January 16th • 3h 21m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
TikTok
Side loaded Flip phones for TikToc
Boots on the ground - TikTok Ban
ITM Adam!!
GenZ TikTok producer, here!
Some boots on the ground for you and John regarding the TikTok ban to get you in the mind of influencers I manage.
If you recall, I gave you and John insight last year about how TikTok ads have ad leaderboard systems and some obscure incentives for massive pay pools to “creators” (sorry I know you hate that). I manage several thousand influencers on TikTok and everyone is “at their edge of the seat” with this ban, because well, lots of money on the table.
Recently noticing with our influencers - the mad dashing for NEXT BIG THING if the ban holds. New apps and narratives definitely underway trying to absorb the power vacuum IF TikTok is shut down. I say IF because the amount of money that flows through ad revenue here will likely keep it going. If not, this model will be immediately duplicated in a new app. Here’s the thing, younger people do not like older apps.. which would make it hard to capture that same value on Meta for example.
Where to next?!
Memes and Activism - trends around a totally not artificially pumped app called “RedNote” from China is currently at the top of the App Store in downloads. You know, like the little red book from Mao’s China. With memes people are making claiming it to be the ULTIMATE “F U” to Meta, X, and US gov. Sentiment with these posts are, “we’re never going back if you’re making us”. As someone who lives and breathes algorithms and conversions to sell things - this whole thing is manufactured bots pumping new app rankings. Not to mention, jokes and activism with this to gain attention… but what isn’t today..
The overall consensus is exactly how you put it in the last show. There is far too much money in this style of content and we in the US best export “bikini’s and boobs” as a way of selling beauty products. You nailed it. So if you need an exit strategy - just pitch bringing back Vine. We know Elon probably already will since twitter owned it. 😂
Ban or not, the influencers I manage will just move to the next best paying short form shop platform within weeks. Either way this is probably my sign to build a new business with the V4V model and not be a part of the problem in advertising.
Thanks for all you do!
- G
TikTok Store boots on the ground
I’m sure you know TikTok has enabled shopping, I think you sort of acknowledge it on episode 1730. It’s probably the only legitimate competition Amazon may have. I’m very surprised that John hasn’t discovered the incredible deals on TikTok shop, from $12 Baofeng radios, to high quality unlabeled clothing, textiles & home goods (usually straight from China but not all). Also, many home grown businesses are making millions of dollars by opening their business on TikTok shop. I am a bit disappointed that everyone seems to find the negativity and odd ball TikTokers but not the positive, creative and compassionate people on the platform. I very rarely see crazy blue hair wackos.
I joined the TikTok shop program last year, it works by basically promoting all types of goods that are sent as free samples in exchange for making videos or going live showcasing the product. Recently, I’ve had a video featuring the Baofeng Uv5R radio that has made me close to $10k in commission over the last 2 weeks. I have been able to stop ruining my vehicle doing Amazon deliveries and UberEats deliveries. TikTok has enabled me to have more than $700 in my bank account at any given time, the same goes for so many other people on the platform. I do not have millions of followers, I started with less than 1000, currently at 8000. TikTok is by far the best social media platform on the internet. X is negative nut jobs, YT is trash, FB & IG is disgraceful. Average everyday people have been given a chance to make life changing money, build friendships, support groups, plus religious content is huge on TikTok. $12 Baofengs and free faux fur duvets will never be available on X, YT, or Facebook. We need more TikToks!
Thanks for the show, information and laughs.
Danny
ReelShort BOTG
ITM
I'm currently listening to #1730 now and I have used ReelShort so I have a little insight.
First let me say I am a truck driver and while I get loaded or unloaded I usually just mindlessly scroll Facebook or Instagram. I got sucked into one of these so called movies made by ReelShort on Facebook. They will give you 3-5 minutes on another platform then tell you to download their app. Well I downloaded it and the woman on the clip was right. You get about 10-15 minutes and then they ask for money. You get tokens to purchase movies starting at $4.99 for 100 tokens. I'm not sure how many tokens were needed to get the whole movie. Or you can watch an ad 5 times a day and get one more 1-2 minute segment per ad watched. For reference the video I was watching had about 70 segments.
The acting is truly awful, the plot is horrible, and yet I still wanted to finish it. I still deleted the app after I saw it's pay model.
Keep up the great work!
Nick
YouTubers and TikTokkers are not “Creators” but Creations.
From Mr Beast:
Your goal here is to make the best YOUTUBE videos possible. That’s the number one goal of this production company. It’s not to make the best produced videos. Not to make the funniest videos. Not to make the best looking videos. Not the highest quality videos.. It’s to make the best YOUTUBE videos possible.
99% of movies or tv shows would flop on Youtube. On top of that they’d be wildly unprofitable, have no flexibility, and long lead times that can’t adapt to trends. We arn’t [sic] here to make a small movie once or twice a year, I want to make one a week lol. Which is why you need to be nimble and produce content OUR way, not the way you were taught before.
I spent basically 5 years of my life locked in a room studying virality on Youtube. Some days me and some other nerds would spend 20 hours straight studying the most minor thing: like is there a correlation between better lighting at the start of the video and less viewer drop off (there is, have good lighting at the start of the video haha) or other tiny things like that. And the result of those probably 20,000 to 30,000 hours of studying is I’d say I have a good grasp on what makes Youtube videos do well. The three metrics you guys need to care about is Click Thru Rate (CTR), Average View Duration (AVD), and Average View Percentage (AVP).
Newsom's Inferno
Boots on Ground Disaster = Money
Mr. Curry,
I've lived in So Cal for 57 years.
I have 29 years experience in disaster response with county, state, and federal agencies
I grew up in Pasadena, CA (Eaton Fire, LA County)
I can tell you that you are completely correct when you say that disaster is a money maker. A large fire is a boon to not only firefighters, but the myriad private contractors as well as other government workers. Hotels who put up responders. Food service contractors. Laundry service contractors. Aircraft contractors. Water tender contractors. Generator contractors. Repair contractors. Transportation contractors (all the stuff comes in big rigs). Lots, and lots of money.
Santa Ana winds are an annual occurrence in So. Cal. They have contributed to a number of large fires over the years. What is a bit odd about this one is that the winds presented themselves in January. They typically seem to arrive in October-ish, but this is not exclusive. We have had little rain, so the dry vegetation is the problem.
There is no stopping a fire when it is wind-driven in this fashion. My hometown has been devastated. Fortunately all of the family property is un-touched by flames.
JL
Residential Sprinklers BOTG
Listening to your show from Sunday I heard your skepticism regarding residential sprinkler systems in 1- and 2-bedroom homes. The International Code Council (ICC) creates the Building Codes and releases them every 3 years and they have been pushing for sprinkler systems in all residential homes since 2008, [The Fire Sprinkler War, State by State — ProPublica](https://www.propublica.org/article/the-fire-sprinkler-war-state-by-state). I pulled up the Los Angeles Building Codes that are currently adopted as of 2022. Los Angeles adopted specific requirements for sprinklers in all new homes can be found at [https://up.codes/viewer/los-angeles-county/ca-residential-code-2022/chapter/3/building-planning#R313.2](https://up.codes/viewer/los-angeles-county/ca-residential-code-2022/chapter/3/building-planning#R313.2). I further found that the city has had this in place since at least 2011. The State of California requires Sprinkler Systems as of January 24, 2017, per Information Bulletin 17-001. Many areas around the country have adopted the same codes, while these codes will undoubtably save lives and property . They are cost prohibitive and explain some of the additional costs of building in California. Hope this helps clarify the sprinkler issue.
I also found that Los Angeles adopted the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC), these codes specifically deal with best practices regarding private and public wooded/wild lands adjacent to urban areas. Here is a link to Upcodes which will allow you to look at the current adopted codes in Los Angeles County and City as well as most of the US.
[Los Angeles County Building Codes | UpCodes](https://up.codes/codes/los-angeles-county?year=2023)
Climate Change
Why does cleaner fuel on ships cause more climate change?
ITM Adam,
Between 2012 and 2015 it was my task to sell systems to prepare ship diesel engines to change fuels.
The
introduction of the Sulphur Emission Controlled Areas (SECA) meant that
in many waters around the western shores, only 0,1% sulphur was
allowed. On the high seas, the sulphur content of heavy fuel oil was
also gradually reduced from >3,5% to <1% initially. Once you drop
below 0,5%, it's no use trying to clean this refinery product.
Sulphur
oxides in the air causes cloud formation. Volcanic eruptions are known
for causing great changes in global temperatures.
Kind regards,
Sir Hendrick
Gitmo Lowlands
Pig Butchers
Internet Scam You Should Bring Awareness To BOTG
In your previous show you were discussing the internet scam
regarding, in short, 'you watched porn and I recorded you masturbating
to it, now pay me a bitcoin'. You have previously mentioned other recent
scams, such as pig butchers, but there is one I have personally
encountered and after some research online, others have as well that you
have not mentioned. Here is my story:
I was 25
when this occurred about a few months ago, now 26, male on a dating app
called Hinge. If you are unfamiliar, it's your standard dating app but
seems to be less filled with bots and can have more genuine connections
(six likes per day, versus 50 or whatever Tinder allows), I have at
least had success with going on dates using it.
I
matched with a girl who was 23 and we talked on the app for probably 2
days every hour or so, the responses on the app were not immediate nor
vague, they were responding to the specifics of the conversation. After a
while, we exchanged text numbers. This is where the first red flag
occurred to me because I prefer to use Snap Chat as a messaging service
(it's the superior messaging service in my opinion) but she claimed not
to have it, which is strange for our age bracket, but oh well maybe she
wasn't that active on social media, so I brushed it off.
We
texted for a bit until she asked for a picture of me to have as a
contact photo, so I sent a previous pic of me that I thought was
attractive and made me look good and said she should send one back. She
sent back a selfie along with NSFW pics of her, which, hey, can you
blame me for being excited? She tried to initiate dirty talking but I
was with family so I was suggesting to talk later. She stopped
responding at this point.
About five hours
later, I get a text from an unknown number from someone claiming to be
the girl's father and the story he told is among the lines of "my
daughter got into a fight with myself and my wife resulting in us taking
her phone and seeing you have been texting her. She is 16 and when I
saw she was texting you, she threatened to kill herself. I am sitting in
the hospital with my daughter and I am going to press charges against
you, you sick pedophile bastard". At this point I freaked out and
responded saying that her profile said she was 23 and that I no longer
wish to have contact with her because she lied about her age and that it
is a huge understanding.
The individual
responded with a full paragraph that was far too fast that it is at this
point I thought it was a scam. Something along the lines of "son, if
you know what's good for you you will make this right otherwise I will
ruin your life for being a pedophile, etc, etc". It was at this point I
started looking online and found this reddit thread where the scenario
was exactly the same:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1bmyndc/met_someone_on_dating_app_she_send_nudes/
According
to the reddit post, a phone call from a local police officer was
imminent in the next hour so now convinced this was a scam, I was ready.
The phone call came through claiming to be a detective of the St. Paul
PD advising that I should pay the father of said girl the money he is
requesting to avoid being labeled a sex offender. I asked for his badge
number and then hung up, later confirming with the St. Paul PD that this
was not a legit badge number. This wasn't some foreign accent. This was
someone born in the US and had all the lingo to make it authentic. If
they didn't have that quick reply on the dad's texts, I probably would
have fallen for it.
The reddit post I put above
mentions the numbers being all over the place, but that was not the
case for me. All three numbers, the girl, dad, and police, were all from
612 area codes, where I live (MN). This scam is by far the most
advanced scam I have ever seen and I want to make sure others my age
using dating apps to meet others, are aware of it.
TL;DR
- match with girl on dating app, she sends you nudes, later get text
from her "dad" she is underage and claiming she attempted suicide,
"police" later calls saying you should pay dad to avoid pedophile
accusations
Love your show and keep up the good work.
Regards and God Bless,
Sam
Tip of the Day
Elon
Big Pharma
Big Tech AI and the Socials
Bad AI Pitch
Hey Adam,
I couldn't help but think back to your discussion on "Pod Roll" about the unexpected outcomes of media deconstruction, especially the fascinating musings of Sir Zak of Fudge. This seamlessly ties into the transformative power of presenting information visually.
I'm circling back to gauge your interest in featuring Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic on your show. Her mastery of data storytelling could offer your listeners a novel approach to interpreting information, sparking conversations aligned with your deconstructive themes.
Imagine an episode where data comes alive through stories—wouldn't that be intriguing? I'd be thrilled to hear your thoughts on this potential collaboration.
Cheers,
Sarah Dunn
Sarah Dunn
PR specialist, TenXPR.com
Ukraine vs Russia
Trump
Delulu “Prophets” BOTG
ITM, Adam!
I hadn’t yet been hit in the mouth before the last election, but I’m sure you covered all of the “Trump-will-still-be-president” YouTubers. I was getting all the updates from a friend who was totally invested - from the theories around ballets to those she thought were true prophets. She told me later that she had made detailed plans for her suicide when they didn’t come to pass, and was only stopped by feeling God’s clear intervention.
In November, a family member had a close liberal friend attempt suicide the day after Trump’s election.
People on the left are truly terrified about the next term, and if I heard and believed what they do, I probably would be, too.
These team delulu theorists and “prophets” sadly may really hurt the people that believe them.
TYFYC!
~K
M5M
Replacement Migration
Israel vs Everyone
God
Ohio State Coach
God has the tendency to pick up a nobody, to be somebody in front of everybody without consulting anybody
