Fast Company Writer and Producer John Converse Townsend got microchipped back in October 2017. He's now had the smart chip inside his body for three months and explains the capabilities and opportunity behind this new technology.
"It's been fun," says Townsend. "I do have it programmed currently to call my girlfriend." Townsend explains he can tap his phone to the chip to then make a phone call. In the future he says the chip could be used to make mobile payments.
The chip can be compared to the size of a Basmati rice grain. Townsend got the idea to test out a microchip after interviewing Wisconsin-based Three Square Market who has offered to microchip their employees.
What you Need to Know on Thursday, March 17. Updates from Ukraine, President Biden refers to Putin as a ‘war criminal’ for the first time, Walmart has ambitious hiring targets for Q1, and Netflix takes steps to crack down on password sharing.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Cheddar's Michelle Castillo from South By Southwest to boost President Biden's bipartisan infrastructure legislation and talk about the big transportation issues of the day, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the future of public transit. "It means we have a huge wind at our back delivering on the kinds of transportation solutions that are going to define the 2020's 2030s, 2040s even," he said. "And that's what makes it exciting to come to South by Southwest and talk with some of the people who are following these technologies and ideas the most closely and talk about where we're headed." Buttigieg also touched on the "Don't Say Gay" legislation in Florida, noting that such legislative pushes were likely coming from politicians deflecting from lacking answers to pressing economic concerns, in his opinion.
Social audio app Clubhouse reached $1 billion valuation milestone this January, and Fadia Kader, head of strategic media partnerships at Clubhouse, joined Cheddar News to talk about what its been doing to keep the drive going. "We are the category first leaders. We are 100 percent focused on social audio. It's not just a feature that we've just like bottled up and put on there. We are a medium that is 100 percent focused on community and social audio," she said.
