Pivot · Dec 21, 2018

Facebook’s latest scandal and the "tyranny of technology"

Automatic transcript of the end of the episode, from 13:29. Speakers are labeled by software and may contain errors. Highlighted passages are Scott’s predictions.

Kara Swisher · 13:29 Twitter. You don't have to, and we are not tracking you. From Microsoft Azure about digital mapping. [Ad break] Kara Swisher · 15:19 We're back with Scott Galloway and I are talking about Facebook as we always do. We've gotta get on to other things. Like, I I wish we could talk about just... You know, you saw Walt Mossberg came off of of a thing. So we're gonna do wins and fails. I'm gonna start. Okay. I'm gonna do a win. Walt Mossberg, like, getting off of Facebook and make it... Having a Walt Mossberg tantrum, which I always love. Scott Galloway · 15:36 He's done. Tell us about the tantrum. Kara Swisher · 15:37 He said... He's off of Facebook, and he... But he's been... He's continuing to tweet. He just sent me another one about... He's always been... Yeah. He's had it. He's he's mad as hell. He's not gonna take it anymore. So he he he goes, the perfidious behavior of Facebook starts with and goes well beyond its betrayal of you... His privacy. And then, of course, he he wrote another one until he got media trained. Growth at at any cost at Facebook's driving principle forever. Until he got media trained, Mark Zuckerberg could barely put a sentence together about privacy, which we did that famous interview in a sweat. And before that, Walt had said he was getting off of Facebook. And he stuck Scott Galloway · 16:11 you meet Walt? You guys were sort of the peanut butter and chocolate of this whole So Kara Swisher · 16:14 we met at a lunch where we argued about where the Internet was going. Scott Galloway · 16:17 And he was at the Wall Street Journal. Kara Swisher · 16:18 He was at Wall Street Journal. Was at the Washington Post, and I was writing a book. Scott Galloway · 16:21 That's where guy as my rabbi. Yeah. Can you ask him if he'll Kara Swisher · 16:23 be my rabbi? No. He cannot do that. He's busy being high. He smart and is he was sort of did... What Walt does really well, which is sort of this indignant anger at these things and sort of tried to crystallize it from a consumer point of view, which is you're being rolled, and this is why I'm getting off. And then what was interesting, he says, you don't have to. And by the way, I'll be back if they change things. So it was kind of an interesting way to do it. So I think he was Scott Galloway · 16:45 the win. Here's the issue. So Walt... They they hate to lose Walt because he's an influencer. Kara Swisher · 16:49 But he's he's not the demo. Scott Galloway · 16:50 But they don't mind him because he's old. And and Yeah. And advertisers hate old people because they're smart. Young people are stupid and spend money on high margin products like tennis shoes with swooshes on them or or $40, you know, lip liner. But old people are smart and start investing in relationships and just aren't stupid and Kara Swisher · 17:06 people are for people, kids do not like the invasion of privacy. Scott Galloway · 17:09 Except for your... Kara Swisher · 17:10 You'll insult your kids. No. No. No. But I think kids do care about privacy. I do. I don't think that's true. Don't think Scott Galloway · 17:15 they're That's bullshit. I don't think they're Here. Kara Swisher · 17:17 Take me take yourself off. Win or fail of the week, please. Scott Galloway · 17:20 So mine are sort of strange. So the Journal of Psycho Geriatrics has done this great study Alright. Kara Swisher · 17:26 Thank you, bold people. Scott Galloway · 17:26 Oh, there you go. Talking about loneliness. And I think loneliness is gonna be a big think loneliness is the new cancer, if you will. And they found that you have three areas of real loneliness in terms of your life. In your twenties, when you realize you're not gonna be a senator, I have a fragrance named after you, when you start anchoring up the most successful people and you're not one of them. In your fifties, when you start to find that you might have pre diabetes or you know someone who dies, and then you're in the late 80s where actually my dad is, quite frankly, don't have a whole hell of a lot to look forward to. And what's interesting is 0.75 of people surveyed reported some sort of moderate to severe loneliness, and that suffering from loneliness is kind of the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, that it's really bad for Kara Swisher · 18:07 your not a surprise. Scott Galloway · 18:08 So I think my win is this journal raising the issue of loneliness. I think it's going be a big issue in the next couple of years. And the thing that counteracts it is, in addition to socializing, is wisdom. And that is empathy, the ability to make decisions and be comfortable with your decisions, perspective around relationships and disappointment. But I think loneliness, I think this study is sound really lonely. I'm lonely all the time, Kara. But you know what? Kara Swisher · 18:32 I wish I was lonely Scott Galloway · 18:33 right now. I have to tell less and less every day, though. Kara Swisher · 18:35 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, what's interesting because I think one of the things is how much does the the the use of screens and everything contribute to that? How much does it isolate? Isolation, I think, is the link to it. And the question is how do we get... There's one school of thought that you have these screens, and people that were isolated before get to be part of the community, that they get to be... Even if it's a digital community. So that that that helps from isolation. Then there's others that say it isolates people from each other. I would say the latter is obviously when you when you walk down the street, when you see people on the buses and train. Like, I'm riding the subway here a lot, and everybody's on their phones. But then again, they were always reading a newspaper. So I'm trying to think if it's a different kind of isolation than when you're pulled into your phone versus reading a newspaper or a book or or something else. Scott Galloway · 19:18 So real... Seriously, I find the only thing that really cures it for me is time with my kids for some reason, but also I've decided that my cure for 19 is I'm getting a comfort monkey. Kara Swisher · 19:26 What? Scott Galloway · 19:27 I'm gonna get a comfort monkey. I'm gonna get a monkey and I'm gonna bring it on planes with me. I'm sick of those fucking comfort animals. Kara Swisher · 19:32 Really? Scott Galloway · 19:32 I can't sit down. Kara Swisher · 19:33 Last week it was yoga now Oh comfort Scott Galloway · 19:35 my... It's out of control. Is it? Labradoodles, It's their so out of control. Is it? Everyone's bringing their dogs on and saying, I need this because I'm anxious. I'm like, well, you know what? There's a cure for anxiety on planes. It's called vodka. So I have comfort vodka. You have a comfort fucking poodle. Get off Kara Swisher · 19:51 the What bothers you about a pet on it? What do you care? Scott Galloway · 19:53 No. No. No. I just think... Have you been on planes lately? There's animals everywhere. Kara Swisher · 19:57 I understand. That's fine. Scott Galloway · 19:58 Good with animals. I'm from all forms of transportation. Kara Swisher · 20:01 Okay. But what is the problem with them there? Do they bother you? Is there anything that they do? Scott Galloway · 20:05 Yeah. I have a labradoodle on my feet. And I like dogs. I just think it's out of control. Kara Swisher · 20:09 Labradoodle on your feet. What what is the big deal, Scott? Scott Galloway · 20:11 Put them over... Overdrug them and put them in the Kara Swisher · 20:14 hole. Really? Yeah. No. Because they freeze down there. I love animals in the in the main Scott Galloway · 20:20 cabin. You like that? Kara Swisher · 20:21 I do. I take that. Scott Galloway · 20:21 Do you have a comfort animal? Kara Swisher · 20:22 I don't have a comfort animal. I pay the money to put my cat in the main cabin, for example, I travel with my cat. Scott Galloway · 20:27 You have a cat? Kara Swisher · 20:27 I have cats. I have dogs. Scott Galloway · 20:28 She was a cat person. Kara Swisher · 20:29 I have cats and dogs. Scott Galloway · 20:31 Got it. Got it. Kara Swisher · 20:32 Yeah. All pets. Scott Galloway · 20:33 Now I'm getting a comfort monkey, and I wanna... We're gonna travel together, I'm and gonna have a gobo next to me, and I'm gonna see how much you like it. Kara Swisher · 20:38 There's negative Scott Galloway · 20:38 You know, a truth story. Someone tried to bring a peacock on Delta. Really? A comfort peacock. Kara Swisher · 20:43 And they said... Scott Galloway · 20:44 The pilot came out and said, sorry. No no peacocks. Kara Swisher · 20:46 No peacocks. Because they, like, get big. Right? They can cause problems in the aisle. Scott Galloway · 20:50 They are large feathered animals. Kara Swisher · 20:51 Yeah. Like... Yeah. I think what I'm interested in... So someone was telling me other day was, like, allergies and stuff like that. I wonder if you're allergic to cats and stuff, what you do when a cat is on a plane. Like, what do you do? You're kinda stuck there in a tube of death. Scott Galloway · 21:02 I know a guy who recently got married, fairly powerful private equity guy, and his wife is into cats, part of the agreement was in their prenuptials is that he would get allergy shots. I don't know what got me on that. Kara Swisher · 21:12 Anyways Alright then. Loneliness. Loneliness. Getting Scott Galloway · 21:15 a cum for monkey. — Predictions segment begins — Kara Swisher · 21:15 Okay, Scott. Alright. Now I would like your predictions, Any predictions for this week? Scott Galloway · 21:21 I don't have predictions for this week. On our next episode, we're reviewing all of our predictions Kara Swisher · 21:25 for '18 and '19. Scott Galloway · 21:26 But I have another I have another loser. Kara Swisher · 21:28 Can I have another loser? Yeah. Do another loser. Scott Galloway · 21:30 So everyone's totally obsessed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Kara Swisher · 21:33 Yes. Including Donald Trump, who's also mister tariff man. Right? He's either mister Dow Jones man or mister tariff man. Scott Galloway · 21:38 And it's probably the Kara Swisher · 21:38 most live together those two. Scott Galloway · 21:40 It's probably the most famous metric in the world. Metrics are really important because which gets measured gets done. Alright. Unfortunately, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is essentially 80% or 88 of the stocks, depending on the survey you look at, are controlled by the top decile of income earners in America. So the Dow Jones Industrial Average is a relevant metric measure the economic health of the upper decile, and that's about it. Meanwhile, life expectancy has declined three years in a row for the first time in the history of our country during a nonwar period. Wow. Because there's all these unmarked graves of, you know, not politically connected, not wealthy, mostly kids who are addicted, overdosed on opioids. Mhmm. Wages haven't grown in a long time. So I think though my loser, I think the Dow Jones Industrial Average is a... Just a terrible metric and has led to a lot of damage because it creates this false illusion of security and prosperity. Interesting. Kara Swisher · 22:28 Meaning that it's people aren't prospering. Scott Galloway · 22:29 Talking about depression and opioid. Kara Swisher · 22:31 Scott, what the fuck is wrong with me? You're lonely? You're worried about the stock? Would you lose some money on the stock market? Scott Galloway · 22:37 Did I lose some money? Oh my god. I've gotten the shit kicked out of me over the last three or Kara Swisher · 22:41 four months. Don't pay attention to it. Scott Galloway · 22:42 Don't? Kara Swisher · 22:42 Don't just don't look. Are you planning on retiring next week? Scott Galloway · 22:45 I'd like to. Kara Swisher · 22:46 Are you? I'm ready. No. No. Been retired for a while. Scott Galloway · 22:49 It's called academia. Kara Swisher · 22:50 Okay. Alright. But... So what are you worried about? Do you need that money right Scott Galloway · 22:52 now? Well, here's the thing. I don't know about you. No. But the problem is I always anchor off the high, and I think that's the natural state of beings. So I don't see myself as being ahead of where I was a year ago, which is where I am. I see myself as being 20 down from four months ago, and that's a lack of wisdom, which creates loneliness in my need for a comfort monkey. Oh, this is getting better Kara Swisher · 23:13 and better. Last year you were hating. Scott Galloway · 23:14 Why do we Kara Swisher · 23:15 start drinking? We don't start drinking. Scott Galloway · 23:16 There's a kid with a beard dryer. Kara Swisher · 23:17 What do think? This is Elon Musk's podcast with Joe Rogan. No. We don't do drugs on this podcast. Not a drug free zone. Scott Galloway · 23:24 Bring the vape. Kara Swisher · 23:25 No. Not at all. In any case, Scott, that was a lovely, whatever diatribe. Somehow you link comfort mummies to the Dow Jones industrial average, but... Scott Galloway · 23:33 What are your wins and fails? Kara Swisher · 23:34 I told you. Walt Mossberg. He's a Scott Galloway · 23:35 great He's the winner. Kara Swisher · 23:36 He's the winner. I don't know. I think the win... I think the interesting part of Amazon getting into health care is its marches into everything else is interesting, but that's a topic for another day. Scott Galloway · 23:44 That's a good one. I'm telling you, that's the big They're Kara Swisher · 23:47 going get into everything. They do everything really well. Scott Galloway · 23:49 Yeah. But that health care though, if you want to look at an industry that is other than my industry, academia, which has the benefit of century old brands that are difficult to disrupt, in my view, I mean, it's just hard to build MIT overnight. Mhmm. Health care. What great brands are there in health care? Seriously, it's a bunch of really mediocre Yeah. Kara Swisher · 24:07 What do don't like? Scott Galloway · 24:08 And it's gone from 12 of GDP to 18%. I'll tell you, if I were coming out of college right now, I would wanna be the guy or gal that understands the intersection of technology and health care. Kara Swisher · 24:17 Well, yeah. But that's been tried. Everyone's tried it. Google's tried it. Microsoft's tried it. I I honestly... I want... Yeah. Oscar. There's Oscar. That was a... Kushner. That was a Josh Kushner, not... Is that right? Josh Kushner. Yeah. The Kushner that is someone you can talk to. So he's actually very He's Scott Galloway · 24:35 dreamy. Kara Swisher · 24:35 I've met He's dreamy. Scott Galloway · 24:36 He's one of those guys. Got introduced to him a couple years ago. Went downtown, and I felt so, like, deficient. I'm like, literally, okay. Kara Swisher · 24:43 Scary to a supermodel Scott Galloway · 24:44 to Yeah. Work That's a shocker. Yeah. That's a shocker. Yeah. I'm like, okay. Guy... Understand. Much more successful, has such better hair than me. I'm like, like, how did that happen and how did I happen? It's a Kara Swisher · 24:57 low bar, Scott. Scott Galloway · 24:57 Yeah. Right? But I I I don't remember a thing he said. Just remember feeling totally insecure when I walked out of there. Kara Swisher · 25:04 Anyway, in any case, get... Amazon getting into health care is interesting. You kind of welcome someone to do something that would create Scott Galloway · 25:12 We're ready. And the link you forwarded me on testing I mean, think about what they could do. Right? They know your body mass index because of clothes. Know what food you order. They know what pharmaceuticals you're in. Amazon is great at sitting on top of a data set and figuring out what companies or what industries or sectors of health care are good to be in and which one are bad to be in. So batteries, great business. We're going into it. Swiss vacuum cleaner, shitty business, we'll just let them on our platform and charge them eight to 12%. I think they could literally start. And the scary part is they could start skimming off the healthiest families in America, which would be terrible for the of them because the key to insurance is is convincing healthy families to go into these pools on unhealthy families. Mhmm. But I think that's the big kind of optimistic or interesting business story of '19 is big tech going into health care. I think it's gonna be... And maybe a couple retail providers. Kara Swisher · 26:00 Well, think they've been there. I don't know. Scott Galloway · 26:02 We'll Kara Swisher · 26:02 see. We'll see. It'd be interesting to see what happens. I mean, is an area certainly ripe for for disruption. Scott Galloway · 26:06 100%. — Predictions segment ends — Kara Swisher · 26:07 Absolutely. Alright, Scott. Let's go get a drink and wash this all over. Scott Galloway · 26:11 I like it. Kara Swisher · 26:11 Let's go to ready. Your monger. Scott Galloway · 26:13 Comfort vodka. No. Comfort, what vodka do you order? Kara Swisher · 26:16 I don't, Scott. I don't care. Scott Galloway · 26:17 Occasionally, I start I start moving. When I get a little bit of drunk, feel like I need to spread some Scott moves around. I start thinking I have rhythm. Uh-huh. But you know who you know who thinks I'm a great dancer? Kara Swisher · 26:26 Who? Scott Galloway · 26:26 Bourbon. Bourbon thinks I'm an awesome dancer. Kara Swisher · 26:30 I I went and watched a tango class last week. It was fun. Scott Galloway · 26:32 You watched a Kara Swisher · 26:33 tango class? Yeah. Someone I'm seeing is Scott Galloway · 26:35 in Anyone Texas who goes to a dance class and is not learning dance is trying to impress somebody. Kara Swisher · 26:40 No. I was fascinated by it. Scott Galloway · 26:41 It was interesting. Yeah. Bet. Yeah. Was fascinated by the prospect of having sex with this person after the tango crisis. Kara Swisher · 26:46 You know what, Scott? Once again, Scott Galloway · 26:48 he Well, it's gonna bring it back. Kara Swisher · 26:49 Bring it back. Scott Galloway · 26:50 Where's the comfort monkey? Kara Swisher · 26:51 It was a lovely, beautiful expression of art that tango is. It was really lovely. It was really nice. Anyway Scott Galloway · 26:57 Good stuff, Kara. Kara Swisher · 26:58 We'll talk to you next week. Scott Galloway · 26:59 Alright. Have a good week. Kara Swisher · 27:00 Alright. Rebecca Sinanis produces this show. Nishat Kurwa is Vox Media's executive producer of audio. Thanks also to Eric Johnson. Thanks for listening to Pivot from Vox Media. Join us next week for more breakdown on all things tech and business. If you like what you heard, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Keeping up with your competition is important. Taking the lead with unmatched innovation, that's impressive. And that's what's possible when you build your next generation of smart apps on Microsoft Azure. Clear the way for unparalleled productivity with end to end development and management tools. Integrate cloud capabilities across your environment with the only consistent hybrid cloud. 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