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☆ Apple wants to make more smart home devices — which may not be dumb
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In the meantime we may see something decidedly less ambitious out of Apple: New iPads. It would be like a more portable Facebook portal. And while I've never heard of the Google Pixel, I had heard of the Facebook Portal, and... Facebook doesn't sell those anymore. On the other hand: My colleague Katie Notopoulos loved the Facebook Portal. But you never know: I spent decades not wearing a watch, and now if I forget to put on my Apple Watch before I leave the house I get anxious about losing my steps for the day.

Persons: —, Tim Cook, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Gurman, Apple, hasn't, I've, Katie Notopoulos Organizations: Apple, Service, Google, Facebook, Apple Watch

☆ I demand a do-over on the East Coast earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewAt approximately 10:24 a.m. Eastern, I exited the elevators of the Business Insider offices in lower Manhattan, walked through the lobby, and into the nearly empty office. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. I opened X and saw a string of tweets of people who had just experienced a rare East Coast earthquake. As a lifelong East Coast resident, I've never gotten to feel a real earthquake, and I am absolutely furious that I missed this. I propose we get a new earthquake next weekend, at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Persons: —, Let's, I've Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Manhattan, New Jersey, East Coast, New York, East Rutherford , New Jersey

☆ Maybe you hate TikTok shopping posts. Most people don't care.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Related storiesBut TikTok says it doesn't care what Katie or anyone else has to say — it's going to keep pushing shopping posts. AdvertisementMarni Levine, who runs TikTok's US shopping operations, says she's "not considering" pulling back on shopping posts. On the other hand: Maybe most TikTok users are totally fine with shopping stuff. It's not that users aren't noticing the shopping posts — 62.5% noticed an uptick in the posts over the last six months. And as far as the other shopping posts I'm not interested in, which is basically all of them?

Persons: —, Katie Notopoulos, TikTok, Katie, Marni Levine, I've, John, Hank Green Organizations: Service, Business Locations: TikTok

☆ I Got My Twitter Blue Check Back and I Don't Know What to Do
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some users have been re-verified on X for being a "notable" account and given a blue check. During this time, the blue check has come to mean something very specific: someone who actually pays for X. (OK, I'm sure that not ALL people who were paying for a blue check fall into those categories. AdvertisementThere hasn't been an official explanation of why a bunch of formerly verified people just got a free blue check. I think the only reasonable answer here is to hide the blue check and enjoy the free features.

Persons: —, It's, haven't, Elon Musk, I've, Elon Organizations: Service, Twitter, Elon

☆ Marissa Mayer's app cofounder just quit — days after their Shine photo-sharing app debuted
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Marissa Mayer's company just launched Shine, a photo-sharing app. Enrique Munoz Torres, the cofounder, just quit the company. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementWhen former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer tweeted about the launch of her new app, some people roasted Shine's outdated aesthetic and questioned the purpose of the photo-sharing app. Shine was the third app launched by Sunshine, a company Mayer co-founded with Enrique Munoz Torres, who had also worked with Mayer at Yahoo and Google before that.

Persons: Marissa Mayer's, Enrique Munoz Torres, —, Marissa Mayer, Mayer Organizations: Service, Sunshine, Yahoo, Google, Business

☆ Trader Joe's is accused of ripping off smaller food brands
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In return for private labeling her product for Trader Joe's, she was told she would receive a modest finder's fee based on the co-packer's profits—not a percentage of Trader Joe's sales. After sharing samples with the co-packer and sending a counteroffer asking for greater transparency, she never heard back from him or from Trader Joe's. The small brand owners said that Trader Joe's tactics were unlike Costco or other big chains that do private labeling. Trader Joe's did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. AdvertisementI love shopping at Trader Joe's not only because it has good prices on staples, but fun new items to try.

Persons: —, Joe's, Joe, Stacy's pita, pita, Tribe, Abraham, packer Organizations: Service, Joe's, Costco, Business Locations: Brooklyn Delhi, California, Zara

☆ Marissa Mayer has a new photo-sharing app. It looks like it's from 2009, but boomers might love it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marissa Mayer, former Yahoo CEO, just announced a new app from her latest venture. It's called Shine, and it's a photo-sharing app where multiple people can upload photos to a shared album. Are you really trying to tell me that in the year 2024, people can't figure out how to share photos with each other? Shine, the new photo-sharing app ShineYes, there are some other things that could do this. Maybe, just maybe, Marissa Mayer will have another success on her hands here.

Persons: Marissa Mayer, It's, Mayer, —, Aunt Carol Organizations: Service, Yahoo, TechCrunch, Business, DOJ, Flickr, Google

☆ Mark Zuckerberg as a boss terrifies me after seeing an email he sent: 'You should figure out how to do this.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A lawsuit alleging Meta snooped on rival apps is eye-opening — but I'm stuck on how scary Mark Zuckerberg seems over email. "You should figure out how to do this," Mark Zuckerberg told one of his employees. That kind of email from your boss is absolutely spine-tingling. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Meta snooped, I'm, Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg, — Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Facebook Marketplace is perfect. Except for this one thing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewI feel confident few will disagree that Facebook Marketplace is the best part of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg's Marketplace is so successful at connecting people with vintage lamps that even Gen Z is sticking around Facebook just to use Marketplace. To edit the field to add a new custom message, go into Marketplace and click on the little person icon at the top corner. Tap into the profile icon in Facebook Marketplace, and then all the way down to Settings. On Marketplace, there's something nice and quaint about buying and selling used stuff from your neighbors.

Persons: —, It's, I've, Sellers, you've, I'm, chatbots Organizations: Service, Facebook, Business

Childcare costs are skyrocketing, forcing families to move across the US. But there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account?

Organizations: Business

☆ Nature is healing: the Facebook Poke is back
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meta says Pokes surged after it quietly resurfaced the Poke button. Technically, the Poke never fully left, it was just hidden deep, deep, deep within a bunch of settings that you'd need a pith helmet and satellite phone to reach. (Or you'd need to type "Poke" into the Facebook search bar or somehow know the Poke page's exact URL). Meta said it made a design tweak at the start of 2024 that made the Poke button slightly more visible. The Poke is a perfect low-effort way to connect with a Facebook friend you haven't seen in a while.

Persons: Meta, —, Z, Facebook Meta Meta, millennials, Poke, haven't Organizations: Service, Facebook Meta, Facebook

☆ How Instagram got its mojo back
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementSensor Tower shows that Instagram downloads were up 20% in 2023 compared to 2022, in contrast to TikTok's 4% year-over-year growth. Instagram beat TikTok not only in growth, but sheer volume of app downloads in 2023: Instagram had 767 million while TikTok had 733 million. One reason is Threads, the newly launched Twitter competitor, which requires an Instagram account and may have prompted some people who were curious about Threads to re-download Instagram. AdvertisementTikTok is getting oldAt the same time, TikTok, once the main existential crisis for Instagram (well, probably still is), is faltering. In 2014, that same age group (which we are trying not to refer to as middle-aged) accounted for only about 20% of Instagram users.

Persons: Instagram, TikTok, —, I've, aren't, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Adam Mosseri, Instagram hasn't, Ryan Broderick, Pew, You'd, let's, ByteDance, I'm Organizations: Service, The New York Times, Meta, The, Schools, Boston Globe Locations: Europe, Valencia, Massachusetts

☆ How Gen Zers Are Avoiding Layoffs in the Tech Industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Bethany Johnson | Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Nearly 50,000 tech workers have lost their jobs since the start of this year. Now, Gen Zers are looking at a different sector for job security. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account?

Persons: Zers Organizations: Business

☆ The Princess of Wales is in the spotlight — for not being in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In today's big story, we're looking at the curious case of Kate Middleton's edited photo that's got the internet buzzing. The big storyPrincess problemsChris Jackson/Getty Images; Ian Vogler - WPA Pool/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BIA picture is worth a thousand words. AdvertisementBut this time around, it's the Princess of Wales in the spotlight… for not being in the spotlight. She explained away the issue by saying she does "occasionally experiment with editing," but plenty of people weren't buying it .

Persons: —, we've, Kate Middleton's, that's, Chris Jackson, Ian Vogler, Chelsea Jia Feng, hasn't, Prince Andrew , Duke, York, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Duke, Duchess of Sussex, Wales, Kate, Insider's Kwan Wei Kevin Tan, Mikhaila Friel, Kensington, Kensington Palance, Patrick Witty's, Patrick, Kate Middleton, King Charles, Mikhaila, Easter, Katie Notopoulos, BI's Hasan Chowdhury, Beatrice Nolan, Chris Gash, Stephanie Pomboy, Max, Aravind Srinivas, Nvidia's, Artur Debat, Eric Boyd, Joe Biden, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Royals, JPMorgan, Anadolu, Apple, Meta, New York Times, Tesla, Microsoft, OpenAI, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Locations: London, Kensington, British, China, Georgia , Mississippi, Washington, New York

☆ Kate Middleton's photo editing just made everything worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The AP and other photo agencies pulled a photo of Kate Middleton and her children for being clearly edited. The palace's Twitter posted an apology, seemingly from Kate, admitting to "occasionally experiment with editing." AdvertisementI've never endured public speculation that I was secretly working at a low-budget Willy Wonka theme house, but I can relate to one thing Kate Middleton is experiencing. C — The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024(Quick recap: Kate Middleton has been out of the public eye since late December, recovering from an unspecified abdominal surgery. AdvertisementAfter the photo's editing was exposed, the weird and cryptic half-apology for "causing confusion" and implying that Kate is a photography hobbyist (???)

Persons: Kate Middleton, —, I've, Willy Wonka, Princess of Wales, Kate, Kim Kardashian, True, Stormi, Kardashian, Kylie Jenner didn't, Kim Organizations: Twitter, Service, AP Locations: Kensington, Chicago

☆ We should make the Monday after daylight-saving time a federal holiday
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That is why I propose a common-sense, everyone-wins idea: Let's make the Monday after daylight-saving time starts a federal holiday. Many of our 11 federal holidays were added in recent history: Memorial Day in 1968 (and observed since 1971). And yes, federal holidays come with an economic cost; government workers still get paid for that day. Everyone knows that's the worst of all the federal holidays, in the middle of dreary February. The best Presidents Day has to offer in terms of cultural impact is that it's when mattresses go on sale.

Persons: Let's, —, Juneteenth, You've, Martin Luther King Jr, That's Organizations: Service, Labor, Daylight Locations: —, Caribbean, bam, East Coast, Washington

☆ The seaglass collecting community is being torn apart by online drama
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The Boston Globe reports on seaglass enthusiasts who are having online drama in Facebook groups. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementDid you know there is an active online community of people who collect seaglass as a hobby? That community, which has several large Facebook Groups dedicated to the hobby, is currently in the midst of a serious schism.

Persons: — Organizations: Boston Globe, Facebook, Service, Facebook Groups, Business Locations: New England

☆ Here's what it looks like when you hit the vape in an Apple Vision Pro
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

You can't get away with secretly hitting the vape during a FaceTime call using an Apple Vision Pro. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementSo you've just purchased your $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, and you're ready to sit back, relax, and do some spatial computing while clandestinely hitting the vape. The Apple Vision Pro's "Personas" is the digital avatar it makes of your face for FaceTime video calls while you're jacked into the headset. (An update to the Personas feature made them look slightly better.)

Persons: that's, — Organizations: Apple Vision, Service, Apple, Business

☆ Millennials rejoice: Wedge sandals are back!
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chloé's runway show this week featured models (and celebs) in high-heeled wedge sandals. It wasn't the clothes on the models but rather the image of the celebrities sitting in the front row — all wearing big, chunky platform wedge sandals. Technically, Vogue already declared "wedge sandals are back" last April. AdvertisementElder millennials have suffered the indignity of seeing some of the trends of their youth come back — low-rise jeans, trucker hats. But wedge sandals?

Persons: —, Chemena Kamali, millennials, Vanessa Friedman Organizations: Service, Vogue France, Vogue, New York Times Locations: Paris

☆ It's not just you. Eggshells really are chipping more.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

There's actually a reason — and it has to do with the same avian flu outbreak that made eggs so expensive last year. AdvertisementLast year, egg prices went through the roof, with prices more than doubling in certain US states. Because so many chickens died from the flu, egg producers had to adapt. The good news is that egg prices have normalized, thankfully (although they're still more expensive than 2019). That means the worst of the flu outbreak is over, and production is back up.

Persons: —, I've, I'd, It's, they'd, Sheila Purdum, Purdum, it's, Kevin Harvatine, they're Organizations: Service, University of Nebraska, Influenza, of Animal Science, Penn State University Locations: Lincoln

☆ A bizarre Willy Wonka-themed children's event became a viral disaster. Here's everything that went wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A disastrous Willy Wonka-themed children's event went viral for all the wrong reasons. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Instead, the bizarre Willy Wonka-themed event in Glasgow, Scotland, featured a sparse warehouse filled with low-budget props and drew comparisons with the similarly ill-fated Fyre Festival. Videos of customers confronting event organizers have since been shared on social media. "I ended up playing Willy Wonka for three and a half hours straight," Paul Connell told The Independent.

Persons: Willy Wonka, Here's, —, Stuart Sinclair, Sinclair, Paul Connell, Wonka, Connell, BI's Katie Notopoulos Organizations: Service, Illuminati, The Daily Mail Locations: Glasgow, Scotland

☆ 'The Unknown' is the best part of the disastrous Willy Wonka house
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A crummy "Willy Wonka experience" event in Glasgow went viral for how laughable and disappointing it was. Amid the cheap decorations and actors in cheap costumes, one thing stood out: "The Unknown," a fake villain they made up. An evil candymaker, this horrifying silver-faced ghoul is now, I declare, officially Wonka canon. And it is for this reason that we must now accept that "The Unknown" is officially part of the Willy Wonka canon. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Willy Wonka, —, it's, Charlie Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Glasgow

☆ Tumblr is selling user data to train AI. Things could get weird.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read preview404 Media reported that Auttomatic, the company that owns WordPress and Tumblr, is making a deal to provide data from their sites to help train OpenAI and Midjourney. The blog post says that Auttomatic's sites currently block AI crawlers, but when they start sharing data with the AI companies, they'll offer an opt-out from doing so in the future. Reddit has a $60 million-a-year deal to license its data to Google to train its AI. This can be controversial for some users, who feel uncomfortable about their content — on Tumblr, this is often personal writing or photography or art — being used to train AI. When platforms with user-generated content are selling that content to train AI, it feels, well, understandably weird.

Persons: —, Auttomatic, Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, Sherlock, Watson, Reddit, I'm, Midjourney Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Facebook

☆ Some shoppers are spending big money on 'craft ice' fridges and high-tech washing machines, Lowe's exec says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

While most shoppers are more budget-conscious, Lowe's execs say some are spending big on appliances. One smart LG fridge that makes "craft ice" is a "top-seller despite retailing for over $2,500," one exec said. This fridge makes really nice ice. Lowe'sIndeed, one model in the LG line that makes the fancy ice has a list price of a whopping $4,299. "They're not afraid to invest in, for example, the GE Profile all-in-one washer-dryer combination that retails for over $2,500," Boltz said.

Persons: —, Lowe's, Marvin Ellison, They're, Bill Boltz, that's, Boltz, Katie Notopoulos, Notopoulos Organizations: LG, Service, Home Depot, GE, Wall Street Journal

☆ Meet the DIPS parents: Double Income, Public School. They've got it better than the POLKs, or Parents of Little Kids.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But the double whammy of housing plus childcare costs doesn't hit all parents — just parents of very young kids. However, after-school programs or an afternoon babysitter are typically a fraction of the cost of full-time day care.) I propose we call them: DIPS, or Double Income, Public School. For example, Massachusetts has the highest average childcare costs, where day care for an infant is $24,472. I'm stuck in between — one kid in public school and a younger one still in day care.

Persons: —, Alcynna Lloyd, Lloyd, Zillow, it's, I'm, Rich, Stanley, you'll, they'll, POLK Organizations: Service, Business, Public School, Kids, Nationwide Locations: Los Angeles, San Diego, California, Massachusetts, Iowa, In Massachusetts

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