Jun 8, 2021 | mobile, networking, trends
The price for Ubers, scooters and Airbnb rentals is going up as tech companies aim for profitability.
Source: Farewell, Millennial Lifestyle Subsidy
Jun 7, 2021 | algo, justice & equality, trends
The coronavirus pandemic has wrought economic disruption on a global scale, but one sector has marched on throughout the chaos: big tech. Further evidence of the industry’s relentless progress has come in recent weeks with the news that Apple and Amazon both raked in sales of $100bn (£72bn) over the past three months – 25% more than Tesco brings in over a full year.
Source: Is big tech now just too big to stomach?
Jun 6, 2021 | algo, trends, video
In Sundance-wowing documentary All Light, Everywhere, the biases and dangers involved with surveillance and body cams are investigated.
Source: ‘Nothing can be taken at face value’: should we ever trust the recorded image?
Jun 5, 2021 | mobile, trends
Apple employees are pushing back against a new policy that would require them to return to the office three days a week starting in early September. Staff members say they want a flexible approach where those who want to work remote can do so.
Source: Apple employees push back against returning to the office in internal letter
Jun 4, 2021 | games & graphics, trends
The most well-known egirls are a distributed vision, an internet melt, collectively funded, in part, by fans’ thirst. They’re queens of the parasocial microcelebrity thing, charging $25 to $35 a month for OnlyFans “gamer girl” lewds or $25 for cosplay photosets. “It’s one of those fantasy things,” says Rusty Fawkes , an egirl with 1.5 million TikTok followers.
Source: Welcome to Planet Egirl
Jun 4, 2021 | algo, trends
Just weeks after a major American oil pipeline was struck by hackers , a cyberattack hit the world’s largest meat supplier. What next? Will these criminals target hospitals and schools? Will they start going after US cities, governments—and even the military?
Source: Why the ransomware crisis suddenly feels so relentless
Jun 2, 2021 | algo, justice & equality, trends
New data that Amazon reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows injury rates that are nearly double those at warehouses run by other companies.
Source: Amazon warehouse workers suffer serious injuries at higher rates than other firms
Jun 2, 2021 | algo, mobile, networking, trends
Six restaurants in Washington, D.C., joined together earlier this year to sell a subscription supper club. They offered home delivery of a gourmet meal from a different chef each week for six weeks for $360. It sold out in six days.
Source: Everything’s becoming a subscription, and the pandemic is partly to blame
Jun 1, 2021 | games & graphics, trends
Monster Train isn’t alone. We are living through a renaissance of video games that take direct influence from tabletop ideas. Take 2017’s Slay the Spire, one of the most popular games on the internet. A lonely knight ventures through a grim gauntlet of beasties, slowly adding better cards to their deck.
Source: Indie Video Games Have Finally Embraced the Tabletop Scene
May 30, 2021 | algo, audio, games & graphics, justice & equality, mobile, networking, trends, video
One year after George Floyd’s murder, science and technology institutions continue to evolve. The most radical and necessary step remains..
Source: STEM’s Racial Reckoning Just Entered Its Most Crucial Phase
See also:
May 29, 2021 | networking, trends
Scientists almost never say they’re sure, and it could take years to pin down the pandemic’s origins. Until then: People are trying to scare you.
Source: The Covid Lab Leak Theory Is a Tale of Weaponized Uncertainty
May 28, 2021 | audio, trends
Data from Bandsintown’s 62 million registered users and 550,000 artists reveal a robust and surprisingly fast return of in-person concerts. 78% of announced concerts are happening in the next 6 months The number of live concerts announced to happen as early as this weekend is exploding as concerns over fan and artist hesitancy as well as the time needed to launch a new tour prove unfounded.
Source: Bandsintown data shows in-person concerts returning much faster than predicted – Hypebot
May 28, 2021 | algo, mobile, networking, trends
Internal documents, messages, and roadmaps show how crime app Citizen is pushing the boundary of what a private, app-enabled vigilante force may be capable of.
Source: ‘Inside Citizen’s Dangerous Effort to Cash In On Vigilantism
May 27, 2021 | mobile, networking, trends, video
Specific language about the QAnon conspiracy theory has all but disappeared from mainstream public social media platforms, new research concludes. Driving the news: Researchers from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensics Lab found that the volume of QAnon content available online plummeted following major moderation and policy moves from Google, Facebook and Twitter.
Source: QAnon is disappearing from online view
May 26, 2021 | trends, video
The media world is consolidating and there aren’t many targets left for a would-be acquirer. Amazon has spent many billions on video without much to show for it, and thinks owning a studio — and, crucially, the rights to the intellectual property the studio owns — could help it create Really Big Movies and TV Shows You Really Want To Watch. Not so much because it wants to own streaming, but because it wants you to keep coming to Amazon. MGM, meanwhile, has been trying to sell itself for years.
Source: Why Amazon is paying nearly $9 billion for MGM and James Bond
May 22, 2021 | algo, trends
Demand for the likes of Bitcoin and Ether is unlikely to crash simply because of environmental concerns, but fintechs should add access to other cryptos with smaller carbon footprints to attract environmentally-minded customers. Cardano, for example, uses the less energy-intensive “proof of stake” verification protocol and was recently added by Revolut. In addition, firms like Tesla may one day pick Cardano or other green cryptos as more sustainable alternatives to Bitcoin, enhancing their recognition among investors.
Source: How fintechs can keep riding crypto trading hype while addressing environmental concerns
May 21, 2021 | audio, mobile, networking, trends, video
We’ve just lived through the most online period in history. What comes next?
Source: America Offline
May 20, 2021 | networking, trends
It occurs to me that the Clubhouse management actually cares very little about the long-term fates of these kids. After all, there’s a fungible supply of well-complected youngsters constantly streaming into Los Angeles. Only a very small percentage of these kids will actually make it in the industry; the rest of them, Amir tells me, will eventually just “cycle through.”
Source: [Letter from Los Angeles] The Anxiety of Influencers, By Barrett Swanson | Harper’s Magazine
May 20, 2021 | algo, networking, trends
Erick Ponce works in a government communications department in northern Ecuador. The 26-year-old happens to be deaf — a disability he has had since childhood. Communicating fluidly with his non-signing colleagues at work, and in public spaces like the supermarket, has been a lifelong challenge.
Source: Tech for disabled people is booming. So where’s the funding?
May 20, 2021 | algo, networking, trends
Apps lie at the heart of one of the most enduring conflicts in the trans community.
Source: Imperfect offerings: inside the complex new world of trans tech
