I’m Fred Faulkner, and this is my Masterclass.  If you are not familiar, Masterclass.com is an online learning site, but the difference between Masterclass and any other online educational site is the celebrity status it comes with.  Learn acting from Samuel L. Jackson.  Learn writing from Judy Blume.  Take cooking lessons from Gordon Ramsey!  With over 80 classes by celebrity instructors, there is no shortage of topics and content. 

I’ve been a subscriber for just over a year now.  In this podcast I thought I’d share my thoughts on the price of admission.  What I like, and what I don’t like. (Spoiler, there’s not much I don’t like). 

Masterclass has a lot to offer in regards to topics, but also the depth of the celebrities that it has accrued as instructors. Make no mistake, you are getting quality people. But you are also not getting a degree in any of these topics and courses. Masterclass, in my opinion, is a way to learn more about a passion, the thought process behind that passion, and then lessons and learning on how you can craft our own version of that passion. This isn’t Coursera where you could walk out with an online degree. Masterclass is fun, entertaining, and well put together with high production value.

Music provided by Epidemic Sound.  Want great music for your next project, check out Epidemic Sound for all your music needs.

Today was Adobe Summit Online, a shift from their physical conference held annually in Las Vegas.  I was happy to be at home, but also missed the excitement and culmination of months of preparation of being at the conference.  So how did Adobe do with moving to a virtual conference? I share my thoughts on what has happened to the entire conference industry as well as my critique of Adobe Summit. What did they get right?  What could have gone better?  What got me excited? 

Are you a Google user? Are you hooked on the Apple ecosystem? Maybe Amazon with the Echo and Alexa. How do you choose and how does those decisions impact your life in the technology you choose? I discus my love/hate relationship with them as it come to my life, home automation, and supporting my family.

Today marketers and technology are allowing companies to collect a vast amount of data on consumers and their behaviors.  Consumers on the flip side have been lax in how they treat their data as an actual currency for access to goods and services.  Layer in that legislators have had to get involved to limit how companies collect and use data.  It’s a mess and I try to talk through how we got here and how maybe we get back on track.