Good morning! South by Southwest returned to in-person programming this year after two years away, and a few Protocollers were on the ground to assess the vibe (and the tacos). As expected, the metaverse, crypto and climate change dominated conversations throughout the week.
The metaverse doesn't exist yet, but you wouldnt know that from attending SXSW. Technologists and creators alike descended upon Austin to hype up and criticize the possibilities and promises of it anyway. From fashion to film to sustainability, people wanted to talk about how everything and anything would work in a virtual world.
SXSW was awash in crypto. It wasnt just panels and talks, though seemingly every panel had some crypto or Web3 angle: Sponsors, events, parties and more leaned into the crypto hype.
Everyone at SXSW wanted to talk about climate change. (Everyones favorite new climate newsletter even launched there.) But your trusty Protocol Climate editor was particularly fascinated by who showed up from Big Oil. The Lone Star State is ground zero for the oil and gas industry in the U.S., but its rare to see folks from the industry at big, splashy climate events given fossil fuels are the main driver of the crisis itself.
Nat Rubio-Licht, Tomio Geron and Brian Kahn
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Qualcomms Cristiano Amon said were closer to the metaverse than people think:
Alex Rodriguez thinks blockchain tech could help sports fans invest in big teams:
Ukrainian crypto leader Michael Chobanian thinks crypto will change the world:
Rinki Sethi joined Bill.com as VP and CISO. Sethi previously worked in security roles at various companies, including Twitter and Rubrik.
Zipporah Allen is the new CMO of Strava. She was most recently the chief digital officer of Taco Bell.
Jonathan Farnell is Eqonexs new CEO. Farnell previously led Binances U.K. operations.
Scott Dresser is Ericssons new legal and compliance chief. Hes taking over for Xavier Dedullen, whos been the companys top lawyer for a few years.
Spotify is hiring two Web3-focused roles: A senior back-end engineer and a senior manager of Innovation and Market Intelligence.
Amazons MGM deal isnt just about the content. Sure Amazon is getting thousands upon thousands of movies and TV show episodes. But its also almost certain that a lot of this content will eventually show up on IMDb TV, Amazons free, ad-supported streaming service.
The EU is trying to take down Apples walled garden with a new anticompetition law that would force Apple to let users sideload apps.
WeCrashed is out on Apple TV+. The reviews aren't great, but the WeWork tale is still another entrant in the tech-chaos TV canon.
Matter wont arrive until at least the fall. The new connectivity standards launch was delayed again because more companies wanted in on it.
Lucid may raise prices for future cars. Prices for existing reservation holders wouldnt be affected.
Meta subpoenaed tech companies to prove it has competitors. But those companies, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest, dont want to hand over documents.
Amazon Flex drivers want the company to help offset soaring gas prices. The drivers protested in Los Angeles yesterday to urge Amazon to offer some sort of relief for gas costs.
Alibaba and Tencent might lay off tens of thousands of workers this year as China continues to crack down on tech giants.
Russians are turning to Clubhouse for information about the war. Its become a place for civilians to discuss and debate the conflict and understand whats happening in Ukraine.
Were only a couple of days away from the first day of spring, which means its time to swap out your winter clothes and declutter your home. But your work schedule could probably use some TLC, too, and Atlassian work futurist Dominic Price spelled out a few ways you can do it:
From fraudsters to hackers, the web has its share of bad actors. Auras all-in-one digital protection keeps them at bay, so you can do what you love to do onlinesafely. Sign up for your free trial to experience how our powerful security fits seamlessly into your life.
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Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to sourcecode@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you Sunday.
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Notes from SXSW: What's next for the metaverse, Web3 and climate tech - Protocol
