Newslit Daily

Today’s pick

Starbucks to unveil its web3-based rewards program next month. Starbucks will unveil its web3 initiative, which includes coffee-themed NFTs, at next month's Investor Day event. The company earlier this year announced its plans to enter the web3 space, noting its NFTs wouldn't just serve as digital… (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)

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Google Meet meets Duo Meet, with Meet in Duo but Duo isn't going into Meet. In June, Google announced that it's bringing the features of Meet into the Duo app — and that transformation begins today. Google isn't technically getting rid of either app; Duo's getting rebranded as Meet with the features from both apps… (Emma Roth / The Verge)

The Microsoft Team Racing to Catch Bugs Before They Happen. As a rush of cybercriminals, state-backed hackers, and scammers continue to flood the zone with digital attacks and aggressive campaigns worldwide, it's no surprise that the maker of the ubiquitous Windows operating… (Lily Hay Newman / WIRED)

Netflix Is Scrambling to Learn the Ad Business It Long Disdained. For years, Netflix boss Reed Hastings was emphatic that the streaming giant wouldn't show ads in its programming. Late last year, the company did a 180. Netflix didn't just want to enter the ad business—it wanted to do so in a hurry. The… (Sarah Krouse / Wall Street Journal)

Apple is building a demand-side platform. Experienced heads need only apply with the job ad requesting “8+ years experience” of technical experience plus product management along with a proven track record of launching “advertising related products for audiences in the… ( Digiday)

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Today’s pick

Robinhood Lays Off 23% of Staff. Robinhood Markets Inc. is slashing about 23% of its staff as the flashy online brokerage continues to reel from a sharp slowdown in customer trading activity. The job cuts mark the second round of layoffs this year at Robinhood, which in April laid… (Caitlin McCabe / Wall Street Journal)

Is Scott Galloway the Howard Stern of the Business World?. Scott Galloway sat in his home studio in Delray Beach, Fla., staring off into space, trying to think of a joke to kick off the 164th episode of his podcast, “The Prof G Show.” His team of producers waited patiently. After a minute of… (Christopher Beam / The New York Times)

Y Combinator Slashes Startup Accelerator Class Size by 40%. Y Combinator has cut the number of startups it is funding and training this summer by about half compared to its winter program, a spokesperson confirmed. The famed Silicon Valley accelerator responded to a downturn in the economy and in venture… (Kate Clark / The Information)

Meta has been quietly testing a new livestreaming platform and is ramping up creator outreach. Read a leaked 17-page pitch deck it sent influencers.. Meta's new product experimentation team is testing a livestreaming platform for influencers. Fewer than 100 creators have used the new product, called Super, which is in early stages of testing. Read the 17-page deck Meta shared with influencers… (Amanda Perelli / Business Insider)

Kids Are Back in Classrooms and Laptops Are Still Spying on Them. This is what high school teachers see when they open GoGuardian, a popular software application used to monitor student activity: The interface is familiar, like the gallery view of a large Zoom call. But instead of seeing teenaged faces in each… (Pia Ceres / WIRED)

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Today’s pick

TikTok's factory line of terrors. As TikTok gains in popularity in the Middle East and North Africa, it's ramping up its content moderation operation in the region. But reviewers for the platform complain they're watching hours of graphic videos with little psychological help. 'The… (Rosie Bradbury / Business Insider)

Self-Driving Truck Accident Draws Attention to Safety at TuSimple. On April 6, an autonomously driven truck fitted with technology by TuSimple Holdings suddenly veered left, cut across the I-10 highway in Tucson, Ariz., and slammed into a cement barricade. The accident, which regulators disclosed to the public in… (Kate O'Keeffe / Wall Street Journal)

Hackers stole passwords for accessing 140,000 payment terminals. Hackers had access to dashboards used to remotely manage and control thousands of credit card payment terminals manufactured by digital payments giant Wiseasy, a cybersecurity startup told TechCrunch. Wiseasy is a brand you might not have heard of… (Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch)

Where the Fight Over a Return to the Office Is Over and the Office Won. The competition for parking space is getting steeper. Commutes are inching longer. Workplace lounges are filling up with commotion as junior associates play cornhole. What return-to-office debate? In some parts of the country, it's been settled. (Emma Goldberg / The New York Times)

Spotify wants users to pay for separate 'Play' and 'Shuffle' buttons. Spotify is updating its app to address a long-standing user complaint with music playback — but it's asking customers to pay for the fix. The company announced today it will introduce, at last, a separate Play Button and a Shuffle Button at… (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)

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Today’s pick

Venture capital's silent crash: when the tech boom met reality. Investors of all stripes have crashed the clubby world of VC, drawn by the potential of tech start-ups. But there are signs the party is over The venture capital world is in the grip of a silent crash. Unlike the stock market, there are no daily… (Richard Waters / Financial Times)

A new study shows how much social capital matters. Friendships across classes are important aids to social mobility for young Americans. ( The Economist)

Google CEO tells employees productivity and focus must improve, launches 'Simplicity Sprint' to gather employee feedback on efficiency. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced to employees Wednesday a new effort called 'Simplicity Sprint,' which will solicit ideas from its more than 174,000 employees on where to focus and improve efficiency. Pichai said Google's productivity as a… (Jennifer Elias / CNBC)

Silicon Valley Lurches Between Deep Cuts and Bold Spending. Silicon Valley is conflicted over what to do about the market downturn. Startups are getting mixed signals as concerns about stock market volatility and the prospect of a recession clash with record amounts of capital investors have at the ready. (Heather Somerville / Wall Street Journal)

Bolt Mobility has vanished, leaving e-bikes, unanswered calls behind in several US cities. Bolt Mobility, the Miami-based micromobility startup co-founded by Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt, appears to have vanished without a trace from several of its U.S. markets. In some cases, the departure has been abrupt, leaving cities with… (Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch)

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Today’s pick

Inside TikTok's Attempts to 'Downplay the China Association'. Leaked documents from within TikTok reveal how the company games out responses to tricky questions — and highlight what the company thinks its biggest public perception problems are. Chief among them: China. The PR documents, which Gizmodo… (Chris Stokel-Walker / Gizmodo)

Adam Mosseri confirms it: Instagram is over. You know, I didn't want to join Instagram, but I had adopted a kitten with an internet following, and the following wanted to know how the kitten was doing. For a while, I dutifully updated once a week. But then Instagram started to change. Two big… (Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge)

JusTalk spilled millions of user messages and locations for months. Popular messaging app JusTalk left a huge database of unencrypted private messages publicly exposed to the internet without a password for months. The messaging app has around 20 million… (Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch)

'Operating With Increased Intensity': Zuckerberg Leads Meta Into Next Phase. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive of the company formerly known as Facebook, called his top lieutenants for the social network to a last-minute meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area this month. On the agenda: a… (Mike Isaac / The New York Times)

Google Maps is rolling out location sharing notifications and immersive view for landmarks. Google Maps is introducing three features today in different categories including an aerial view of 100 landmarks, detailed cycling routes, and improved location sharing with notifications for the arrival and departure of your friends. The company… (Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

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Today’s pick

Why Big Tech Is Making a Big Play for Live Sports. More than a decade after Apple disrupted the music industry and Amazon upended retail, the tech heavyweights have set their sights on a new arena ripe for change: live sports. Emboldened by their deep pockets and eager to boost… (Tripp Mickle / The New York Times)

James Howells wants 2 robot dogs to help find bitcoin in dump. James Howells threw out a hard drive to a landfill in 2013 that contained 8,000 bitcoins. He has an $11 million business plan to excavate the drive and recover the bitcoins. The plan includes budget for two robotic dogs from Boston Dynamics. Get… (Isobel Asher Hamilton / Business Insider)

Elon Musk's Friendship With Sergey Brin Ruptured by Alleged Affair. Elon Musk engaged in a brief affair last fall with the wife of Sergey Brin, prompting the Google co-founder to file for divorce earlier this year and ending the tech billionaires' long friendship, according to people familiar with the matter. Their… (Kirsten Grind / Wall Street Journal)

Every startup wants an extension round, but there aren't enough to go around. As venture funding continues to slow, founders are scrambling to extend their runways, regardless of how much cash they already have in the bank. But the startups that need the cash infusions the most are running into the most trouble. Last week, I… (Rebecca Szkutak / TechCrunch)

Tesla Looks to Open Its EV-Charging Network. Tesla is trying to tap into public funding to build electric-vehicle chargers, as it moves to open some of its U.S. Supercharger network to EVs made by other manufacturers. The EV-market leader is bidding for a portion of billions in federal and… (Jennifer Hiller / Wall Street Journal)

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Today’s pick

Let's Hope Twitter Beats Elon Musk in Court, and Quickly. On Tuesday, Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick is scheduled to hear lawyers representing Twitter Inc. argue for a speedy trial in its lawsuit against Elon Musk, while those on Musk's side seek to punt the case to next… (Liam Denning / Bloomberg)

Facebook Shifts Resources From News Tab and Bulletin to Focus on Creator Economy. Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook is reallocating resources from its Facebook News tab and newsletter platform Bulletin, as the company focuses more on the creator economy, senior executive Campbell Brown told employees in a memo. Ms. Brown, a former… (Jessica Toonkel, Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal)

The FBI Forced A Suspect To Unlock Amazon's Encrypted App Wickr With Their Face. In November last year, an undercover agent with the FBI was inside a group on Amazon-owned messaging app Wickr, with a name referencing young girls. The group was devoted to sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) within the protection of the… (Thomas Brewster / Forbes)

Microsoft is launching a Facebook rip-off inside Teams. Exactly 10 years ago today, Microsoft completed its $1.2 billion purchase of Yammer, an enterprise-focused social networking platform. Despite a big Yammer overhaul in 2019, Microsoft has been increasingly focused on Teams and its new Viva platform… (Tom Warren / The Verge)

Very Online. “Ours is a period of increasing noise,” Jason Parham wrote earlier this year, for Wired. “Everything is bleeding into everything around it. All trends, large and small, now suggest a new cultural mood—but only until the… (Karen Maniraho / Columbia Journalism Review)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

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Today’s pick

Inside the deadly campaign of terror over coveted Instagram handles. On a balmy Thursday in March 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic upended the world, a 911 call came into the Palo Alto Police Department. The caller told the dispatcher he had killed his girlfriend. He had barricaded himself inside his home… (Rob Price / Business Insider)

As the Planet Cooks, Climate Stalls as a Political Issue. Summers in Maricopa County, Ariz., have become at times unbearable, Kyle Hawkinson said on Friday. Smog and haze hung heavily over Phoenix, and residents were bracing for fire season, when the heat and air pollution would only grow worse. Climate… (Jonathan Weisman / The New York Times)

Biden's economic approval rating falls to new low on fear about inflation, CNBC survey finds. President Joe Biden's overall and economic approval numbers dipped to the lowest levels of his presidency, according to CNBC's All-America Survey. His economic approval rating dropped five points from April's survey to 30%, lower than the nadirs… (Steve Liesman / CNBC)

SIM Cards Are Going Away. Why That's a Good Thing. Since the dawn of the smartphone age, changing your cellular provider followed the same pattern: You'd get a SIM card from your new carrier, find something small enough to poke the tiny hole on the side of your phone, remove your old chip and… (Dalvin Brown / Wall Street Journal)

Elon Musk says we should see Steam running on Teslas soon. Tesla's apparently looking to expand its collection of in-car games... In a reply to a tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company's “making progress with Steam integration” and that we can expect a demo “probably next… (Emma Roth / The Verge)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

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— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Leaked Uber Files reveal history of lawbreaking, lobbying and exploiting violence against drivers. Thousands of leaked confidential files reveal a treasure trove of sketchy and unlawful behavior from Uber. The Uber Files, which were originally shared with The Guardian and the International… (Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch)

Twitter Didn't Seek a Sale. Now Elon Musk Doesn't Want to Buy. Cue Strange Legal Drama.. Elon Musk's showdown with Twitter Inc. has set the stage for what could become one of the most unusual courtroom battles in corporate-takeover history—a spurned acquisition target that never sought to be bought potentially trying to force… (Cara Lombardo / Wall Street Journal)

Humans Have Always Been Wrong About Humans. The phrase “the dawn of everything” first struck David Wengrow, one of the authors of The Dawn of Everything, as marvelously absurd. Everything. Everything! It was too gigantic, too rich, too loonily sublime. Penguin, the book's… (Virginia Heffernan / WIRED)

Some Surprising Good News: Bookstores Are Booming and Becoming More Diverse. People told Lucy Yu it was a crazy time to open a bookstore in Chinatown. It was early 2021, and the pandemic had devastated the neighborhood, forcing dozens of stores and restaurants to close. The rise of anti-Asian hate crimes had shaken… (Alexandra Alter / The New York Times)

China touts 'mind-reading' AI that can gauge political loyalty: reports. Researchers in China claim they have developed 'mind-reading' AI, multiple outlets have reported. In a now-deleted video, they reportedly said the software could be used to measure party loyalty. Last year, the US sanctioned 11 Chinese institutes… (Hannah Towey / Business Insider)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

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— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Disinformation Has Become Another Untouchable Problem in Washington. WASHINGTON — The memo that reached the top of the Department of Homeland Security in September could not have been clearer about its plan to create a board to monitor national security threats caused by the spread of dangerous… (Steven Lee Myers / The New York Times)

Hybrid Work Is (Probably) Doomed. I noticed the shoes first. That I was wearing them. Real shoes, the leather kind, with laces. After a year and a half, I was finally returning to the office, and that meant giving up the puffer slippers and slides that had sustained me for so long. (Ian Bogost / The Atlantic)

Apple's Lockdown Mode Aims to Counter Spyware Threats. The surveillance-for-hire industry has emerged in recent years as a very real threat to activists, dissidents, journalists, and human rights defenders around the world, as vendors offer increasingly invasive and effective spyware to governments. (Lily Hay Newman / WIRED)

Google Eases Ad Restrictions for Abortion Pill Providers After Roe. The Supreme Court's move to overturn Roe v. Wade has left abortion-seekers across the U.S. scrambling to find access to medical care online, only to find themselves awash in a sea of search results and ads for clinics offering anything but. Now… (Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo)

Amazon Strikes Partnership Deal with Grubhub That Could Include Small Equity Stake. Amazon.com Inc. agreed to add Grubhub to its suite of Prime services in the U.S., in a deal that also gives the e-commerce giant the option to acquire a small stake, the parent of the food-ordering company said. Grubhub's parent, Netherlands-based… (Heather Haddon / Wall Street Journal)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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