News You Can Use: 1/8/2020


Photo by Denys Argyriou on Unsplash

  • The Old Internet Died And We Watched And Did Nothing

    The internet of the 2010s will be defined by social media’s role in the 2016 election, the rise of extremism, and the fallout from privacy scandals like Cambridge Analytica. But there’s another, more minor theme to the decade: the gradual dismantling and dissolution of an older internet culture.

    This purge comes in two forms: sites or services shutting down or transforming their business models. Despite the constant flurries of social startups (Vine! Snapchat! TikTok! Ello! Meerkat! Peach! Path! Yo!), when the dust was blown off the chisel, the 2010s revealed that the content you made — your photos, your writing, your texts, emails, and DMs — is almost exclusively in the hands of the biggest tech companies: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, or Apple.

    The rest? Who knows? I hate to tell you, but there’s a good chance it’s gone forever.

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/how-we-killed-the-old-internet

  • Alisha Marie, Jacques Slade, and Kati Morton on YouTube burnout

    https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/27/youtube-burnout-generation/
  • Brand warriors! Instagram gurus! Here are the most ridiculous job titles of 2019

    Jobs platform Indeed analyzed one million postings to reveal which of the weirdest terms appeared in either the title or the description of a job over 12 months. The top five (“ninja,” “rockstar,” “genius,” “hero,” and “guru”) all retained their popularity from last year.

    “Rockstar” nabbed the top spot, boasting a 31% year-over-year increase and a whopping 209% lift since the company started ranking in 2015. “Genius” had a 26% year-over-year lift but rose 416% over the four years. The news was not so positive for ninjas or gurus whose popularity declined by 9% and 15% respectively.

    According to Indeed’s analysis, wacky job titles are now more prevalent outside of tech hubs like Silicon Valley. Now you’re much more likely to locate rockstars in Arkansas, geniuses in Oklahoma, and ninjas in Hawaii. Vermont takes the crown away from New York for having the largest number of hero job openings this year.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90447348/brand-warriors-instagram-gurus-here-are-the-most-ridiculous-job-titles-of-2019

  • Here is why you should swear at work, according to science

    On a personal level, people who swear often lie less frequently, have higher levels of integrity and emotional intelligence, possess a larger vocabulary and are linked with having higher IQs. Cursing conveys feelings and opinions not captured by everyday language so people are able to glean more about the other party from conversations and end up making stronger connections leading to greater trust. Choosing the appropriate kind of word (mild or strong) demonstrates that you understand the mentality of the person that you’re speaking to so they’re more inclined to believe you.

    In the workplace, cursing can actually help you get ahead. Research indicates cursing increases the effectiveness and persuasiveness of an argument. The most cohesive and productive teams in sectors like manufacturing and IT joke with each other using lots of profanity and trust each other more for it. For sales, swearing can translate into more wins when both sides do it, 18% more to be exact, based on analysis from Gong of more than 73,000 of its sales calls.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90442773/here-is-why-you-should-swear-at-work-according-to-science