxic app that encourages people to get off their
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phones and out in the real world. And as a
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bonus or app works offline and online.
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All right, So the techie and me wants to ask
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you about it working offline, but we'll get to that
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in due time. A non toxic app is very appealing,
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I'm sure to many of our listeners, those who have
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kids or grandkids who are always on their devices. So
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with that being said, the expression is that good technology
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solves a problem. Is it true? There are technologies like
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social media apps that can be causing more harm than good.
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Yeah, And it's funny you say that, because that's how
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Buddy was created. I wanted to solve a problem and
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I knew that tech was going to be the answer. Tech, yes,
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can be used in negative ways because as companies get
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forced when they scale to make returns and make the
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business work, that sometimes deviates us from our original mission,
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i e. Making the app addictive because our business is
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based on screen time. We don't want to and haven't
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compromised our mission. We started building the technology solution and
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we actually built the product afterwards. We looked at how
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existing social apps made them feel and ironically causing them
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to feel more lonely, setting unrealistic physical standards and lifestyle
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and encouraging feelings like fomo. We designed Body intentionally to
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avoid all these negative impacts and really are focusing on
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how to enrich our users' lives and be at value,
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really encouraging ultimately to connect in real life.
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This is great, you know, whether it's misinformation with some
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social media apps or causing loneliness, facilitating cyberbullying, setting unrealistic
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physical standards as you mentioned fomo of missing out. These
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are all the negatives and you hinted at this already, Claire,
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if you're open to sharing it, can you tell us
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about your personal reason for developing Buddy Sure.
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As a mother of two young boys who sadly suffer
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from phone addiction like most gen Z and Jena do,
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and after losing two friends to loss of mental and
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physical connection, I felt the strong responsibility to build something
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of impact. I'm lucky also to be working with a
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team that believe in creating a healthy and happier generation
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as much as I do. It's important for us at
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Buddy to be authentic too. There is so much, you know,
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amazing technology being built, but the question is do we
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need it or will it make my life better? It
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was on this premise that we've built Buddy on. Sometimes
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tech is built, you know, with the right intentions, like
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look at social media. It was built for people to connect,
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but now we are suffering from a loneliness epidemic where
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people aren't connecting from it, you know, and the average
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screen time is reached eight hours a day with gen
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Z No, it's kind of crazy.
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So we may be getting our fixed digitally with that
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kind of screen time, which sounds like a lot. That's
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a third of your day, but we're missing out of
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the experience's irl, as the kids would say, in real life.
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So how does Buddy work in the real world and
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I understand you gamify these real world experiences.
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We do. We do.
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We understand that we had to also build a product
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that is interesting. You know, it's not just about making
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a coat that keeps you warm. You might want to
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look nice in it. You might want it to be
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water proof. We're very aware of So we built Buddy
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with features that we felt would make it fun for
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the users, like integrating gamification, discovery of fourth spaces, while
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not encouraging to stay glued to their devices.
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All right, so could you elaborate a bit more. Let's
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unpack some of that. So let's say I install Buddy
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on my mobile device. I've got some friends who do
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the same. Now what we're out together experiencing an outdoor festival,
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some concert or something. How would we leverage the Buddy app?
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Yeah, so you have you have your Buddy private network
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and you have your best buddies, but you also have
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a discovery page it's actually been launched in two weeks
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where you can discover public spots, but based on interest,
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and that's not spots that Buddy puts in there, that's
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people on Buddy. So it's like community driven in real
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life places that you can discover based on where you are.
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We also have dropped the spot counts, so if you
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drop more spots, if you save more spots, we re
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reward the user and make people know that you're being healthy,
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so the other users can see how you're using the app.
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When we return on tech it Out, we're going to
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spend a few more minutes with Claire from Buddy to
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learn all about the Buddy app and what makes it unique.
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We've heard already that it puts a lot more emphasis
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on in real life interactions with your friends, and the
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phone simply facilitates those connections. But when we return, I
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want to ask Claire about how this works even without
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a sailor or Wi Fi connection. A bit intrigued by that,
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so we're going to hear that side of it when
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we return. In fact, they tested this in the jungles
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of Costa Rica apparently, so we're going to hear how
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this works a lot. More tech it Out coming right
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up after this short break. Stay with us.
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I want to follow Mark Google Mark with a C
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00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:32.440
and Saltzman with a Z breaking down geeks peak into
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street speak. This is check it out to check it
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out with technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman.
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Welcome back to check it out. We're chatting with Claire Right.
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She's the CEO and co founder of an app called Buddy.
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It's a download for iPhone users for now, but Android
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is coming soon. Now. You said something earlier that I
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was intrigued about. How can you stay connected through the
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Buddy app when you're out with your friends without Wi
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Fi or cellular connectivity? How would that work? Exactly?
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So you don't need any hardware. All you need is
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the Buddy app. We have something called first available networks,
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so it will depending on where you are, it will
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look for the best available network to be able to
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send your message, so a look for cellular or Wi Fi.
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If that's not available, it will kick into our mesh
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as long as you have someone with the Buddy app
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within one hundred meters. If there's no connectivity, then that
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message will get to a user. So it's a very
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good app to use when you're in a crowd and
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connectivity gets congested.
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All right, So sticking with my example of being at
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an outdoor festival, that's like three hundred and thirty feet
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that's a lot. So the idea is that if others
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are on the Buddy app as well. Even if the
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cellular network is jamm because so many people are trying
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to use it and there's no Wi Fi outside, you
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can still stay connected and agree to meet up somewhere.
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That kind of thing.
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Yeah, And just to make it clear, it doesn't mean
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if I'm sending a message to you mark that you
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have to be one hundred meters. It just means that
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it will hop with it that one hundred meters and
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keep hopping. You could be two miles away, so as
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long as someone's within that distance. Because there are devices,
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mesh devices, but they're like, you know, glorified walkie talkies
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because you do have to have a user. But the
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unique thing about Buddy is that we look for the
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best available network and usually when you're at a festival,
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there will be some connectivity in certain areas.
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And speaking of festivals, I understand you just put this
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to the test in the jungles of Costa Rica, if
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I'm not mistaken. Can you tell us about that?
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Yes, we did super fun So that was thousands of
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ravers in a jungle in Costa Rica which actually had
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zero cell service. So Buddy was really handy when you
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lose a friend and you're walking around trying to find
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out what stage they are at. So yeah, that was
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a super fun deployment for us.
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Oh wow, all right, Claire, And before I let you go,
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I had one more question tied to AI. Obviously very
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hot right now? Is Buddy leveraging AI? And if so,
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how so?
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Yes, Buddy is of course leveraging AI. So again, being
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a non toxic environment app is really important to us.
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Moderation is key to making sure we manage that. We're
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actually using a company called GGWP to moderate all content,
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making sure it is toxic free.
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For our users.
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And we're also leveraging AI to recommend places to our users.
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Awesome. And what's the starting age you'd recommend for using Buddy, Marie?
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We are seventeen plus on the app store, but we've
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had a massive long wait list for users twelve plus,
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so just stay.
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Tuned, okay? And where can we stay tuned? What's the
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best website to learn more? And should we just download
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Buddy from the app store?
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Yes, you can download Buddy on the app Store if
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you search Buddies Friends.
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For Real Buddy Friends for Real?
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Yes?
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And is there a website where we can learn more?
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Potential investors listening.
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00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.240
Absolutely, it's your Buddyworld dot com.
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All right, your Buddyworld dot com. Our guest has been
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Clear Ray, CEO and co founder for the new app.
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Thank you so much, Claire. Really exciting to launch something
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like this, something different, something that is meant for good.
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Thank you again for your time.
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Thanks for having me on monk.
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What do you think of the Buddy app? I'll give
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00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:17.400
you my handles on social media, not on Buddy yet,
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00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:19.680
but I'll spell my name and maybe you can find
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00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.839
me on other platforms so you can share what you think.
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00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.839
Or maybe you are using the Buddy app and you've
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got some feedback that I can pass on to Claire.
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00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:32.279
So I'm on x, Instagram, blue Sky, Threads, Facebook, YouTube,
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00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:37.400
TikTok and LinkedIn. So pick your poison. It's Mark Saltzman,
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00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:41.880
mar C s A L T Z M A n
456
00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:45.640
so Mark with us C Saltsman with the Z and yeah,
457
00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.880
let me know if you've got any tech questions, what
458
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.480
you think of tech it out, Maybe you've got recommendations
459
00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:52.799
for upcoming guests or topics you want to share some
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00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.720
feedback on interviews this hour so far, we just chatted
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with Buddy and before that, Twitch a company that partnered
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with NASA to broadcast a live two hour video stream
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00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.039
that's interactive from the ISS and coming up over the
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00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.720
next couple of blocks, we're going to chat with charge Fews,
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00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:11.720
a company that has these kiosks that let you rent
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00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:15.359
power banks to charge up your phone, your earbuds, whatever
467
00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:17.759
you've got on you that needs a boost. If you
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00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:21.279
prefer email a post to social media, my website is
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00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:25.240
Mark Saltzman dot com. Again m A R C SA
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00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:30.000
L t Z m an dot com. Before we continue
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00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.119
on with the show, I wanted to give a quick
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00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:35.599
shout out to Sanddisc, thank you for your support on
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tech it Out. The new sand Disc Creator Series is
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from videos and blog posts to podcasts and social media updates.
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These external sand Disc SSDs and other flash based products
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designed to withstand the riggers of on the go use,
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with features like drop protection and resistance to water and dust.
485
00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:25.680
Number three portability. This SanDisk series includes several portable SSDs
486
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:28.240
and other flash drives, making it easy to take your
487
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:32.119
storage with you wherever you go. Number four compatibility. These
488
00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:34.440
sand disk products are designed to work with a range
489
00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:39.599
of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, cameras and more.
490
00:24:39.720 --> 00:24:43.000
And number five high capacity. There's no longer a trade
491
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.839
off between the durability of solid state drives and capacity
492
00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:49.160
for those who need a lot of storage, as you
493
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.440
can have it all now with drives that can store
494
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.240
several terabytes of data. More info is at SanDisk dot
495
00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.559
com slash creator. That's SanDisk dot com slash creator if
496
00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:04.759
you weren't aware. Sand Disc and what was its parent company,
497
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:09.559
Western Digital They split formerly this week into two independent
498
00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:13.559
companies Western Digital. We'll focus more on hard drives, which
499
00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:17.839
have huge capacity like twenty twenty two twenty four terabyte drives,
500
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.599
great for long term storage, but sand Discs going to
501
00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:22.839
look more on solid state drives like the ones I
502
00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:26.200
just talked about, which offer faster read and write speeds,
503
00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:30.160
lighter and more durable designs, quieter requires less power, and
504
00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.039
the capacities are getting up there too, which is pretty cool.
505
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.480
So you'll notice that I'm going to be chatting more
506
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.559
about sand Disc, the official partner on tech it Out
507
00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:42.319
more than Western Digital, but always happy to answer your questions.
508
00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:45.240
Of course, I've plugged my social handles earlier and my
509
00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:47.640
website if you prefer to email me. But in case
510
00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.079
you didn't hear the news that Western Digital or WD
511
00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:53.880
and sand Disc have now separated into two independent companies.
512
00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:57.839
Cool all right, So, as promised, our final guest coming
513
00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:00.839
up on tech it Out after this short break is
514
00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:03.640
with charge Fuse. Have you ever been out somewhere at
515
00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.119
a restaurant, a casino, a concert, a sports venue and
516
00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:09.319
you look at your phone and it's got like ten
517
00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:12.920
percent eight percent battery life left. That's the worst feeling.
518
00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:16.039
So we're going to hear all about how charge fuse works.
519
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:17.519
Stick with us. We're going to get to all of
520
00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:18.880
that when check it Out continues.
521
00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:23.279
Right after this breaking down, GeekSpeak into street speak. Check
522
00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:25.079
it Out closted by Mark Saltzman.
523
00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:39.279
Welcome back everyone, you're listening to check it out. Have
524
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:41.599
you ever run out to a hockey game or basketball game,
525
00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.680
or maybe a concert and realize that your smartphone's battery
526
00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:47.880
is waning? Well, you're not alone. Look around the venue though,
527
00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.039
as you may see a charge Fuse station which lets
528
00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:54.440
you affordably rent a power bank, a backup battery to
529
00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:56.680
juice up your device for a few minutes. To tell
530
00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.119
us all about charge fuse is the company behind them
531
00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:03.079
Fuse Technology, we're joined by CEO Brandon Afari. Hi, Brandon,
532
00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:03.960
good to chat with you.
533
00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:05.359
Likewise my pleasure.
534
00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:07.480
All right, Brandon, So why don't we dive right in
535
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:10.000
at a high level what's fuse all about?
536
00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:10.759
I'm glad you ask that.
537
00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:12.880
What fus is about rather than just charge fusee so
538
00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:15.319
fuse technology, what we do is we try to focus
539
00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:18.160
on bringing innovative and convenience solutions to the market with
540
00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:21.359
the concept of connectivity behind it. So we're all falling
541
00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:24.319
in under the umbrella of IoT solutions, which is Internet
542
00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:27.240
of things, so thank device to device communication today a
543
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:29.839
fuse technology. We have two brands out there, the first
544
00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:31.920
being charged fuse, which is what you referenced, and we
545
00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:34.559
also have ad fusee as well. But the thesis is
546
00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:36.079
connectivity and convenience.
547
00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.799
All right, So I painted this scenario off the top
548
00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:41.480
where we always have our phone with us, of course,
549
00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:43.920
but we don't always remember to charge it up. And
550
00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:46.119
the more that these devices can do, these are like
551
00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:49.039
digital Swiss army knife, right, the more of the impact
552
00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:51.039
on the battery. So next thing you know, you're glanting
553
00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:52.920
down at your phone at a Taylor Swift concert and
554
00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:55.279
you've got thirteen percent. You're not going to be happy,
555
00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:58.000
especially if you want to record some snippets and share
556
00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.279
it on social media. So how does charge fusee work exactly?
557
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:02.519
Maybe you can walk us through that.
558
00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.319
Yes, So the concept, if you think of how the
559
00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:08.240
city bike model works, the concept of the sharing economy
560
00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:10.400
is very similar to charge shoes, except rather than it
561
00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.559
being a bike, it's a portable charger. Users in our
562
00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:16.880
network could essentially find and locate a charging station anywhere
563
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:19.079
in the city. They could go to that Kiosk scanning
564
00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:22.799
QR code out pops a portable charger. The charger has
565
00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.440
universal charging capability, so you can charge your phone, Android
566
00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:29.440
or iPhone on the go, and the beauty of it
567
00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:31.359
is you could actually return it to any station in
568
00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:34.359
the network. So we're creating this ecosystem of charging stations.
569
00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:37.519
So someone going to maybe Crypto dot Com Arena or
570
00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:40.240
Madison Square Garden can rent there and drop it off
571
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:42.240
at the local bar in the respective city.
572
00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:44.039
All right, so you don't have to return it to
573
00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:46.440
the same machine. I'm assuming there's an app that shows
574
00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:47.839
you where all your locations are.
575
00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.640
Yes, that's great.
576
00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:50.839
So it's an app again similar to city bike or
577
00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:53.640
a scooter model. You can look at a station anywhere.
578
00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:53.680
In the city.
579
00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:56.000
What's the app that you would look forward to download
580
00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.920
from the app store or Google Play.
581
00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:00.640
So that itself is charge Fuse few Ze.
582
00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:03.039
And that's one word. Charge FEUs is one word.
583
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:04.440
Right, It's one word exactly.
584
00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.759
So look, I've seen these battery rental solutions. I was
585
00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:10.680
recently in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. One
586
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.039
model that I ran into was charge Fuse and then
587
00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:14.920
the other was another brand. So what would you say
588
00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:18.119
separates charge fees from other rental kiosks like this?
589
00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.960
Yeah, I mean I'd say, first and foremost the concept itself.
590
00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:24.279
I mean, we have best in class technology, that's what
591
00:29:24.279 --> 00:29:27.359
we pride ourselves in. Our engineers are some of the
592
00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:29.680
best engineers in the United States and also internationally, so
593
00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:32.599
we really focus on building the best charge and utility.
594
00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:34.799
But around that as well, i'd say that you know,
595
00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:37.920
where we are differentiator is the fact that the locations
596
00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.559
and venues that we're in are pretty vast, right, especially
597
00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:42.759
with this concept we want to use a service in
598
00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:44.920
which you could actually return it, you actually have a
599
00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.359
network behind you. So as a company, we power as
600
00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.200
an example, over seventy percent of every major sports team.
601
00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:52.880
We have thousands of locations across you know.
602
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:53.599
Forty states.
603
00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:55.720
So really it's the fact that we have this strong
604
00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:58.880
network of prime venues and also just venues in general
605
00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:01.960
to really establish proper network. But beyond that as well,
606
00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:04.480
again it's the fact that the tech itself on our
607
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:07.359
side is the most superior. But really it's just predicated
608
00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:09.680
on our best in class technology and the fact that
609
00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.039
we do have this breadth and debt partners behind us.
610
00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:16.400
Speaking of the best in class backup batteries or power banks,
611
00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:17.920
can you tell us a bit about them. You said
612
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:19.920
it does have those common connectors built in, so I'm
613
00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:25.440
assuming micro USB for older Android devices, Lightning for older iPhones,
614
00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.960
and then USB C for modern day iPhones and Android
615
00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:31.359
devices as well. Can you talk to us about you know,
616
00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:34.240
I don't care milliamp this, milliamp that, but how many
617
00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.759
times can you charge up a typical phone at least
618
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:38.079
once or does it vary?
619
00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:40.119
Yeah? So, and to recap, you're completely right.
620
00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:43.119
We have lightning, micro USB and USB C for all
621
00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:46.079
the charging functionality. Generally speaking, it depends on your phone
622
00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:48.480
type and also how long you're using it for while
623
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:51.039
you're using it or using it, you know, intensely.
624
00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:51.839
While you're charging it as well.
625
00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.440
Yeah, but you can get anywhere from you a charge
626
00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:56.480
and a half to maybe even two charges, depending on
627
00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:58.119
the phone you're using. And I say it too, it's
628
00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:00.559
ironic because it's not even just the use case of
629
00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:01.119
phones either.
630
00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:01.359
Right.
631
00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:03.799
We have people using it at studio sets as an
632
00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:06.960
example for their cameras, right, So, I think the applications
633
00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:09.559
it's pretty fun to see that sometimes it goes beyond
634
00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:12.640
just a phone itself. It could be you know, for AirPods,
635
00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:14.680
it could be for a camera as mentioned, So it's
636
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:16.079
fun to see the use cases.
637
00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:19.920
Cool. We are chatting with Brandon Afari. He is the
638
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:23.480
chief executive officer for a company called Fuse Technology. They
639
00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:26.960
are the folks behind the charge fuse. I call them kiosks.
640
00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:29.480
There are these little machines that you would be able
641
00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:32.400
to rent a backup battery at a venue. You also
642
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.519
said you have something called ad fuse. This is another
643
00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:37.440
revenue model for you. Is that right that there are
644
00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:40.480
screens on these machines or these kiosks and you can
645
00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:43.359
rent the ad space to an advertiser. Is that fair?
646
00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:44.160
Exactly?
647
00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:47.759
So, all our stations are equipped with digital screens. The
648
00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:50.079
beauty and our concept of charge fues. What we're doing
649
00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:53.240
is obviously we're leading with utility and amenity first, which
650
00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:55.720
is great, But on top of that, we give opportunities
651
00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.359
for big brands that are out there to really give
652
00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:01.640
hyper targeted advertising to the right person at the right time.
653
00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:04.279
So again, think about people being in a compromise situation
654
00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:06.920
at a sporting event. You know, maybe a brand like
655
00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:09.799
Taco Bell or Burger King wants to target someone after
656
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:13.279
that event. We're able to actually again capture that engagement
657
00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:15.559
at the right point in time for that right brand.
658
00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:19.440
Could you also add branding to the power banks themselves,
659
00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:22.640
like a Taco Bell or Casey Chiefs or forty nine
660
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:24.599
or or anything like that, or because you can return
661
00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:26.279
it to a different Kiosk, you might not want.
662
00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:26.400
To do that.
663
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:29.160
Yeah, So we actually have two separate divisions start a business.
664
00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:32.359
We have one that's for events and activations. So think
665
00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:34.240
about the US open right. We work with you know,
666
00:32:34.359 --> 00:32:36.960
JP Morgan Chase and helping them being the charging provider
667
00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:38.960
of the event and where the underlying technology.
668
00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:41.480
So we do activations right, and activations.
669
00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:45.279
We have much more flexibility generally speaking, for permanent installations,
670
00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:48.039
the stations that are actually in the network themselves. We
671
00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:51.319
try to avoid obviously branding the batteries just because again
672
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:52.720
you never know where it's going to end up. You
673
00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:54.839
don't want one brand ending up in another station at
674
00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:56.759
another venue that might not want that brand there. So,
675
00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:58.559
but we do have two sides to the business, two arms,
676
00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:01.680
right events and activations and also our permanent installation side.
677
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:04.440
We're going to learn more about charge fuse when we
678
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.640
return on teck it Out. I've got a couple of
679
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:09.000
questions I want to ask them, so stick with us.
680
00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:11.759
We'll be right back with more teck it out.
681
00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:15.559
Follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. Listen
682
00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:17.559
to check it out whenever you want.
683
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:31.319
A few more minutes left with Brandon Afari, CEO of
684
00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:35.640
Fuse Technology. They're the folks behind the charge Fuse station,
685
00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:40.480
these kiosks. They'll let you rent a power bank backup
686
00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:42.920
battery to juice up your smartphone for a few minutes
687
00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:46.319
when you're out and about out of curiosity. What percentage
688
00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:48.920
of people return it to a machine that's not the
689
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:50.000
one that they rented.
690
00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:52.160
It from in terms of people returning to the same venue.
691
00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:54.240
And I say that because obviously we'll have more stations
692
00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.720
in a single venue, the same venue will see around
693
00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:57.559
eighty percent or so.
694
00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:59.039
We'll work kind of books in that venue.
695
00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:01.359
Many have twenty percent that again take advantage of the
696
00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:03.839
ability to actually turn it to another station in the city.
697
00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:06.720
Or not at all, Which leads me to my next question.
698
00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:09.639
When I heard about the pricing for charge shoes, that
699
00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:13.320
was really impressed. It sounded really low from a consumer standpoint,
700
00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:15.320
which is awesome. So can you walk us through how
701
00:34:15.400 --> 00:34:17.960
much it costs to rent a battery from a charge
702
00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:20.719
view station and then I guess it's by time and
703
00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:22.840
then after a certain amount of time if you keep
704
00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:24.599
it what you're looking at there, Yeah, no.
705
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.480
Great, great question. So the model itself.
706
00:34:26.679 --> 00:34:29.159
The way it works is we have in ranges depending
707
00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:31.559
on the venue type, but generally speaking, it's two dollars
708
00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:32.480
for every thirty minutes.
709
00:34:32.599 --> 00:34:35.000
You get a full charge in about fifty minutes or so.
710
00:34:35.159 --> 00:34:37.599
So generally speaking, people will spend anywhere from two to
711
00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:39.800
four dollars to get a full charge. If you end
712
00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.400
up keeping the battery, you get capped at forty dollars
713
00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:43.599
at that point in time.
714
00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:46.039
It's not like we again just charge you and that's it.
715
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:49.360
All our batteries actually have a USBC port on the side,
716
00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:51.280
so you can actually recharge the battery at home.
717
00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:52.559
So in essence, it's like you.
718
00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:55.199
Bought a high quality all in one portable charger for
719
00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:56.480
a forty bucks, right, Yeah.
720
00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:58.639
That's not bad at all. Yeah, so it's twenty bucks
721
00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:01.400
is the max that you're renting for another twenty as
722
00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:03.440
let's call it a penalty for not returning at all.
723
00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:05.639
That's not bad. I mean, yeah, maybe it's a little
724
00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:07.840
bit higher than when you would pay for it at
725
00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.840
retail for the same milliam I'm sure, but it's convenient
726
00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:12.719
because it's at that location that you were at, and
727
00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:15.199
if you don't want to return it, it's only forty bucks,
728
00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:18.039
like I mean, relatively speaking. And before we wrap up, Brandon,
729
00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:21.760
what's next for fuz Technology, the company and your charge
730
00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:22.840
fuse stations?
731
00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:25.760
Great questions, I'd say where we are right now because
732
00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:28.840
our product has an essence, it's applicable to every venue
733
00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:32.920
type hospitals, restaurants, bars, casino, as you name it. We
734
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:35.199
have a lot more to do obviously with general expansion,
735
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:38.159
so we're really you know, doubling down in the US market.
736
00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:41.400
We're also exploring opportunities internationally.
737
00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:42.719
As well, beginning with what country.
738
00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:45.519
We started in Canada already actually, and we started in
739
00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.480
Europe as well, so we're hitting some some market venues
740
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:51.280
and you know, UK and France and Germany. But really
741
00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:53.519
the focus is on the marquee for now, but we
742
00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:54.880
were expanding as we speak.
743
00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:56.480
And what's the best place to learn more?
744
00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:59.320
Yes, so charge few specifically you go to charge FEUs
745
00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:01.280
dot com. That'll really show you kind of you know,
746
00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:03.559
what the company is about, what we're doing, especially in
747
00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:04.360
twenty twenty four.
748
00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:06.679
Everything is really on that website. And then also we.
749
00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:11.199
Have ad fusaddash fus dot com, which is launching this quorder,
750
00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:13.960
so people and brands that actually want to advertise on
751
00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:14.559
our platform.
752
00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:15.480
Can go there as well.
753
00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:17.480
Brandon, great to chat with you, Thanks so much for
754
00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:21.480
carving up some time. Congratulations on already the successive charge Fuse.
755
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:22.119
Good to talk to.
756
00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:23.880
You, appreciate it. Mark, thanks for your time as well.
757
00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:24.639
Thanks for having me.
758
00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:27.320
Let me know what you think about charge Fuse or
759
00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.159
if you've used one of their kiosks before. I'm on
760
00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:33.679
all the big social media platforms. It's Mark Saltsman, Mark
761
00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:36.880
with the C, Saltsman with the Z. Also, if you
762
00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:39.880
do like check it out, I would kindly ask you
763
00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:44.159
to leave a star review at your favorite podcast platform,
764
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:50.400
be it Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Audible, Stitcher, and
765
00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:52.519
so on and so forth. It goes a long way
766
00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:55.199
to just click the star reviewed or let me know
767
00:36:55.239 --> 00:36:56.440
what you think. Let me know what you think of
768
00:36:56.440 --> 00:36:58.800
the show. It's always evolving. I always try to find
769
00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:01.800
some cool guests and topics, and I think this week's
770
00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:05.039
show was no exception, so hope you enjoyed it. As
771
00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:07.400
I mentioned earlier in the program, I'm off to New
772
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:10.119
York to attend an Amazon event, so I'll be sure
773
00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:13.119
to conduct an interview there and run that on the
774
00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:16.199
next show, and then on the evening of the twenty
775
00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:19.960
eighth of February, I'm heading off to Barcelona. Never been
776
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.440
to Spain before, but I've been invited to attend Mobile
777
00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:26.800
World Congress or MWC for short. This is an annual
778
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:31.079
tech show that, as the name suggests, focuses mostly on
779
00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:35.159
mobile technology smartphones and tablets and accessories and looking forward
780
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:37.760
to going and seeing new phones and other innovations, so
781
00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.039
I will be sure to record some interviews there as well.
782
00:37:41.119 --> 00:37:43.599
For check it out. For this last minute of the show,
783
00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:45.000
I just want to give a shout out one more
784
00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:47.880
time to Visa. Thank you for your support on this
785
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:52.199
weekly program. Visa has made significant investments in fraud prevention
786
00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:55.679
over the past several years, billions of dollars, all to
787
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:59.320
support Visa's brand promise to protect the financial information of
788
00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:03.400
both individual jewels and businesses. Zero liability means peace of
789
00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:06.440
mind when you shop online or at retail using your Visa.
790
00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:09.719
There could be no half measures when it comes to cybersecurity,
791
00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:12.320
and that's why the company takes an aggressive and multi
792
00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:16.199
layered approach to combating the rising threat of malicious software
793
00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:19.920
and other threats by well funded and global criminal enterprises.
794
00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:23.280
Read more about Visa and how securing the world's payments
795
00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:27.599
is priority one at Visa dot com slash security. That's
796
00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:31.280
Visa dot Com slash Security. We also had a guest
797
00:38:31.320 --> 00:38:34.280
on from Visa about a month ago to talk about
798
00:38:34.440 --> 00:38:38.239
romance scams leading up to Valentine's Day, and BOYD did
799
00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:41.480
that strike accord with listeners. I received a flot of
800
00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:45.599
messages from across the country telling me their stories about
801
00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:48.960
catfishing or someone they know who was duped into paying
802
00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:52.159
these cybercriminals. Really discussing people out there that are doing
803
00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:54.360
this to you, So I'm glad that the show, at
804
00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:57.079
the very least can help raise awareness. Hey, have a
805
00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:59.360
great rest of your day, everyone, and I look forward
806
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:01.800
to catching up with you next weekend for another brand
807
00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:04.519
new episode of Check it Out. Bye bye for now.
1
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.600
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the ever changing world
2
00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:03.399
of technology?
3
00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:04.599
Can Check it Out?
4
00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:07.040
Can help make some sense of it all, breaking down
5
00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:10.919
geek speak into street speak. Technology columnist, author, and TV
6
00:00:11.039 --> 00:00:15.720
personality Mark Saltzman covers consumer technology each week for every listener,
7
00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:19.559
Mark tackles the latest news, reviews, and how toos to
8
00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:23.559
help you understand what's hot, what's not and why.
9
00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:28.199
Hey everyone, welcome to check it Out. This is episode
10
00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.239
three eighty two. Hope everyone's doing great out there in
11
00:00:31.480 --> 00:00:35.560
radio land or in podcast land. However you're tuning into
12
00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:39.320
this weekly show that doesn't just celebrate technology, how it
13
00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:42.039
can enhance it enrich your life. But my goal is
14
00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:46.399
to help demystify technology as well, or as the announcer says,
15
00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:49.520
I aim to break down geek speak into street speak
16
00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:52.200
each and every week. All right, So for this last
17
00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:55.000
tech It Out show for February, we have three great
18
00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.159
guests lined up for you. We're going to kick things
19
00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.399
off with Twitch, the incredibly popular video streaming platform which
20
00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:05.840
just partnered with NASA to broadcast a two hour chat
21
00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:09.599
from the ISS from the International Space Station. How cool
22
00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:12.760
is that? Then after that interview for something we can
23
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:15.560
use back down here on Earth. We'll hear all about
24
00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.840
the Buddy app. It's a different take on social media
25
00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.799
that puts a greater emphasis on in person experiences with
26
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your friends and family and less screen time, which I
27
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:28.120
think is great. And so we'll have the CEO and
28
00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:31.319
co founder of the Buddy app on this show shortly,
29
00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:34.000
also on tech it Out this hour. A little bit
30
00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:36.680
later in the program, we're going to learn about charge
31
00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.359
fus for when you need to charge up your smartphone
32
00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:42.719
when you're out somewhere like a concert, a hockey game,
33
00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:46.120
a casino. And so these are smart kiosks that'll let
34
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:49.079
you easily rent a portable power bang which you can
35
00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.040
return or not. And so we'll hear how it all
36
00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:53.760
works when we have charge fus on tech it Out
37
00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:56.319
later on all of this and more on an all
38
00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:59.400
new episode of teck it Out. All right, let's kick
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00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:02.519
things off. While you might think Twitch is just for
40
00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:07.079
gamers who live stream their interactive adventures for others to watch,
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00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:10.400
there's a lot more to the platform. In fact, NASA
42
00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:13.680
conducted a first of its kind Twitch stream this past
43
00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:17.639
week from Get This the International Space Station, joining us
44
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:19.240
on the line to tell us all about it is
45
00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:23.039
Rachel Delphin, Chief marketing officer at Twitch. Hi Rachel, good
46
00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:24.759
to chat with you. Thanks for being on the program.
47
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:26.479
Hi Mark, it's great to be with you.
48
00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.479
Thank you. So Hey, before we talk about this first
49
00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:32.879
ever out of this world Twitch event, Sorry dad joke,
50
00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.719
please give us a quick Twitch one oh one if
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00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.240
you will. For those who maybe haven't spent any time
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on the platform, or they've heard about Twitch, maybe their
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00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.280
kids use it, but they're not exactly sure what it is.
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Twitch is the leading live streaming service. It enables anyone anywhere,
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truly to stream what they love live. We have over
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twenty one million active creators on the service, and unlike
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places where content is pre recorded and edited, Twitch is
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live and interactive format mean there's an immediate viewer engagement
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00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:04.680
through real time chat, so viewers can respond to the
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action or whatever is unfolding right as it happens, and
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the creator gets that immediate response or feedback right away.
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I know you said there's twenty one million creators, but
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you don't have to stream yourself. Does that twenty one
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million also include those who watch somebody else's stream and
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comments or not.
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No, we see about one hundred and five.
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Million Okay, significant numbers. Yes, yes, thanks for the clarification. Yeah,
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that's really impressive. Becoming a household word. Now I remember
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when Twitch launch, so this is great. Please now tell
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00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:34.879
us about your exciting work with NASA.
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Yeah, for the first time, NASA hosted a live Twitch
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event from space with astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International
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Space Station. So they've done space walks in the past
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00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.479
and sort of launches, but this was the first time
75
00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:51.159
they've actually done a live stream from space.
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It lasted just under two hours.
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There were over seventy five thousand unique visitors, so roughly
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the same number of people who were in the Caesar
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00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:04.560
Stadium at the Super Bowl, and it peeps around sixteen
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thousand live viewers. The people who joined the chat had
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00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:11.280
the opportunity to actually ask live questions and hear from
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the NASA astronauts about life in orbit, you know, from
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the mundane.
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Like how do you have hot coffee too?
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You know, more scientific like what's the value of you know,
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certain scientific backgrounds in space.
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00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:26.879
Okay, got it. I was going to ask you what
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the chat was about. Obviously, with a two hour discussion,
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00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:33.639
there's a lot covered. So live from two hundred and
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00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:37.000
fifty miles above the Earth at the iss we've got
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this astronaut Don Pettitt fielding questions from interested participants on
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00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.399
the Twitch platform. Was it a single camera view? And
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00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:48.399
people would text in their questions, was it static? Was
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the astronaut able to move the camera around or at
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00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.560
least show what the view would be like, for example,
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00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.240
from his vantage point, we did end.
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00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:59.000
Up taking the camera off of you know, it's stand
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at one point.
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00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:02.879
Yeah, like a mount it would float. Otherwise, yeah, you
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00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:03.959
gotta need to right.
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00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:07.319
He hold the camera and show his cameras. So one
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00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.079
of the questions, the early questions of the chat was
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actually about astral photography. Don Pettit shares a lot of
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his imagery and a lot of the pictures he takes
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from space, which it turns out is very difficult to
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00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.879
do because you're moving really really quickly in orbit, something
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00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:25.000
I learned but maybe should have known. And also like
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00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:27.800
it switches very quickly from day to night, which they
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00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:31.079
talked about also in the in the stream, And so
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00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.319
the settings you have to have on your camera, you know,
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00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.600
are pretty finite in order to actually capture imagery where
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00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.000
it isn't a blurry blob of light, and so they
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talked about that in the chat. There was a really
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00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:44.120
cute moment where a third grade class asked what it
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00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:46.600
was like to return to Earth after you're spending weeks
116
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.120
and months in space, and it turns out it's not
117
00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:53.040
very good. They did share details of what it's like
118
00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:56.399
to return to Earth after a lot of space, takes
119
00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.959
the body sometimes to adjust, They did attempt to physicstemons
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00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.399
stration would be yo yo, and even talked about, you know,
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00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:04.519
how to enjoy hot coffee and those kinds of things. So,
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00:06:04.839 --> 00:06:06.959
you know, really fun to see chat take an interest
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00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.639
what's life like on the station and also, you know,
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00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:12.079
the life of an astronaut generally, Yeah.
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00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:14.439
That's awesome. I once had the privilege of giving a
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00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:19.279
keynote speech after Commander Chris Hadfield, the famous astronaut. I mean,
127
00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.800
he's a tough act to follow, so that aside, and
128
00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:23.759
he pulls out his guitar of course, you know, so
129
00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:26.560
that was hard to follow him. Nonetheless, I recall his
130
00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:29.040
stories about it being tough to come back to Earth
131
00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:32.000
and what the body goes through. Incidentally, and totally off topic,
132
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:34.279
I did one of those vomit comment planes where you
133
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:38.920
get to experience zero gravity pretty wild fifteen times. Yeah,
134
00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:42.480
it's like a modified seven forty seven above the Nevada Desert.
135
00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:44.560
All the seats are pulled out, it's all padded, and
136
00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.560
it performs a move called the parabola where especially trained
137
00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:52.240
pilot can angle the plane down somewhat and you're weightless
138
00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:55.040
for like twenty five seconds like an astronaut would be.
139
00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.439
And then when the plane is pulled up, you're then
140
00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.879
stuck to the ground like the g forces hardly. You
141
00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:02.759
can't even move your arm up and then it goes
142
00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.040
back down again and it's that constant you know, up
143
00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:06.879
and down that's really hard on the body as well.
144
00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:11.000
But that was pretty exciting and without getting too technical here, Rachel,
145
00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:14.040
how does the internet work on the ISS? I guess
146
00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:16.439
they're using satellites in some way, shape or form, Like
147
00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:17.839
how did they have internet connection?
148
00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.639
Yeah, it was really just a conversation between folks on
149
00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:24.519
Earth at NASA's Johnson Space Center and astronaut Don Pettit
150
00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:26.360
aboard the International.
151
00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:27.720
Space Station, so switching their.
152
00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:31.000
Regular broadcast that goes directly to NASA's Twitch channel as
153
00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.279
their broadcast destination, which we're told was a very simple
154
00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:35.639
technical setup.
155
00:07:35.399 --> 00:07:38.199
And then the kids and everybody else engaged on Twitch
156
00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:39.879
were connected to the ground station.
157
00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:44.079
Yeah, just as normal there. Any viewers were going through
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00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:47.199
Twitch and interacting through chat as they normally would.
159
00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:48.680
Awesome. Was there delay?
160
00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.360
No, very little delay, and any limitations would be on
161
00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.319
the viewer's end, so it would be limited by the
162
00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:59.199
broadcast destination, so you know, depending on your WiFi or
163
00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:03.879
your cellul connection, not limited by whatever is happening in space.
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Wow. Crazy. We are chatting with Rachel delphin, Chief marketing
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officer at Twitch. We're learning about this first of its
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kind partnership with NASA. Well, to be fair, you've partnered
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with NASA in the past, but this is the first
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time that you've broadcasted live from the International Space Station
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with astronaut Don Pettitt, who fielded questions for almost two
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hours just out of curiosity. Was this a campaign that
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Twitch proposed to NASA or was it the other way around.
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Well, they've streamed content like launches and spacewalks, but this
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is the first time they brought Twitch chat directly to
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the astronaut on board. But it was you know, I
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think NASA's idea and they have come to twitch con
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before as well, and I think just saw that there's
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so much interest right from the Twitch community, and so
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we were very happy to support their idea. But it was,
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you know, all credit due to the NASA team.
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Was there a goal to this chat. Was it like
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a technical challenge they want to see if they can
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do this from space or did they want to engage
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with Twitch users in a fresh new way.
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I think it was really just about getting people interested
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in asking questions about space and what's happening, and sharing
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some of the sort of day to day details of
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the astronauts and reaching some new audiences, right hunger audiences
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and the mediums that they prefer and where they hang out.
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Yeah, and then as we wrap up, you mentioned Twitch
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is primarily a live platform. That's what separates it from say,
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the likes of YouTube and other pre recorded video platforms.
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But is this chat with astronaut Don pettit archived on Twitch?
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I'm sure a lot of listeners, even though they missed
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the date. What was this February twelfth? You did it
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that they would love to see this now? Is that possible? Yes?
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You can go to Twitch, dot tv, slash NASA and
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check out the video on demand from the live stream.
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There are also lots of exclusive clips.
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From the content, and then they have a whole archive
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of content from past broadcasts that they've done.
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All right, great Twitch, dot TV, Slash, NASA, and ASA
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and you can see this chat with Don Pettit very exciting. Rachel,
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thank you so much much for your time. This is
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really cool and I hope that this is one of
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many more to come. So thanks again for sharing the
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news with us.
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Thanks so much for having me. I hope to see
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you and chat.
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Hey, thanks for tuning into check it out. I'm your host,
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Mark Saltzman. We have a lot more to get to
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this hour. After a short break, in about a minute,
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we're going to chat with Buddy. Yeah, it's a social
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media app, but it's very different than the likes of
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x and Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and others. So we're going
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to hear about Buddy. First available for iPhone only, but
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an Android version is in the works. And then speaking
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of smartphones, after that, we're going to catch up with
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a company called charge Fus that lets you rent a
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power bank. You know those little batteries, those backup batteries
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that you can plug your smartphone into to charge up
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when you're out somewhere so you don't have to plug
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it into a wall. We're going to chat with the
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charge fus folks to hear what's new from them, where
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you can pick them up, how much it costs, what
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happens if you don't return it it's fine. So we're
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going to get to all of that as well, and
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I'll plug my social media handles to ask what you
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think of this idea or if you've used charge and
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hey next week on the show, I'm excited to go
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to New York to visit Amazon in a couple of days,
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and then after that heading off to Barcelona in Spain
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for Mobile World Congress. So I look forward to conducting
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a bunch of interviews for check it Out when I'm there.
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Excited to share all that with you in upcoming episodes.
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So hang tight, stick with us. We'll be right back
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with a lot more check it Out after this short break.
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Listen to check it Out whenever you want to find
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the check it Out podcast, Did I Too, or wherever
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you get your podcasts.
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Welcome back to check it Out. We cover cybersecurity a
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lot on this program and how you can best protect
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yourself in the digital age, even if you're not super
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tech savvy. One part of the solution is securely shopping online,
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and so I'm thrilled about my partnership with Visa on
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tech it out, as they've made some significant investments in
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fraud prevent over the past five years, as much as
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ten billion dollars yes that's billion with a bee to
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support Visa's brand promise to protect the financial information of
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individuals and businesses. Zero liability means peace of mind when
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you shop online using your Visa card. There can be
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no half measures when it comes to cybersecurity, which is
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why the company takes an aggressive and multi layered approach
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to combating the rising threat of malicious software and other
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threats by well funded and global criminal enterprises. Read more
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about Visa and how securing the world's payments is priority
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one at Visa dot Com slash Security. That's Visa dot
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Com slash Security. Not all social media apps are created equal.
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What if one put an emphasis on the social part
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as an in real life, more meaningful in person experiences
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with friends, yet still using your devices to stay connected.
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How would that work? What would that look like? Well,
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joining us on the line to tell us all about
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the Buddy app is its CEO and co founder, Claire Right.
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Thanks for your time, Claire, good to chat with you.
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Hi, Mark, thanks for having me on.
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Why don't we dive right in tell us about Buddy
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and how it differs from other social media apps out there. So,
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Buddy is.
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The first ever social utility app, and what that means
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is is that it really is something that's of use
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and does make your life better. We are the first
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non toxic app that encourages people to get off their
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phones and out in the real world. And as a
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bonus or app works offline and online.
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All right, So the techie and me wants to ask
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you about it working offline, but we'll get to that
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in due time. A non toxic app is very appealing,
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I'm sure to many of our listeners, those who have
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kids or grandkids who are always on their devices. So
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with that being said, the expression is that good technology
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solves a problem. Is it true? There are technologies like
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social media apps that can be causing more harm than good.
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Yeah, And it's funny you say that, because that's how
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Buddy was created. I wanted to solve a problem and
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I knew that tech was going to be the answer. Tech, yes,
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can be used in negative ways because as companies get
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forced when they scale to make returns and make the
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business work, that sometimes deviates us from our original mission,
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i e. Making the app addictive because our business is
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based on screen time. We don't want to and haven't
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compromised our mission. We started building the technology solution and
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we actually built the product afterwards. We looked at how
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existing social apps made them feel and ironically causing them
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to feel more lonely, setting unrealistic physical standards and lifestyle
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and encouraging feelings like fomo. We designed Body intentionally to
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avoid all these negative impacts and really are focusing on
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how to enrich our users' lives and be at value,
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really encouraging ultimately to connect in real life.
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This is great, you know, whether it's misinformation with some
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social media apps or causing loneliness, facilitating cyberbullying, setting unrealistic
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physical standards as you mentioned fomo of missing out. These
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are all the negatives and you hinted at this already, Claire,
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if you're open to sharing it, can you tell us
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about your personal reason for developing Buddy Sure.
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As a mother of two young boys who sadly suffer
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from phone addiction like most gen Z and Jena do,
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and after losing two friends to loss of mental and
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physical connection, I felt the strong responsibility to build something
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of impact. I'm lucky also to be working with a
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team that believe in creating a healthy and happier generation
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as much as I do. It's important for us at
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Buddy to be authentic too. There is so much, you know,
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amazing technology being built, but the question is do we
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need it or will it make my life better? It
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was on this premise that we've built Buddy on. Sometimes
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tech is built, you know, with the right intentions, like
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look at social media. It was built for people to connect,
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but now we are suffering from a loneliness epidemic where
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people aren't connecting from it, you know, and the average
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screen time is reached eight hours a day with gen
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Z No, it's kind of crazy.
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So we may be getting our fixed digitally with that
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kind of screen time, which sounds like a lot. That's
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a third of your day, but we're missing out of
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the experience's irl, as the kids would say, in real life.
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So how does Buddy work in the real world and
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I understand you gamify these real world experiences.
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We do. We do.
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We understand that we had to also build a product
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that is interesting. You know, it's not just about making
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a coat that keeps you warm. You might want to
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look nice in it. You might want it to be
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water proof. We're very aware of So we built Buddy
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with features that we felt would make it fun for
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the users, like integrating gamification, discovery of fourth spaces, while
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not encouraging to stay glued to their devices.
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All right, so could you elaborate a bit more. Let's
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unpack some of that. So let's say I install Buddy
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on my mobile device. I've got some friends who do
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the same. Now what we're out together experiencing an outdoor festival,
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some concert or something. How would we leverage the Buddy app?
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Yeah, so you have you have your Buddy private network
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and you have your best buddies, but you also have
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a discovery page it's actually been launched in two weeks
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where you can discover public spots, but based on interest,
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and that's not spots that Buddy puts in there, that's
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people on Buddy. So it's like community driven in real
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life places that you can discover based on where you are.
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We also have dropped the spot counts, so if you
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drop more spots, if you save more spots, we re
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reward the user and make people know that you're being healthy,
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so the other users can see how you're using the app.
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When we return on tech it Out, we're going to
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spend a few more minutes with Claire from Buddy to
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learn all about the Buddy app and what makes it unique.
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We've heard already that it puts a lot more emphasis
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on in real life interactions with your friends, and the
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phone simply facilitates those connections. But when we return, I
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want to ask Claire about how this works even without
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a sailor or Wi Fi connection. A bit intrigued by that,
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so we're going to hear that side of it when
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we return. In fact, they tested this in the jungles
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of Costa Rica apparently, so we're going to hear how
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this works a lot. More tech it Out coming right
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up after this short break. Stay with us.
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I want to follow Mark Google Mark with a C
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and Saltzman with a Z breaking down geeks peak into
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street speak. This is check it out to check it
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out with technology columnist, author, and TV personality Mark Saltzman.
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Welcome back to check it out. We're chatting with Claire Right.
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She's the CEO and co founder of an app called Buddy.
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It's a download for iPhone users for now, but Android
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is coming soon. Now. You said something earlier that I
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was intrigued about. How can you stay connected through the
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Buddy app when you're out with your friends without Wi
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Fi or cellular connectivity? How would that work? Exactly?
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So you don't need any hardware. All you need is
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the Buddy app. We have something called first available networks,
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so it will depending on where you are, it will
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look for the best available network to be able to
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send your message, so a look for cellular or Wi Fi.
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If that's not available, it will kick into our mesh
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as long as you have someone with the Buddy app
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within one hundred meters. If there's no connectivity, then that
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message will get to a user. So it's a very
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good app to use when you're in a crowd and
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connectivity gets congested.
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All right, So sticking with my example of being at
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an outdoor festival, that's like three hundred and thirty feet
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that's a lot. So the idea is that if others
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are on the Buddy app as well. Even if the
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cellular network is jamm because so many people are trying
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to use it and there's no Wi Fi outside, you
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can still stay connected and agree to meet up somewhere.
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That kind of thing.
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Yeah, And just to make it clear, it doesn't mean
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if I'm sending a message to you mark that you
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have to be one hundred meters. It just means that
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it will hop with it that one hundred meters and
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keep hopping. You could be two miles away, so as
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long as someone's within that distance. Because there are devices,
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mesh devices, but they're like, you know, glorified walkie talkies
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because you do have to have a user. But the
404
00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.839
unique thing about Buddy is that we look for the
405
00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:17.680
best available network and usually when you're at a festival,
406
00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.319
there will be some connectivity in certain areas.
407
00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:22.960
And speaking of festivals, I understand you just put this
408
00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:26.440
to the test in the jungles of Costa Rica, if
409
00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:28.359
I'm not mistaken. Can you tell us about that?
410
00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:31.960
Yes, we did super fun So that was thousands of
411
00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:35.319
ravers in a jungle in Costa Rica which actually had
412
00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:40.240
zero cell service. So Buddy was really handy when you
413
00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:43.359
lose a friend and you're walking around trying to find
414
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:45.599
out what stage they are at. So yeah, that was
415
00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.799
a super fun deployment for us.
416
00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.519
Oh wow, all right, Claire, And before I let you go,
417
00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:54.160
I had one more question tied to AI. Obviously very
418
00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:57.640
hot right now? Is Buddy leveraging AI? And if so,
419
00:20:58.039 --> 00:20:58.359
how so?
420
00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:03.440
Yes, Buddy is of course leveraging AI. So again, being
421
00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.960
a non toxic environment app is really important to us.
422
00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:12.039
Moderation is key to making sure we manage that. We're
423
00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:16.799
actually using a company called GGWP to moderate all content,
424
00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:18.880
making sure it is toxic free.
425
00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:19.519
For our users.
426
00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:23.559
And we're also leveraging AI to recommend places to our users.
427
00:21:23.720 --> 00:21:28.279
Awesome. And what's the starting age you'd recommend for using Buddy, Marie?
428
00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:31.440
We are seventeen plus on the app store, but we've
429
00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:34.680
had a massive long wait list for users twelve plus,
430
00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:35.759
so just stay.
431
00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:38.200
Tuned, okay? And where can we stay tuned? What's the
432
00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:41.119
best website to learn more? And should we just download
433
00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:42.640
Buddy from the app store?
434
00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.079
Yes, you can download Buddy on the app Store if
435
00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:46.799
you search Buddies Friends.
436
00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.400
For Real Buddy Friends for Real?
437
00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:48.880
Yes?
438
00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.079
And is there a website where we can learn more?
439
00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:53.200
Potential investors listening.
440
00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.240
Absolutely, it's your Buddyworld dot com.
441
00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:59.359
All right, your Buddyworld dot com. Our guest has been
442
00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:02.160
Clear Ray, CEO and co founder for the new app.
443
00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:05.039
Thank you so much, Claire. Really exciting to launch something
444
00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:08.519
like this, something different, something that is meant for good.
445
00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:10.000
Thank you again for your time.
446
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:11.319
Thanks for having me on monk.
447
00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:14.400
What do you think of the Buddy app? I'll give
448
00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:17.400
you my handles on social media, not on Buddy yet,
449
00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:19.680
but I'll spell my name and maybe you can find
450
00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.839
me on other platforms so you can share what you think.
451
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.839
Or maybe you are using the Buddy app and you've
452
00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:26.359
got some feedback that I can pass on to Claire.
453
00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:32.279
So I'm on x, Instagram, blue Sky, Threads, Facebook, YouTube,
454
00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:37.400
TikTok and LinkedIn. So pick your poison. It's Mark Saltzman,
455
00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:41.880
mar C s A L T Z M A n
456
00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:45.640
so Mark with us C Saltsman with the Z and yeah,
457
00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.880
let me know if you've got any tech questions, what
458
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.480
you think of tech it out, Maybe you've got recommendations
459
00:22:50.519 --> 00:22:52.799
for upcoming guests or topics you want to share some
460
00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.720
feedback on interviews this hour so far, we just chatted
461
00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:59.079
with Buddy and before that, Twitch a company that partnered
462
00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:02.720
with NASA to broadcast a live two hour video stream
463
00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.039
that's interactive from the ISS and coming up over the
464
00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.720
next couple of blocks, we're going to chat with charge Fews,
465
00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:11.720
a company that has these kiosks that let you rent
466
00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:15.359
power banks to charge up your phone, your earbuds, whatever
467
00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:17.759
you've got on you that needs a boost. If you
468
00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:21.279
prefer email a post to social media, my website is
469
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:25.240
Mark Saltzman dot com. Again m A R C SA
470
00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:30.000
L t Z m an dot com. Before we continue
471
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.119
on with the show, I wanted to give a quick
472
00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:35.599
shout out to Sanddisc, thank you for your support on
473
00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:38.960
tech it Out. The new sand Disc Creator Series is
474
00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:43.559
a line of storage solutions designed specifically for content creators,
475
00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:46.759
the driving force behind the content that we consume online,
476
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:51.039
from videos and blog posts to podcasts and social media updates.
477
00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:54.960
These external sand Disc SSDs and other flash based products
478
00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:58.359
help to streamline the creative workflow from start to finish.
479
00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.839
There are five main features of the sand Disc Creator Series.
480
00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:05.720
Number one, high speeds plug and play solutions that offer
481
00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:09.480
fast read and write speeds, ensuring smooth workflows and quick
482
00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:13.920
transfers of large files. Number two durability. These products are
483
00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:16.480
designed to withstand the riggers of on the go use,
484
00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:20.279
with features like drop protection and resistance to water and dust.
485
00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:25.680
Number three portability. This SanDisk series includes several portable SSDs
486
00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:28.240
and other flash drives, making it easy to take your
487
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:32.119
storage with you wherever you go. Number four compatibility. These
488
00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:34.440
sand disk products are designed to work with a range
489
00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:39.599
of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, cameras and more.
490
00:24:39.720 --> 00:24:43.000
And number five high capacity. There's no longer a trade
491
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.839
off between the durability of solid state drives and capacity
492
00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:49.160
for those who need a lot of storage, as you
493
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:51.440
can have it all now with drives that can store
494
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.240
several terabytes of data. More info is at SanDisk dot
495
00:24:55.279 --> 00:25:00.559
com slash creator. That's SanDisk dot com slash creator if
496
00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:04.759
you weren't aware. Sand Disc and what was its parent company,
497
00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:09.559
Western Digital They split formerly this week into two independent
498
00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:13.559
companies Western Digital. We'll focus more on hard drives, which
499
00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:17.839
have huge capacity like twenty twenty two twenty four terabyte drives,
500
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.599
great for long term storage, but sand Discs going to
501
00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:22.839
look more on solid state drives like the ones I
502
00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:26.200
just talked about, which offer faster read and write speeds,
503
00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:30.160
lighter and more durable designs, quieter requires less power, and
504
00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:33.039
the capacities are getting up there too, which is pretty cool.
505
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.480
So you'll notice that I'm going to be chatting more
506
00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.559
about sand Disc, the official partner on tech it Out
507
00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:42.319
more than Western Digital, but always happy to answer your questions.
508
00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:45.240
Of course, I've plugged my social handles earlier and my
509
00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:47.640
website if you prefer to email me. But in case
510
00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.079
you didn't hear the news that Western Digital or WD
511
00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:53.880
and sand Disc have now separated into two independent companies.
512
00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:57.839
Cool all right, So, as promised, our final guest coming
513
00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:00.839
up on tech it Out after this short break is
514
00:26:00.920 --> 00:26:03.640
with charge Fuse. Have you ever been out somewhere at
515
00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:07.119
a restaurant, a casino, a concert, a sports venue and
516
00:26:07.160 --> 00:26:09.319
you look at your phone and it's got like ten
517
00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:12.920
percent eight percent battery life left. That's the worst feeling.
518
00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:16.039
So we're going to hear all about how charge fuse works.
519
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:17.519
Stick with us. We're going to get to all of
520
00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:18.880
that when check it Out continues.
521
00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:23.279
Right after this breaking down, GeekSpeak into street speak. Check
522
00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:25.079
it Out closted by Mark Saltzman.
523
00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:39.279
Welcome back everyone, you're listening to check it out. Have
524
00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:41.599
you ever run out to a hockey game or basketball game,
525
00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:44.680
or maybe a concert and realize that your smartphone's battery
526
00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:47.880
is waning? Well, you're not alone. Look around the venue though,
527
00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.039
as you may see a charge Fuse station which lets
528
00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:54.440
you affordably rent a power bank, a backup battery to
529
00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:56.680
juice up your device for a few minutes. To tell
530
00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.119
us all about charge fuse is the company behind them
531
00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:03.079
Fuse Technology, we're joined by CEO Brandon Afari. Hi, Brandon,
532
00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:03.960
good to chat with you.
533
00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:05.359
Likewise my pleasure.
534
00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:07.480
All right, Brandon, So why don't we dive right in
535
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:10.000
at a high level what's fuse all about?
536
00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:10.759
I'm glad you ask that.
537
00:27:10.839 --> 00:27:12.880
What fus is about rather than just charge fusee so
538
00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:15.319
fuse technology, what we do is we try to focus
539
00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:18.160
on bringing innovative and convenience solutions to the market with
540
00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:21.359
the concept of connectivity behind it. So we're all falling
541
00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:24.319
in under the umbrella of IoT solutions, which is Internet
542
00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:27.240
of things, so thank device to device communication today a
543
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:29.839
fuse technology. We have two brands out there, the first
544
00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:31.920
being charged fuse, which is what you referenced, and we
545
00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:34.559
also have ad fusee as well. But the thesis is
546
00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:36.079
connectivity and convenience.
547
00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:38.799
All right, So I painted this scenario off the top
548
00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:41.480
where we always have our phone with us, of course,
549
00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:43.920
but we don't always remember to charge it up. And
550
00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:46.119
the more that these devices can do, these are like
551
00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:49.039
digital Swiss army knife, right, the more of the impact
552
00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:51.039
on the battery. So next thing you know, you're glanting
553
00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:52.920
down at your phone at a Taylor Swift concert and
554
00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:55.279
you've got thirteen percent. You're not going to be happy,
555
00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:58.000
especially if you want to record some snippets and share
556
00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.279
it on social media. So how does charge fusee work exactly?
557
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:02.519
Maybe you can walk us through that.
558
00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.319
Yes, So the concept, if you think of how the
559
00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:08.240
city bike model works, the concept of the sharing economy
560
00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:10.400
is very similar to charge shoes, except rather than it
561
00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.559
being a bike, it's a portable charger. Users in our
562
00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:16.880
network could essentially find and locate a charging station anywhere
563
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:19.079
in the city. They could go to that Kiosk scanning
564
00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:22.799
QR code out pops a portable charger. The charger has
565
00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.440
universal charging capability, so you can charge your phone, Android
566
00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:29.440
or iPhone on the go, and the beauty of it
567
00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:31.359
is you could actually return it to any station in
568
00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:34.359
the network. So we're creating this ecosystem of charging stations.
569
00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:37.519
So someone going to maybe Crypto dot Com Arena or
570
00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:40.240
Madison Square Garden can rent there and drop it off
571
00:28:40.279 --> 00:28:42.240
at the local bar in the respective city.
572
00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:44.039
All right, so you don't have to return it to
573
00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:46.440
the same machine. I'm assuming there's an app that shows
574
00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:47.839
you where all your locations are.
575
00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.640
Yes, that's great.
576
00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:50.839
So it's an app again similar to city bike or
577
00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:53.640
a scooter model. You can look at a station anywhere.
578
00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:53.680
In the city.
579
00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:56.000
What's the app that you would look forward to download
580
00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.920
from the app store or Google Play.
581
00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:00.640
So that itself is charge Fuse few Ze.
582
00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:03.039
And that's one word. Charge FEUs is one word.
583
00:29:02.880 --> 00:29:04.440
Right, It's one word exactly.
584
00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.759
So look, I've seen these battery rental solutions. I was
585
00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:10.680
recently in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. One
586
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.039
model that I ran into was charge Fuse and then
587
00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:14.920
the other was another brand. So what would you say
588
00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:18.119
separates charge fees from other rental kiosks like this?
589
00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.960
Yeah, I mean I'd say, first and foremost the concept itself.
590
00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:24.279
I mean, we have best in class technology, that's what
591
00:29:24.279 --> 00:29:27.359
we pride ourselves in. Our engineers are some of the
592
00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:29.680
best engineers in the United States and also internationally, so
593
00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:32.599
we really focus on building the best charge and utility.
594
00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:34.799
But around that as well, i'd say that you know,
595
00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:37.920
where we are differentiator is the fact that the locations
596
00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.559
and venues that we're in are pretty vast, right, especially
597
00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:42.759
with this concept we want to use a service in
598
00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:44.920
which you could actually return it, you actually have a
599
00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.359
network behind you. So as a company, we power as
600
00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.200
an example, over seventy percent of every major sports team.
601
00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:52.880
We have thousands of locations across you know.
602
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:53.599
Forty states.
603
00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:55.720
So really it's the fact that we have this strong
604
00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:58.880
network of prime venues and also just venues in general
605
00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:01.960
to really establish proper network. But beyond that as well,
606
00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:04.480
again it's the fact that the tech itself on our
607
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:07.359
side is the most superior. But really it's just predicated
608
00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:09.680
on our best in class technology and the fact that
609
00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.039
we do have this breadth and debt partners behind us.
610
00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:16.400
Speaking of the best in class backup batteries or power banks,
611
00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:17.920
can you tell us a bit about them. You said
612
00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:19.920
it does have those common connectors built in, so I'm
613
00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:25.440
assuming micro USB for older Android devices, Lightning for older iPhones,
614
00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.960
and then USB C for modern day iPhones and Android
615
00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:31.359
devices as well. Can you talk to us about you know,
616
00:30:31.400 --> 00:30:34.240
I don't care milliamp this, milliamp that, but how many
617
00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.759
times can you charge up a typical phone at least
618
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:38.079
once or does it vary?
619
00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:40.119
Yeah? So, and to recap, you're completely right.
620
00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:43.119
We have lightning, micro USB and USB C for all
621
00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:46.079
the charging functionality. Generally speaking, it depends on your phone
622
00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:48.480
type and also how long you're using it for while
623
00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:51.039
you're using it or using it, you know, intensely.
624
00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:51.839
While you're charging it as well.
625
00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:54.440
Yeah, but you can get anywhere from you a charge
626
00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:56.480
and a half to maybe even two charges, depending on
627
00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:58.119
the phone you're using. And I say it too, it's
628
00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:00.559
ironic because it's not even just the use case of
629
00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:01.119
phones either.
630
00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:01.359
Right.
631
00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:03.799
We have people using it at studio sets as an
632
00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:06.960
example for their cameras, right, So, I think the applications
633
00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:09.559
it's pretty fun to see that sometimes it goes beyond
634
00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:12.640
just a phone itself. It could be you know, for AirPods,
635
00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:14.680
it could be for a camera as mentioned, So it's
636
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:16.079
fun to see the use cases.
637
00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:19.920
Cool. We are chatting with Brandon Afari. He is the
638
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:23.480
chief executive officer for a company called Fuse Technology. They
639
00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:26.960
are the folks behind the charge fuse. I call them kiosks.
640
00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:29.480
There are these little machines that you would be able
641
00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:32.400
to rent a backup battery at a venue. You also
642
00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:35.519
said you have something called ad fuse. This is another
643
00:31:35.519 --> 00:31:37.440
revenue model for you. Is that right that there are
644
00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:40.480
screens on these machines or these kiosks and you can
645
00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:43.359
rent the ad space to an advertiser. Is that fair?
646
00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:44.160
Exactly?
647
00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:47.759
So, all our stations are equipped with digital screens. The
648
00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:50.079
beauty and our concept of charge fues. What we're doing
649
00:31:50.119 --> 00:31:53.240
is obviously we're leading with utility and amenity first, which
650
00:31:53.279 --> 00:31:55.720
is great, But on top of that, we give opportunities
651
00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.359
for big brands that are out there to really give
652
00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:01.640
hyper targeted advertising to the right person at the right time.
653
00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:04.279
So again, think about people being in a compromise situation
654
00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:06.920
at a sporting event. You know, maybe a brand like
655
00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:09.799
Taco Bell or Burger King wants to target someone after
656
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:13.279
that event. We're able to actually again capture that engagement
657
00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:15.559
at the right point in time for that right brand.
658
00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:19.440
Could you also add branding to the power banks themselves,
659
00:32:19.640 --> 00:32:22.640
like a Taco Bell or Casey Chiefs or forty nine
660
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:24.599
or or anything like that, or because you can return
661
00:32:24.599 --> 00:32:26.279
it to a different Kiosk, you might not want.
662
00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:26.400
To do that.
663
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:29.160
Yeah, So we actually have two separate divisions start a business.
664
00:32:29.200 --> 00:32:32.359
We have one that's for events and activations. So think
665
00:32:32.359 --> 00:32:34.240
about the US open right. We work with you know,
666
00:32:34.359 --> 00:32:36.960
JP Morgan Chase and helping them being the charging provider
667
00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:38.960
of the event and where the underlying technology.
668
00:32:39.160 --> 00:32:41.480
So we do activations right, and activations.
669
00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:45.279
We have much more flexibility generally speaking, for permanent installations,
670
00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:48.039
the stations that are actually in the network themselves. We
671
00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:51.319
try to avoid obviously branding the batteries just because again
672
00:32:51.359 --> 00:32:52.720
you never know where it's going to end up. You
673
00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:54.839
don't want one brand ending up in another station at
674
00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:56.759
another venue that might not want that brand there. So,
675
00:32:56.799 --> 00:32:58.559
but we do have two sides to the business, two arms,
676
00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:01.680
right events and activations and also our permanent installation side.
677
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:04.440
We're going to learn more about charge fuse when we
678
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.640
return on teck it Out. I've got a couple of
679
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:09.000
questions I want to ask them, so stick with us.
680
00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:11.759
We'll be right back with more teck it out.
681
00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:15.559
Follow Mark Saltzman on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram. Listen
682
00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:17.559
to check it out whenever you want.
683
00:33:27.559 --> 00:33:31.319
A few more minutes left with Brandon Afari, CEO of
684
00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:35.640
Fuse Technology. They're the folks behind the charge Fuse station,
685
00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:40.480
these kiosks. They'll let you rent a power bank backup
686
00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:42.920
battery to juice up your smartphone for a few minutes
687
00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:46.319
when you're out and about out of curiosity. What percentage
688
00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:48.920
of people return it to a machine that's not the
689
00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:50.000
one that they rented.
690
00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:52.160
It from in terms of people returning to the same venue.
691
00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:54.240
And I say that because obviously we'll have more stations
692
00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.720
in a single venue, the same venue will see around
693
00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:57.559
eighty percent or so.
694
00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:59.039
We'll work kind of books in that venue.
695
00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:01.359
Many have twenty percent that again take advantage of the
696
00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:03.839
ability to actually turn it to another station in the city.
697
00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:06.720
Or not at all, Which leads me to my next question.
698
00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:09.639
When I heard about the pricing for charge shoes, that
699
00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:13.320
was really impressed. It sounded really low from a consumer standpoint,
700
00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:15.320
which is awesome. So can you walk us through how
701
00:34:15.400 --> 00:34:17.960
much it costs to rent a battery from a charge
702
00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:20.719
view station and then I guess it's by time and
703
00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:22.840
then after a certain amount of time if you keep
704
00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:24.599
it what you're looking at there, Yeah, no.
705
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.480
Great, great question. So the model itself.
706
00:34:26.679 --> 00:34:29.159
The way it works is we have in ranges depending
707
00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:31.559
on the venue type, but generally speaking, it's two dollars
708
00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:32.480
for every thirty minutes.
709
00:34:32.599 --> 00:34:35.000
You get a full charge in about fifty minutes or so.
710
00:34:35.159 --> 00:34:37.599
So generally speaking, people will spend anywhere from two to
711
00:34:37.679 --> 00:34:39.800
four dollars to get a full charge. If you end
712
00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.400
up keeping the battery, you get capped at forty dollars
713
00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:43.599
at that point in time.
714
00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:46.039
It's not like we again just charge you and that's it.
715
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:49.360
All our batteries actually have a USBC port on the side,
716
00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:51.280
so you can actually recharge the battery at home.
717
00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:52.559
So in essence, it's like you.
718
00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:55.199
Bought a high quality all in one portable charger for
719
00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:56.480
a forty bucks, right, Yeah.
720
00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:58.639
That's not bad at all. Yeah, so it's twenty bucks
721
00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:01.400
is the max that you're renting for another twenty as
722
00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:03.440
let's call it a penalty for not returning at all.
723
00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:05.639
That's not bad. I mean, yeah, maybe it's a little
724
00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:07.840
bit higher than when you would pay for it at
725
00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.840
retail for the same milliam I'm sure, but it's convenient
726
00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:12.719
because it's at that location that you were at, and
727
00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:15.199
if you don't want to return it, it's only forty bucks,
728
00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:18.039
like I mean, relatively speaking. And before we wrap up, Brandon,
729
00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:21.760
what's next for fuz Technology, the company and your charge
730
00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:22.840
fuse stations?
731
00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:25.760
Great questions, I'd say where we are right now because
732
00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:28.840
our product has an essence, it's applicable to every venue
733
00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:32.920
type hospitals, restaurants, bars, casino, as you name it. We
734
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:35.199
have a lot more to do obviously with general expansion,
735
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:38.159
so we're really you know, doubling down in the US market.
736
00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:41.400
We're also exploring opportunities internationally.
737
00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:42.719
As well, beginning with what country.
738
00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:45.519
We started in Canada already actually, and we started in
739
00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.480
Europe as well, so we're hitting some some market venues
740
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:51.280
and you know, UK and France and Germany. But really
741
00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:53.519
the focus is on the marquee for now, but we
742
00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:54.880
were expanding as we speak.
743
00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:56.480
And what's the best place to learn more?
744
00:35:56.559 --> 00:35:59.320
Yes, so charge few specifically you go to charge FEUs
745
00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:01.280
dot com. That'll really show you kind of you know,
746
00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:03.559
what the company is about, what we're doing, especially in
747
00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:04.360
twenty twenty four.
748
00:36:04.639 --> 00:36:06.679
Everything is really on that website. And then also we.
749
00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:11.199
Have ad fusaddash fus dot com, which is launching this quorder,
750
00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:13.960
so people and brands that actually want to advertise on
751
00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:14.559
our platform.
752
00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:15.480
Can go there as well.
753
00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:17.480
Brandon, great to chat with you, Thanks so much for
754
00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:21.480
carving up some time. Congratulations on already the successive charge Fuse.
755
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:22.119
Good to talk to.
756
00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:23.880
You, appreciate it. Mark, thanks for your time as well.
757
00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:24.639
Thanks for having me.
758
00:36:24.920 --> 00:36:27.320
Let me know what you think about charge Fuse or
759
00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.159
if you've used one of their kiosks before. I'm on
760
00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:33.679
all the big social media platforms. It's Mark Saltsman, Mark
761
00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:36.880
with the C, Saltsman with the Z. Also, if you
762
00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:39.880
do like check it out, I would kindly ask you
763
00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:44.159
to leave a star review at your favorite podcast platform,
764
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:50.400
be it Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon, Audible, Stitcher, and
765
00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:52.519
so on and so forth. It goes a long way
766
00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:55.199
to just click the star reviewed or let me know
767
00:36:55.239 --> 00:36:56.440
what you think. Let me know what you think of
768
00:36:56.440 --> 00:36:58.800
the show. It's always evolving. I always try to find
769
00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:01.800
some cool guests and topics, and I think this week's
770
00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:05.039
show was no exception, so hope you enjoyed it. As
771
00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:07.400
I mentioned earlier in the program, I'm off to New
772
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:10.119
York to attend an Amazon event, so I'll be sure
773
00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:13.119
to conduct an interview there and run that on the
774
00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:16.199
next show, and then on the evening of the twenty
775
00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:19.960
eighth of February, I'm heading off to Barcelona. Never been
776
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.440
to Spain before, but I've been invited to attend Mobile
777
00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:26.800
World Congress or MWC for short. This is an annual
778
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:31.079
tech show that, as the name suggests, focuses mostly on
779
00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:35.159
mobile technology smartphones and tablets and accessories and looking forward
780
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:37.760
to going and seeing new phones and other innovations, so
781
00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:41.039
I will be sure to record some interviews there as well.
782
00:37:41.119 --> 00:37:43.599
For check it out. For this last minute of the show,
783
00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:45.000
I just want to give a shout out one more
784
00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:47.880
time to Visa. Thank you for your support on this
785
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:52.199
weekly program. Visa has made significant investments in fraud prevention
786
00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:55.679
over the past several years, billions of dollars, all to
787
00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:59.320
support Visa's brand promise to protect the financial information of
788
00:37:59.360 --> 00:38:03.400
both individual jewels and businesses. Zero liability means peace of
789
00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:06.440
mind when you shop online or at retail using your Visa.
790
00:38:06.639 --> 00:38:09.719
There could be no half measures when it comes to cybersecurity,
791
00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:12.320
and that's why the company takes an aggressive and multi
792
00:38:12.440 --> 00:38:16.199
layered approach to combating the rising threat of malicious software
793
00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:19.920
and other threats by well funded and global criminal enterprises.
794
00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:23.280
Read more about Visa and how securing the world's payments
795
00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:27.599
is priority one at Visa dot com slash security. That's
796
00:38:27.719 --> 00:38:31.280
Visa dot Com slash Security. We also had a guest
797
00:38:31.320 --> 00:38:34.280
on from Visa about a month ago to talk about
798
00:38:34.440 --> 00:38:38.239
romance scams leading up to Valentine's Day, and BOYD did
799
00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:41.480
that strike accord with listeners. I received a flot of
800
00:38:41.519 --> 00:38:45.599
messages from across the country telling me their stories about
801
00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:48.960
catfishing or someone they know who was duped into paying
802
00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:52.159
these cybercriminals. Really discussing people out there that are doing
803
00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:54.360
this to you, So I'm glad that the show, at
804
00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:57.079
the very least can help raise awareness. Hey, have a
805
00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:59.360
great rest of your day, everyone, and I look forward
806
00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:01.800
to catching up with you next weekend for another brand
807
00:39:01.840 --> 00:39:04.519
new episode of Check it Out. Bye bye for now.
