Issue #25 - Word Up đ¤
Game over for Wordle? | What are NFTs? | What to do if there's a power cut | Will the energy price cap affect business owners? | Ripping yarns with Millers Yarns and Crafts | Tunes | Podcasts | More
đŚžÂ G O
Are things finally looking up? â
Issue #24 kicked off with a pretty gloomy outlook for the coming months, but just two weeks later and things are looking a bit brighter - at least where Covid-19 restrictions are concerned.
As things stand, pretty much all domestic restrictions have been lifted right across the UK - masks arenât compulsory, there are no longer any limits on how many people can meet indoors and outdoors and, from February 11, anyone whoâs fully vaccinated will no longer need to take a COVID-19 test either before or after arriving in the UK.
You can find out more at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Itâs not all good news though as the cost of living crisis looks like itâs going to be as bad as predicted with the news that the energy price cap will rise by an eye-watering ÂŁ693 from April 1. Weâll discuss that in more depth in the next issue, but you can find out all about the price cap at UKPower.
At least we all have Wordle though.
Letâs get stuck into Iâ â UE #25 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
Going on Twitter in 2022 đ
đ°Â N E W S
Is it game over for Wordle? đ¨đŠâŹ
If youâve opened your social media feed over the last few weeks, youâve probably been met with the sight of rows of coloured bricks. It seems everyone is desperate to show the world their Wordle scores.
If youâve no idea what weâre talking about, Wordle is currently the most addictive online game around. It made its first appearance in October 2021, when it had just 90 players. By January 2022 this had grown to 300,000 players. And, if our social feeds are anything to go by, itâs played by even more people now.
But for how long?
The game has been bought by the New York Times (NYT), which paid a seven-figure sum to its creator Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn. When announcing its latest games purchase, NYT said that Wordle would âinitiallyâ remain free to new and current users.
But if itâs not going to be stuck behind a paywall or plastered in adverts, why has NYT splashed so much cash on the game? âEngagementâ is the simple answer (or âVIEWSâ if you want that in a five-letter Wordle).
Jonathan Knight, general manager of games at NYT has said: Our number one priority is around users and engagementâ
He added: âOur strategy is to have more people spending more time with the Times â both the news and our products around the news, whether thatâs games or cooking or audio or Wirecutter. Clearly, Wordle has created a huge daily engagement phenomenon and we see intrinsic value in that.â
I guess itâs a case of âwatch this spaceââŚ
In need of your word game fix? Try these out:
Wordle - Six goes at guessing the word of the day
Dordle - If one word a day isnât enough, this gives you six chances to guess two words
Absurdle - A mind-boggling variant that switches up the guessing process
Sweardle - A four-letter swear word game
Lewdle - A five-letter game of all sorts of profanities
đ°Â N E W S
What are NFTs?
Itâs not just word games that have become an online phenomenon in the first few weeks of 2022 - NFTs seem to be taking on a life of their own too. At least among the more affluent parts of society anyway.
Footballers have now got in on the act and started to release their own NFTs. This means parents the world over could soon be plagued by an online version of football stickers/trading cards that we plagued our parents with all those years ago.
But what is an NFT?
NFT stands for a non-fungible token (thatâs why we chose âfungibleâ as this weekâs word - this newsletter doesnât happen by accident, you know).
âNon-fungibleâ means something is unique and canât be replaced with something else. Unlike Bitcoin, which is fungible because trading one for another Bitcoin means youâll have exactly the same thing, a one-of-a-kind trading card is non-fungible.
This is because trading it for a different card means you have something completely different. Or a bit different at least.
NFTs can pretty much be anything digital and can go for pretty much any price. Nothing highlights this quite like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of 10,000 NFTs of essentially the same image of an ape but with different traits and visual attributes. Celebrities and sports stars from Jimmy Fallon to John Terry are all over these things, and the price of entry to the club is 52 ether (NFTs are linked to a cryptocurrency), which works out around $210,000.
This makes it a very expensive and very exclusive club, but itâs not all about rich fools parting with their money.
If youâre a digital artist, NFTs can give you a way gives you a way to sell work that there otherwise might not be much of a market for. NFTs are also part of the Ethereum blockchain, a type of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Dogecoin. So thereâs also investment potential.
But thereâs one big flaw in the NFT plan, at least as far as intellectual property and exclusivity are concerned - as things stand, thereâs nothing to stop anyone screenshotting and using an NFT, as shown by the tweet belowâŚ
đ¤đť T I P S
What to do if thereâs a power cut đ
Storm Corrie and Storm Malik have caused power cuts across the UK. Here's what to do if wind and storm damage pulls the plug on the power at your home or business.
Keep a light switched on in a prominent part of your property, just so you know when the power has been restored.
Switch off any electronic devices that are not essential or that shouldnât be left unattended.
Check in with your neighbours to see if they have had power cuts as well and to see if they are safe. If they do have power, then your trip switch may have been activated.
Depending on the weather, wrap up to stay warm and close any internal doors to retain heat.
Livestock, fish and pets could be vulnerable during a situation like this. Make sure adequate provisions are available. Contact the RSPCA for more information.
Reach out to your network provider to report the power cut. Keep in mind that your network provider is different to your energy supplier.
Call 105, a free service for people living in England Scotland and Wales. You can call to report or get information about the local power cuts.
𣠠S H O U T O U T
#BionicBusinessStory - Millers Yarns and Crafts
Bionic caught up with Ann Hurley, who runs the celebrated Millers Yarns and Crafts in Northamptonshire. We found out how she started, what her future looks like and her top business tips for other SME owners.Â
Bionic: How did you set up your business?Â
Ann Hurley: My full-time day job was in business development and it was very full-on. I was also running my own side-line online craft business, so it was non-stop. Then one night, my husband said âJust go for it, open your own craft shopâ so, I did.Â
B: Whatâs the best thing about running your business?Â
AH: Even on quiet days in the shop, thereâs always something to do, from advertising, updating social media and dressing the windows, to tidying, restocking, re-ordering or crafting. And I love it all.Â
B: Do you have any advice for someone wanting to set up their own business?Â
AH: You should know what your competition is doing all the time, be prepared for bumps along the road and remember to be kind. A simple âHave a lovely dayâ or âWhat a beautiful coatâ has the power to lift somebody and make them feel special.Â
B: Do you have plans for the future?Â
AH: I have so many ideas for the future! Obviously, as a small business owner, you canât take anything for granted. You have to have plans in place: a 12-month plan, an 18-month plan but the truth is, I want to be here until I retire. Then Iâll pass the business on to my daughter.Â
Find out more about this Bionic Business Story by clicking on the image below.
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đ R E A D
Millions of UK households will be hit with higher energy bills from April 1, as Ofgem has announced the energy price cap on standard variable rate tariffs (SVTs) will increase by 54%. But what does this mean for business owners?
Will the energy price cap increase affect business owners?
From restaurants to laundry services, firms are braced for the next crisis after the Covid pandemic. Thousands of small business owners across the UK will bear the brunt of the national energy crisis that risks driving the UK to a cost of living catastrophe within the next year.
UKâs small businesses being pushed to the brink
đ§Â L I S T E N
Playlist
Chosen by Glyn, Chief Customer Officer at Bionic, Beautifully Sad is a playlist that does exactly what it says on the tin - 80-odd magnificently melancholic songs from artists ranging from The Beatles to Beck, Nick Cave to Ben Folds, and ABBA to Johnny Cash. The Smiths are on there too, because no one mixes merry and mournful better than Morrissey and Marr.
Podcast
Itâs been just over a year since the United States Capitol attacks, which saw rioters storm the US congress building. The Coming Storm is a podcast that looks at how we got there by taking a deep dive into 4Chan, QAnoni, and a 15th-century book about witches being in league with the devil. Itâs an eye-opening account of how the internet age has become blighted by disinformation.
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