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☆ Miami Has Been in Vogue. Its City Hall Has Been in Turmoil.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Patricia Mazzei | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mayor Francis X. Suarez of Miami has visited early primary states in recent weeks, mulling a Republican presidential run built on the premise that his in-vogue city has boomed in difficult times — “the Miami miracle,” he calls it. Techies have flocked to the city from San Francisco. Testimony from a parade of former public employees portrayed City Hall as a toxic workplace, rife with dysfunction. Miami has long been a city of confounding narratives, the airbrushed image it projects to outsiders often obscuring the complicated realities that lie beneath. But these days, the contrast between the Miami brand and the goings-on at City Hall seems especially stark.

Persons: Francis X, Suarez, mulling, ”, Techies, Joe Carollo Organizations: Suarez of Miami, Republican, Bankers, Miami, City Locations: Miami, San Francisco, New York

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Joe Biden has tried ChatGPT, Silicon Valley goes sober, and leaked Shopify audio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

And Silicon Valley is catching on, too. My colleague Samantha Stokes did a deep dive into the growing trend of techies avoiding alcohol. Silicon Valley goes sober. My colleague Samantha Stokes examined this growing trend in Silicon Valley and gives some insight into the drying industry. In other news:Screenshot of Hot Chat 30002.

☆ Silicon Valley Founders and VCs Are Making Sobriety Popular
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sellers is among a growing contingent in the tech community that's going alcohol-free. From founders to investors, members of the startup community are eschewing booze in the name of staying sharp — and healthy. "About six months ago, I stopped drinking alcohol. That's really hard because in this industry, you have to be high energy. That's really hard because in this industry, you have to be high energy.

☆ Facebook’s parent company Meta is doing layoffs again. But there’s one ‘safe’ team that could actually benefit from the job cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Netflix is ending its DVD-rental service that started the company over two decades ago. Gaming is 'safe' at Facebook's parent company Meta. But multiple people told my colleague Kali Hays that gaming within Meta's Reality Labs division will likely remain immune — and perhaps actually benefit — from the job cuts. One person told Kali that after the layoffs are done, the team will be able to start hiring again. The hit Netflix reality show captivated US audiences.

☆ Elon Musk made Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2023 list — but was called an 'online troll' fiddling on a 'toxic violin' while Twitter 'burns'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk was on Time's list of the most influential people, but his profile was less than flattering. Kara Swisher dubbed Musk an "online troll" that is "fiddling on his toxic violin" on Twitter. The Tesla CEO has said in the past that he has "been under constant attack" from news outlets. The Tesla CEO was also on the publication's list of most influential people in the world in 2010, 2013, 2018, and 2021. The billionaire has faced scrutiny over the years, from reports of the Tesla CEO rage-firing employees to criticism of his handling of content moderation on Twitter.

☆ The eating habits of tech executives: From Mark Zuckerberg's 'kill what you eat' routine to Elon Musk's Diet Coke obsession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Grace Kay | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Some of the richest people in tech have some pretty bizarre eating habits. Elon Musk Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC ImagesJust because billionaires have the money to pay for pricey personal chefs or high-end healthy foods doesn't mean they're adhering to diets that are good for them. While some experiment with the latest health fads —like the Paleo diet and veganism — there are other tech billionaires who enjoy eating chocolate for breakfast or skip eating altogether for days at a time. So when it comes to wealth, you may want to follow the lead of these techies, but think twice when it comes to health.

☆ Twitter and Apple are cracking down on return-to-office mandates. Other tech companies will likely start too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Major tech companies are taking in-person work pretty seriously. They were early return-to-office tech companies. So their crackdowns give a glimmer of how tech companies issuing similar mandates now will enforce them going forward. Amazon, Oracle, Salesforce, and many other tech companies recently announced the end to remote work. Check out our list of major companies with return-to-office mandates — they could eye policy enforcement soon.

☆ Bitcoin is poised to blow up Africa's $86 billion banking system
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

Then there's mobile money, which has been around since the early 2000s. Africa's mobile money transactions rose 39% to more than $700 billion in 2021, according to data from the GSM Association, a non-profit representing mobile network operators worldwide. That cash network was extraordinarily difficult and expensive to build, which is why there aren't a lot of direct competitors. Bitnob is SMS-based and piggybacks on the mobile money system, making it easier for people to send money directly into bank accounts and mobile money wallets in African countries. "We're able to settle into bank accounts or mobile money accounts, without the recipients having to interact with bitcoin themselves," Parah tells CNBC.

☆ How Amazon’s flawed job posting process caused it to overhire
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Before I go check my remaining stash to make sure it's all real, let's dive into today's tech. Amazon's flawed job posting process. The company had little oversight of the hiring process until last year, Insider learned. Check out this leaked, all-hands message about "single-digit" percentage cuts to AWS)My colleague Eugene Kim breaks down Amazon's flawed hiring process. He shared the red flags he overlooked during the hiring process, including the hiring of a new chief revenue officer.

☆ Techies on a plane celebrated after hearing a passenger whoop at the news SVB customers would get their money, VC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investor Prashant Fonseka was on a flight when he learned that SVB depositors' money was safe. Fonseka told Insider he heard other people on the plane celebrating with relief at the news. He told Insider he spent Friday and Saturday trying to calm the founders of his portfolio companies. Prior to boarding his flight, Fonseka was on the phone trying to confirm the amount of SVB's advanced dividend, or how much money would be guaranteed to be made available to the bank's customers. "Before, we thought we were going to die — like extinction-level fear about people's companies," Fonseka told Insider.

☆ Current and former Rokt employees told Insider about blackface, booze, and blurred lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

They told my colleague Jordan Pandy that Charlotte seemed affordable and diverse on paper. The photo was shown at a company-wide meeting to highlight how "fun" working at $2 billion ad-tech startup Rokt was, an Insider investigation reveals. He said blackface isn't a big deal in Australia, where the company was founded and where the photo was taken. But more than 30 current and former employees told my colleagues Jack Newsham and Madeline Stone that they had a different experience. Come behind the scenes of Rokt with us, where Insider reports that booze and blurred lines flow rampantly.

☆ We're about to find out whether AI might replace those 200,000 laid-off tech workers as Silicon Valley prioritizes efficiency
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As companies like Meta and Twitter get leaner, AI could replace those engineers. A consistent research finding is that AI tools make humans more efficient. "One reason that large firms struggle with new tech like AI: managers are squeamish about risk," Mollick tweeted. The best pro-human case is that workers are kept on and given access to AI tools like ChatGPT. It may be time for tech workers to update their favorite smug adage: Learn to code.

☆ A 24-year-old Black tattoo artist explains why she and many others are fleeing Austin: 'The soul of the city has changed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Imani Tatum is leaving Austin after living there for the past three years. "I wanted to create a place where specifically marginalized people could be tattooed, while being safe and enjoying themselves," Tatum told Insider. Tatum said she's done: she's closing Nana's Prayers, packing her bags and heading to a new city in May. But affordable housing remains scarce in the city, and that's driving out many minority residents, like Tatum. While price growth has slowed in Austin, the city's median home price still sits at a staggering $525,000, $140,000 above the US median sale price, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.

☆ Why Everyone Is Moving to Florida: Jobs, Economy, Cost of Living, Taxes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Emil Skandul | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

For other states to compete, they will need to pay attention to what Florida is doing right. Floridians pay no income tax and fewer taxes overall than people in states like New York, California, or Massachusetts. But a low tax rate isn't the only thing people care about. Despite having a budget half the size of New York's and a larger population, Florida, by many metrics, is able to do significantly more with the taxes it collects. Florida is also outshining New York and other major population centers in tackling the soaring cost of housing.

Austin has emerged as a hub for relocating tech talent during the pandemic. Investors in Austin closed 416 deals in 2022 worth $4.9 billion, according to PitchBook. For this list, we asked VCs from across the country about which Texas investors we need to know. To qualify, an investor needed to be a Texas resident, but their firms and portfolio companies could be anywhere. Check out Insider's list of 46 top investors in Texas.

☆ Investors and techies gather in San Francisco to bathe in generative A.I. hype sparked by ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

They were there to discuss the latest craze capturing the attention of the tech world: generative artificial intelligence. The underlying AI software powering ChatGPT, a kind of machine-learning technology known as a "large language model," isn't new. As Bessemer Venture Partners' Sameer Dholakia told audience members, generative AI could change "the lives of billions of people." Blackwell credits OpenAI and ChatGPT with showing people what's possible with generative AI, shining a spotlight on the industry at large. But for one day in San Francisco, generative AI was more than just a tool.

☆ The generative AI boom is bringing San Francisco’s tech scene roaring back to life
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Techies fled from San Francisco during the pandemic, and its resurgence stalled for a while. It's just south of Japantown, mere blocks from San Francisco City Hall, and north of the Mission District. Someone even said it would be "irresponsible" to not work on generative AI in San Francisco. There aren't any skeptics in the space yet, and the majority of generative AI investments land in the Bay Area. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ Pickleball is tech’s hottest new club. Here’s why it’s gaining popularity in Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I miss my South Brooklyn pickleball community, but hope to find a consistent place to play in San Diego. Maybe that officially makes me a woman in tech, because right now, it's the hottest club in the industry. I used to play tennis competitively, but I have so much more fun with pickleball. So if you work in tech, let's stop meeting over coffee and chat while dinking instead. These low barriers of entry, plus its social nature, make pickleball perfect for networking.

☆ An Apple a day could keep the layoffs away
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For many tech workers, however, this Lunar New Year was tainted with layoff anxiety. Apple is the only Big Tech company that hasn't conducted sweeping layoffs recently. Apple has long been a lone wolf among its Big Tech peers. The chart above shows how more tech workers were laid off in January 2023 than during the first half of 2022 combined. Read four of the memos in full here, from Google Chrome, Google Cloud, Google UK, and its Europe, the Middle East, and Africa offices.

☆ Microsoft's investment into ChatGPT's creator may be the smartest $1 billion ever spent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Microsoft's $1 billion investment into OpenAI may be one of the shrewdest bets in tech history. OpenAI released AI bot ChatGPT and is in discussions to raise capital at a $30 billion valuation. "We believe Microsoft's investment in OpenAI will translate to significant underappreciated upside," Luria wrote. Investors may be souring on speculative tech but AI looks resilientThere is speculation that Microsoft may look to buy OpenAI. That suggests investors will still look to pile into the hottest AI companies, cementing the value of Microsoft's deal.

☆ Banks vs. Fintechs: Why all the billions in the world can't help Wall Street crush its digital rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Bianca Chan | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

To compete, banks have written fat checks to acquire fintechs — tech, talent, and all. But on Wall Street, old habits die hard, and Goldman has struggled to make Marcus, a big fintech bet, a success. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Wall Street leaders have been at the helm of a push to get their employees back to their desks. It's more that the very things that make Wall Street, well, Wall Street are preventing it from embracing the ethos of Silicon Valley. And perhaps, for Wall Street, that's the moral of the story.

☆ The pink-slip parties of the dot-com bust helped laid-off tech workers get new jobs. They need to make a comeback.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Allison Hemming started "pink-slip parties" in the early aughts after the dotcom bust. Back then, like now, tech workers lost their jobs en masse. Hemming began running regular meetups for laid-off tech workers — misery loves company, after all — giving them an opportunity to network and meet prospective hiring managers. Will the latest tech layoffs spur a return of pink-slip parties? The tech workers losing their jobs today have a nice runway because a lot of big nontech companies are still hiring.

☆ Bengaluru, home to 1.5 million IT workers and called 'the world's back-office,' has dodged the tech winter ripping through Silicon Valley — but experts warn it may not last
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Matthew Loh | Britney Toh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Salaries hit the roof," Yeshab Giri, the chief commercial officer at Randstad India, told Insider. They see the decline more as the market returning to the brink of normalcy, and said there's still hope for laid-off tech workers — as long as they've been active in their jobs. In the same quarter, Infosys, which hires a 345,000-strong workforce, reported a $65.6 million net profit. Menon of CIEL believes demand for tech workers will pick up again in the second quarter of next year, after a "much-needed correction" in the industry. It suffered a $575 million net loss in the year ending March 2021, per Bloomberg.

☆ The 20+ Best Black Friday Tech Deals to Shop Right Now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Whether you’re shopping for a smartphone, a computer, headphones or accessories, we have you covered with the best deals on tech. This deal is $20 less than the best price we’ve ever seen, and while Apple released a newer version of the streaming box this year, the benefits don’t outweigh this killer price. Apple’s MagSafe Charger is the fastest wireless charger out there. The MagSafe Duo Charger has the same benefits as the standalone MagSafe Charger, and it also includes an Apple Watch charger. Mophie’s 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand is marked down to $100, matching the lowest price we’ve seen.

☆ Check out Contrary NYC, a 'Soho House for techies' community hangout that's generating buzz and drawing visitors like Serena Williams
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Silicon Valley venture firm, Contrary, recently opened a community space for tech workers in New York. In September, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Contrary added another space to the list. Contrary NYC bills itself as a "Soho House for techies." Until recently, the space has mostly been accessible to people already associated with the firm— investors, founders, and fellows. I paid a visit to Contrary during the second week of October, the tail end of New York Tech Week — five days of events dedicated to the city's growing startup ecosystem.

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