DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Elon Musk reverses course, kills new 'official' designation for big-name tweeters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In his latest series of changes to Twitter's verification system, Twitter owner Elon Musk said he has already "killed" the new "official" designation Wednesday that had started rolling out for some of the platform's biggest names earlier in the day. Some originally verified accounts would sport an "official" label, Crawford said, while any user who pays $7.99 per month for Twitter Blue, the company's subscription product, would sport a blue check mark. Musk himself has benefited from having the Twitter verification check mark. In a tweet Wednesday, Musk wrote, "Blue check will be the greatest leveler." Under Musk's direction, the new Twitter Blue check mark will instead work as a paying subscriber badge that the company nonetheless plans to call "verification."

☆ Twitter will distinguish 'verified' Twitter Blue accounts from 'official' accounts with different colored check marks, product manager says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter will distinguish between Twitter Blue "verified" accounts and "official" accounts with different check marks. Not all verified accounts will get an "Official" label, which is not available for purchase, Crawford said. The change has not yet been made to the current Twitter profile, as the Twitter Blue changes are set to roll out on November 9. "Not all previously verified accounts will get the "Official" label and the label is not available for purchase," Crawford added. "Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures."

☆ Twitter's rollout of its new gray checkmark for 'official' accounts is off to a confusing start, with Elon Musk saying he 'killed it' and a product manager rushing to clarify it's still happening
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk told a YouTuber who noticed his new gray checkmark disappear that he had 'killed it." But a Twitter product manager clarified that the gray tag would still be rolling out. Not long after the new gray checkmarks started rolling out to many Twitter accounts on Wednesday, they began disappearing from some accounts. Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner, responded "I just killed it," to a tweet from Youtuber and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, who had seen his own gray checkmark disappear. Musk has said that the new Twitter Blue would cost $7.99 per month, and include the blue checkmark and other features.

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform Twitter will introduce an "Official" label for select verified accounts including major media outlets and governments when it launches its new $8 premium subscription product, its early stage products executive Esther Crawford said on Tuesday. Crawford also confirmed that the revamped Twitter Blue subscription product, which will allow paid users to have their accounts verified with a blue checkmark, will not verify users' identities with identification cards or materials. Fake accounts for government officials are a recurring issue for Twitter globally, according to sources familiar with the matter and researchers. Not all Twitter accounts that were previously verified with a blue check mark will get the "Official" label and the label is not available for purchase, Crawford said. Accounts that will receive the official label include governments, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some other public figures, she tweeted.

Crop Watch fields were harvested within the last week, all corn, and two of them fell short of expectations, consistent with this year’s trend. The North Dakota corn ended at 2.75, down a quarter-point from expectations but above last year’s 2. The 11-field average, unweighted 2022 Crop Watch corn yield ends at 3.57, down from 3.7 a week ago. Crop Watch yield scores 2022SIGHTS ON 2023More than half of the Crop Watch producers said they have already purchased seed for 2023 and an even larger share said they had priced next year’s inputs. Most of the Crop Watch producers are in rotation-heavy areas, but acres in North Dakota and Kansas can swing the pendulum.

☆ Twitter to debut gray ‘official’ check mark to verify government accounts, media and major brands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The screenshot displayed Twitter’s own account profile, which included the standard blue check mark beside its display name as well as a gray check mark and the word “Official” underneath its account handle. A visit to Twitter’s currently live profile did not display the gray check mark, suggesting the feature has not yet been implemented. “Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘Official’ label and the label is not available for purchase,” Crawford tweeted. “Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.”Crawford also confirmed that the forthcoming option to pay for a blue check mark will not include an identity verification requirement. Election security experts warned of the likelihood that bad actors could pay for a blue check mark, then change their display names to impersonate government officials or other authoritative sources of information.

☆ Twitter exec says there will soon be three types of accounts: official, paid, and unlabeled
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Some originally verified accounts will soon sport an "official" label, she said, while any user who pays $7.99 per month for Twitter Blue, the company's subscription product, will sport a blue checkmark. Musk himself has benefitted from having the Twitter verification checkmark. Under Musk's direction, the new Twitter Blue checkmark will instead work as a paying subscriber badge that the company nonetheless plans to call "verification." "The new Twitter Blue does not include ID verification – it's an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features. "Not all previously verified accounts will get the 'Official' label and the label is not available for purchase.

☆ Twitter could be a new wild card for the midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN Business —For years, Twitter has been a leader in countering misinformation and protecting elections. But concerns are growing that tumult inside Twitter in the first week after it was acquired by Elon Musk could weaken its safeguards for elections, just before the midterms are set to take place. Musk promised not to alter any of Twitter’s content policies until after the midterms. He tweeted: “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” and without warning. The shakeup at Twitter has turned the company itself into an election wildcard.

☆ Twitter staffers are sleeping in the office—ex-Apple engineer who worked on the iPhone says it's totally unnecessary
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

For some Twitter employees under Elon Musk, sleeping in the office appears to be an absolute must — the physical embodiment of the tech industry's "hustle culture." It's also totally unnecessary, says Ken Kocienda, a former Apple software engineer and designer who helped build the first iPhone and iPad. "I was on these [Apple] teams from the earliest stages and I never once came close to sleeping at the office. It's not an essential part of doing great work," he wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday. The "hustle porn" trend of tech founders and executives bragging about working around the clock and sleeping in their offices is nothing new.

☆ The Twitter manager who went viral for sleeping on the floor of company HQ survived Elon Musk's layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The manager who went viral for sleeping at Twitter's headquarters survived Elon Musk's layoffs, sources told Insider. Last week, a Twitter employee posted a photo of Esther Crawford in a sleeping bag at the office. Previously, the company had offered Twitter Blue for $2.99 per month as a service that would allow users to access special features like editing tweets or reducing ads. "The Twitter team is legendary. The Information reported last week that the manager "appears to be rising in prominence" at Twitter since Musk completed his purchase.

☆ Apple's ad business is quietly expanding into streaming ads and sponsorship, as it pitches $4 million packages for Major League Soccer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple's advertising empire is extending into its Apple TV service. Apple's advertising empire is set to expand beyond the App Store when Apple TV begins broadcasting Major League Soccer for ten seasons beginning February 2023 — a global deal that is costing Apple $250 million per season. The next tier comes at $3 million and the last tier was described by one person familiar as more "a la carte," in which advertisers can cherry-pick a smaller number of specific placements. The Apple TV app will host an exclusive MLS streaming service, and Apple TV+ customers and MLS season ticket holders will be able to access it for free. Today, that business is mostly focused on search ads in the App Store, as well as ads within its News and Stocks apps.

☆ Musk's Twitter updates app to start charging $8 for blue checkmark
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Rhea Binoy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoNov 5 (Reuters) - Twitter on Saturday updated its app in Apple's App Store to begin charging $8 for sought-after blue check verification marks, in Elon Musk’s first major revision of the social media platform. The change comes a week after Musk took over the social media company in a $44 billion deal. It was not immediately clear how or if Twitter planned to verify the identity of the user beyond charging a fee. Twitter Blue will roll out in India in "hopefully less than a month," Musk tweeted in reply to a question from a follower. As of Saturday, the update to Twitter Blue remained at the old price of $4.99.

☆ Twitter launches $8 monthly subscription with blue checkmark
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoNov 5 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc on Saturday launched a subscription service for its social media platform for $8 a month that includes the blue checkmark "verified" badge, offering an updated version on Apple’s App Store. In an update to Apple iOS devices, Twitter said those who "sign up now" can receive the sought-after blue checkmark next to their user names, "just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow." A blue check mark next to a person's user name means Twitter has confirmed that the account belongs to the person or company claiming it. Twitter's update said the new service with verification will be available in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. However, according to a tweet from Twitter's early stage products executive Esther Crawford on Saturday, the new Twitter Blue service is available but has not yet gone live.

☆ Twitter prepares to roll out new paid subscription service that includes blue checkmark
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN’s testing of the service on Saturday afternoon, however, suggested the rollout was not yet complete. A fresh Twitter account created by CNN that signed up for the paid feature did not show the checkmark on its public profile. Twitter also still appeared to be charging $4.99, an outdated price. The feature was not mentioned on Twitter’s page on the Google Play Store for Android devices as of early Saturday afternoon. Musk has argued that allowing all users to pay to be verified on Twitter will raise the costs of producing spam and misinformation.

☆ Twitter rolls out changes for some users ahead of launching new paid verification system
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter began rolling out changes to its platform for some users on Saturday in preparation for the launch of its revamped subscription service Twitter Blue. Updates outlined in the App Store confirmed that users will be able to purchase Twitter Blue and receive a blue checkmark for $7.99 per month. In an earlier thread of tweets, Musk criticized the current system, which gives a blue checkmark, or verification, to notable users like politicians, members of the press, executives and organizations. Musk said he plans to give "power to the people" by offering verification to anyone on the platform through Twitter Blue for $8 a month. Musk said in a tweet Saturday that Twitter Blue will roll out worldwide once it is confirmed to be working in the initial set of countries.

☆ Twitter layoffs were so chaotic one employee was kicked off the company systems in the middle of a meeting, report says: 'A master class in how not to do it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One person was in a meeting when they suddenly dropped off the call, sources told The New York Times. At least one Twitter employee was booted from the company's system in the middle of a call about Twitter Blue, three sources familiar with the meeting told The New York Times. "This is a master class in how not to do it," Sandra Sucher, a Harvard University professor who studies layoffs, told the Times, noting it was uncommon to see layoffs of this scale done so rapidly without a clear explanation. Rachel Bonn, a former Twitter employee who is eight months pregnant, said she lost access to her work laptop Thursday night hours after Musk said layoffs were coming. Another former Twitter employee, Chris Younie, said he was also abruptly unable to turn on his work laptop or log into his emails at around 3 a.m. on Friday.

☆ Elon Musk says sleeping on factory floors was important so Tesla employees would 'give it their all,' days after a Twitter boss was pictured sleeping in the office
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Aaron Mok | Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk talked about his sleeping habits, including past nights spent on Tesla's factory floor. Musk's comments come after a Twitter employee shared a photo of his boss sleeping in the office. Musk said that sleeping on the floor was "damn uncomfortable" and made him "smell like dust." Musk's comments come days after a Twitter employee shared a photo early Wednesday morning of his boss Esther Crawford, the director of product management at Twitter, sleeping on the office floor. Musk has publicly talked about his sleeping habits in the past.

☆ A Twitter employee shared a picture of his boss in a sleeping bag and mask on the office floor, illustrating Elon Musk's new hardcore work culture
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Twitter employee shared a photo appearing to show his boss asleep on the office floor. Insider previously reported that some staff have been asked to work 24/7 since Elon Musk's takeover. "When you need something from your boss at elon twitter," Evan Jones, a product manager at Twitter Spaces, tweeted at around 2:00 a.m. New York time Wednesday. Jones' Twitter page says he is based in New York, while Crawford's says she is based in Los Angeles. An internal message told Twitter staff working on changes to the company's verification process that "the expectation is literally to work 24/7 to get this out," Insider previously reported.

☆ 'Rogue nurse' charged with murder after patients given lethal doses of insulin at North Carolina hospital, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A "rogue nurse" in North Carolina has been arrested on murder charges after two patients died after he allegedly administered lethal doses of insulin, state officials announced Tuesday. Hayes allegedly administered a lethal dose of insulin to patient Gwen Crawford on Jan. 5, 2022. The second fatal patient was Vickie Lingerfelt, who was allegedly administered a lethal dose of insulin on Jan. 22, 2022. Hayes was further charged with administrating a near-fatal dose of insulin to a third patient on Dec. 1, 2021, but she survived the dose, according to the district attorney. The district attorney described him as a “rogue nurse,” said there was no evidence Hayes knew the patients before the incidents, and he acted alone.

Crop Watch corn fields were harvested last week: Nebraska and eastern Iowa. The eastern Iowa corn finished at 4.25, down a quarter-point from earlier predictions and a half-point below last year. The Nebraska corn is irrigated this year, but the producer would score his dryland corn yield around 1.5. That would be slightly above the 2020 result, which is consistent with the Crop Watch corn scores in 2022 versus 2020. REST OF HARVESTFour more Crop Watch corn fields remain.

His plea agreement requires him to testify at the trial against the Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterJury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday in Manhattan state court. The Trump Organization could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts that were brought. The company's lawyers also said prosecutors presented no evidence to the grand jury that returned the indictment that the Trump Organization evaded payroll taxes. Two other Trump Organization employees received compensation in the form of lodging and car leases, prosecutors said.

Crop Watch producers have been evaluating yield potential for their corn and soy fields on a weekly basis since early July. CORNThe third and fourth harvested Crop Watch corn fields, Indiana and southeastern Illinois, were both completed on Sunday, and the results diverged. Indiana was among the driest Crop Watch locations this summer, but soil moisture was high at the start of the season, delaying planting. Crop Watch corn fields could be completed this coming week in Nebraska, eastern Iowa and North Dakota. Photos of the Crop Watch fields can be tracked on my Twitter feed using handle @kannbwx.

☆ Australia casino firm Star to be fined $62 million following inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Australian casino firm Star Entertainment Group (SGR.AX) was fined A$100 million ($62 million) on Monday following an independent inquiry which found it failed to prevent money laundering and criminal activity in its Sydney casino. The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) also cancelled Star's licence to operate the Sydney casino effective Friday, and will appoint a person to manage the casino pending the return of its licence. "The appointment of the manager means that the Star Casino will remain open and all staff will remain employed," NICC Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford said during a media conference. The decision to slap Star with the maximum fine possible comes on the first day on the job for Star's new chief executive, Robbie Cooke. Australia's gambling industry has been in the spotlight in recent years, with public inquiries lashing its biggest casino operators due to lapses in money laundering protections.

I no longer miss the “old” Kanye West, now known as Ye. I’m tired of hearing about the new Ye, and I wish we could stop talking about him altogether. Days before that, he appeared with far-right pundit Candace Owens flaunting “White Lives Matter” T-shirts during Paris Fashion Week. This includes to stopping asking for the “old Kanye” back. Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye.” At first, I sang the lyrics with hope that the “old Kanye” who once had such a hopeful swagger would return, that he would get past his ego and be born again as the creative powerhouse whose every move we followed with anticipation instead of dread.

Crop Watch soybean fields still await harvest, but those should be finished early this week as most producers’ harvest paces are ahead of normal. The western Illinois corn last week became the second completed Crop Watch corn field, and the final yield score ended at 4.5, a quarter-point below expectations. Crop Watch producers have been evaluating yield potential for their corn and soy fields on a weekly basis since early July. Ohio is the only Crop Watch location where harvest pace has been a little slow as crops are still holding moisture from late-season rains. Photos of the Crop Watch fields can be tracked on my Twitter feed using handle @kannbwx.

Search resuls for: "CRAWFORD"

25 mentions found