Elon Musk this week agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion. If the mercurial entrepreneur actually follows through on his plan to turn the platform into a free-speech free-for-all, he may have a tough time getting a reasonable return on his massive investment, James Surowiecki writes on Fast Company. Peter Kafka agrees, but he writes on Recode that Musk does have a few options for making Twitter more profitable.
Brokerage app company Robinhood has laid off "approximately 9 percent" of its global staff, according to a blog post by CEO Vlad Tenev. He said "rapid headcount growth has led to some duplicate roles and job functions, and more layers and complexity than are optimal." Robinhood is slated to report its first-quarter earnings today.
In August 2016, Snapchat seemed destined for decline. Facebook that month cloned Stories—Snapchat’s most beloved feature. After a few tough years, however, Snapchat is booming now, with 332 million daily users, up 18 percent from last year. Big Technology looks at the factors behind Snapchat's surprising growth.
Video meetings dampen brainstorming because we are so hyper-focused on the face in that box that we don’t let our eyes and minds wander as much, AP reports. Researchers watched 745 pairs of engineers in five different countries try to come up with creative ideas for using a Frisbee or bubble wrap.
SPONSORED
.jpg)
What makes a design “bad”? And how can designers learn to recognize and avoid those mistakes? Writing on Dribbble, Renee Fleck lists 10 common examples of bad design and explains how to fix them.
Estonia's move to digital citizenship and government systems has eliminated a lot of bureaucracy. And it saves the Baltic nation a lot of money—an estimated 2 percent of its GDP, CNet reports. None of it would work, however, without one key component: trust.
Google Docs is set to receive an update that will help users locate tools and features more easily, especially those buried deep in menus. TechRadar reports. The cloud-based word processor will benefit from three main changes: shortened menus for easier navigation, a reorganization of items within those menus, and more prominent icons to help users find them quicker.
Apple this week launched the Self Service Repair Store. The new store enables repairs of iPhone SE, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 components, including display, battery and camera replacements, 9to5Mac reports. Apple said it will launch Mac self-service repairs later this year.
Art that uses technology such as augmented and virtual reality to merge the physical world with digital experience is booming in popularity, the Guardian reports. Some critics say, however, that the driving force behind immersive art installations like "Beyond Van Gogh,” which recently completed its Rochester stay, is not innovation or creativity but money, using a financial model developed by circuses and theme parks.
Engineers at MIT have developed a paper-thin loudspeaker that can turn any surface into an active audio source. The thin-film loudspeaker produces sound with minimal distortion while using a fraction of the energy required by a traditional loudspeaker.