As Uber works on trying to find a more profitable path ahead for its transportation-on-demand service, it has sold off one of its units that sat peripherally to that business. Fair, the car leasing startup that announced debt and equity funding of up to $1 billion in October, has acquired the active leasing portfolio of Xchange Leasing, a service Uber first established in 2015 to lease new… Read More
January 2018
France’s Digital Minister Mounir Mahjoubi on upcoming digital policies via @TechCrunch
Mahjoubi joined Emmanuel Macron’s team as the person in charge of all things digital while Macron was campaigning to become France’s President. He joined the French government immediately after the 2017 election and has been in charge of Digital Affairs. In addition to being the go-to policymaker for the tech industry in general, he’s also working on digital initiatives… Read More
Spendesk raises $9.9 million to build your next corporate card via @TechCrunch
French startup Spendesk just raised $9.9 million (€8 million) from Index Ventures with Michael Benabou, Laurent Asscher and Showpad cofounders Louis Jonckheere and Pieterjan Bouten also participating. Spendesk is a service that combines prepaid cards with an expense report solution. After signing up, each employee receives a personal card. Companies can top up their global Spendesk account… Read More
To Keep Your Employees Engaged, Be Curious and Challenging
Leaders play a significant role in helping employees understand why their jobs matter, but it’s not just about connecting their work to a larger purpose. You can also do it by demonstrating curiosity: Explore, ask questions, and engage people on their ideas about the future. Make clear that there is a wide range of possibilities […]
Waymo orders thousands of Pacificas for 2018 self-driving fleet rollout via @TechCrunch
Waymo has ordered thousands of new Chrysler Pacifica minivans from FCA to help populate its autonomous ride-hailing fleet, which it will open to the public in 2018, the company says. The public launch of its Pacifica-based self-driving ride hailing service is set to occur sometime later this year, after Waymo starts testing its minivans without anyone behind the wheel, achieving true Level… Read More
Google completes its $1.1B deal to buy a chunk of HTC’s smartphone division via @TechCrunch
Google has announced the completion of its $1.1 billion deal to buy a large slice of HTC’s hardware business. The acquisition was announced back in September 2017 but now it has passed the requisite approvals and is finalized. Beyond the transfer of over 2,000 engineers from HTC — that’s around one-fifth of HTC’s engineering team — Google will also receive… Read More
Content Marketing Copywriting 101: The Essential Guide on Writing For Your Online Reader
Two distinct strategies that many people confuse or mix up: Content marketing. Copywriting. They aren’t the same thing, although both intertwine with each other in benefits and results. Think of it like this: Content marketing gets your prospects invested in what you do. Copywriting makes them want to follow up on that investment with action. […]
Strava says it will simplify privacy settings and review app features after exposing military bases via @TechCrunch
Fitness app Strava has said it will review its privacy settings and features after it was found to have exposed the location of military bases across the world by releasing user activity data. The Strava activity heatmap was supposed to be a fun and informative look at how the world works out. It ended up, however, putting Washington on alert after a student noticed flashes of activity in… Read More
Crunch Report | Elon Musk’s flamethrowers bring in $5 million so far via @TechCrunch
Elon Musk’s flamethrowers have made $5 million so far, Google invests in Go-Jek and Facebook will start prioritizing local news. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
Uber’s India rival Ola is expanding to Australia in first overseas move via @TechCrunch
2018 is the year for ride-hailing expansions. Fresh from China’s Didi moving into Brazil and Taiwan, Ola in India is taking the first steps to move into the Australian market and expand its rivalry with Uber. Ola — which counts Didi as an investor — announced today that it has started recruiting drivers in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth in what will be its first expansion… Read More
Instagram won’t comment on rumored video calling feature via @TechCrunch
Instagram copied the ‘Snap’ and now it might be going after the ‘chat’. A video calling feature was spotted in a non-public version of Instagram by WhatsApp industry blog WABetaInfo. It would let users who’ve begun an Instagram Direct message thread to video chat with each other. That could let people spend even more time in the app, but by actively… Read More
There’s no way the government is building its own 5G network via @TechCrunch
A report this weekend by Axios cited documents from within the National Security Council describing the possibility — nay, inevitability — of a 5G network built and operated by the U.S. government. Officials have since poured cold water on this idea, and really, it was never feasible. Read More
20 YouTube Tricks, Hacks, and Features You'll Want to Know About This Year
When people talk about today’s most popular social sharing websites, YouTube often gets left out of the conversation in favor of sites like Facebook and…
Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPsmile Weekend Hashtag Project is a… via #Instagram Blog
Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPsmile Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags. For a chance to be featured, follow @instagram and look for a post every week announcing the latest project. The goal of #WHPsmile was to take photos and videos of smiles. Each week, we feature some of our favorite submissions from the project, but be sure to check out the rest here.
Inside Amazon’s Spheres via @TechCrunch
Like most adventurous design the Spheres are divisive: some call them an eyesore or attention-seeking behavior by Amazon, but others will admire the originality and intelligent use of space. Seattle is no stranger to odd architecture, and the Spheres seem to meld the mind-bending MoPop (formerly the EMP) with the multifaceted complexity of the Central Library. Click on to see and learn much more. Read More
Facebook nabs Google’s AR product director via @TechCrunch
Facebook has stolen away Google’s director of Product for AR Nikhil Chandhok, who will be joining FB to lead product management of the Camera team working on augmented reality. Chandhok worked on Google’s ARCore smartphone augmented reality platform as well as its Daydream VR platform in his position there. Previously, Chandhok had co-founded AI startup Bento Labs, which raised… Read More
GV leads $25M investment in Hover, a computer vision startup that digitizes your home via @TechCrunch
As more and more startups aim to 3D-scan the world, the question of what consumers will actually care about enough to bring into the digital world is a tough one to answer. For most people, a home will be the biggest investment they make in their lives, so SF-based Hover is theorizing that’s the place to start. Read More
The Grammys gave CBS All Access its second-biggest day for signups yet via @TechCrunch
Sunday night’s airing of the 60th Annual Grammy Awards turned out to be a big boost for CBS’ streaming service, CBS All Access, which offered a live stream of the event on its service. According to the network, its subscription video on demand and live streaming service hit new records in terms of subscriber sign-ups and unique viewers for the awards show specifically, and was… Read More
DJI Mavic Air review via @TechCrunch
The metal joysticks are safely nestled inside the flip-out arms of the controller, the landing gear safely nestled in the propeller arms. Not a millimeter is wasted, not even in the packaging. It’s the culmination of a dozen years of drone making experience — but really, it’s built directly on top of the company’s recent push to make the perfect consumer quadcopter.… Read More
Facebook will start prioritizing local news in user feeds via @TechCrunch
Facebook’s latest step in its on-going effort to fix its embattled news delivery offering involves prioritizing local sources. The social media giant announced today in a blog post that, along with efforts to elevate content from friends and outlets designated as “high quality,” the site will be working to push local news offerings to the top of users’ feeds. The… Read More
Microsoft buys gaming services startup PlayFab to bolster its Azure platform via @TechCrunch
In the latest chapter of GAFAM’s continuing bid to conquer online gaming, Microsoft has acquired PlayFab, which helps game developers launch their titles online more quickly with simplified back-end services. The startup will be integrated into Microsoft’s Azure gaming group. Read More
SuperPhone is building a Salesforce for texting via @TechCrunch
The address book is the last, worst default app you rely on. It’s time it got as smart as the rest of our phones. That’s the idea behind SuperPhone. Email isn’t how you build relationships anymore. Yet most business software sanctifies the spammy inbox when it’s the immediacy of text messaging that keeps people in touch today. Musician Ryan Leslie learned that when… Read More
US military reviewing tech use after Strava privacy snafu via @TechCrunch
The U.S. military has responded to privacy concerns over a heatmap feature in the Strava app which displays users’ fitness activity — and has been shown exposing the location of military facilities around the world — by saying it’s reviewing the rules around usage of wireless devices and apps by its personnel. Read More
Why Do So Many Managers Forget They’re Human Beings?
H. Armstrong/Roberts Classic Stock/Getty Images In our assessments, surveys, and interviews of over a thousand leaders, many comments stood out, but one in particular was especially powerful and thought-provoking. “Leadership today,” Javier Pladevall, CEO of Audi Volkswagen, Spain, told us, “is about unlearning management and relearning being human.” What Javier means is, the power of […]
Microsoft’s Slack competitor, Teams, gets its biggest update with new app integrations and app store via @TechCrunch
Microsoft’s Slack competitor, Microsoft Teams, rolled out its biggest update since the software’s launch last year, the company says. The focus of the new set of features is allowing users to better work with apps – something Microsoft Teams accomplishes via integrations, new search and discovery features, commands, and more. Some of the features are, in fact, quite… Read More
Why the Dell rumors might have substance via @TechCrunch
By now you’ve probably heard that the Dell board is supposed to be convening later this month to figure out how it might reorganize itself to deal with the mountain of debt it took on when it bought EMC in 2015 for $67 billion. The rumors began on Friday and involved a couple of possible scenarios including Dell going public or Dell buying VMware (which I’m not sure solves the… Read More
Boeing HorizonX invests in Berkeley aerospace battery tech startup via @TechCrunch
Boeing’s HorizonX is the aerospace company’s vehicle for making investments in promising next-generation startups and technology, and it just placed its latest bet: funding in Cuberg, a Berkeley-based battery tech startup that has a founding team including Stanford University researchers. Battery tech is still one of the most frustrating roadblocks any company encounters when trying… Read More
Voicelabs launches Alpine to bring retailers to the voice shopping ecosystem via @TechCrunch
Voicelabs, a company that has been experimenting in the voice computing market for some time with initiatives in advertising and analytics, is now pivoting its business again – this time, to voice-enabled commerce. The company is today launching its latest product out of stealth: Alpine.AI, a solution that builds voice shopping apps for retailers by importing their catalog, then layering… Read More
Uber steps up to fight human trafficking via @TechCrunch
Uber has partnered with Polaris, which aims to fight human trafficking at the global level, to empower its drivers to combat this form of modern-day slavery. Worldwide, there are an estimated 20.9 million victims of human trafficking, according to the International Labour Organization. The partnership will help educate Uber drivers about some signs of human trafficking and empower them to… Read More
How Likely Is Your Industry to Be Disrupted? This 2×2 Matrix Will Tell You
Jorg Greuel/Getty Images The topic of industry disruption — “a process whereby a smaller company with fewer resources is able to successfully challenge established incumbent businesses” — is rife with misconceptions. One of the biggest is that it is a mysterious, random, and unpredictable event. Another is that it happens to you in ways that are beyond […]
How to Build Trust with Colleagues You Rarely See
sarah wright/Getty Images When you exchange pleasantries with a co-worker in the elevator, the two of you are building trust. When you stop by a colleague’s office and see their family photographs on a desk, you learn about that person’s life outside the office and, as a result, usually feel closer. Face-to-face meetings, office parties, […]
4 Financial Management Tips for Freelancers
Freelance work, by its nature, ebbs and flows. When it flows, you have to be diligent about saving. When it ebbs, you use what you’ve…
How to Make Your Customers’ Brains Light Up, According to Science
Storytelling Contently cofounder Shane Snow has been called a lot of things in the press: “maverick,” “wunderkind,” “insanely addicting.” According to these people, he’s apparently the love child of John McCain, Mark Zuckerberg, and a bag of Doritos. But I’ll let you in on a secret: He’s actually just a huge geek. That’s the only […]
U.S. banks’ Venmo alternative, Zelle, moved $75B last year, says 100,000 people enroll daily via @TechCrunch
Zelle, U.S. banks’ answer to mobile payment services like PayPal and Venmo, claims that nearly 100,000 consumers, on average, are signing up for its service per day. The company also painted a picture of growing traction, noting it processed over 247 million payments in 2017, an increase of over 45 percent year-over-year, totalling $75 billion in peer-to-peer payments, up from $55… Read More
As AI Meets the Reputation Economy, We’re All Being Silently Judged
TongRo Images Inc./Getty Images In the Black Mirror episode Nosedive, the protagonist, Lacie, lives in a saccharine world of pleasantries in which every personal or business interaction is scored. Everything depends on the social score, and everyone is desperate to move up in the rankings. But the omnipresent rating game has one big catch: ranking […]
How to Ask for a Promotion
Maguma/Getty Images Asking for a promotion can be nerve-wracking. But when you think you’re ready for the next step, it’s important to say so. How do you prepare for that conversation with your boss? What information should you have at the ready? And how exactly do you make your case? What the Experts Say “Asking […]
Pearson is adding LittleBits kits to its STEM curriculum via @TechCrunch
Brooklyn-based startup LittleBits has worked hard to shake the “tech toy” label. While the company’s done a good job getting its kid-friendly engineering kits into the hands of schools, a new partnership with Pearson will certainly add an extra bit of legitimacy to the company’s methods. The education publishing giant announced this week that it’s… Read More
Nvidia and GE’s Baker Hughes team on AI for oil and gas via @TechCrunch
Nvidia and GE subsidiary Baker Hughes want to bring the power of artificial intelligence to bear on the oil and gas industry – and do so throughout the space, covering everything from locating new oil sources, bringing it up to the surface, refining it for use and even delivering it to the end customer. Baker Hughes is working with Nvidia on making this happen using its range of… Read More
Apple could use ARM coprocessors for three updated Mac models via @TechCrunch
According to a Bloomberg article, Apple could be workin on three new Mac models for this year. All three of them could feature an ARM coprocessor to improve security. Apple isn’t switching to ARM chipsets altogether. There will still be an Intel CPU in every Mac, but with a second ARM processor. Currently, the MacBook Pro features a T1 chip while the iMac Pro features a T2 chip. On… Read More
Elon Musk’s flamethrower has already made well over $3.5 million via @TechCrunch
Hats… and now flamethrowers. Elon Musk’s Boring Company has so far been more of a ‘lifestyle’ brand (and a weird one at that) than a company that, you know, digs massive tunnels through the earth as a going concern. But it’s making bank. The hats, which retailed for $20, were capped at 50,000, thus netting The Boring Co. a cool $1 million. The flamethrower, which… Read More
Relx acquires ThreatMetrix for $817M to ramp up in risk-based authentication via @TechCrunch
Another startup in the area of cyber security has been snapped up as platform businesses serving enterprises look for more ways of securing their own networks and working with customers to secure theirs. Today, the RELX Group (formerly known as Reed Elsevier) announced that it would acquire ThreatMetrix for £580 million (about $817 million) in cash. This is a big exit for ThreatMetrix, which… Read More
BigID pulls in $14 million Series A to help identify private customer data across big data stores via @TechCrunch
As data privacy becomes an increasingly important notion, especially with the EU’s GDPR privacy laws coming online in May, companies need to find ways to understand their customer’s private data. BigID thinks it has a solution and it landed a $14 million Series A investment today to help grow the idea. Comcast Ventures, SAP (via SAP.io), ClearSky Security Fund and one of the… Read More
An MIT team has created color-changing 3D prints via @TechCrunch
Here’s another cool project out of MIT’s CSAIL labs. Researchers are looking to bring color-changing properties to the 3D-printing process in an attempt to help reduce material waste in the future. That last bit is admittedly a pretty lofty goal as far as this project is concerned, but at the very least, it could go a ways toward making 3D printing for manufacturing even more… Read More
UK to fine critical organizations up to $24M if they fail to put in strong cyber security via @TechCrunch
As companies gear up to make themselves complaint with upcoming data protection regulations in Europe around GDPR, those doing business in Member States will also be facing another wave of requirements around cyber security, as part of the NIS Directive covering network and information security that must be put into place across Member States by May 9, 2018. In the UK, the government has… Read More
Bonfire Ventures closes $60 million to invest in SoCal B2B startups via @TechCrunch
Los Angeles is becoming one of the more interesting destinations for startups and the investors that provide money for venture capital firms to place bets on young companies are increasingly starting to take notice. New funds are launching in Los Angeles at a pretty feverish clip, and the latest to plant its flag in the city is Bonfire Ventures, which just closed a $60 million vehicle for… Read More
ContentSquare raises $42M Series B for its UX insights platform for mobile and web via @TechCrunch
ContentSquare, which offers cloud-based software that helps businesses understand how and why users are interacting with their app, mobile and web sites, has picked up $42 million in Series B funding. Read More
Hong Kong plans TV ad campaign to warn against ICO and crypto investments via @TechCrunch
Most financial authorities worldwide have warned their citizens on the risks of buying bitcoin or investing in ICOs, but Hong Kong is going a step further. Concern is such in the country that authorities are taking to TV and other media to warn of the risks of investment. Today the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Investor Education Centre (IEC), which is a subsidiary… Read More
Facebook starts polishing its privacy messaging ahead of GDPR via @TechCrunch
As the May 25 deadline for compliance with the EU’s updated privacy framework fast approaches Facebook is continuing to PR the changes it’s making to try to meet the new data protection standard — and steer away from the specter of fines that can scale as high as 4% of a company’s global turnover. Read More
3 Steps to Do Your Best Work, No Matter Where You Are in Your Career
I’ve worked at a number of different companies including private businesses, bootstrapped startups, venture round start-ups, and pre-IPO startups. And I’ve worked at these companies…
3 Steps to Do Your Best Work, No Matter Where You Are in Your Career
I’ve worked at a number of different companies including private businesses, bootstrapped startups, venture round start-ups, and pre-IPO startups. And I’ve worked at these companies in a variety of capacities: recruiting, sales, and account management. Along the way, I’ve noticed the same few situational factors influence employee performance at work. They are: The ability to […]
Malaysia’s capital will adopt ‘smart city’ platform from Alibaba via @TechCrunch
Alibaba’s cloud computing business is to deploy its big data services package for cities in Kuala Lumpur to help Malaysia’s government with the running of its capital city and potentially other parts of the country in the future. “City Brain,” an Alibaba Cloud service that uses big data and artificial intelligence on its cloud computing infrastructure, will be put to… Read More
Can Gratitude Help You Recover from a Heart Attack?
Why do some people recover after a heart attack while others don’t? I am a psychiatrist who has spent the last 13 years focusing on improving the mental health of people who have heart disease and other medical conditions. Over time, as I saw more and more hospitalized patients who had just had a major […]
Goxip raises $5M led by Meitu to build an influencer marketing platform for fashion in Asia via @TechCrunch
Goxip, a Hong Kong-based social shopping service, has raised $5 million to branch out into influencer marketing. The investment was led by Meitu, the $6 billion Hong Kong-listed company that develops selfie apps and selfie-optimized phones, with participation from Hong Kong conglomerate Nan Fung Group via its inaugural Mills Fabrica Fund. Others who took part include a trio of young female… Read More
Fitness app Strava exposes the location of military bases via @TechCrunch
Strava, the popular app for tracking running, cycling and swimming, is not the most obvious go-to for exposing national secrets, but a heatmap of activity from users has been found to unearth the locations of U.S. military bases worldwide. The company’s review of 2017 showed all routes taken by its users across the world. It was released back in November 2017, but it came to the fore… Read More
Don’t Shy Away from Making Friends at Work
Friendships in the office can be tricky. When the boundaries are blurred between the professional and the personal, there’s a chance for feelings and team performance to be hurt. But just because there is potential for messy entanglements doesn’t mean you should avoid chatting with your colleagues. In fact, research shows that people who have […]
Google confirms investment in Indonesia’s ride-hailing leader Go-Jek via @TechCrunch
Google has confirmed its investment in Go-Jek, the hail-railing service that rivals Uber and Grab in Indonesia. TechCrunch reported the investment last week, which was made alongside China’s Meituan-Dianping and Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek. The trio were part of a final tranche of a $1.2 billion round that Go-Jek began negotiating on last April, with commitments from the likes… Read More
Bank-based blockchain projects are going to transform the financial services industry via @TechCrunch
As the popularity of cryptocurrencies has grown, so has the banking industry’s interest in blockchain for fintech, with an increased and focused push on bank-backed blockchain projects. Read More
Five myths of seed investing via @TechCrunch
Pre-seed has risen in prominence in recent months due to the growing gap between what founders are seeking at the seed stage and what the market is offering, yet conversations around pre-seed come with preconceived notions and false assumptions about the companies and investors who care about early stage funding. To break down these misconceptions, we’ve assembled a list of 5 common… Read More
Oxford University spin-out Bodle scores £6M Series A for its low-powered ‘reflective’ display tech via @TechCrunch
Bodle Technologies is a startup spun out of Oxford University, that is developing a new type of ‘reflective’ display technology that promises to use a lot less power. In fact, in some states the screen tech may require almost no power at all. Read More
How publishers will survive Facebook’s newsfeed change via @TechCrunch
Facebook announced on January 11 that it would change its News Feed algorithm to prioritize posts from friends and family over public content. Say goodbye to never-ending sponsored posts from Tasty, CNN, and other brands that have embraced the platform. Time to say hello to more personal posts featuring commenting and sharing from your friends. Sounds like the original version of Facebook… Read More
Intel reportedly notified Chinese companies of chip security flaw before the U.S. government via @TechCrunch
Intel is not having that great of year thus far in the face of a slew of information about security flaws in it hardware coming out — and you can add another new report from The Wall Street Journal today, which suggests that Intel didn’t immediately notify the U.S. government of the issues, to that list. The Journal is reporting that Intel notified some of its customers of the… Read More
Here’s how to live stream the Grammys tonight via @TechCrunch
Don’t have a TV or just want to watch Kesha, Cardi B and Lady Gaga walk the red carpet from the comfort of your laptop? Thanks to modern tech, that’s possible tonight. James Corden kicks off the 60th annual Grammy awards this evening, Sunday, January 28, at 7:30 pm EST/4:30 pm PST, which is set to run for three and a half hours (though, fair warning, these types of awards shows… Read More
How visual effects studio Mr. X helped create ‘The Shape of Water’ and its lovable merman via @TechCrunch
At first, I wasn’t impressed by The Shape of Water‘s visual effects. That might seem like a strange thing to say about a movie whose effects have been nominated for multiple awards (though not an Oscar, despite the film’s 13 nominations). What I mean is this: When I was watching, I never wondered about the technology behind the merman — the sometimes-monstrous… Read More
TUMBLR Celebrating the Grammys with @logic For more from… via #Instagram Blog
TUMBLR Celebrating the Grammys with @logic For more from Logic, follow @logic on Instagram. Tonight, the 60th annual Grammy Awards (@recordingacademy) are being presented at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tune in to our story to get ready for the show with rapper Logic (@logic), whose song “1-800-273-8255” has been nominated for two #Grammys.
The legacy of Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, who passed today at 91 via @TechCrunch
One of the great entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, passed away today. As Reuters pointed out in its short biography, Kamprad created a store — as a teenager mind you — that today has more than 400 locations, revenues of $62 billion, and a cultural ubiquity that very few consumer products could ever hope to attain. Having read the IKEA story… Read More
The insight-industrial complex via @TechCrunch
I don’t like tech conferences. I mean, of course I don’t, they’re not meant for people like me. I’m an introvert, so I find them exhausting, and am (presumably) less likely than an extrovert to meet interesting or contributory people. I read much faster than people talk, so they’re not a good way for me to learn things. But there’s more to my dislike than… Read More
Elon Musk’s Boring Co. flamethrower is real, $500 and up for pre-order via @TechCrunch
So that flamethrower that Elon Musk teased The Boring Company would start selling after it ran out of its 50,000 hats? Yeah, it’s real – and you can pre-order one now if you want need a ridiculous way to spend $500. Musk revealed the flamethrower on Saturday, after some digging tipped its existence late last week. The Boring Company Flamethrower is functional, too, as you can see… Read More
Sphero’s CEO discusses the company’s shift from Star Wars to schools via @TechCrunch
If hardware is hard, robotics are next to impossible. Even so, Sphero managed an impressive feat over its first five years, growing from a small startup with a glowing, smartphone-controlled ball into the maker of the most talked about piece of merchandise for cinema’s biggest blockbuster franchise. But last week, it became clear that not all was rosy with the company, as they cut 45 jobs. Read More
Move slow and break nothing via @TechCrunch
Facebook Messenger was down for me for about an hour earlier this week. My MacBook Pro randomly kernel panics overnight and restarts. Slack was down, and Github, and AWS. A little more than a year ago, Dyn went down, throwing the DNS layer of the internet into a tailspin. Practically every chip made by Intel has serious security flaws. Equifax leaked 143 million accounts. Tokyo-based… Read More
SpaceX sets historic first Falcon Heavy launch for February 6 via @TechCrunch
SpaceX has set February 6 as the target for its Falcon Heavy launch, the first ever test flight of the new, high-capacity rocket that the company is building to allow it to send nearly three times as much payload per mission into orbit. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted the target date on Saturday, adding that there will be plenty of viewing opportunity for the public from the nearby causeway.… Read More
Elon Musk’s new Tesla pay plan encourages him to shoot for the stars — but what if he misses? via @TechCrunch
Elon Musk, a charismatic entrepreneur, is nothing if not audacious. You’d expect the board of Tesla Industries to shape a CEO compensation plan that suits its outsized leader, and boy, did they ever. But a look at Tesla’s newly announced pay plan reveals many elements that should cause shareholders to raise their eyebrows and pause. Read More
Social media is giving us trypophobia via @TechCrunch
We aren’t so much seeing through a lens darkly when we log onto Facebook or peer at personalized search results on Google, we’re being individually strapped into a custom-moulded headset that’s continuously screening a bespoke movie — in the dark, in a single-seater theatre, without any windows or doors… Read More
These startup exits delivered the biggest bang for the buck via @TechCrunch
Big IPOs by the best-known brands tend to dominate attention in startup circles. But when it comes to delivering significant returns on invested capital, it’s often lower-profile companies that come out on top. We look at some of the top-returning large exits, first for tech and Internet companies, and then for life sciences. Read More
Gillmor Gang: Body Language via @TechCrunch
The Gillmor Gang — Doc Searls, Esteban Kolsky, Denis Pombriant, Keith Teare, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live Friday, January 26, 2018. G3: White Roses — Halley Suitt Tucker, Francine Hardaway, Maria Ogneva, and Tina Chase Gillmor. Recorded live Friday, January 26, 2018. @stevegillmor, @dsearls, @ekolsky, @kteare, @DenisPombriant Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor… Read More
CTRL+T podcast: Artificial intelligence may become a human rights issue via @TechCrunch
Welcome back to another glorious episode of CTRL+T. This week, Henry Pickavet and I explore Amazon’s new cashier-less stores that promise no waiting in line — except to get in — and Uber’s newest C-level executive hire. Later in the episode, I rage with Safiya Umoja Noble, a professor at the University of Southern California and author of “Algorithms of… Read More
Scout networks are latest VC salvo in war for founders via @TechCrunch
Founders are extraordinary busy, even for their own investors. A decade ago, they might have had relationships with a handful of VC partners as they scaled their businesses and raised additional rounds of capital. Today, it is hardly rare to see as many as fifteen or twenty investment firms and angels listed on the cap table following a seed round. If you add up all the partners at those funds,… Read More
The FCC looks back on a disastrous year through rose-tinted glasses via @TechCrunch
From the furore engulfing the FCC this last year you might think that the agency had accomplished little but appalling privacy advocates and dancing for its patrons, the telecoms. But as is often the case, small works were overshadowed by more controversial items. Ajit Pai has released a list of “accomplishments,” such as they are, reminding us both of the FCC’s hard work and… Read More
The Week on Instagram | 319 News Forbes: How To Build A… via #Instagram Blog
The Week on Instagram | 319 News Forbes: How To Build A Thriving Brand Presence On Instagram TechCrunch: Giphy builds transparent GIF library for Instagram Stories Business Insider: Instagram influencer posts doubled in 2017 Get Involved Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPsmile. View photos from the last project, #WHPwindows. Around the Community For @jenibrittonbauer, Flavor is Everything Finding New Limits in the Great Outdoors with @timmatsui Paper Plants Spring @scrinkl’s Remix of Our Logo to Life
Tech startups want to go inside your mouth via @TechCrunch
Dental care can be costly and hard to access, especially if you live in a rural community or a third-world country. In fact, the biggest barrier to dental care is cost. This is according to the American Dental Association, which says many rural areas lack access to dental professionals. Read More
Find Out How to Get Free Help This Tax Season via AARP Money
4 days ago … Take advantage of free preparation and advice from AARP, the IRS, volunteer organizations and some commercial tax advisors.
Crunch Report | MoviePass pulls out of 10 AMC theaters via @TechCrunch
Google experiments in local news, MoviePass pulls out of AMC theaters and the Kalanick-Benchmark lawsuit has officially been dismissed. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
Japanese exchange says hackers stole over $400M in cryptocurrency via @TechCrunch
A Japanese cryptocurrency exchange has claimed it lost more than $400 million in tokens following an alleged hack on its service. Coincheck said Friday that some 500 million tokens of NEM, worth around $400 million at the time of writing, according to comments at a press event attended by Bloomberg. NEM, the tenth largest cryptocurrency based on total coin market cap, is a distributed… Read More
What Does The New Facebook Algorithm Update Mean
On January 11, 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement set to rock how publishers utilize Facebook’s News Feed feature. While the changes are planned to take effect over the next year, they stand to make some serious changes for publishers. Publishers have a legitimate reason to be more than anxious and even upset. […]
What Does The New Facebook Algorithm Update Mean
On January 11, 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement set to rock how publishers utilize Facebook’s News Feed feature. While the changes are planned to take effect over the next year, they stand to make some serious changes for publishers. Publishers have a legitimate reason to be more than anxious and even upset. […]
Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPsmile Weekend Hashtag Project is a… via #Instagram Blog
Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPsmile Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a post every week announcing the latest project. Say “cheese!” This weekend, the goal is to take photos and videos of smiles, as in this featured photo by Jeremy Cohen (@jerm_cohen). Here are some tips to get you started: Capture moments of pure joy, like a selfie after you’ve finished a craft or a teammate after they scored the winning soccer goal. Think about the different smiles you see in your everyday life, from Mona Lisa smirks to tooth-bearing grins. Take portraits of loved ones and strangers alike whose smiles…
HQ Trivia gets rid of the $20 minimum to collect your winnings via @TechCrunch
HQ Trivia, the number one trivia app in the Apple App Store, has removed the minimum $20 balance to cash out. The company made the announcement earlier today on Twitter. Because the prize money is divvied out among sometimes hundreds of winners, people don’t often walk away with much money from a single game. Up until now, that has meant people were left with less than $20 in their… Read More
Madden NFL 18 esports are coming to Disney XD and ESPN via @TechCrunch
With the Superbowl just a few weeks away, the world of football has some relatively unexpected news. Madden NFL, one of the most popular gaming titles in the world, is going even more mainstream. ESPN2 and Disney XD will broadcast Madden e-sports tournaments thanks to a new deal inked by EA, Disney, and the NFL. Madden NFL 18 is one of the top ten best selling games in the last 12 months, and… Read More
Twitter now lets advertisers sponsor publishers’ Moments via @TechCrunch
Twitter has added a new advertising product to its lineup. The company announced today it’s offering brands the ability to sponsor Moments – the “Stories”-like feature that includes a series of tweets, often including images, GIFs and video – from select publishers. The first Sponsored Moment is already live, Twitter says, and the feature is now broadly available… Read More
Perfectionism Is Increasing, and That’s Not Good News
Juj Winn/Getty Images According to the World Health Organization, a record number of young people worldwide are suffering from serious depression or anxiety disorders. In some sections of society, there is a tendency to dismiss this trend as the product of an over-indulged, over-entitled, and over-sensitive “snowflake generation.” To the contrary, there is growing evidence […]
Chasing a Dream with @davizinhoradical To learn more about… via #Instagram Blog
Chasing a Dream with @davizinhoradical To learn more about Davi, follow @davizinhoradical on Instagram. Out on the waves is where adaptive surfing champion Davi Teixeira de Aguiar (@davizinhoradical) feels the most free. “I started falling in love with the sport and competing in world championships,” says the surfer Rio de Janeiro who was born with amniotic band syndrome, a rare condition caused in utero. He has big goals for this year, including becoming a world champion and being a part of a Brazilian Paralympic team. “Everybody should chase the dreams with the biggest amount of faith, determination and will, because in this really short life, we have to give our best and motivate the others,” he says.
Facebook lets you tip game livestreamers $3+ via @TechCrunch
Facebook Live is launching monetization for video gameplay streamers, allowing users to tip creators a minimum of $3 via the desktop site. The amount Facebook will keep from these tips that it calls “fan support” isn’t clear yet. And right now, the contributor of the tips doesn’t get any special call-out or privileges, though Facebook tells me its considering… Read More
Introducing Gaming Creator Pilot Program via Facebook Developers Blog
First revision to publish
Strix Leviathan wants to build a better enterprise platform for crypto trading via @TechCrunch
We are still in the early days of cryptocurrency — or at least that’s what all of the startups that are jumping into this space NOW hope. And when there’s a gold rush, there’s plenty of money to be made by selling shovels (or ASIC rigs) to miners. It’s no surprise, then, that we are now seeing the emergence of a new class of B2B startups in crypto, too. Read More
MoviePass pulls out of AMC’s top theaters as negotiations fail via @TechCrunch
MoviePass, the monthly subscription service for seeing movies in theaters, has pulled out of 10 high-traffic AMC theaters, as a negotiating tactic with the theater chain. AMC, so far, has shown no interest in working with MoviePass or sharing revenue with the service for the foot traffic it brings to theaters. For instance, in a call with analysts in last year, AMC’s chief executive… Read More
Up close with Apple’s HomePod via @TechCrunch
The HomePod is much smaller than I remember. I hadn’t seen one since June, when Apple announced the speaker back at WWDC. Apple pushed back its projected December launch date because the company needed, “a little more time.” That time, it seems, has finally arrived, and I spent a bit more time with the smart speaker this week. Read More
Original Content podcast: We revisit the crime scene of Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ via @TechCrunch
Ozark launched on Netflix back in July — before we’d even started Original Content, our podcast covering the latest streaming news, shows and movies. However, TechCrunch’s Jordan Crook was a big fan, so at her urging, we all checked out the series, which stars Jason Bateman as a financial advisor who moves to the Ozarks with his family (including his wife, played by Laura… Read More
Hoodline is trying to fix local news deserts with a new automated news wire via @TechCrunch
Local news is kind of a mess. While the global platforms have been exploding, making it easier to follow events at a world wide level, local news sources have atrophied. Those two things are, obviously, intertwined. As the news moved online the revenue sources that powered local papers and news stations has taken a hit, resulting in smaller news rooms and outlet closures. What this adds up to… Read More
The Art of Strategy is About Knowing When to Say No
Hayon Thapaliya When HubSpot was in its earliest stages, I used to say yes to almost anything: new features, new initiatives, new ideas. It empowered my team to move fast and get things done. I prided myself on being a “yes” man. We were working hard on getting product-market fit right, so anything we could […]
Why the Pessimists Are Wrong About the New U.S. Tax Law
Ilka & Franz/Getty Images The new U.S. tax law is surprisingly unpopular. According to a New York Times survey, only one-third of Americans think their taxes will go down in 2018 as a result of the new tax law. These pessimists are wrong. Almost every household will pay less in tax. And over time the […]
Report: More startup lawyers are accepting cryptocurrencies as payment via @TechCrunch
A growing number of law firms working with startups are beginning to accept their payment in cryptocurrencies, according to a new report by the trade-focused outlet Law.com. The lawyers suggest that they increasingly have no choice. In order to land the growing number of businesses launched by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, they have to show that they’re invested in what their clients… Read More
What Two Drastically Different Leaders Taught Me About Building Trust
Storytelling I recently interviewed two leaders who have each influenced hundreds of millions of people. Over the course of two days, I spoke to Evernote CEO and former Google[x] executive Chris O’Neill, and General Stanley McChrystal, founder of McChrystal Group and the commander of U.S. Forces in the Middle East under Bush and Obama. O’Neill […]
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Clicks: The Importance of Images and Demo Videos
Not many people remember the days before television or computers. Imagine a family gathering around the radio to listen to the latest “soap opera.” (Yes,…
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Clicks: The Importance of Images and Demo Videos
Not many people remember the days before television or computers. Imagine a family gathering around the radio to listen to the latest “soap opera.” (Yes,…
Microsoft’s Mixer follows Twitch with addition of direct tipping and game sales via @TechCrunch
Mixer, Microsoft’s answer to Twitch, will soon allow its streamers to start selling games and other downloadable content via its service, and will introduce tipping, the company announced this week in its year-end wrap-up. The game sales will be made possible through the new Mixer Direct Purchase program, which is now in testing ahead of a broad, public launch, Microsoft says. Initially,… Read More
Intel does its best to tamp down impact of Spectre and Meltdown in earnings call via @TechCrunch
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was delighted to report that Intel had a record year in the company’s quarterly earnings call with analysts yesterday. Of course, he also had to acknowledge the Spectre and Meltdown chip vulnerabilities revealed earlier this month in perhaps the ultimate good news-bad news moment. Like any good salesman, Krzanich led with the good news. “2017 was a record… Read More
Ford files a patent for an autonomous police car via @TechCrunch
If the fourth season of Black Mirror didn’t throughly freak you out, buckle up! Ford has filed for a patent on an autonomous police car. While patent filings don’t always come to fruition, the mere fact that this idea is in development is mildly unnerving. The patent, first spotted by Motor1, describes an autonomous police vehicle that would be able to detect infractions performed… Read More
How AI Could Help the Public Sector
omair khan/unsplash Last Thanksgiving, I watched my father-in-law evaluate over one hundred exams for the high school class he teaches on the U.S. government. They were mostly short answer questions: matching different provisions of the U.S. Constitution, and explaining the contents of the Bill of Rights. The grading was tedious and time consuming, and took […]
Google experiments in local news with an app called Bulletin via @TechCrunch
Google is testing a tool called Bulletin that would allow anyone to publish local news stories and events, according to a report from Slate, which Google later confirmed. The company described Bulletin as a way for others to communicate information of local interest, like bookstore readings, high school sporting events, or information about street closures, for example. Slate found a website… Read More
Poptheatr is a bucket you put on your head so you can watch movies via @TechCrunch
Are you afraid of human contact? Do you like movies? Do you like buckets? Sister, have I got a product for you. Poptheatr is a bucket that you put over your head. You put your telecommunications device on top of the bucket and then look up at movies, television, and pornography while you lie comfortably on your back. This keeps your hands free to manage your video playback using an included… Read More
Furniture maker Floyd raises $5.6m to expand product line, move into new Detroit HQ via @TechCrunch
Detroit-based Floyd has announced a $5.6 million Series A funding round that will let the company expand its operations and release new products. The company has been in Detroit for the last five years and they’re dedicated to creating better furniture and a better experience around furniture. This injection of cash should go a long way in helping that mission. Floyd launched its… Read More
Equity podcast: Netflix soars, Twitter loses a big bird, Lyft isn’t woke and more ICOs via @TechCrunch
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we once again had the full crew on set: Matthew Lynley, Katie Roof, and myself. And even better, we were joined by Sarah Tavel from Benchmark, who helped us unspool a topic or three. And topics we had. This being earnings season, we had little choice… Read More
The Mental Benefits of Vacationing Somewhere New
joshua sortino/Unsplash Coming off the winter holidays, most of us start dreaming of, if not planning, our spring and summer getaways. It’s tempting, of course, to default to the same vacation each year: your family’s cabin, a familiar beach town, your favorite city, that resort the kids loved. We often choose to spend our hard-earned dollars for comfort, […]
How to Use Instagram Insights
It’s no secret that we love data.
How to Use Instagram Insights
It’s no secret that we love data. Data helps you understand your audience. It tells you how they do things, what they prefer, and who they are. And when it comes to social media, our love for data doesn’t fade. That’s why we love analytics and insights. They help you measure the impact of your marketing […]
How to Turn Off Instagram's New "Last Online" Feature
Instagram scrollers beware: your favorite photo-sharing app recently released a new feature that shows friends when you were last online. Similar to the activity status…
How to Turn Off Instagram's New “Last Online” Feature
Instagram scrollers beware: your favorite photo-sharing app recently released a new feature that shows friends when you were last online. Similar to the activity status found on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, Instagram’s new setting is now turned on by default in your account. Only people you follow or have recently DM’d will be able to […]
Heetch raises another $20 million to compete head-to-head with Uber in Europe via @TechCrunch
French startup Heetch has an ambitious goal. The company wants to become the second ride-sharing service in France and in the other European countries where it operates. The startup just raised $20 million from Félix Capital, Via ID, Alven Capital and Idinvest Partners. In order to stay competitive with Uber, Heetch is a bit cheaper than a normal UberX ride. But drivers still get paid more… Read More
Set Up Ground Rules for Your Next Difficult Conversation
Difficult conversations are challenging in part because you don’t know if or when the discussion will go off the rails. To make sure things go smoothly, agree on a code of conduct with your counterpart beforehand. At a minimum, suggest no interrupting, no yelling, and no personal attacks. (Those are basics, yes, but it’s helpful […]
Crunch Report | CNN shuts down Casey Neistat’s Beme via @TechCrunch
Robinhood is going to let you buy and sell crypto soon, CNN shuts down Casey Neistat’s Beme and Sotheby’s acquires Thread Genius. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
Annual smartphone shipments in China declined for the first time in 2017 via @TechCrunch
China’s smartphone market is no longer growing after it witnessed its first annual decline in shipments during 2017, according to new figures released today. The writing was on the wall with a market decline first noted in Q2 but this is the first time a drop has been sustained over a twelve-month period. That’s according to data from analyst firm Canalys which reported that… Read More
Walmart and Rakuten partner on grocery delivery in Japan, Kobo e-books and audiobooks in U.S. via @TechCrunch
Walmart today announced a major expansion in terms of its global e-commerce presence: the retailer is entering a strategic partnership with Tokyo-based Rakuten, which will see the companies collaborating on the launch of a new online grocery service in Japan, and the sale of e-readers, audiobooks and e-books in the U.S., via Rakuten-owned Kobo. The strategic alliance is one that has two of… Read More
Research into full-body tracking at Facebook hints at broader AR/VR ambitions via @TechCrunch
It’s no secret that Facebook is big on both AR and VR, both for entertainment and communication purposes. And new research suggests it is working on AR applications that could not just modify or replace your face, but your entire body. Read More
‘La La Land’ director Damien Chazelle is making a show for Apple via @TechCrunch
Damien Chazelle, who won last year’s Best Director Oscar for his work on La La Land, will be making a TV show for Apple. The New York Times reports that Chazelle will be writing and directing every episode of the first season, and that the series will be produced by MRC, the studio that’s making House of Cards for Netflix. Nothing else — not the title, the subject, or the… Read More
Shadow launches its cloud computer for gamers in the UK via @TechCrunch
French startup Blade, the company behind Shadow, is launching its cloud gaming service in the U.K. Just like in the U.S., the company is starting with a pre-sale before accepting all customers. For a flat monthly fee, you can rent a gaming PC in a data center near you. You can then access this beefy computer using desktop and mobile apps as well as the company’s own little box. Read More
Trueface.ai integrates with IFTT as the latest test-case of its facial recognition tech via @TechCrunch
Trueface.ai, the stealthy facial recognition startup that’s backed by 500 Startups and a slew of angel investors, is integrating with IFTT to allow developers to start playing around with its technology. Chief executive, Shaun Moore tells me that the integration with IFTT represents the first time that facial recognition technology will be made available to the masses without the need… Read More
Ubiquitous AR to dominate focused VR by 2022 via @TechCrunch
AR (mobile AR, smartglasses) could approach three and a half billion installed base and $85 billion to $90 billion revenue within five years. At the same time, VR (mobile, standalone, console, PC) might deliver 50 million to 60 million installed base and $10 billion to $15 billion. That’s a pretty big difference, and it all has to do with AR’s ubiquity and VR’s focus. Read More
Occipital closes $12M more as it strives to build a ‘perception engine’ via @TechCrunch
Sensors are growing more and more sophisticated as we build machines that can interpret the world with more precision than we can. Occipital is aiming to do this as effectively and cheaply as possible as it morphs its 3D scanning technology into a product that can do much, much more. The company has closed $12 million of what it plans to be a $15 million Series C. Read More