HE SPOKE

hespoke

**Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 26th, 2025/Chainwire/--**The MuskIt team was proud to host Errol Musk in Dubai for an exclusive four-day visit this week. As an honored guest of MuskIt project , Errol Musk explored key locations for the proposed Musk Tower – a planned hub for global technology, blockchain innovation, and entrepreneurship. His visit marks a pivotal moment for MuskIt and the entire crypto community, solidifying the project’s commitment to real-world impact and lasting legacy as the first memecoin turning into a culture coin and real-world asset ownership. He spoke more about his vision in the exclusive interview with Arabian Gulf Business Insight here. Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhgSKUtmbTc $MUSKIT tokens will be allocated towards the ongoing development of the Musk Institute and Musk Tower as confirmed by Errol Musk during an interview with Sky News Arabia. The Musk Institute will serve as a global hub for education, research, and collaboration, driving advancements in frontier technology, sustainable innovation, and blockchain integration—aligned with MuskIt’s four pillars of transformative science, academic synergy, venture incubation, and mission-driven solutions. The Musk Tower, a flagship infrastructure project, is designed to provide a dynamic space for events, business ventures, and decentralized services.\ $MuskIt: The Official Token of the Musk Institute Errol Musk’s visit isn’t just about scouting locations; it’s about solidifying the power of $MUSKIT Token as the backbone of this project development. During his tour, he publicly endorsed it as the official token of the Musk Institute in an interview with Sky News Arabia and an interview with Arab News. This integration of blockchain will empower token holders to be part of a movement that bridges digital assets with real-world development. The token will provide membership privileges, including access to VIP services, research initiatives, and networking opportunities. Additionally, the MuskIt team is actively targeting traditional finance investors, positioning the token as a meme asset accessible to all, bridging the gap between digital culture and institutional investment. Educational access, innovation grants, and marketplace services within the Musk ecosystem will further enhance the token’s utility, creating a dynamic and interconnected hub for blockchain, technology, and business innovation. About MuskIt MuskIt is more than just a meme coin—it's a movement. A mindset that embodies taking bold action, breaking barriers, and achieving greatness. Inspired by the revolutionary spirit of innovation and efficiency, MuskIt represents the drive to do things better, challenge the status quo, and redefine success. With over 50,000 holders already owning $MUSKIT, its expanding community reflects its growing presence. Unlike your traditional meme coin, which is meant only to embody an idea, $MUSKIT is backed by the Musk Family and will serve as the official coin of Errol's Musk Institute. $MUSKIT: the coin for those who don’t let anything stand in their way. Musk Family Endorsed and Approved. Official Links: Website: https://www.muskit.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/JustMusk_It X: https://x.com/JustMuskIt Dexscreener: https://dexscreener.com/solana/Hd8LeEdJsspSJAJm15nmpFjQdntn1ZpBFV35ppRDrevE Contact Cognitio Strategies contact@cognitiostrategies.io This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here ** **Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 26th, 2025/Chainwire/--**The MuskIt team was proud to host Errol Musk in Dubai for an exclusive four-day visit this week. As an honored guest of MuskIt project , Errol Musk explored key locations for the proposed Musk Tower – a planned hub for global technology, blockchain innovation, and entrepreneurship. His visit marks a pivotal moment for MuskIt and the entire crypto community, solidifying the project’s commitment to real-world impact and lasting legacy as the first memecoin turning into a culture coin and real-world asset ownership. He spoke more about his vision in the exclusive interview with Arabian Gulf Business Insight here . here here Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhgSKUtmbTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhgSKUtmbTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhgSKUtmbTc $MUSKIT tokens will be allocated towards the ongoing development of the Musk Institute and Musk Tower as confirmed by Errol Musk during an interview with Sky News Arabia . during an interview with Sky News Arabia during an interview with Sky News Arabia The Musk Institute will serve as a global hub for education, research, and collaboration, driving advancements in frontier technology, sustainable innovation, and blockchain integration—aligned with MuskIt’s four pillars of transformative science, academic synergy, venture incubation, and mission-driven solutions. The Musk Tower, a flagship infrastructure project, is designed to provide a dynamic space for events, business ventures, and decentralized services.\ $MuskIt: The Official Token of the Musk Institute Errol Musk’s visit isn’t just about scouting locations; it’s about solidifying the power of $MUSKIT Token as the backbone of this project development. During his tour, he publicly endorsed it as the official token of the Musk Institute in an interview with Sky News Arabia and an interview with Arab News . This integration of blockchain will empower token holders to be part of a movement that bridges digital assets with real-world development. Sky News Arabia Sky News Arabia Arab News Arab News The token will provide membership privileges, including access to VIP services, research initiatives, and networking opportunities. Additionally, the MuskIt team is actively targeting traditional finance investors, positioning the token as a meme asset accessible to all, bridging the gap between digital culture and institutional investment. Educational access, innovation grants, and marketplace services within the Musk ecosystem will further enhance the token’s utility, creating a dynamic and interconnected hub for blockchain, technology, and business innovation. About MuskIt MuskIt is more than just a meme coin—it's a movement. A mindset that embodies taking bold action, breaking barriers, and achieving greatness. Inspired by the revolutionary spirit of innovation and efficiency, MuskIt represents the drive to do things better, challenge the status quo, and redefine success. MuskIt MuskIt With over 50,000 holders already owning $MUSKIT, its expanding community reflects its growing presence. Unlike your traditional meme coin, which is meant only to embody an idea, $MUSKIT is backed by the Musk Family and will serve as the official coin of Errol's Musk Institute. $MUSKIT: the coin for those who don’t let anything stand in their way. Musk Family Endorsed and Approved. Official Links: Website: https://www.muskit.io/ https://www.muskit.io/ https://www.muskit.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/JustMusk_It https://t.me/JustMusk_It https://t.me/JustMusk_It X: https://x.com/JustMuskIt https://x.com/JustMuskIt https://x.com/JustMuskIt Dexscreener: https://dexscreener.com/solana/Hd8LeEdJsspSJAJm15nmpFjQdntn1ZpBFV35ppRDrevE https://dexscreener.com/solana/Hd8LeEdJsspSJAJm15nmpFjQdntn1ZpBFV35ppRDrevE https://dexscreener.com/solana/Hd8LeEdJsspSJAJm15nmpFjQdntn1ZpBFV35ppRDrevE Contact Cognitio Strategies contact@cognitiostrategies.io This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here here here **

Errol Musk Visits Dubai: $MuskIt Token Takes Center Stage In The Future Of Musk Institute

এরল মাস্ক দুবাই সফর: মাস্ক ইনস্টিটিউটের ভবিষ্যতের কেন্দ্রবিন্দুতে $MuskIt টোকেন স্থান করে নিয়েছে

Errol Musk u posjeti Dubaiju: token $MuskIt zauzima središnje mjesto u budućnosti Musk Instituta

Errol Musk navštěvuje Dubaj: $MuskIt Token zaujímá ústřední místo v budoucnosti Musk Institute

Errol Musk visita Dubái: el token $MuskIt ocupa un lugar central en el futuro del Instituto Musk

エロール・マスクがドバイを訪問：$MuskItトークンがマスク研究所の将来において中心的な役割を果たす

ეროლ მასკი ეწვია დუბაიში: $MuskIt ჟეტონი იკავებს ცენტრალურ ადგილს მასკის ინსტიტუტის მომავალში

에롤 머스크, 두바이 방문: $MuskIt 토큰, 머스크 연구소의 미래에서 중심 무대를 차지하다

Errol Musk navštevuje Dubaj: $MuskIt Token sa dostáva do popredia v budúcnosti Muskovho inštitútu

เออร์รอล มัสก์เยือนดูไบ: โทเค็น $MuskIt ขึ้นแท่นศูนย์กลางแห่งอนาคตของสถาบันมัสก์

Bumisita si Errol Musk sa Dubai: Ang $MuskIt Token ay Nasa Gitnang Yugto Sa Hinaharap Ng Musk Institute

Errol Musk thăm Dubai: Mã thông báo $MuskIt đóng vai trò trung tâm trong tương lai của Viện Musk

UErrol Musk undwendwela iDubai: $MuskIt Token ithatha iZiko leZiko kwikamva leMusk Institute

Hello all, I have recently read through the Startup Playbook and will give a quick take on it based on my experience. I would say reading The Startup Playbook by Sam Altman became this new look into the world of startups. Being a Middle Eastern chemical engineering student in Arizona, I found insight and connected things relevant to me in particular. Although my field is technical, the insights on how to actually build something users really love caught my full attention. Similar to engineering, entrepreneurship can be very complicated, and one could think that sometimes big is always better. Still, Altman insists on the power of starting small: focus on something a few people love, not something lots of people like. There's almost something universal about this advice, possibly beyond startups themselves. What did lead was how he spoke to the notion of risk: growing up in a culture that sometimes puts such high value on stability, the notion of taking risks felt a little paradigm-shifting. Conclusion: This playbook makes it plain and simple that, yes, starting a venture is hard, but playing it safe rather than passionate might be the riskier play over the long term. This really made me reflect on the opportunities available to me after graduation, whether through traditional chemical engineering paths or, I don't know, maybe something a little more entrepreneurial-perhaps even in sustainability or energy. Altman's point about clarity of thought and clarity of communication also parallels to my engineering education. While we are taught to solve the most complicated problems, solution communication is equally important. Whether it is to sell an idea, design a product, or to solve a chemical process problem, clarity makes the difference. Here is the reference: https://playbook.samaltman.com/ Hello all, I have recently read through the Startup Playbook and will give a quick take on it based on my experience. I would say reading The Startup Playbook by Sam Altman became this new look into the world of startups. Being a Middle Eastern chemical engineering student in Arizona, I found insight and connected things relevant to me in particular. Although my field is technical, the insights on how to actually build something users really love caught my full attention. Similar to engineering, entrepreneurship can be very complicated, and one could think that sometimes big is always better. Still, Altman insists on the power of starting small: focus on something a few people love, not something lots of people like. There's almost something universal about this advice, possibly beyond startups themselves. What did lead was how he spoke to the notion of risk: growing up in a culture that sometimes puts such high value on stability, the notion of taking risks felt a little paradigm-shifting. Conclusion: This playbook makes it plain and simple that, yes, starting a venture is hard, but playing it safe rather than passionate might be the riskier play over the long term. This really made me reflect on the opportunities available to me after graduation, whether through traditional chemical engineering paths or, I don't know, maybe something a little more entrepreneurial-perhaps even in sustainability or energy. Altman's point about clarity of thought and clarity of communication also parallels to my engineering education. While we are taught to solve the most complicated problems, solution communication is equally important. Whether it is to sell an idea, design a product, or to solve a chemical process problem, clarity makes the difference. Here is the reference: https://playbook.samaltman.com/ https://playbook.samaltman.com/

A Review of Sam Altman's Startup Playbook

Inside the Degen Mind: Understanding Crypto Communities and Why We Are the Way We Are

በዴጄን አእምሮ ውስጥ-የ Crypto ማህበረሰቦችን መረዳት እና ለምን እነሱ እንደነበሩ መረዳት

Unutar uma Degena: Razumijevanje kripto zajednica i zašto su takve kakve jesu

Dentro de la mente de Degen: comprensión de las comunidades criptográficas y por qué son como son

डेगन माइंड के अंदर: क्रिप्टो समुदायों को समझना और वे जिस तरह से हैं, क्यों हैं

Inside the Degen Mind: הבנת קהילות קריפטו ומדוע הן כפי שהן

Degen の心の中: 暗号通貨コミュニティを理解し、なぜそれが今のような形になっているのか

Na kati ya makanisi ya Degen: Kososola ba Communautés Crypto mpe Pourquoi Bazali Ndenge Bazali

Дегений оюун санааны дотор: Крипто нийгэмлэгүүд ба тэд яагаад ийм байдгийг ойлгох

डिजेन माइन्ड भित्र: क्रिप्टो समुदायहरू बुझ्दै र तिनीहरू किन छन् जसरी तिनीहरू छन्

Wewnątrz umysłu Degena: zrozumienie społeczności kryptograficznych i dlaczego są takie, jakie są

Degen aklynyň içinde: Kripto jemgyýetlerine we näme üçin olaryň beýle bolandygyna düşünmek

Bên trong tâm trí Degen: Hiểu về cộng đồng tiền điện tử và lý do tại sao họ lại như vậy

The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, recently rekindled interest in Plasma’s promising blockchain scaling solution, which was pitched in 2017. With fresh cryptographic innovations such as ZK-SNARKs pressing, he thinks Plasma can meet its old challenges and realize faster and more secure transactions with fewer data loads on the main Ethereum chain. Plasma’s Original Concept Plasma is a layer-two scaling solution for blockchains, which scales the blockchain by offloading computation and data from the main Ethereum chain.  With sidechains and Merkle Trees, many sidechains can perform transactions without clogging up the main blockchain. The main purpose of Plasma is to reduce network traffic, accelerating and further smoothing the general ecosystem of Ethereum. Unlike traditional sidechains, Plasma allows for improved security, enabling users to safely withdraw their funds to the main Ethereum chain even if a Plasma chain becomes compromised. A Plasma chain can choose its consensus mechanism, providing flexibility in its operation. Plasma’s design also uses Merkle trees to store and validate transaction data, reducing the load on Ethereum's mainnet. Challenges Faced by Plasma While Plasma showed promise, it faced several obstacles that limited its use, especially beyond simple payments and transfers. One of the biggest issues was the large client-side data storage requirements. Plasma chains require users to store Merkle proofs for their transactions, which led to storage problems as users needed to track all branches relevant to their assets. Buterin has acknowledged that this challenge contributed to Plasma's decline in popularity. In addition, Plasma struggled with generalizing its framework beyond simple financial transactions. In his blog post, Buterin noted that  Plasma’s security depends on each object having an owner, who has the responsibility to watch and ensure the chain's data is available and exit that object if anything goes wrong. This works well for tokens or NFTs, but Plasma finds it difficult to handle more complex decentralized applications (dApps), which do not have clear ownership structures. Renewed Interest in Plasma With the arrival of new cryptographic technologies, particularly ZK-SNARKs, Buterin sees an opportunity to improve Plasma’s functionality. ZK-SNARKs can help address Plasma’s data storage issues by allowing users to prove the genuineness of transactions without needing to store extensive data. This could significantly reduce the number of data users need to keep track of, making Plasma more efficient. Buterin proposes the utilization of validity proofs to streamline the Plasma chain’s design. These proofs can ensure that transactions are valid before they are committed to the blockchain, thereby eliminating the need for users to keep detailed transaction histories. "In a validity-proven Plasma chain, withdrawals can be instant," Buterin notes, as validity proofs would allow for faster and more secure exits from the Plasma chain. How INTMAX Is Renewing Interest In Plasma Technology PlasmaCON 2024, a star studded event featuring iconic crypto figures such as Vitalik Buterin and David Chaum, was held in Japan on July 31st 2024. At the event organized by INTMAX, a stateless layer2 zkRollup facilitating the resurgence of Plasma, Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin spoke passionately about the ‘ return of plasma technology “ INTMAX as a layer2 protocol utilizes Plasma technology, a framework for building scalable Layer 2 solutions on the Ethereum blockchain. A combination of plasma technology and zero-knowledge proofs enables it to offer a scalable, private, and cost-effective platform for global money transfers and several other solutions applicable to financial markets, gaming,AI etc. Leveraging plasma technology, INTMAX is poised to facilitate the return of Ethereum's founder's vision for a scalable , privacy-centric ,  and cost-effective blockchain ecosystem,  with PlasmaCON, a gathering of blockchain and cryptography experts, serving as a springboard. Plasma’s Role in ETH Future Despite the rise of rollups, which have become the leading scaling solution on ETH, Buterin believes that Plasma still has a role to play. Rollups are now favored because they keep most of the data on-chain, ensuring higher security. However, Plasma offers a unique advantage by taking almost all data off-chain, which could result in significantly lower transaction fees. Buterin sees Plasma as particularly beneficial for blockchains that already use validiums, another type of layer-two scaling solution. Plasma, he argues, could enhance the security of such chains by offloading data availability concerns while also reducing costs for users. “Plasma lets us completely sidestep the data availability question, greatly reducing transaction fees,” Buterin explained. This makes it an attractive option for chains looking to balance scalability with security. However, Buterin acknowledges that Plasma is not a silver bullet for all scaling issues. He points out that while Plasma has its strengths, it is not suitable for all types of Ethereum applications, particularly those that rely heavily on complex interactions between different smart contracts. For these cases, rollups will likely remain the preferred solution. While Plasma may have been riding in the back of rollups over the past couple of years, the renewed curiosity of Buterin gave it its potential as a workable scaling solution for Ethereum. Adding new technologies such as ZK-SNARKs should resolve some of the previous limitations of Plasma and make it faster, more secure, and less burdensome for users. In conclusion, Plasma raised by The CEO of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, signifies the future to fix Ethereum’s scaling problem through the integration of the advanced cryptographic solution ZK-SNARKs. Thus, Plasma’s capacity to decrease transaction costs by shifting data from the central Ethereum chain is deemed to be a better solution to scalability difficulties for those blockchains that employ validiums. Nevertheless, Plasma has its issues, most notably with scalability and the ability to function with more complicated dApps, and that’s why it cannot fully supplant rollups. Therefore, Buterin’s work on Plasma marks a trend of exploration for the best solutions in this industry depending on their applicability to solve various problems within blockchain infrastructure. The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, recently rekindled interest in Plasma’s promising blockchain scaling solution, which was pitched in 2017. With fresh cryptographic innovations such as ZK-SNARKs pressing, he thinks Plasma can meet its old challenges and realize faster and more secure transactions with fewer data loads on the main Ethereum chain. Plasma’s Original Concept Plasma is a layer-two scaling solution for blockchains, which scales the blockchain by offloading computation and data from the main Ethereum chain.  With sidechains and Merkle Trees, many sidechains can perform transactions without clogging up the main blockchain. The main purpose of Plasma is to reduce network traffic, accelerating and further smoothing the general ecosystem of Ethereum. Unlike traditional sidechains, Plasma allows for improved security, enabling users to safely withdraw their funds to the main Ethereum chain even if a Plasma chain becomes compromised. A Plasma chain can choose its consensus mechanism, providing flexibility in its operation. Plasma’s design also uses Merkle trees to store and validate transaction data, reducing the load on Ethereum's mainnet. Challenges Faced by Plasma While Plasma showed promise, it faced several obstacles that limited its use, especially beyond simple payments and transfers. One of the biggest issues was the large client-side data storage requirements. Plasma chains require users to store Merkle proofs for their transactions, which led to storage problems as users needed to track all branches relevant to their assets. Buterin has acknowledged that this challenge contributed to Plasma's decline in popularity. In addition, Plasma struggled with generalizing its framework beyond simple financial transactions. In his blog post , Buterin noted that  Plasma’s security depends on each object having an owner, who has the responsibility to watch and ensure the chain's data is available and exit that object if anything goes wrong. his blog post his blog post This works well for tokens or NFTs, but Plasma finds it difficult to handle more complex decentralized applications (dApps), which do not have clear ownership structures. Renewed Interest in Plasma With the arrival of new cryptographic technologies, particularly ZK-SNARKs, Buterin sees an opportunity to improve Plasma’s functionality. ZK-SNARKs can help address Plasma’s data storage issues by allowing users to prove the genuineness of transactions without needing to store extensive data. This could significantly reduce the number of data users need to keep track of, making Plasma more efficient. Buterin proposes the utilization of validity proofs to streamline the Plasma chain’s design. These proofs can ensure that transactions are valid before they are committed to the blockchain, thereby eliminating the need for users to keep detailed transaction histories. "In a validity-proven Plasma chain, withdrawals can be instant, " Buterin notes, as validity proofs would allow for faster and more secure exits from the Plasma chain. "In a validity-proven Plasma chain, withdrawals can be instant, How INTMAX Is Renewing Interest In Plasma Technology PlasmaCON 2024, a star studded event featuring iconic crypto figures such as Vitalik Buterin and David Chaum, was held in Japan on July 31st 2024. At the event organized by INTMAX, a stateless layer2 zkRollup facilitating the resurgence of Plasma, Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin spoke passionately about the ‘ return of plasma technology “ INTMAX as a layer2 protocol utilizes Plasma technology, a framework for building scalable Layer 2 solutions on the Ethereum blockchain. A combination of plasma technology and zero-knowledge proofs enables it to offer a scalable, private, and cost-effective platform for global money transfers and several other solutions applicable to financial markets, gaming,AI etc. Leveraging plasma technology, INTMAX is poised to facilitate the return of Ethereum's founder's vision for a scalable , privacy-centric ,  and cost-effective blockchain ecosystem,  with PlasmaCON, a gathering of blockchain and cryptography experts, serving as a springboard. Plasma’s Role in ETH Future Despite the rise of rollups, which have become the leading scaling solution on ETH, Buterin believes that Plasma still has a role to play. Rollups are now favored because they keep most of the data on-chain, ensuring higher security. However, Plasma offers a unique advantage by taking almost all data off-chain, which could result in significantly lower transaction fees. Buterin sees Plasma as particularly beneficial for blockchains that already use validiums, another type of layer-two scaling solution. Plasma, he argues, could enhance the security of such chains by offloading data availability concerns while also reducing costs for users. “Plasma lets us completely sidestep the data availability question, greatly reducing transaction fees,” Buterin explained. “ Plasma lets us completely sidestep the data availability question, greatly reducing transaction fees,” Buterin explained. Plasma lets us completely sidestep the data availability question, greatly reducing transaction fees,” This makes it an attractive option for chains looking to balance scalability with security. However, Buterin acknowledges that Plasma is not a silver bullet for all scaling issues. He points out that while Plasma has its strengths, it is not suitable for all types of Ethereum applications, particularly those that rely heavily on complex interactions between different smart contracts. For these cases, rollups will likely remain the preferred solution. While Plasma may have been riding in the back of rollups over the past couple of years, the renewed curiosity of Buterin gave it its potential as a workable scaling solution for Ethereum. Adding new technologies such as ZK-SNARKs should resolve some of the previous limitations of Plasma and make it faster, more secure, and less burdensome for users. In conclusion, Plasma raised by The CEO of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, signifies the future to fix Ethereum’s scaling problem through the integration of the advanced cryptographic solution ZK-SNARKs. Thus, Plasma’s capacity to decrease transaction costs by shifting data from the central Ethereum chain is deemed to be a better solution to scalability difficulties for those blockchains that employ validiums. Nevertheless, Plasma has its issues, most notably with scalability and the ability to function with more complicated dApps, and that’s why it cannot fully supplant rollups. Therefore, Buterin’s work on Plasma marks a trend of exploration for the best solutions in this industry depending on their applicability to solve various problems within blockchain infrastructure.

Why Vitalik Buterin Is Bullish On Plasma Technology: What It Means For Ethereum's Future

How to Waste $5000 on Personal Growth

Years ago, I read a book about loneliness by Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general.  It was a compelling book that taught me about the epidemic of loneliness.  During my work as a psychiatrist, I saw the epidemic worsening with my own eyes. Patients were being scammed on the internet because they were lonely. Many were victims of social engineering and cybercrimes. An older man came into my office right after the waning of the Pandemic and said that he had a lover. Digging some and showing interest helped me see that the love interest was someone on the internet. He had been giving that person money. It was a woman he said. A young woman that was interested in him. I tried to get him to see that the woman was not real. Through our conversation, he actually admitted to thinking that the woman was not real.  He was not able to let go of her because he wanted it to be real so bad. He was an older white man on disability. His hair was entirely gray and it was not combed nor was it cut.  He was wearing worn, casual clothes.  He had been worried about coming to see me.  He thought I would not be able to understand him. Ultimately, he decided to tell me more. She was a scam. The young woman he had been giving money to in a different country was probably a team of several people. He had been giving a portion of his disability check to “her'' for some time.  He had been using bitcoin to send the money. He had no idea what bitcoin was and he had been using and moving bitcoin improperly. He would not listen to me when I said he was being taken advantage of.  He had a secret smile when he spoke of her as if he knew it was a hoax but liked the attention and liked being a person powerful enough to command interest with his disability money. His meager money was being exchanged in a currency with a rate that allowed him to feel rich.  Nothing I said made a difference to that man. As a casualty to loneliness, there was no getting him back.  He was a goner. He was trapped inside his phone and did not have any way out. I did not think I could do anything to help. Some years later, I had gained the minimal technical skills in cybersecurity. I held a free class in Personal Cybersecurity for technology novices at the local library. Only six people attended the class though it was advertised. It seems that many people did not know they needed this. The people that did come acknowledged they had already been victims of data theft. They were coming because they knew they had a gap in their understanding that put them at risk. They were willing to take a chance because they had already been burned. What I found during the brief one hour class I taught was that no one is educating the people that are not actively working. Retirees, those on government assistance, and those who work in jobs not requiring daily computer use are vulnerable to crime because of their lack of knowledge. Businesses find it important to educate employees so the employees don’t become vulnerabilities for their company. But people who have never worked at a job using computers or those people who are on disability are easily picked off by criminals via phone, text or computer messages and social engineering. Many people are living alone and don’t have family to help them. We had an open dialogue during the class so that the participants could learn from each other. One of the participants told me she was interested in watching a movie about an older woman who tried to take back her money from cybercriminals. Another person said that a check they had sent in the mail had been stolen and she was the victim of fraud. She learned about other more secure methods of payment during the class. Some common themes and sentiments that the students in the class discussed were: Shame - “I did something on the internet I am ashamed of. I didn't tell anyone. I have a deeper problem than before.” Pride - “Someone told me something I needed to change about my internet usage and it bothered me and I told them to leave me alone. I know what I am doing.” Fear - “If I am lonely and I answered a random text that said ‘Hi! What are you doing today?’  Will someone take advantage of me?  Is it ok to just not answer the phone? I was always taught that’s impolite.” Learned helplessness - “If I can't get all this cybersecurity stuff correct, it's pointless. I will get hacked anyway.  What's the point of trying?  People are making fun of me.  They call me ‘Boomer’ when I need help. I don’t want to tell people about my problems. They don’t care anyway.” The lessons that helped people the most were learning more about how email works and how to google answers when you have technology questions. Many students in the class did not know how to improve their own computer literacy. Even though some people might have had a basic knowledge base from their work experience, they had not kept up from that level and needed support. Most people had anxiety and worry about their lack of knowledge. Many people blamed themselves if something went wrong and especially if they were hacked. My students felt fearful and worried. It seemed to me that the people who were most vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks were people without education, those without previous technical job experience, those with severe illness and without social support. In general, those people who are disadvantaged may struggle with loneliness, cybercrime related to social engineering, financial problems, and personal shame and fear more than those with resources. During the class, we talked about common personal cybersecurity practices to help the students. A small thing I taught them was just to try to protect themselves with the most common tips. Also, they learned how to gain more technology knowledge if they were interested. I reminded them it was important to have self compassion if the efforts did not work and if they were still victims of cybercrime anyway. The most important lessons were in learning to find people they could trust to help them if they were in trouble.  Finally, I encouraged them to forgive themselves for not having this knowledge in the first place. Years ago, I read a book about loneliness by Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general.  It was a compelling book that taught me about the epidemic of loneliness.  During my work as a psychiatrist, I saw the epidemic worsening with my own eyes. Patients were being scammed on the internet because they were lonely. Many were victims of social engineering and cybercrimes. Years ago, I read a book about loneliness by Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general.  It was a compelling book that taught me about the epidemic of loneliness.  During my work as a psychiatrist, I saw the epidemic worsening with my own eyes. Patients were being scammed on the internet because they were lonely. Many were victims of social engineering and cybercrimes. An older man came into my office right after the waning of the Pandemic and said that he had a lover. Digging some and showing interest helped me see that the love interest was someone on the internet. He had been giving that person money. It was a woman he said. A young woman that was interested in him. I tried to get him to see that the woman was not real. Through our conversation, he actually admitted to thinking that the woman was not real.  He was not able to let go of her because he wanted it to be real so bad. He was an older white man on disability. His hair was entirely gray and it was not combed nor was it cut.  He was wearing worn, casual clothes.  He had been worried about coming to see me.  He thought I would not be able to understand him. Ultimately, he decided to tell me more. She was a scam. The young woman he had been giving money to in a different country was probably a team of several people. He had been giving a portion of his disability check to “her'' for some time.  He had been using bitcoin to send the money. He had no idea what bitcoin was and he had been using and moving bitcoin improperly. He would not listen to me when I said he was being taken advantage of.  He had a secret smile when he spoke of her as if he knew it was a hoax but liked the attention and liked being a person powerful enough to command interest with his disability money. His meager money was being exchanged in a currency with a rate that allowed him to feel rich.  Nothing I said made a difference to that man. As a casualty to loneliness, there was no getting him back.  He was a goner. He was trapped inside his phone and did not have any way out. I did not think I could do anything to help. Some years later, I had gained the minimal technical skills in cybersecurity. I held a free class in Personal Cybersecurity for technology novices at the local library. Only six people attended the class though it was advertised. It seems that many people did not know they needed this. The people that did come acknowledged they had already been victims of data theft. They were coming because they knew they had a gap in their understanding that put them at risk. They were willing to take a chance because they had already been burned. What I found during the brief one hour class I taught was that no one is educating the people that are not actively working. Retirees, those on government assistance, and those who work in jobs not requiring daily computer use are vulnerable to crime because of their lack of knowledge. Businesses find it important to educate employees so the employees don’t become vulnerabilities for their company. But people who have never worked at a job using computers or those people who are on disability are easily picked off by criminals via phone, text or computer messages and social engineering. Many people are living alone and don’t have family to help them. We had an open dialogue during the class so that the participants could learn from each other. One of the participants told me she was interested in watching a movie about an older woman who tried to take back her money from cybercriminals. Another person said that a check they had sent in the mail had been stolen and she was the victim of fraud. She learned about other more secure methods of payment during the class. Some common themes and sentiments that the students in the class discussed were: Shame - “I did something on the internet I am ashamed of. I didn't tell anyone. I have a deeper problem than before.” Pride - “Someone told me something I needed to change about my internet usage and it bothered me and I told them to leave me alone. I know what I am doing.” Fear - “If I am lonely and I answered a random text that said ‘Hi! What are you doing today?’  Will someone take advantage of me?  Is it ok to just not answer the phone? I was always taught that’s impolite.” Learned helplessness - “If I can't get all this cybersecurity stuff correct, it's pointless. I will get hacked anyway.  What's the point of trying?  People are making fun of me.  They call me ‘Boomer’ when I need help. I don’t want to tell people about my problems. They don’t care anyway.” The lessons that helped people the most were learning more about how email works and how to google answers when you have technology questions. Many students in the class did not know how to improve their own computer literacy. Even though some people might have had a basic knowledge base from their work experience, they had not kept up from that level and needed support. Most people had anxiety and worry about their lack of knowledge. Many people blamed themselves if something went wrong and especially if they were hacked. My students felt fearful and worried. It seemed to me that the people who were most vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks were people without education, those without previous technical job experience, those with severe illness and without social support. In general, those people who are disadvantaged may struggle with loneliness, cybercrime related to social engineering, financial problems, and personal shame and fear more than those with resources. During the class, we talked about common personal cybersecurity practices to help the students. A small thing I taught them was just to try to protect themselves with the most common tips. Also, they learned how to gain more technology knowledge if they were interested. I reminded them it was important to have self compassion if the efforts did not work and if they were still victims of cybercrime anyway. The most important lessons were in learning to find people they could trust to help them if they were in trouble.  Finally, I encouraged them to forgive themselves for not having this knowledge in the first place.

I Taught Free Lessons in Personal Cybersecurity for Technology Novices and This Is What I Learned 

The Geeks of War: How Dzyga's Paw Innovated Ukraine's Drone Operations

SQUIRE HAMLEY'S SORROW.

MADAME GOESLER'S LEGACY.

Phineas attended Parliament with fair average punctuality

Stories, News & Mentions about HESPOKE

Categories

Trending Topics

Stories, News & Mentions about HESPOKE

Hespoke’s Stories on HackerNoon

Categories

Trending Topics