Topic: Com

Sir Thomas of the Apocalypse reflects on his long history following John C. Dvorak, starting with TechTV in the late 1990s and the Cranky Geeks program. He recalls rediscovering the podcast after accidentally typing a political commentator's URL that the show had famously redirected for years. His donation serves as a tribute to Dvorak's insightful and contrarian personality.

Sir Ducifer promotes a major memorial meetup at Crousey Springs in Spicewood, Texas, to celebrate the life of John C. Dvorak. The hosts read an extensive list of upcoming meetups scheduled through November in locations ranging from Bangkok to Amsterdam. The segment emphasizes that meetup attendees serve as "first responders" for one another in times of emergency.

The hosts play AI-generated voice clones of Tom Cruise and Mark Zuckerberg discussing the No Agenda podcast. While the Cruise clone is deemed unrealistic, the Zuckerberg clone is noted for its accuracy. This leads into "John's Tip of the Day," which recommends using Kimi.com as a neutral, non-political alternative to ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak share historical anecdotes about the early days of the internet and domain name acquisitions. Curry discusses his legal settlement over MTV.com and his decision to give Elvis.com to Priscilla Presley. Dvorak mentions John Markoff's acquisition of NYT.com and the story of how Anheuser-Busch traded a six-pack of beer for Bud.com.

A detailed anecdote describes how Anheuser-Busch acquired the Bud.com domain from a fan in rural Texas. Rather than a multi-million dollar settlement, the owner requested a six-pack of long-neck Budweiser delivered by August Busch. The story serves as a contrast to modern high-stakes domain name disputes.

The No Agenda show continues to operate on the "value for value" model, eschewing corporate advertising for listener donations. Listeners are encouraged to use modern podcast apps from podcastapps.com for live notifications and better features. The hosts address listener feedback regarding their perceived shift in political tone and the influence of other media figures like Candace Owens and Tim Dillon.

The hosts explain the "Value for Value" model, where listeners contribute time, talent, or treasure in exchange for the show's content. they promote the use of modern podcast apps via PodcastApps.com, which support features like "podping" for instant live notifications and faster episode updates compared to legacy platforms.

The hosts showcase the new "Order of the Heart" Red Knight pins, featuring high-quality packaging and sealing wax certificates. They transition to a technical reminder for listeners to use modern podcast apps from podcastapps.com. These apps utilize Podping technology to provide near-instant updates and live-stream notifications, bypassing the delays of legacy platforms like Spotify and Apple.

The ownership of the domain Diaries.com is discussed as a potential high-value asset. The conversation briefly touches on the history of early social blogging platforms like LiveJournal and Tumblr, and the hosts joke about selling the domain for Bitcoin as an "exit strategy."

A personal digression covers past habits involving rolling tobacco and cannabis, including the "wake and bake" lifestyle. The conversation shifts to the history of podcast networks and the financial success of Mark Cuban, who sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for billions. The hosts reflect on being "too early" to various tech trends and the challenges of monetizing digital content compared to early internet pioneers.

The hosts announce several birthdays and share audio reports from a large meetup in Tinley Park, Illinois, organized by Eli the Coffee Guy and Darren O'Neill. They emphasize the importance of "connection brings protection" and encourage listeners to attend upcoming meetups in Idaho, Texas, and North Carolina. A potential return date for John C. Dvorak is teased for the Albany, California meetup in April.

Avi Shiffman has launched "Friend," a $99 AI wearable pendant designed to provide non-judgmental companionship. The product targets the growing "friendship deficit" among younger generations, specifically Zoomers, who reportedly have fewer close friends than previous age groups.

Scott Adams discusses the financial failure of his restaurant ventures, citing unscrupulous legal challenges and poor timing. He notes that he signed a major lease on September 11, 2001, just as the economy collapsed following the terrorist attacks and the dot-com crash.

John Dvorak provides the "Tip of the Day," recommending OnlineNewspapers.com as a comprehensive resource for global research. The hosts preview upcoming segments with the creators of Podverse and play a series of AI-generated "slop" music mixes. The episode ends with a satirical song about Nicolás Maduro's "holiday" in the United States.

The hosts highlight several upcoming No Agenda meetups, including events in North Idaho, Clovis, California, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. They play a recording from a recent large meetup in Indiana where producers gathered despite freezing temperatures. Listeners are encouraged to visit noagendameetups.com to find or start local gatherings of the "No Agenda family."

A host describes a sophisticated social engineering attempt involving a caller spoofing Google Safety and Security. The scammer utilized sites.google.com to host a fake ticket-closing portal and attempted to verify legitimacy by citing the host's MX records and sending spoofed emails from no-reply@google.com. The interaction ended when the host challenged the scammer to send an email from a corporate @google.com address.

The hosts promote modern podcasting apps like Podverse and Fountain that support live streaming and value-for-value features. They praise Darren O'Neill's AI-generated artwork for the show while addressing rumors that long-time contributor Scaramanga is leaving the art competition due to his submissions not being selected.

The benefits of modern podcast apps, such as live streaming and faster updates, are highlighted for listeners. The hosts explain their refusal to sign contracts with Spotify due to the platform's insistence on the right to insert advertisements into the content.

Dictionary.com revealed "67" as its word of the year, a choice criticized as "lame." A listener's note on homeschooling argues that children educated at home are less susceptible to such social media-driven trends and are better prepared for practical life tasks.

Elon Musk's acquisition of X.com is linked to his long-standing desire to turn PayPal into an "everything app," a vision he was prevented from fulfilling when he was ousted from the company. There is reportedly no love lost between Musk and Peter Thiel. The discussion also touches on the mechanics of growing a brand on X, with one host planning to test if a paid subscription increases follower reach.