16 Minutes News by a16z

Ok Boomer; Microtransaction Fraud in Games (#13)

Episode Summary

News and trends covered this week include: * the OK Boomer meme, what it means given current and coming tech shifts around meme-to-merchandise, ecommerce, video, app design, and the future of social -- with @conniechan @dcoolican * fraud in gaming microtransactions given reports of money laundering through Counter-Strike: Global Offensive container key trades …hosted by @smc90.

Episode Notes

This is the 13th episode of 16 Minutes, our weekly-ish news show where we quickly cover the top headlines of the week, the a16z Podcast way: what’s real, what’s hype from our vantage point in tech. This week, we cover the following news -- with a16z experts general partner Connie Chan and D'arcy Coolican from the consumer team, and former CSO/ a16z security operating partner Joel de la Garza -- in conversation with Sonal Chokshi:

  1. OK Boomer meme and meaning -- What makes this meme news, given current and coming tech trends around meme-to-merchandise, ecommerce, video, app design, the future of social... and the overall zeitgeist between generations and cultural transitions?
  2. fraud in gaming microtransactions/ trading -- Is money laundering really happening through gaming microtransactions? What to make of Valve's recent restriction that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive container keys cannot be traded or sold on the Steam marketplace because they are now "believed to be fraud-sourced" by worldwide fraud networks?

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credits: @linzrinzz on TikTok