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☆ Mark Zuckerberg's giant middle finger to Wall Street backfired for Meta. Welcome to the 'biggest two week pivot' analysts have ever seen.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The move went stunningly wrong, crushing the shares of Facebook parent company Meta. What really surprised Wall Street were the other steps Zuckerberg is taking:Meta extended its hiring freeze through the first quarter of 2023. This one by Zuckerberg ranks at or near the top, with the analyst calling it "the biggest two week pivot we've ever seen." For Zuckerberg, Meta and even Silicon Valley, this is another sign that the eras of abundance and founder-friendly investing are ending. For Wall Street, this all came about two weeks too late.

☆ Facebook moves to 'desk sharing' for in-office employees as layoffs and cost-cutting continues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Many Facebook employees will no longer have personal desk space. In an effort to reduce spending, the company is "shrinking" its office footprint. "We'll roll out more cost-cutting changes like this in the coming months," Mark Zuckerberg said. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Bloomberg reported in October that the company was backing out of one office space in New York.

☆ Elon Musk is asking Twitter employees who survived last week's mass layoff to ask their old coworkers if they'd like to return
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter workers are being told to see if recently laid off colleagues would like to return to work. Still, current workers must persuade higher-ups that people who are interested should come back. Media engineering is a core organization at Twitter, and Musk had previously tweeted about wanting longer videos to be uploaded to Twitter. Even if laid off employees agree to return, Musk still isn't making it easy, according to additional messages seen by Insider. Thousands of Twitter employees found out they had been let go by Musk on Thursday night when they lost access to their work tools.

☆ Elon Musk is looking to rehire Twitter workers who can help with video and the Twitter Blue subscription service after laying off thousands last week
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter workers are being told to see if recently laid off colleagues would like to return to work. Twitter is trying to rehire media engineering workers and those who would make Twitter Blue work. Still, current workers must "convince" higher ups why people who are interested should come back. Even if laid off employees agree to return, Musk still isn't making it easy, according to additional messages seen by Insider. Thousands of Twitter employees found out they had been let go by Musk on Thursday night when they lost access to their work tools.

☆ Facebook layoffs will likely hit most departments, including Mark Zuckerberg's beloved metaverse division
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Kali Hays | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Facebook employees have been told for weeks to expect layoffs, as Insider previously reported. Even Reality Labs is expected to be impacted, despite it building out Zuckerberg's metaverse vision. 'Investors are demanding more action'One of the people said Reality Labs is "Mark's baby" and could be somewhat insulated from cuts, compared with other divisions. Facebook disclosed it has already this year lost more than $9 billion on Reality Labs, including nearly $4 billion in the third quarter alone. The division lost $10 billion over the whole of 2021, yet the company said spending on Reality Labs is only going to keep growing.

☆ 'Desk-bombing' didn't die during the pandemic. It's back – and still infuriating plenty of workers.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some workers welcome it as it can be more efficient than emailing, others think it's disruptive. Insider asked five workers what they think about desk-bombing. 'Approachable'George Fryer, a consultant, welcomes desk-bombing, especially in a post-pandemic world where employees are granted more freedom about where they work. "While desk-bombing may be uncomfortable or aggressive to the other party, it gets the work done," he tells Insider. Jack Devlin, a commercial director from London, says desk-bombing is nothing to feel guilty about.

☆ Elon Musk bars Twitter employees from the company's offices in the run up to layoffs, unless staff are working on one of his 'critical' projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Other than a few people on "critical" projects, employees have been told to go home. Elon Musk is closing Twitter's offices and ensuring that employees do not return for now, except for the few working directly on projects deemed "Elon critical." On Thursday evening, Twitter employees received their first communication from the company since Musk took over. "Badge access," which allows Twitter workers to enter offices with their company ID, was also being suspended without a date given for when the access would be back. Some workers are being allowed to stay however, one of the people said, those who "are working on his projects," referring to Musk.

☆ Twitter users could soon be able to pay to DM 'Very Important Tweeters' thanks to a new feature, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's Twitter is working on a paid direct messaging feature, the NYT reports. Twitter users would pay a few dollars to send a message to a "Very Important Tweeter," per the report. According to two people familiar with the plans and internal documents seen by The Times, Twitter is working on paid direct messaging to verified users referred to as "Very Important Tweeters." These paid direct messages would land in a separate area of the "Messages" section on Twitter, the report said. "Very Important Tweeters" would then select which paid messages they want to receive, The Times said.

☆ Elon Musk starts layoffs at Twitter shortly after an email went out telling employees cuts would start the next day
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk began to terminate employees late Thursday, several people told Insider. The move came just hours after an email went out telling workers to expect layoffs to begin Friday. Twitter said all affected workers would receive an email Friday morning at 9 am ET or 6 am PT. When employees began to be cut on Thursday night, no one had received such an email, multiple employees said. Musk is now demanding people at Twitter "literally work 24/7" and at a "maniacal" pace, as Insider reported.

☆ Amazon bet big on a live radio service with Nicki Minaj and Halsey. The business is wildly undershooting a year-end goal and just laid off half its workers.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Katherine Long | Tom Dotan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon launched the Amp live radio app earlier this year with A-list stars like Nicki Minaj. Earlier this fall, executives inside Amazon's live radio service, Amp, were dreaming about bringing on Taylor Swift as the next big name on the platform. The live radio app launched in March, touting a partnership with Minaj, who hosted a live call-in and music shows with her fans. An Amazon spokesperson said those figures were inaccurate but declined to specify how many monthly active users Amp has. "We've continued to see success since launching the product and are optimizing for product growth as we release more features."

☆ Elon Musk starts layoffs at Twitter immediately after an email went out saying cuts would start the next day
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk began to terminate employees late Thursday, several people told Insider. The move came just hours after an email went out telling workers to expect layoffs to begin Friday. Workers suddenly started to get locked out of things like Slack a little after 8 p.m. PT on Thursday night, multiple employees told Insider. It was an email explaining that they could expect layoffs to begin on Friday, sent after Insider reported such plans. Contact Kali Hays at khays@insider.com, on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267, or through Twitter DM at @hayskali.

☆ Read the email Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees who managed to keep their jobs, saying Twitter has an ‘exciting future’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk will share more details with remaining employees next week about "Twitter's exciting future." Twitter employees who have managed to keep their jobs under the ownership of Elon Musk will be getting more information on his plans for the platform next week. "Throughout the last week, Elon has spent time with a number of employees, customers, partners, policymakers and Twitter users," the note reads. Here is a full copy of what was sent to Twitter employees who will continue working under Musk, with original emphasis included. Check out Insider's source guide for other suggestions on how to share information securely.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter has identified thousands of employees who will be laid off, representing about 50% of the company's workforce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The company has a list of thousands of employees who will be let go. Musk bought Twitter last week for $44 billion. Stack ranking of workers, a type of performance review, has been going on since shortly after Musk formally acquired Twitter last week, as Insider reported. Those lists were then sent to Musk and his transition team, including his personal lawyer Alex Spiro, as Insider reported. Contact Kali Hays at khays@insider.com, on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267, or through Twitter DM at @hayskali.

☆ A 'leaving the flock' email from Twitter will tell thousands of employees on Friday that they're laid off by Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Twitter workers are set to learn if they have a future with the company under Elon Musk. An email is expected to go out tomorrow with a Twitter themed subject line. Twitter employees will learn tomorrow by email whether they are being eliminated by Elon Musk. An email with the subject line "Leaving the Flock" is set to go out to those Twitter employees globally who have been selected for layoffs, just a week into Musk's ownership of the platform. More than 3,700 employees are expected to be cut, as a list of workers selected for layoffs was finalized on Wednesday, as Insider reported.

☆ Elon Musk takes away 'days of rest' at Twitter in another major shift from Jack Dorsey's leadership style
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kali Hays | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk has started to impose his more demanding style on Twitter workers. "Days of rest" were implemented in 2020 under Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's leadership. "Days of rest" were implemented at Twitter in 2020 during the first peak of the pandemic, under previous CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey. Musk's style of leadership is not one that looks to avoid burnout. In another step away from Dorsey's leadership style, the billionaire also plans to end Twitter's remote work policy, according to a report from Bloomberg on Wednesday.

☆ Kim Kardashian used this creator's trend to make her debut on TikTok. Here's how much he earns from 3 income streams.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tej Patel took off on social media after creating a viral trend. The video went viral, and a few months later on April 25, Kim Kardashian used Patel's sound in her first post on the social media platform. "Social media puts me in a place where clients can come to me," he told Insider. He's since had two other deals with the brand, earning a combined $1,200 to produce content to be used on its social media platforms. He used to charge $100 per shoot when he was first freelancing after graduation, but his social media presence has changed that.

☆ 'TrumpIsDead' is trending on Twitter after a verified user apparently decided to test moderation of the platform under Elon Musk's reign
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A comedian intentionally started the claim, in what could be a test for Elon Musk. Musk's handling of moderation on the platform has quickly become an issue under his leadership. Within an hour, Heidecker's tweets had amassed close more than 20,000 likes, thousands of retweets and #TrumpIsDead began trending on Twitter on Tuesday. —Tim Heidecker: Sole Host of On Cinema (@timheidecker) November 1, 2022Twitter and Musk did not respond to a request for comment. Contact Kali Hays at khays@insider.com, on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267, or through Twitter DM at @hayskali.

☆ Twitter under Elon Musk has promised employees that their stock will vest on schedule and to expect a payout soon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Musk appears to be readying payouts of vested employee stock as he is contractually obligated to do. Under the terms of his deal to buy Twitter, Musk cannot change the vesting schedule for one year. Elon Musk appeared to be making good on a scheduled payout of their stock in the company. Since Twitter is now a private company, controlled by Musk, employee shares are set to continue to vest but be paid out automatically in cash. Are you a Twitter employee or someone with insight to share?

☆ YouTube has a new 'rigid' culture as Google ad executives take over
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Tom Dotan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In the last 18 months, at least nine top YouTube executives left and were replaced by longtime Googlers. "It's becoming very operationalized at YouTube," said one former YouTube executive. Google ad executive takeoverYouTube's chief business officer role has marked a significant shift toward the rising influence of Google's sales culture. 2019 is also when Google began keeping a closer reign on YouTube and started to stock it with Google ad executives. The point person for YouTube Originals, Susanne Daniels, who came from MTV, left YouTube in January, shortly before YouTube shut down its entire Originals content group.

☆ At Elon Musk's Twitter, a leaked memo shows engineers are being told to work with 'maniacal' energy and pitch ideas to the tech billionaire directly
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kali Hays | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In a note to staff, a director urged "maniacal" work and a willingness to suggest ideas to Musk. Engineers were also told to reach out to Musk directly with "cool product" pitches for the platform. Engineers now working for Elon Musk at Twitter are being urged to work hard and bring their ideas for the platform to him directly. The worst case scenario in pitching Musk is being "asked to stop work and work on something else." "Engineers/XFN partners who can get stuff done are the most important people at the company," the director added.

☆ Elon Musk has already cut a number of high-ranking Twitter managers, as employees await word on layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As Elon Musk and his transition team at Twitter have compiled lists of which employees should be let go en masse, a trickle of cuts has begun, Twitter employees tell Insider. Another characterized the silence Twitter workers have been met with since Musk took over as "bullshit." Among them are Nick Caldwell, general manager of Twitter, who two employees told Insider was away from work dealing with the sudden death of his wife. At least two mid-managers in product and engineering were also let go late on Sunday and did not receive severance, the employees told Insider. Are you a Twitter employee or someone with insight to share?

☆ Jack Dorsey just saved Elon Musk about $1 billion by rolling over his shares of Twitter into a stake in the new private company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Dorsey rolled over his Twitter shares on Oct. 27, the same day Musk's acquisition was finalized. The value of Dorsey's roughly 18 million shares is a little over $1 billion, according to the filing. Although it was rumored Dorsey would invest in Musk's takeover of Twitter, he had yet to confirm any plans to do so or rollover his shares. According to the filing, Dorsey agreed to the rollover back in April, when Musk signed the merger agreement with Twitter. Dorsey formally rolled his shares on Thursday, the same day Musk officially became the owner of Twitter.

☆ How much 2 basketball TikTokers earned from NIL endorsements during a year at a D2 HBCU
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Brandon and Jayden Beloti are brothers who played basketball for Elizabeth City State University. Each had a few hundred thousand followers on TikTok when new NIL rules kicked in on July 1, 2021. The Beloti brothers played basketball during the 2021-22 season for Elizabeth City State University, a HBCU in Division II of the NCAA. The brothers' TikTok followings helped them easily secure NIL dealsBoth brothers began to balance being creators with their school and basketball lives. The Beloti brothers are now focused on building careers as creators with Zone 6(left to right) Jayden and Brandon Beloti representing Zone 6.

☆ This is what it's like to toil at Elon Musk's Twitter: 'The expectation is literally to work 24/7.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ordering changes to verification, Musk has given teams five days to deliver. "The expectation is literally to work 24/7 to get this out," employees told in an internal message. Elon Musk is expecting Twitter employees to work around the clock to make changes he'd like to see on the platform. Among the first changes Musk is demanding is to the verification process at Twitter, which he has owned since Thursday evening. While work has started on "Blue Verified," employees are also expecting "aggressive" layoffs to begin on Monday, as Insider reported.

☆ Twitter's Hunger Games: Elon Musk oversees a weekend of coding sprints, stack ranking, and boot-licking as some employees fight to keep their jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Several Musk allies have been added to a company directory, with Musk being named CEO internally. Elon Musk put Twitter employees to the test this weekend to see who is capable, and willing, of surviving under his new reign. Musk has a 16 year old son, Saxon James Musk, whom he frequently mentions on Twitter, although the Twitter workers have yet to see any confirmation that James Musk is of any relation to their new owner. "This is it," one of the people familiar said, describing the feeling at the company under Musk. Many engineers were tasked over the weekend with "sprints," set periods of time for coding work to be done.

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