Category: Industry News

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News You Can Use: 11/14/2018

  • China is making the internet less free, and US tech companies are helping

    While doing business in China, US tech companies must play by local rules — or leave, as Google did in 2010. Sarah Cook, Freedom House’s senior research analyst for East Asia, tells The Verge that abiding by local regulation is a waste of time. “Rather than develop tailor-made products to comply with China’s draconian censorship rules, we believe tech companies’ resources and ingenuity would be better spent on helping users jump the Great Firewall and access the uncensored version of their products,” she says.

    But most companies aren’t doing that. This August, Apple pulled 25,000 apps from its Chinese App Store, claiming they were “illegal” according to local law. In 2017, Apple removed VPN apps that people had used to elude Chinese censorship. When Apple launched the Product RED version of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in China, it removed any trace of the Product RED branding that’s designed to support AIDS-related charities, in what some critics say may have been a response to China’s anti-LGBT policies. Currently, LinkedIn restricts Chinese users from accessing politically sensitive profiles or posts from people outside the country. Microsoft’s Bing search engine still sanitizes Chinese language search results, nearly a decade after the New York Times first reported on it.

    https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/2/18053142/china-internet-privacy-censorship-apple-microsoft-google-democracy-report

  • This Map Shows You How Much Money Every Member of Congress Got from Big Telecom

    The map only includes incumbents, so you’ll have to dig a little deeper to get information on other candidates. Still, it’s a good starting place for checking where your members of congress stand before you cast a ballot. In New York, for example, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has gotten $413,307 from ISPs, according to the map, while Senator Chuck Schumer has attracted $1,018,574 in contributions from Big Telecom.

    Net neutrality and the influence of Big Telecom is a hot issue for many voters, after the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality last year. Major ISPs were in favor of scrapping the rules and used their financial and lobbying power to try to push it through.

    https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/9k7e43/before-you-vote-check-out-this-map-of-how-much-big-telecom-gave-your-congress-members

  • NAFTA, explained with a toy car
  • Facebook Is the Least Trusted Major Tech Company When it Comes to Safeguarding Personal Data, Poll Finds

    Only 22% of Americans said that they trust Facebook with their personal information, far less than Amazon (49%), Google (41%), Microsoft (40%), and Apple (39%).

    “Facebook is in the bottom in terms of trust in housing your personal data,” said Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema. “Facebook’s crises continue rolling in the news cycle.”

    http://fortune.com/2018/11/08/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-reputation/

  • Half of YouTube viewers use it to learn how to do things they’ve never done

    A new Pew research study that surveyed 4,594 Americans in 2018 found that 51 percent of YouTube users say they rely on the video service to figure out how to do new things, and the service proved important both for regular users and irregular users. “That works out to 35 percent of all U.S. adults, once both users and non-users of the site are accounted for,” the study reads.

    https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/7/18071992/youtube-pew-study-education-news-childrens-videos

Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash

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News You Can Use: 10/31/2018

  • A groundbreaking study reveals how we want machines to treat us

    In a new study published in Nature, they show that when it comes to how machines treat us, our sense of right and wrong is informed by the economic and cultural norms of where we live. They discovered three general geographic areas with distinct ethical ideas about how autonomous vehicles should behave: West (which includes North America and Christian European countries), East (which includes Far East countries and Islamic countries), and South (which includes much of South America and countries with French influences). These groups also have their own subclusters, like Scandinavia within the West and Latin American countries within the South. As the study’s interactive graphic shows, Brazilians tend to prefer sparing passengers over pedestrians; Iranians are much more likely to spare pedestrians; Australians are more likely to spare the physically fit than the average.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90259513/a-groundbreaking-study-reveals-how-we-want-machines-to-treat-us

  • Upgrade? No Thanks. Americans Are Sticking With Their Old Phones

    Pricier devices, fewer subsidies from carriers and the demise of the two-year cellphone contract have led consumers to wait an average of 2.83 years to upgrade their smartphones, according to data for the third quarter from HYLA Mobile Inc., a mobile-device trade-in company that works with carriers and big-box stores. That is up from 2.39 years two years earlier.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/upgrade-no-thanks-americans-are-sticking-with-their-old-phones-1540818000?ns=prod/accounts-wsj
    Samsung Chalks Up Another Record Profit, but Phones Are a Worry

    In an earnings release, Samsung said smartphone shipments were flat and the profit drop was attributable to “increased promotional costs and a negative currency impact.”

    Consumers are balking at $1,000 phones and holding on to their devices longer than ever. But the South Korean technology giant was surprised this year by poor sales for its flagship Galaxy S9 handsets, a device marketed around its animated human emojis. To rejuvenate sales, Samsung moved up the release of its large-size Galaxy Note 9 to Aug. 24, weeks earlier than the prior-year model.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/chips-displays-drive-samsung-to-another-record-profit-1540946737

  • Why whistleblowing is the loneliest and most courageous act in the world
  • Wisconsin’s $4.1 billion Foxconn factory boondoggle

    But what seemed so simple on a napkin has turned out to be far more complicated and messy in real life. As the size of the subsidy has steadily increased to a jaw-dropping $4.1 billion, Foxconn has repeatedly changed what it plans to do, raising doubts about the number of jobs it will create. Instead of the promised Generation 10.5 plant, Foxconn now says it will build a much smaller Gen 6 plant, which would require one-third of the promised investment, although the company insists it will eventually hit the $10 billion investment target. And instead of a factory of workers building panels for 75-inch TVs, Foxconn executives now say the goal is to build “ecosystem” of buzzwords called “AI 8K+5G” with most of the manufacturing done by robots.

    Polls now show most Wisconsin voters don’t believe the subsidy will pay off for taxpayers, and Walker didn’t even mention the deal in a November 2017 speech announcing his run for re-election.

    https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29/18027032/foxconn-wisconsin-plant-jobs-deal-subsidy-governor-scott-walker

  • FCC Falsely Claims Community Broadband an ‘Ominous Threat to The First Amendment’

    More than 750 such networks have been built in the United States in direct response to a lack of meaningful broadband competition and availability plaguing America. Studies have routinely shown that these networks provide cheaper and better broadband service, in large part because these ISPs have a vested interest in the communities they serve.

    In his speech, O’Rielly highlighted efforts by the last FCC, led by former boss Tom Wheeler, to encourage such community-run broadband networks as a creative solution to private sector failure. O’Rielly subsequently tried to claim, without evidence, that encouraging such networks would somehow result in government attempts to censor public opinion.

    https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bj49j8/fcc-falsely-claims-community-broadband-an-ominous-threat-to-the-first-amendment

Photo by Yucel Moran on Unsplash

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News You Can Use: 10/24/2018

The Source - No Attention Span

  • Facebook Isn’t Sorry — It Just Wants Your Data

    Weeks after the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal broke, Facebook announced at its annual conference that it would soon use its trove of user data to roll out a dating app to help pair users together in “long-term” romantic relationships. Later in the year, while Zuckerberg told Congress “I promise to do better for you” and pledged increased transparency in its handling of users’ data, the company admitted to secretly using a private tool to delete the old messages of its founder. This summer, just days after Zuckerberg assured “we have a responsibility to protect people,” reports surfaced that Facebook asked US banks for granular customer financial data (including card transactions and checking account balances) to use for a banking feature. Even the company’s good faith attempts to secure its platform feel ham-handed and oblivious, like last November when Facebook asked users in Australia to upload their nude photos to Facebook for employee review to combat revenge porn.

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/charliewarzel/facebook-isnt-sorry-it-just-wants-your-data

  • How WhatsApp is undermining Facebook’s war on election interference

    The problem, of course, is WhatsApp. As we were admiring the flags, Brazilian newspaper Folha published an investigation showing that media companies are buying large groups of phone numbers and blasting them with anti-leftist propaganda on the encrypted messaging app. While it’s often discussed as a chat app, WhatsApp has message-forwarding mechanics that strip away the identity of the sender and allow messages to spread virally with little accountability.

    https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/19/17997516/facebook-election-war-room-brazil-whatsapp

  • The economics of immigration
  • Open offices have driven Panasonic to make horse blinders for humans

    “As open offices and digital nomads are on the rise, workers are finding it ever more important to have personal space where they can focus,” the company told Dezeen. “Wear Space instantly creates this kind of personal space – it’s as simple as putting on an article of clothing.”

    The device, which debuted as a prototype at SXSW earlier this year, is now the subject of a crowdfunding campaign. Early birds can snag one for around $260, but we’re going to say neigh on this one.

    https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/17/open-offices-have-driven-panasonic-to-make-horse-blinders-for-humans/

  • Sorry, Goldfish: People’s Attention Spans Aren’t Shrinking, They’re Evolving

    The research, presented in detail in Prezi’s 2018 State of Attention Report, found that well over half — 59 percent — of business professionals feel they can give a piece of content their undivided attention more so today than they could just one year ago. Also, nearly half (49 percent) of respondents said they are more selective about the content they consume now compared to one year ago.

    The State of Attention study also found evidence that attention spans are not only intact across generations, but also expanding in younger generations. That’s important information for businesses: Many organizations struggle to communicate effectively with, and develop engaging content for, all groups in their multigenerational workforce — but that’s especially true with millennials. And millennials, according to Pew Research Center, are the largest generation in the workforce as of 2017.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/321266

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

Posted on

News You Can Use: 10/17/2018

  • GE: The lessons of a corporate giant’s decline

    Ever since legendary GE chief Jack Welch retired in 2001, GE has been looking to find the right business mix to regain investor confidence, said Holman Jenkins at The Wall Street Journal. It’s been a “plodding, slow-motion hunt,” and GE’s mess of businesses — light bulbs, wind turbines, insurance, and more — means the company “is unlikely to register buried problems until they are well advanced.” And boy does GE have problems, said Jim Cramer at The Street. Immelt’s mistakes were so grave that GE needs “the financial equivalent of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Its insurance division charged “a pittance” for long-term care policies. Immelt also doubled down on power plants when the sector was in decline. Same with oil and gas, when “oil ran to $100” a barrel and was bound to fall.

    https://theweek.com/articles/801447/ge-lessons-corporate-giants-decline

  • How to deal when your boss plays favorites

    One way to deal with this situation is to “deal with the little things instead of the big picture,” says Barbara Pachter, business etiquette expert and author of the book, The Communication Clinic: 99 Proven Cures for the Most Common Business Mistakes. So instead of focusing on the fact that your boss is playing favorites, turn your attention instead on what you want that you aren’t getting. If you want a special assignment, do your homework, go in, and ask for it.

    If there’s a career goal you’re trying to reach, tell your boss about it, and then ask advice on how you can get there. The most important thing is to be straightforward. Otherwise, it might not be that your boss is playing favorites, but rather they just don’t know what you want.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90245852/4-ways-to-deal-with-not-being-your-boss-favorite

  • Why we choke under pressure — and how to avoid it
  • This Is How You Lead a Virtual Team Without Coming Across Like a Looming Sci-Fi Overlord

    Lead with trust rather than fear. Micro-managers may feel a pang of discomfort from not being able to look over their remote team’s physical shoulders and may be tempted to resort to other forms of surveillance to keep them on track. This is both uncomfortable and demotivating for remote teams. The futuristic dictators portrayed in pop culture keep a close eye and ear on their subjects, ultimately disincentivizing communication as whole. Technology should be used to empower employees to communicate more effectively and efficiently, not to track or monitor performance. Trust is paramount.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/320995

  • Employee Perks Might Not Be As Effective As You Think They Are

    I believe the best way to create a sense of purpose in employees is to continually offer them opportunities to use their unique skills. And along these lines, a Namely survey confirmed that the most important factor leading to workplace satisfaction isn’t perks at all; it is a sense of purpose. In fact, 57 percent of employees surveyed desired “meaningful work” above all else. So, remind employees that you hired them for a reason: Their particular skill set fills an existing hole in your team. Then, get out of their way. Doing so will allow these new employees to bring their whole selves to work and will inspire their self-confidence more than programs or benefits ever could.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/321320

Photo by Wyatt Ryan on Unsplash

Posted on

News You Can Use: 10/10/2018

  • How to Disconnect From ‘Always On’ Work Culture

    According to a 2016 study by the Academy of Management, employees tally an average of 8 hours a week answering work-related emails after leaving the office. Echoing that, a 2015 Harris Poll for the American Psychological Association found that 30% of men and 23% of women regularly bring work home. Similar percentages admitted to working on vacation and to bringing “work materials” along on social outings (we hope they don’t mean accordion folders). All of this, many experts in psychology agree, causes stress, ruins sleep habits and cripples our ability to stay active and engaged during actual office hours.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-disconnect-from-always-on-work-culture-1538740171?ns=prod/accounts-wsj

  • Never, ever utter these phrases in a salary negotiation

    I am currently making:
    “I call this The Dreaded Salary Question and it’s tricky because it usually comes up early in the interview process, and most candidates don’t think of it as part of a salary negotiation even though it is,” says Doody. “Answering this question by disclosing numbers can make it very difficult to negotiate effectively later on because it can box the candidate in. Once they disclose current or desired salary, the offers they get are very likely to be tied to those numbers. That can be very expensive if the company might have offered them a much higher salary than they disclosed.”

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90246630/what-not-to-say-in-a-salary-negotiation

  • How to be a better leader: Offer guidance, not instruction
  • The Rumors of Podcasting’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

    In today’s “move fast and break things” digital media culture it isn’t surprising that companies and talent can find themselves off course, and need to back up and change tack. When you move quickly, you have to accept that the risk will increase and you’ll make some decisions that you will later wish you could change. Out of all the companies who have recognized the opportunity in digital audio and podcasting, it isn’t surprising that these pivots are happening. If anything, it would be weird and shocking if everyone made the correct maneuvers every time. It would be depressing if no one was willing to admit some things weren’t working.

    https://medium.com/audio-insurgent/the-rumors-of-podcastings-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-a25d4066997c

  • Finish the Year Strong to Carry Momentum Into 2019

    As entrepreneurs, we must watch the bottom line at all times. Every move we make has to bring us a return on our investment. Lately, I’ve seen a big shift in the market. The “cut through to the bottom line” mindset can only take you so far. I’ve been able to grow my business faster by focusing on the impact rather than the income. Don’t get me wrong. I charge for my services, and I’m not running a non-profit, but income is not my main focus.

    I recently helped a client create a framework in his business that gave him a sense of purpose. He was ready to sell all his assets and move to an island with his wife and kids because his idea of success was being met by his expectations in his business. I helped him see that he simply needed to focus less on the transactions and more on the transcendence his business could provide. He owns multiple businesses, so it took him some time to figure out how he could help his clients have a better experience rather than treating them as singular transactions.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/319535

Photo by Janusz Maniak on Unsplash