Marketplace Tech

Host Molly Wood speaks with the CEO of Houseparty, Sima Sistani, about the sudden surge in the use of the app as people quarantining at home connect for video chats with friends and family. Like Zoom, Houseparty’s privacy practices have come under scrutiny as millions more are using the platform. Keep a close eye on your connections lists, Sistani says, and privacy should not be an issue.

In the United States, we’ve traditionally liked using cash and credit cards to pay for things. But the COVID-19 crisis means we’re buying different things in new ways. That represents an opportunity for people to start using financial technology apps like Venmo and Square, even in typically analog places, like farmers markets.

Host Molly Wood speaks with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi about simultaneous show and movie watching options that are helping us be alone together during the pandemic. He says people have the options of creating group watches via Netflix Party and gaming streaming sites. “Gaming is the new social network,” he says.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Sara Fischer, a media reporter at Axios, about the state of the digital advertising industry. Usually, Fischer said, the ad industry as a whole grows along with U.S. GDP, with the digital segment outperforming. Since the economy has gone south during the coronavirus pandemic, the digital ad industry’s initial 2020 growth estimate of 12% has dwindled to 4%. Yet even its shriveled prospects look good relative to other media.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Avi Reichental, an early pioneer in 3D printing, about how 3D printers could help fill the gap for much needed PPE during this pandemic. He says that not only are companies making things, but so are many people who have 3D printers at home. Now, he says, FDA regulations should be revisited and revised so 3D PPE can be quickly approved and certified.

Host Molly Wood speaks to Michael Alvarez, professor of political and computational social science at Caltech, about the possibility of people voting online in the November general election. During this pandemic, when people want to minimize coming into contact with other people and anything physical that can potentially transmit COVID-19, like paper, Alvarez says there might be the possibility of people voting through an app to minimize that friction. But federal and state governments, he adds, have to come up with a plan to make that a smooth transition for everyone and avoid any technical crises.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Holli Plummer, who teaches English and history at a Los Angeles private school, about the learning curve all teachers and students are facing now that everything is being taught online. Plummer says teachers from all over the world are coming together to find solutions to making online learning as effective as traditional classes.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Adi Robertson, a senior reporter at The Verge, about how virtual reality is having its time right now. However, due to the global pandemic, VR headsets are on a shortage, which might make the product miss its spotlight. Robertson says we shouldn’t think of VR as a tool for online and homeschooling because it’s expensive and inaccessible for students, given the shortage — not to mention students who already have a hard time getting access to the internet and a decent computer.

When someone tests positive for COVID-19, one way to try to prevent its spread is for public health officials to track down all the people that person has been in contact with and then isolate them. This is called contact tracing, and the U.S. hasn’t done a great job of it so far. Now Big Tech wants to get involved. Apple and Google announced a program where they allow people who’ve tested positive for the virus to tell an app, which then alerts people nearby via Bluetooth technology. Will it work? “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood discusses that with Ross Anderson, a professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Jimmy Chen, founder and CEO of the startup Propel, which makes an app called Fresh EBT. The app helps recipients of SNAP, also known as food stamps, digitally check their balances. Now, Propel has partnered with GiveDirectly, a nonprofit, to give a one-time cash gift to users of the Fresh EBT app, beginning in areas hardest hit by COVID-19.