The Internet Society: Crafting Standards for Our Digital World

How are we doing? Who do you want to learn from next? Text us with notes and ideas.Have you ever wondered who actually controls the internet? Or how standards like email and web protocols come to be? The Charleston Marketing Podcast dives deep into this fascinating world with special guest Thomas McCarthy-Howe, co-author of a groundbreaking new internet standard called Virtual Conversations.Broadcasting live from Dig South in Charleston, hosts Mike and Stephanie discover how this first-ever AI standard aims to solve one of technology's most pressing challenges: making conversation data useful for analysis while protecting individual privacy rights. Thomas explains how his work with the Internet Society—a global organization of engineers, government officials, and human rights advocates—is creating a file format that enables companies to analyze conversations while simultaneously allowing individuals to exercise their digital rights.The conversation reveals surprising insights about the Internet Engineering Task Force, where a thousand brilliant minds from companies like Cisco, Microsoft, Google, and Mozilla collaborate as individuals, giving up their intellectual property rights for the greater good. As Thomas puts it, "The most dangerous place in tech is the microphone at an IETF conference." With equal parts technical expertise and warm humor, he demystifies how these standards are created and why they matter for everyone who uses digital technology.Perhaps most compelling is the discussion of practical applications—from preventing deepfakes by verifying authentic conversations to enabling individuals to access, correct, and delete their data from companies. His passion for digital rights is evident as he explains why protecting biometric data like voice recordings is particularly crucial: "I can change my name, but I can't change the way I sound."Join us for this eye-opening exploration of the invisible architecture that governs our digital lives, and discover how standards like Virtual Conversations are shaping a more secure, transparent future for AI technology. Check out ietf.org or conservr.io to learn more about this important work.South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) is a public, nonprofit organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by supporting technology-based startups, academic research, and industry partnerships. Through funding, coaching, and its investment arm SC Launch, SCRA helps early-stage companies grow, commercialize ideas, and scale within the state’s key innovation sectors.Support the showTitle Sponsor: Charleston American Marketing AssociationPresenting Sponsor: Charleston Media SolutionsAnnual Sponsor: ‪SCRA; South Carolina Research AuthorityQuarterly Sponsor: King and ColumbusCAMACast Cohosts: Stephanie Barrow, Mike Compton, Rachel Backal, Tom Keppeler, Amanda Bunting Comen, Silicon Harbor Hot Take Host: Stanfield Gray, https://digsouth.comProduced and edited: RMBO AdvertisingPhotographer | Co-host: Kelli MorseScore by:  The Strawberry Entrée; Jerry Feels Good, CURRYSAUCE, DBLCRWN, DJ DollaMenuStudio Engineer: Brian Cleary and Mathew ChaseYouTube...