Secrets of Netflix's Success

What does it take to cultivate a culture of innovation and reinvention at work? In a conversation with TED chief Chris Anderson, Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings describes his journey from math teacher to honesty-seeking executive. He identifies three key elements of a successful work culture, sharing how to design a company around inspiration, creativity and candor.

2_LAW

Justice Dept. Targets Google’s Search Dominance

The Justice Department’s impending lawsuit against Google has narrowed to focus on the company’s power over internet search, reports the New York Times. The decision could set off a cascade of separate lawsuits from states in ensuing weeks over the Silicon Valley giant’s dominance in other business segments.

3_E-COMMERCE

How the Pandemic Broke Online Shopping

Before Covid struck, the internet was full of a near-infinite overabundance of stuff available for purchase and rapid delivery. But the coronavirus has eaten away at the entire system by which things are bought and sold in America, revealing a brittle supply chain, The Atlantic reports.

4_SOFTWARE

PDF Revamped to Work Better on Phones

Adobe has added a new "Liquid PDF" feature to the iOS and Android versions of Acrobat Reader that makes documents more readable on mobile devices, Axios reports. The feature taps artificial intelligence to analyze PDF documents, identifying headers, text and images.

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5_PRIVACY

The High Cost of ‘Free’ Website Platforms

An array of free website-building tools, many offered by ad-tech and ad-funded companies, has led to a dizzying number of trackers loading on users’ browsers, even when they visit sites where privacy would seem paramount, an investigation by The Markup has found. Some load without the website operators’ explicit knowledge—or disclosure to users.

6_MARKETING

Don't Fall into the Jargon Trap

Marketers—especially those at tech companies—love to use jargon. But researchers at Ohio State University have found that specialized language alienates consumers even when they are given definitions for all the terms, Contently reports. The lead author of the study explains why: “The use of difficult, specialized words (is) a signal that tells people that they don’t belong."

7_GEAR

An Early Peak at Google’s 2020 Hardware Event

Google's big yearly hardware event is scheduled for Sept. 30, and as usual, the company has had a hard time keeping new products under wraps before the event. Ars Technica offers a roundup of all the leaks so far, including the Pixel 5 (and Pixel 4a 5G), the "Nest Audio" smart speaker, a new Chromecast with a remote and Android TV, and maybe even a new Nest thermostat.

8_DESIGN

Explaining UX Design to a Kid

Have you ever tried explaining UX design to someone who has absolutely no idea what that means? A few weeks ago, Dribbble challenged its design community to say how they’d explain user experience design to a 5-year-old. “We got all sorts of creative answers—both spot-on and down-right hilarious ones.”

9_SOCIAL MEDIA

A Management Tool for Facebook and Instagram Arrives

Facebook has launched yet another management platform, called Facebook Business Suite, which is focused on making it easier for small businesses to manage their Facebook and Instagram presences from a single platform. It will be available on desktop or in a new mobile app, reports Social Media Today.

10_SAY WHAT?

Another Defeat for Humans

Curly, a robot powered by artificial intelligence, has beaten teams of expert human athletes in curling matches, TechCrunch reports. Researchers from Korea University in Seoul and the Berlin Institute of Technology devised Curly as a way to test “the interaction between an AI system and a highly nonstationary real-world scenario.”