E60: The 2021 Bestie Awards PLUS Jack Dorsey starts the Web3 Wars

The All-In team kicks off their 2021 Bestie Awards episode by diving into the Web3 wars sparked by Jack Dorsey's recent comments criticizing decentralized internet initiatives. Dorsey's tweets triggered responses from crypto advocates including a16z's Chris Dixon and Elon Musk, setting the tone for a lively debate about the future of blockchain technology and its role in Silicon Valley. The hosts then work through their annual awards categories, starting with politics. They celebrate Biden's infrastructure bill passage as the biggest political winner, acknowledge the January 6 committee's growing influence, and crown Elon Musk's dramatic Twitter acquisition announcement as the biggest political surprise of the year. In the business category, the besties recognize Elon's companies as the biggest winners despite various challenges, while pointing to payment processing issues at Stripe and Meta's metaverse struggles as major business losses. They debate which unexpected business trends caught everyone off guard, with the group acknowledging both the explosive growth of NFT platforms like OpenSea and the broader cryptocurrency market movements. The science and technology portion highlights a major breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility with their achievement in fusion ignition, representing a potential turning point for clean energy. They also discuss Chinese advances in starch synthesis that could impact agriculture and carbon reduction. When selecting the best CEO, the group emphasizes visionary leadership and long-term thinking in their choices. For best investor, they debate venture capital's evolving role and the winners who picked the right bets in 2021. The besties identify several companies as potential flash-in-the-pan phenomena that may not sustain their hype, while also celebrating genuine turnaround stories in the market. They tackle cultural commentary with their awards for best memes, most loathsome companies, and worst trends, showing particular disdain for Meta and its faltering Facebook platform as trust eroded throughout the year. The group discusses the worst media narratives, pointing to The New York Times' changing relationship with truth and the Washington Post's post-Trump identity crisis. They introduce the Rudy Giuliani Award for Self-Immolation, celebrating spectacular professional downfalls. Throughout the episode, the hosts reference recent news, social media posts from key figures, and industry reports including analysis from The Information about Coinbase's metaverse plans and NFT marketplace data. The episode closes with genuine holiday spirit as the besties express appreciation for each other's perspectives and contributions to the podcast throughout a transformative year for technology and politics.