DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Elon Musk says he’s found a new CEO for Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk on Thursday said he’s found a new CEO to take over Twitter, months after he first promised to step back from the role. The new CEO will assume the role at Twitter Inc., which recently changed its name to X Corp., in the coming weeks, Musk said. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Musk said in a tweet. Musk has faced criticism for a series of policy changes at Twitter, which often came without clear justification and raised concerns about the impact on Twitter’s users. Even as Musk prepares to step back from the CEO role, he will likely maintain significant control over the future direction of the company.

☆ Despite TikTok ban threat, influencers are flocking to a new app from its parent company
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

However, they denied rumors that ByteDance had paid creators to promote the new app on TikTok. Still, the app lacks some standard social platform features such as messaging and the option to tag other users in posts. Lemon8’s userbase remains a far cry from the 150 million users TikTok says it has in the United States. By launching a new app even with TikTok in the spotlight, “ByteDance clearly doesn’t feel like they’re at risk,” Lewis said. Even if TikTok and Lemon8 were banned, Cruz said, “I already have a following on all the other platforms.”

The company’s revenue was slightly better than what Wall Street had expected, but it nonetheless represented the second consecutive quarterly revenue decline for the iPhone maker. Despite the continued revenue decline, there were bright spots in the report. Apple also posted an all-time services sales record of $20.9 billion for the quarter. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple that is less cyclical than hardware sales. Apple’s latest quarterly earnings report comes amid a sharp decline in PC and smartphone sales globally after a surge earlier in the pandemic.

☆ TikTok's US safety head to exit amid increasing lawmaker pressure on the app
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

How relevant is this ad to you? Video player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues

☆ Premarket stocks: Here's what we know about First Republic Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —First Republic Bank has been teetering on the edge for weeks. The San Francisco-based lender could be next in the line to collapse, following in the footsteps of former competitors Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The FDIC, Federal Reserve, White House and First Republic did not respond to requests for comment about those reports. The stock’s trading was halted numerous times both days as its rapid decline triggered volatility-triggered timeouts by the New York Stock Exchange. “It’s becoming clearer each day” that First Republic is “toast,” said Don Bilson at Gordon Haskett, in a note Wednesday.

☆ How Elon Musk upended Twitter and his own reputation in 6 months as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But it’s not clear just how and when Musk might return Twitter to growth. Musk’s primary plan to grow Twitter’s business through an overhauled subscription strategy has resulted in much chaos but only a limited number of actual subscriptions. In the process, Musk has also upended his own reputation. Disrupting the digital town squareFor years, what differentiated Twitter from other social platforms was that it served as a central hub for real-time news. Tesla (TSLA) shareholders recently complained to the company’s board that Musk appears “overcommitted.”“His reputation has been diminished significantly with Twitter … and once you lose it, it’s very difficult to recover,” Klepper said.

☆ Meta stock jumps after company reports first revenue growth in nearly a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The company also reported that profits declined by nearly a quarter compared to the same period in the prior year to $5.7 billion. The company said it expects revenue to grow again in the current quarter compared to the prior year. Like other tech companies, Meta has also recently read investor cues and taken to playing up its focus on artificial intelligence rather than the metaverse. The shift comes as Meta contends with the popularity of AI tools from tech firms like Microsoft and OpenAI. In his statement with the results Wednesday, Zuckerberg said: “Our AI work is driving good results across our apps and business.”

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter begins purge of blue check marks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s Twitter on Thursday began a purge of blue verification check marks from users who have not signed up for its subscription service, with the checks disappearing from the accounts of journalists, academics and celebrities. The initial rollout of the change appeared to be fairly glitchy, as blue checks disappeared and reappeared on some accounts. The change — and its confusing rollout — threatens to create an even greater risk of impersonation of high-profile users and confusion over the veracity of information on the platform. Twitter had previously said it would “begin winding down” blue checks granted under its old verification system — which emphasized protecting high-profile users at risk of impersonation — on April 1. Last week, Musk tweeted that the “final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20,” a date with special resonance to the billionaire entrepreneur given its meaning to marijuana enthusiasts.

☆ Meta’s latest round of layoffs is underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday began its latest round of layoffs focusing on technical workers, who are often thought of as more immune to job cuts in Silicon Valley. Zuckerberg’s notice said that restructurings and layoffs in Meta’s tech groups would take place in April. Members of Meta’s recruiting team were notified of additional layoffs last month, and cuts to the company’s business groups are expected to take place in late May. The 10,000 job reductions mark the second recent round of significant job cuts at Meta. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced last month, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%.

☆ Twitter removes transgender protections from hateful conduct policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Twitter appears to have quietly rolled back a portion of its hateful conduct policy that included specific protections for transgender people. The policy previously stated that Twitter prohibits “targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. The change to the hateful conduct policy is one of a number of updates Twitter has made to its safety and content moderation practices since Elon Musk took over the company last fall. LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD called out the hateful conduct policy change in a Tuesday statement. The billionaire tried to assuage advertisers about Twitter’s approach to hateful conduct at a marketing conference Tuesday, saying, “If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesn’t mean you should give them a megaphone,” according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

☆ You can now apply for your share of a $725 million Facebook data privacy settlement. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Facebook users who had an active account at any point between May 2007 and December 2022 can now apply to receive a piece of parent company Meta’s $725 million settlement related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The California judge overseeing the case granted preliminary approval of the settlement late last month, and Facebook users can now apply for a cash payment as part of a settlement. The claim form — which requires a few personal details and information about a user’s Facebook account — can be filled out online or printed and submitted by mail. It’s not yet clear how much each settlement payment will be. “Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program.

☆ Netflix subscriber adds disappoint after delaying password sharing crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Netflix on Tuesday posted weaker-than-expected subscriber growth for the first three months of this year, causing its stock to fall as much as 8% in after-hours trading before rebounding somewhat. The disappointing subscriber growth came as Netflix delayed its plan to crack down on password sharing. Netflix (NFLX) reported revenue of around $8.2 billion for the quarter, up nearly 4% from the same period in the prior year and in line with analysts’ projections. Unlike its streaming rivals, Netflix had long been resistant to live streaming because of its high costs. But, facing steeper competition, Netflix has started to experiment with the format, one it apparently has not yet perfected.

☆ YouTube rolls out new policies for eating disorder content
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —YouTube on Tuesday announced a series of changes to how it deals with content related to eating disorders. In 2021, lawmakers called out Instagram and YouTube for promoting accounts featuring content depicting extreme weight loss and dieting to young users. And TikTok has faced criticism from an online safety group that claimed the app served eating disorder related content to teens (although the platform pushed back against the research). In addition to removing or age restricting some videos, YouTube plans to add panels pointing viewers to crisis resources under eating disorder-related content in nine countries, with plans to expand to more areas. And when a creators’ video is removed for violating its eating disorder policy, Graham said YouTube will send them resources about how to create content that’s less likely to harm other viewers.

Musk has repeatedly warned recently of the dangers of AI, amid a proliferation of AI products for general consumer use, including from tech giants like Google and Microsoft. In his interview with Carlson, Musk said “we’re going to start something which I call TruthGPT.” Musk described it as a “maximum truth-seeking AI” that “cares about understanding the universe.”“Hopefully there’s more good than harm,” Musk said. More recently, Musk is reportedly working to build a generative AI startup that could rival OpenAI and ChatGPT. During his conversation with Carlson, Musk addressed his ownership of Twitter — which he bought for $44 billion and has been engaged in controversy since. “I thought there’d probably be some negative reactions,” Musk told Carlson, saying the public will ultimately decide the app’s future.

☆ NPR stops using Twitter after receiving ‘government funded media’ label
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —NPR on Wednesday said that it is suspending its use of Twitter after clashing with the social media company over a controversial new “state-affiliated media” label applied to its accounts. The move was quickly rebuked by NPR, which is publicly funded by listeners. Twitter has also faced backlash over applying a similar “government funded media” label to the BBC, which is also primarily funded by the public. Twitter has faced an exodus of advertisers, who have been concerned about increased hate speech on the platform and massive cuts to the company’s workforce. In the meantime, Musk has taken on the uphill battle of encouraging users to pay $8 per month for the platform’s subscription service.

☆ Analysis: Elon Musk escalates antics at Twitter, complicating turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Under Elon Musk, Twitter has antagonized multiple major news organizations by labeling them state-funded media, appears to have eased restrictions on Russian government accounts and made crude jokes on the front of its headquarters and on Musk’s own Twitter display name. Musk has said Twitter is working to improve the platform’s ad targeting to increase value for advertisers. But it didn’t exactly go to plan — instead of removing checks from all previously verified users, Twitter appeared to target a single account belonging to the New York Times. Days later, Twitter’s home button was temporarily replaced with doge, the meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The company also briefly restricted Twitter users from sharing links to a rival platform, upsetting users, including one who had previously reported the so-called Twitter files using documents provided by Musk.

☆ Tech layoffs raise new alarms about how platforms protect users
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Some also formed ethical AI teams and invested in oversight groups. And Facebook-parent Meta suggested that it might cut staff working in non-technical roles as part of its latest round of layoffs. “With that outsourcing, I feel like they had this comfort level that they could cut some of the trust and safety team, but Twitch is very unique,” the former employee said. It invested heavily in content moderation, public policy and an oversight board to weigh in on tricky content issues to address rising concerns about its platform. Tech leaders may also be grappling with the fact that even as they built up their trust and safety teams in recent years, their reputation problems haven’t really abated.

☆ A new group of Twitter vendors is suing the company for alleged unpaid bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A group of Twitter vendors on Tuesday filed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the company has failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in overdue bills. The company alleged that it began contacting Twitter in November about overdue and pending invoices for services rendered under a contract signed in March 2022. Twitter owes the captioning company around $42,000, according to the complaint. YES Consulting, which said it provided leadership training to Twitter employees per an agreement signed in March 2022, alleges that Twitter owes it approximately $49,000 for services provided between August and November last year. The vendors are seeking damages in the amount each company is allegedly owed by Twitter, as well as interest.

☆ Musk’s Twitter promised a purge of blue check marks. Instead he singled out one account
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Some VIP Twitter users woke up on Saturday expecting to have lost their coveted blue verification check marks in a previously announced purge by Elon Musk. But one high-profile account did lose its blue check over the weekend: the main account for the New York Times, which had previously told CNN it would not pay for verification. Although the New York Times’ main account lost its blue check, its other accounts, such as those for its arts, travel and books content, remained verified. Musk has been threatening to take away “legacy” blue check marks from users verified under Twitter’s old system since shortly after he bought Twitter last fall. In early November, Twitter launched the option for people paying for its Twitter Blue subscription service to receive blue checks.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated 'news' images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

None of these things actually happened, but AI-generated images depicting them did go viral online over the past week. The images ranged from obviously fake to, in some cases, compellingly real, and they fooled some social media users. There are also concerns that AI-generated images could be used for harassment, or to further drive divided internet users apart. Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of the investigative group Bellingcat, posted fake images of former President Donald Trump to Twitter last week. Many of the recent viral AI-generated images were created by a tool called Midjourney, a less than year-old platform that allows users to create images based on short text prompts.

☆ Welcome to the era of viral AI generated ‘news’ images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Google (GOOGL), which for years ranked as the top company to work for in the United States, laid off thousands of workers by e-mail. During her early years there, she worked in marketing and became known as the “The Bard of Google” for the internal emails she sent celebrating the company’s culture. Google employee affected by January layoffs“The problem was, suddenly, you didn’t work for a company that was sending stuff to space or building autonomous cars,” Rout said. Hundreds of Google employees in Switzerland staged a walkout last week to protest layoffs, partly out of frustration with the lack of transparency. About a month before the January layoffs, one former employee said Google painted “You Belong” on one of the walls in their working area.

New York CNN —YouTube on Friday said it would restore former President Donald Trump’s channel, more than two years after suspending it following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. YouTube initially suspended Trump’s channel after the Capitol riot, saying a video on the channel had violated its policy against inciting violence. YouTube had also disabled comments underneath videos on Trump’s channel, which appear to have been restored on Friday. As more platforms restore Trump’s account, some are also stressing he continues to face restrictions on what he can post, with the potential to be suspended again. YouTube said in its statement that Trump’s “channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.” YouTube operates a strike policy under which users can receive escalating suspensions based on the number and severity of their violations.

☆ Meta considering a standalone social network that sounds a lot like Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The concept is similar to Reddit or Discord, but a departure from how Meta’s other platforms function. If Meta’s new platform were decentralized, it could allow third parties to build apps and features into the platform, potentially giving users experiences beyond what Meta itself might build. Meta declined to comment beyond its statement, including in response to questions about the new platform’s potential features or a timeline for launch. Many of them had an early jump in users following Musk’s takeover at Twitter, but have since struggled to gain widespread adoption. But its growth has slowed in recent months, in part as users struggle with the somewhat less straightforward and user-friendly nature of a decentralized platform.

Search resuls for: "Clare Duffy"

25 mentions found