😮Cloning Voices,Rescuing the Web, and TikTok Cashback
Does your voice belong to you?
Hey everyone! How are you doing this week?
Pretty nuts that Jeff Bezos flew into Space, right? From the best place to buy books on the internet to a multinational conglomerate empire with dreams of conquering the skies?
C’mon Bezos you can do it . . . .
I’ve been enjoying the second season of Snowpiercer - and it’s fun to see Sean Bean in a show again.
I just hope he lasts more than one season . . .
The Boromir curse has been around for a while now. C’mon - who doesn’t wish he lasted longer in GOT?
I do have some exciting news. We are only 28 subscribers away from 1000 subs! That’s right - only 28 away from the big 1K.
To you, I call in this hour of need. Would you be so kind as to share The Land of Random to spread Random joy with your friends, family, frenemies, and arch nemeses?
Well, let’s hop on into today’s topics! If you need some ambient noise while you read, check out this cool site
😮Cloning Voices
A bit of controversy is once again stirring the pot in the film world - and of course - it concerns the dead once again walking among the living.
AI is slowly making its way into the film world - and it’s only a matter of time until Indiana Jones 20 features a young Harrison Ford.
A recent documentary about the late great chef Anthony Bourdain featured a partial AI reconstructed voiceover for a letter.
In addition to using clips of Bourdain’s voice from various media appearances, the filmmaker says he had an “A.I. model” of Bourdain’s voice created in order to complete the effect of Bourdain ‘reading’ from his own email in the film. “If you watch the film, other than that line you mentioned, you probably don’t know what the other lines are that were spoken by the A.I., and you’re not going to know,” Neville told the reviewer, Helen Rosner. “We can have a documentary-ethics panel about it later.” (Source)
This example is not an egregious one in my opinion - but it definitely creeps close to the line. Perhaps it’s acceptable to stretch a bit here and there -but what about when you generate a voice model for extensive work?
What if the voice model for Anthony Bourdain narrates the whole documentary?
I’d be pretty uncomfortable with that, to be honest. It’s not really him. It’s naught but an empty echo.
But what if he gave explicit permission? Well . . . .that’s a different story.
Eventually we’re going to see a lot of synthetic media around us - and it’s gonna be nuts. Hopefully we’ll know what’s real and what’s not in 10 years.
I really encourage you to read this fascinating interview about synthetic media, and the possible laws around it. Check it out!
👩🚒Rescuing The Web
I read this realy interesting article by Andre Staltz about trying to rescue the Web from the Internet. In this plan he outlines several fascinating ideas.
I actually have hope for the Web. There are legimately viable ways of preserving freedom on the Web while taking the platform forward and keeping it competitive against proprietary alternatives from tech giants. (Source)
How can the Web be rescued from the machinations of the big companies that seem to control more and more?
Part one of his plan is to “Build the mobile mesh Web that works with or without Internet access, to reach 4 billion people currently offline.”
That’s a very important step forward. Currently, the web (including yours truly) lives and breathes at the mercy of the cloud, underground cables, satellites, Cellular Towers . . .
The Web is - at its core - a way for people to share information. Whether its files, words, pictures, voice, music, or video - these are the essential elements of the web.
If we can share those elements quickly, securely, and easily - we don’t need those great tech giants.
Think about the power of Telegram, for example. Within Telegram you can host all of those elements, communicate with others, watch videos, listen to music. Heck, you can even write articles too.
However - without a internet connection it’s pretty useless. An offline Telegram would kill it.
The Tech giants can’t control that. Heck, AT&T and the like can’t control that either. It’s completely off the grid.
Apps like Bridgefy can work for offline messaging, and can hop from person to person via a bluetooth Mesh network.
However, these kind of apps have the most basic of features - about 60 steps down for your average smartphone user.
what do you mean I can’t stream in 4K.
You get it.
I recommend diving into this fascinating article. It’s really good!
🤑TikTok Cashback - SwayPay
I ran into this really interesting app the other week. It’s called SwayPay, and its claim to fame is that it will pay you cash IF your TikTok of a particular product gets enough views.
Their website is awesome. There are sooo many fun little details everywhere. There’s even a racoon arm with a sign asking if you will accept cookies.
Oh . . . . I didn’t mention the song that plays “download swaypay” when you click on the audio button. 🤣
The premise is simple. Choose from the vendors available - upload your receipt verifying purchase, and create a TikTok highlighting the product. Once your views are verified, they’ll pay you.
It’s influencer marketing - but anyone can do it. Apparently there’s about 278K available. I’m curious if that’s advance money from the retailers they’re partnered with, personal capital, or venture capital. Hmmmmmm.
As someone with basically no TikTok clout, I’m probably not going to try it.
Yeah, I know I could make a Land of Random TikTok - create 3 videos a day, and grind to at least 5K subs - but I honestly just don’t have the time.
I recommend downloading their app, if only to see their really cool UI and UX. It’s really clean and fresh - with a neat color scheme.
I hope it’s a successful venture! Check it out at the link.
🐙The Land of Random
Lots of random links for you!
Wake up to Coffee
This absurd but absolutely fascinating alarm clock will brew coffee for you to wake you up. Yes, this is something you put by your bedside table. No. not too close. Do you want to burn yourself?
Share the Music
Want to collaborate on your playlists in real time? You can make that happen with Silant. I’m deeply curious as to how it compares to the current feature available in Spotify.
What Madman Made This
I have no words
Sublime Text Song
Vibe out to the Sublime song and type anything you want. You’ll need audio on!
MailMunch
This is a really nifty email marketing platform that won’t break the bank. I’m not really sure how they can keep it as cheap as they do!
808 Cube
i’ve never seen a more innovative use of music and a Rubiks cube. This is so much fun!
Cut Off Their Limbs
Dead Space is returning for a remake! I can’t tell you how much nostalgia I got from this video.
🎵TikToks You Can’t Miss
I really wish I could’ve seen this place
These are some fun vibes
That would be cool to see driving through Chernobyl
I was slightly worried until . . .
The Seagull Saga is a lot of fun
I think I posted this before but it’s just so good
That’s all for this week! See you next time - and don’t ask me where the Rum has gone