Home Page 96

“Goblin Mode” Voted Oxford Word of the Year by Public

The term refers to people indulging in the slovenly behaviors we're taught to keep off our carefully curated social feeds.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

“Goblin Mode” has been crowned the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year, marking the first time the decision has ever gone to a public vote with an emphatic rejection of societal expectations.

The term – which has found its way into all sorts of social media content during the past 12 months – claimed victory in the wake of competition from “Metaverse” and “#IStandWith”, which were the other two terms shortlisted for voting by the Oxford University Press.

It must be said, however, that it wasn’t really a close-run race – a total of 318,956 English speakers voted for Goblin Mode, which accounted for 93% of the combined votes for all three phrases.

What is “Goblin Mode”, and Why Is it the Word of the Year?

Goblin Mode refers to “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations”.

“Goblin Mode” is an admittance that maintaining an overly sanitized, “perfect” pictures of yourself to present to the rest of the world on social media is unrealistic and unnecessary.

The implication that we all have the capacity to enter “Goblin Mode” challenges the belief you should drive to be the “best version of yourself” every single day, a mantra often trotted out by influencers and celebrities on social media sites.

All in all, it’s an acceptance that conforming to social norms all day, every day, just isn’t possible – and we shouldn’t live our lives pretending it is. Unsurprisingly, this message resonated with many people living in the post-pandemic world.

“It’s a relief to acknowledge that we’re not always the idealized, curated selves that we’re encouraged to present on our Instagram and TikTok feeds,” Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, told the Guardian.

“This has been demonstrated by the dramatic rise of platforms like BeReal where users share images of their unedited selves, often capturing self-indulgent moments in goblin mode,” he added.

When Was Goblin Mode First Used?

While the use of the term “Goblin Mode” rapidly increased during the first half of 2022, ultimately sealing its place as word of the year, the term was first used well over a decade ago.

The first recorded usage of the term dates back 13 years to a 2009 tweet, while it initially appeared on the crowdsourced online slang dictionary Urban Dictionary in 2020.

But it was last year that it began its meteoric rise to prominence after a satirical fake news article was produced claiming Julia Fox had said Kanye West didn’t enjoy her going “full goblin mode” during their relationship.

Quiet Quitting, Ghost Work and More Office Slang Explained

Metaverse: Missing the Mark

Although the term “metaverse” appeared more frequently this year than it has ever been previously, it was perhaps apt that the word finished in second place.

“The Metaverse” has made headlines all year, with Mark Zuckerberg and Co. continuing to make outlandish predictions about the number of people who’ll be spending in digital spaces in the near future and attempting to sell new VR headsets.

However, it’s received widespread criticism for being seriously overhyped, with many of the most popular Metaverse companies seeing a steep decline in active user bases.

So, in oddly poetic fashion, while those with a stake in the Metaverse tried tirelessly to dress it up to look more impressive than it actually is at present, Goblin Mode’s brutally honest statement on humanity’s inability to be permanently perfect evidently resonated with more people.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Aaron Drapkin is Tech.co's Content Manager. He has been researching and writing about technology, politics, and society in print and online publications since graduating with a Philosophy degree from the University of Bristol six years ago. Aaron's focus areas include VPNs, cybersecurity, AI and project management software. He has been quoted in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, The Daily Mail, Computer Weekly, Cybernews, Lifewire, HR News and the Silicon Republic speaking on various privacy and cybersecurity issues, and has articles published in Wired, Vice, Metro, ProPrivacy, The Week, and Politics.co.uk covering a wide range of topics.

Amazon Could Lay Off 20,000 Employees, Reports Claim

Reports suggest that Amazon may be about to lay off twice as many employees as originally reported in mid-November.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

A report published this week has suggested Amazon plans to lay off 20,000 employees, double the figure originally reported by a number of major news outlets in mid-November.

If the rumors prove to be true, it’ll be the biggest mass layoff of staff in the ecommerce behemoth’s 28-year history. The figure is much larger than the number of staff the company laid off in the wake of the dot-com bubble bursting in the early 2000s and the 2008 financial crash combined.

Tragically, however, Amazon is not alone, with swathes of companies in the tech sector making significant cuts to their payroll during 2022.

Amazon Layoffs: Bigger Than First Thought?

According to Computer World, company managers have been told that they should “identify work performance problems among employees” so that Amazon can make a total of 20,000 layoffs.

The 20,000 employees would represent 6% of corporate staff and 1.3% of the company’s total workforce, which amounts to around 1.5 million employees.

“There is no specific department or location mentioned for the cuts; it is across the business,” a source reportedly told Computer World.

“We were told this is as a result of over-hiring during the pandemic and the need for cost-cutting as the company’s financials have been on a declining trend,” they added.

Amazon Scale Back After Pandemic Boom

Unlike some rival tech companies, Amazon’s stocks soared during the pandemic, with demand for deliveries skyrocketing.

This state of play, CEO Andy Jassy says, “forced [Amazon] to make decisions at that time to spend a lot more money and to go much faster in building infrastructure than we ever imagined we would”.

Now, after posting its slowest growth figures in two decades this July and “overbuilding”, Amazon is looking to scale back its operations, with more layoffs likely to come next year if previously circulated internal memos are to be believed.

Tech Layoffs: A Sector-Wide Issue

Amazon, of course, is not the only multi-national tech company trying to cut staff numbers as a result of the dire economic forecasts for next year and a looming recession.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in early November that he’d “decided to reduce the size of [Meta’s] team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go.”

Apple, conversely, said last month that it was being “very deliberate” when it came to hiring, with Tim Cook adding that the iPad manufacturer wasn’t hiring “everywhere in the company”.

Just before this, in mid-October, Microsoft also announced layoffs “across multiple divisions” but confirmed soon after that less than one thousand staff members would be affected.

Of course, Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter also resulted in mass staff layoffs, although it’s hard to parse how much of this was financially rather than ideologically motivated.

With supply chain issues, a lack of consumer buying power, and other rising costs directly related to global issues like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all expected to hurt tech companies’ ability to grow heading into 2023, it’s likely more layoffs in the tech sector will follow.

Tags

Big Tech

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Email Overload: 30% of Americans Declare “Email Bankruptcy”

The average worker's relationship with their email inbox is not a happy one - but its unlikely email will die anytime soon.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

A recent study has revealed that the vast majority of US adults feel “overwhelmed” by their email inboxes, while a third have admitted defeat and abandoned or deleted them altogether.

The continuous adoption of business communications platforms like Microsoft Teams, the proliferation of collaboration tools such as project management software, and the threat of phishing attacks together create a strong case that email may not be fit for contemporary workplace communication purposes.

But, considering the billions of emails sent every year, it’s unlikely we’ll be kicking the habit any time soon – however good the alternatives may be.

Email Overload: Every Employee’s Nightmare

According to data compiled by email management software provider Gated, which surveyed 560 working US adults and complemented it with responses from 1,500 Gated users, 62% of people agree that it is hard to focus because of digital distractions, while 67% of people feel “overwhelmed by their inbox”.

More worryingly, 82% of survey respondents reported missing important emails because their inbox is too full, while 73% said they received too many “unsolicited” emails.

33% of those surveyed said they were spending more than one hour a day dealing with their email inboxes, while almost three-quarters said they felt “guilt or stress” over emails they have not read and replied to.

30% of US adults surveyed have gone one step further and “declared email bankruptcy” – either “entirely deleting” or “abandoning” their inbox due to email overload.

This drastic action is made more understandable, however, by the fact that Gated found 28% of work emails were “not of immediate value” to the recipient.

Email Is No Longer the Best Way to Communicate at Work

While email inboxes have become increasingly overcrowded in the past decade, better ways to communicate with work colleagues, such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, have gradually emerged.

Communicating through these apps, which arguably share more similarities with social networking platforms like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger than they do with email, removes the vast majority of use cases for internal, colleague-to-colleague email correspondence.

Meanwhile, project management software and other business tools such as CRM systems have continued to expand their suites of collaboration tools in an effort to centralize communications around singular apps and promote efficiency. Team instant messengers and project message boards, for example, are now commonplace.

Although email is certainly still the best way to contact someone that works for another business, 22% of US adults say email is no longer their primary source of external communication, according to the survey. Contacting clients, customers, and other companies via Twitter and sites like LinkedIn is much more prevalent than ever before.

Is Email Dead? Not Quite

Yet, despite significant developments in the world of business communications, according to Gated, 82% of US adults still use email as their primary source of internal communication at work.

The first email was sent over half a century ago, all the way back in 1971. A modest take on the relevant technological developments that have taken place since then would be that we’ve positively diversified our lines of workplace communication – but many would say we’ve created significantly more efficient avenues to talk to one another.

Couple these advancements with one of the major disadvantages of email – that it’s a hotspot for phishing campaigns and scammers attempting to exploit unsuspecting victims, as well as endless spam and junk mail – and you wouldn’t be a fool for thinking the communication method is on the way out.

But we are, after all, creatures of habit. With over 319 billion emails sent in the year 2021 – a number which is predicted to rise, not fall, in 2023 – it’s unlikely we’ll be giving it up any time soon, whatever cutting-edge communication tool might be just around the corner.

Tags

Business Trends

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Amazon Cuts Entire Workforce in India Distribution Center

The news comes just weeks after Twitter announced a 90% cut in workforce in the same region. Is Big Tech leaving India?

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Amazon quietly announced its third exit from India this week, shutting down its entire wholesale distribution center for Bengaluru, Mysore, and Hubli.

The announcement, which will affect one of the largest neighborhoods in southern India, comes just weeks after Twitter cut 90% of its workforce in the same region, causing local businesses to question big tech’s commitment in South Asia.

Other businesses impacted by the colossal 10,000 Amazon layoffs include Amazon’s India food delivery service and Amazon Academy — the Indian e-learning platform.

While the company continues to make cloud investments in the country, it’s clear that mass tech layoffs so far have had a huge impact on the South Asian market.

Amazon Shuts Down Third Business in India

Despite having one of the largest growth markets in the world, Amazon has failed to crack India, resulting in its third business closure in the past few weeks, following the announcement of company layoffs.

Amazon, which pledged to invest $1 billion in small businesses in India in 2020, had made huge steps in the country, despite notorious protests questioning the company’s foreign business practice.

In 2020, Amazon launched an online food delivery service called Amazon Food in select parts of Bangalore, and in 2021, it launched an edtech online learning platform called Amazon Academy, both of which are set to close later this year.

Despite India having one of the largest online growth markets in the world, the country is still heavily reliant on independent neighborhood stores — which account for 90% of the country’s retail sales — despite its ecommerce market being worth an estimated $39 billion, according to the Guardian.

However, Amazon has struggled to compete with retail rivals like Flipkart, a retailer owned by the US giant Walmart, and ecommerce startups like Meesho and Tiger Global.

Is The Digital Market in India at Risk?

Despite Twitter and Amazon making significant cuts in the country, India is still one of the biggest growth drivers in the market. Ecommerce sales in India, according to Insider Intelligence, are still expected to soar, with projections of India hitting the $100 billion mark for the first time in 2023.

Amazon may be restructuring, but their investment in the region is still evident. Just last week, the company announced its second Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud unit in Hyderabad, pledging to invest more than $4.4 billion in the South Asian market by 2023.

Competition is fierce, with Google and Microsoft both operating cloud services in the region, however, this just proves that there is still a big drive to invest in other areas in the South Asian market.

Tags

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

4-Day Work Week Is Better for Business, According to New Study

Participating companies in the US, UK, and CA all reported a massive boost in performance, productivity and revenue.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

If you’re looking for an alternative to remote or hybrid working, a four-day work week might just be the answer.

According to a six-month global study backed by researchers at Cambridge University, Boston College, and Oxford University, all participating companies reported a massive boost in their performance, productivity, revenue, and employee satisfaction across the board, after trialing a four-day work week.

The 32-hour week study, which monitored 969 people from 33 companies in the US, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada also concluded that two-thirds (67%) of employees felt less burned-out with no significant increase in workload during the trial period, and 96.9% wanting to continue the experiment.

The results come at an interesting time, with businesses are under pressure to retain their top talent and improve their margins, but mass layoffs and changes to work from home policies have resulted in employees leaving in massive numbers. The new report suggests a four-day work could be a happy medium.

The 4-Day Work Week Study Global Findings

In 2022, 4 Day Week Global, a not-for-profit organization based in New Zealand, coordinated “the world’s first global, independent research into the impacts of a 4-day week,” recruiting 33 organizations with 969 employees in the US, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada.

The study, which took place over a six-month period, monitored company revenue, performance, productivity, wellness, and other metrics during the 4-day, 32-hour work week with no reduction in pay. The results, released this week, were overwhelmingly positive.

“Companies are extremely pleased with their performance, productivity and overall experience, with almost all of them already committing or planning to continue with the 4-day week schedule…Revenue has risen over the course of the trial. Sick days and absenteeism are down. Companies are hiring. Resignations fell slightly, a striking finding during the ‘Great Resignation.’ Employees are similarly enthusiastic. And climate impacts, while less well-measured, are also encouraging.”

The statistics put forward a strong case for businesses looking to find a balance by encouraging workers to return to the office, but also in retaining their top talent. Here’s how the stats breakdown.

Four-day work week impact on businesses

Overall revenue rose 8.14% (weighted by company size) in the six-month period
Revenue across the board was up 37.55% compared to same six-month period of previous
63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain talent with a 4-day week.
Companies saw a 12.16% increase in the number of employees over the course of the trial

Four-day work week impact on employees

67% of employees reportedly felt less burned-out
Fatigue levels decreased from 66% to 57%
Sleep problems reduced from 59% to 51%
Anxiety and negative affect also both fell substantially
Employees with 4-day weeks are happier (78%) and less stressed (96.7%)

With remote work policies changing, and businesses forcing employees to return to the office, the four-day work week could be an alternative for those still in search of a better work-life balance. Most companies, however, may need more convincing.

Big Business Is Buckling Under Mounting Pressure

During the pandemic, companies saw a big surge in online spend, with more people streaming content, shopping, and spending time on social media, with companies hiring specifically to accommodate the increase in demand. When the world came out of lockdown, the boom inevitably subsided, with companies who had previously benefitted now facing a major economic downturn.

Productivity paranoia saw an increase in employer demands, with companies like Meta and Google demanding employees raise the bar on both product excellence and productivity, and employers redacting their work from home polices, demanding employees return to in office work.

Employees, however, aren’t happy. Mass resignations this year were recorded across the board, with top execs, like Apple’s Director of Machine Learning, quitting in opposition of the Apple’s work from home policy changes, demanding more flexibility within his team, showcasing just how high up the need for flexibility goes. Companies, however, are under pressure.

Soaring inflation has caused digital advertisers in the US to cut back on spend, impacting tech companies in particular, who rely heavily on the revenue. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve continues to increase inflation rates, with the central bank announcing its fourth straight increase of 0.75% just earlier this month, causing many companies to make cuts, leading to mass layoffs.

“We’ve seen a surge in layoffs in recent weeks because it’s becoming obvious that the [Federal Reserve] will need to keep increasing interest rates for longer than originally expected,” – Roger Lee, founder of Layoffs.fyi, told TIME.

Is The Four-Day Work Week the Answer?

While the four-day week experiment was a success in all the companies who participated, companies under pressure to meet targets during economic uncertainty may be hesitant to reduce working hours. The study, however, suggests that the impact of a four-day week may have the opposite effect.

Since companies redacted their work from home policies and demanded a return to in-office work, studies show that productivity in the US has actually hit an all-time historic low, suggesting that businesses do in fact need a change. Could a four-day week be the answer?

With quiet quitting on the rise, and companies struggling to retain their top talent, flexibility may have more of a positive impact on businesses than leaders may think.

While the five-day work week is still very much in place in the US, some companies have started testing out shorter weeks. With reports of a huge surge in applications on job openings despite the longer advertised hours. Unions are in favor too. The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) previously endorsed the “32-Hour Workweek Act,” first introduced by California Rep. Mark Takano last year, stating:

“It is past time that we put people and communities over corporations and their profits — finally prioritizing the health, wellbeing, and basic human dignity of the working class rather than their employers’ bottom line.” – CPC Chair Pramila Jayapal.

Maybe the four-day work week is the happy medium businesses and employees need.

Tags

Opinion and Analysis

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Twitter Replacement Hive Shuts Down Servers to Fix Security Flaws

Hive is dealing with serious security vulnerabilities. Is it still a good replacement for those leaving Twitter?

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Would-be Twitter alternative Hive Social is facing growing pains, as the service has temporarily shut down its own app to address multiple critical vulnerabilities.

Researchers who have called attention to the security concerns say that the vulnerabilities could have allowed bad actors to access all public and private data (including deleted direct messages) while also giving them the ability to edit Hive posts from other accounts.

Any service that sees a rapid userbase expansion will deal with unexpected problems like this, as anyone who worked at Zoom in 2020 will be happy to tell you. Still, this is a huge security concern that calls into question Hive’s status alongside Mastadon and Post as an alternative to Twitter.

Researchers Say Hive Claimed the Flaws Were Fixed When They Weren’t

The whistleblowers behind Hive’s shutdown are the German collective Zerforschung. According to a report from TechCrunch, these researchers say they quietly reported the vulnerabilities to Hive at first.

When the Hive team got back a few days later, they claimed the flaws were fixed but the researchers learned they were not. So, the research team went public.

That backstory is another blow against Hive, sadly: Security vulnerabilities can happen to any tech company, but the real evidence that a company is trustworthy lies in how rapidly and comprehensively it responses. The app’s shutdown now shows that they’re truly invested in addressing the problems even at a loss of user activity, but it’s coming a little later than would be ideal.

Hive Appears to Be Run By Three People

Part of the problem might be the small team: While Hive isn’t clear on exactly who works at the company, TechCrunch reports that founder Kassandra Pop has mentioned two relatively new team members.

Given that the userbase is reportedly around two million accounts, Hive doesn’t have a lot of employees to address immediate issues such as these new security vulnerabilities. But perhaps that’s good news. Provided the app can expand thoughtfully in order to keep up with its sky-rocketing audience, Hive might yet prove to be worth checking out.

Will One Social Platform Rise to the Top as a Twitter Alternative?

Right now, plenty of Twitter users may hope to leave their current social platform, due to curation and security concerns amid a mass exodus of Twitter staffers.

But there’s no clear alternative that can deliver the same traffic and tweets that Twitter users are accustomed to. Mastodon is a more confusing service, Hive has a small team open to vulnerabilities, and even Post has a roster of VC backers that could wind up repeating the same mistakes Twitter made. Personally, I think we should all retreat to Tumblr, but I don’t see that view taking off with most people.

However it all shakes out, though, social media itself isn’t going away. The world’s more connected than ever for individuals and businesses alike, even if no individual service is destined to last forever.

Hive can still rise to the top. It just needs to expand its cybersecurity team as soon as possible and earn back audience trust.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

87% of US Defense Contractors Fail Basic Cybersecurity Requirements

80% lack a vulnerability management solution, while 79% lack a comprehensive multi-factor authentication system.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

The United States might not be as prepared for a cyber-attack as we think: A large majority of US defense contractors don’t meet basic cybersecurity requirements.

Specifically, a full 87% don’t meet core regulation standards, as a survey of 300 contractors has recently found.

It’s a sign that the country’s protective services aren’t quite up to snuff, and that’s concerning for the health and safety of our infrastructure and private data. But what are the exact standards that our bevy of contractors failed at?

Just 13% Contractors Scored 70 or Higher

The security standard is called the Supplier Risk Performance System (SPRS) score, and it’s a requirement under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The US passed that supplement back in 2017.

Contractors are supposed to reach a score of 110 for full compliance. However, they only have to hit a score of 70 to reach the bare minimum. And yet just 13% of them reached 70 or higher, while the rest failed to reach that mark, research commissioned by CyberSheath has found.

Some additional takeaways about the survey’s findings:

80% lack a vulnerability management solution
79% lack a comprehensive multi-factor authentication (MFA) system
73% lack an endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution
70% have not deployed security information and event management (SIEM)

Worse, the same survey found most contractors didn’t meet another standard, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which is a framework that the Department of Defense released in 2020 and must be pass by any company bidding for contracts.

A “Clear and Present Danger”

CyberShealth hasn’t held back about these findings, calling them “shocking” and a threat to national security.

“The report’s findings show a clear and present danger to our national security. We often hear about the dangers of supply chains that are susceptible to cyberattacks. The DIB is the Pentagon’s supply chain, and we see how woefully unprepared contractors are despite being in threat actors’ crosshairs.” – Eric Noonan, CEO of CyberSheath

We covered the government’s commitments to closing the cybersecurity skills gap back in July, but these new results don’t look promising. And these days, cybersecurity is more important than ever.

Ransomware attacks and security breaches are up in recent years, and even the best pros have neared their breaking points recently, with one report from June of this year finding that 45% of cybersecurity professionals have considered quitting their jobs over rampant ransomware attacks.

Staying Cyber-Secure

The good news is that we are seeing some positive change on the horizon in 2023, with spending on cybersecurity set to rise in the next year by 10% to 15%.

Better software solutions like password managers, VPNs, and remote access software can help businesses small and large tackle the problem.

For the government and its defense contractors, though, we’ll need more than just a VPN. The wheels of change turn slowly in government, sure, but this appears to be a case in which they could be turning a lot faster.

Tags

Privacy and Security

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Twitter Is No Longer Secure, According to Former Safety Chief

50 of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers have jumped ship, as concerns over the app's safety mount.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

As Musk continues to make sweeping changes to Twitter, including reinstating banned users, ditching moderation plans, and decimating teams designed to protect users, the company’s former Head of Trust & Safety thinks safety on the app can no longer be guaranteed.

And it’s not just former staffers that hold these concerns. As Musk continues to remove the platform’s checks and balances, advertisers are dropping like flies — with 50 of the top 100 agencies fleeing the app within the past week.

As recent events have shown, the safety and security of Twitter users have never been Musk’s top priority. But could this freefall in ad revenue be enough to change the billionaire’s tact?

Musk Continues to Cut Crucial Teams

Twitter is a less secure place to be following Musk’s takeover, according to Yoel Roth, the company’s former head of content moderation who quit the app over a month ago.

Speaking in a recent onstage interview, Roth explained that amid his many concerns, there aren’t enough workers remaining at the company that comprehend trust and safety to effectively control the platform.

The former official is referring to the widespread cuts that have recently taken place within the company, which appear to have particularly impacted teams designed to handle audience measurement and brand safety issues. These include sweeping layoffs that have taken place within the company’s analytics, insights, and consumer research team.

More shocking still, a recent report by Bloomberg has revealed that Musk has significantly reduced the size of the team responsible for tackling child sexual exploitation on the platform. The team, which was already being pushed to its limits before Musk’s takeover, has been cut in half, leaving ten people left to tend to all cases of child exploitation on the app.

To pour salt in the wound, this decision to leave behind a skeleton crew came just days after the billionaire Tweeted that stopping child exploitation was his top priority.

Removing child exploitation is priority #1. Please reply in comments if you see anything that Twitter needs to address.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2022

But unfortunately for remaining Twitter users, firing important safeguarders isn’t the only action Musk is taking to spark safety concerns.

Musk Welcomes Back Banned Users

In addition to the widespread layoffs, another one of Roth’s gripes with Musk’s handling of Twitter is his reinstatement of formerly banned accounts.

This follows Musk’s recent decision to welcome back banned users, including notoriously controversial figures Donald Trump and Kayne West. Blocked users will now automatically regain access to the site, despite the CEO formally proposing that each case would have to be reviewed by a moderation committee.

And Musk’s decision to drop the moderation committee has already prompted real-world consequences. According to a study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, homophobic and racist rhetoric on the app has spiked since his takeover of the platform.

Its actions like these that have led Yoel Roth, and thousands of former Twitter users that have ditched the app in favor of alternatives like Cohost and Mastodon, to turn their back on the platform. But unfortunately for Musk, Twitter users aren’t the only demographic fleeing the app.

Advertisers Are Ditching Twitter Amid Safety Turns

As fears around the platform’s safety mount, advertisers are leaving en mass.

According to Media Matters, 50 of the top 100 advertisers, which accounted for almost $2 billion in spending on Twitter since 2020, have stopped working with the app since Musk’s takeover. These include notable brands like VW, General Motors, Coca-Cola, Heineken, and Mars.

“Some of the things he is posting, including memes, are horrendous. The challenge for Musk and Twitter is that he will need to prove that this is an environment that is safe for advertisers, and so far we have not seen that.” – Annonymous agency leader

But while Musk assures remaining advertisers that Twitter aspires to be the “most respected advertising platform in the world”, he’s also doubling down on actions that jeopardize the safety of his users.

With no clear strategy change in site, and the platform’s ad revenue tanking, the future of Elon’s Twitter looks as unpredictable as ever.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Tech Companies Cutting Budgets Must Boost Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity spending is expected to increase in the next year by 10% to 15% and your business should follow suit.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

While tech companies prepare for the upcoming recession with big budget cuts and brutal layoff plans, it’s important to remember that cybersecurity should be the last place you’re trying to save money.

The importance of cybersecurity is significant in the business world today. Unfortunately, the average business doesn’t invest nearly enough in preventing breaches and securing data, which can result in lost revenue, ruined reputations, and even the shuttering of your business.

Now, with virtually the entire business world looking to cut costs, business owners should be reminded that cutting costs in your cybersecurity department could have dire effects on the longevity of your business.

Cybersecurity Should Be Recession-Proof

While cybersecurity can feel like an unnecessary cost, resulting in no direct revenue, it remains one of the most important aspects of your business to invest in.

In fact, experts predict that, despite widespread cuts across the tech industry, cybersecurity spending is expected to increase by 10-15% over the next year and a half.

“Cybersecurity is actually getting special treatment in these recessionary times because of the increased threat perception.” – Santha Subramoni, global head of the cybersecurity business unit at Tata Consultancy Services

Increased threat perception is a bit of an understatement is regard to the current state of cybersecurity.

The Importance of Cybersecurity

Sure, experts and business owners are investing in cybersecurity, but how important is it actually? Well, according to a wide range of cybersecurity statistics and studies, you are really going to want to invest in cybersecurity for your business.

Right out of the gate, a data breach can cost the average US business approximately $10 million, which alone should be enough of a reason to shore up your security. Even worse, 83% of businesses view cybersecurity as important, but only 43% consider it to be a “top three” budget priority.

Remote work isn’t helping either. With employees working from home, cybersecurity is naturally a bit harder to nail down, creating security gaps that could cause serious problems.

“The digital footprint of our customers has increased exponentially. It’s not just the front production environments that are exposed to the internet. Everything is exposed to the internet because of remote working.” – Santha Subramoni

Fortunately, investing in cybersecurity doesn’t have to completely ruin you. While we highly recommend investing in a full-on IT department to handle security, there are some tools that can get you started on the right foot. Password managers and VPNs are a must for businesses with hybrid work models, allowing employees to access company systems without putting them at risk.

Tags

Privacy and Security

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Study: Women Want to Work From Home More Than Men Do

A new study found that when asked about the importance of remote work, women were notably more vocal than men.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

A new study has found that women want to work from home more than men want to, highlighting the importance of flexible work policies in attracting top talent.

For the last few years, remote work has become a staple of the business world. The pandemic encouraged millions of business owners to adopt the flexible work policy in hopes of curbing the effects of the virus. The paradigm shift promoted work-life balance, giving employees the freedom to get work done at their own pace.

Now, however, businesses are starting to demand employees return to the office, and it could be driving away a certain type of employee more than others.

Workplace Flexibility Is More Important to Women

According to a study from YouGov titled Workforce Insights, women want to work from home more than men do. The study, which surveyed 4,000 US individuals in the labor force, asked respondents about how important it was for a business to allow employees to work from anywhere.

In the survey, 71% of woman said that this was at least moderately important, whereas only 66% of men said the same. On top of that, only 12% of women said the ability to work from anywhere was not important at all, whereas 16% of men agreed.

“Given these gender differences, businesses that support flexibility with voluntary office work policies are likely to have the broadest positive engagement from workers.”

That’s not all, though. Women also view flexibility in working hours as more important than men, with 57% agreeing that it’s very important for a business to offer, whereas only 44% of men feel the same way.

Should My Business Offer Hybrid Work?

In short, your business should absolutely offer a hybrid work policy, and there are plenty of statistics beyond this study that prove it.

For one, productivity has been up across the board since remote work became popular. One study found that 32% of hiring managers said that productivity has increased under remote work policies. Another found that businesses experience a 22% performance boost when allowing employees to work from home.

More concrete numbers make it even harder to argue with. A Global Workplace Analytics study found that the average business can save up to $11,000 per hybrid work employees, thanks to everything from lower costs to higher productivity

Simply put, demanding your employees return to the office for some perceived company culture just isn’t the way anymore. As long as you have the right tools in place to facilitate productivity, communication, and security, like web conferencing software and password managers, you should absolutely be taking advantage of the hybrid work movement.

Tags

Business Trends

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Snap Follows Twitter and Demands Staff Return to the Office

Snap employees will need to be in the office four days a week starting in February of next year.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

The tech industry’s honeymoon with remote work is coming to a close, as Snap joins other notable companies in doing away with the flexible policy.

At the start of the pandemic, tech giants like Snap were all too happy to jump on board the work-from-home boom. The infamously innovative industry paved the way for remote work, eventually spurring on the new normal of flexibility when it comes to your commute.

However, with a recession looming and tech layoffs abound, many companies have rescinded the previously flexible remote work policies, demanding employees return to the office for the majority of the week. And now, Snap has joined the fray.

Snap Employees Must Return to Office

In a company memo obtained by Bloomberg, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel informed employees that they would be required to be in the office at least four days per week. The update will apply to all 30 of Snap’s offices across the world and will go into effect in February of next year.

As for the reasons why, Spiegel is simply parroting the common line the productivity just isn’t the same with employees working from home.

“I believe that spending more time together in person will help us to achieve our full potential.” – Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap

The policy change comes after Snap has struggled in recent months, reporting low quarterly revenue growth, with only 6% quarterly sales growth in late October, the lowest ever in the company’s history. Will a return to office actually help? Spiegel certainly seems to think so.

“We’ve forgotten what we’ve lost — and what we could gain — by spending more time together.”

This news is particularly unfortunate for the remote work movement, as Snap was one of the first and most generous adapters of the work from home policy. Snap now joins Twitter, who also revoked remote work status for its employees under the new owner, as some of the pioneers of remote work that have rebuked their previous work from home plans.

Is Remote Work Dead?

More and more companies are demanding that employees return to the office. So, the question remains: will this former paradigm shift end up as nothing more than an extended vacation from terrible commutes and boring company culture?

If you’ve gotten used to working from home, rest assured that your flexible work schedule probably isn’t going anywhere. While tech giants have made a stink about productivity and returning to the office, the majority of businesses are sticking with their remote work policies and have no plans to change them. Even better, the numbers back them up.

78% of CEOs say that remote work is here to stay and working from home continues to be the number one priority for top talent, which means that removing this policy is going to do a lot more harm than good.

Still, you need to make sure your business is equipped to effectively manage remote workers, which is where business tools can really help. Web conferencing and project management software can go a long way in facilitating productivity, while password managers and VPNs are excellent for maintaining a secure system with employees working from home.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

TikTok Hopes Startups Can Breathe Life Into Its Shopping Struggles

Social commerce is a hugely lucrative industry in Asia but hasn't taken off in the US and Europe, despite Big Tech's efforts.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

TikTok is struggling to make a dent in the world of US and European ecommerce, and has now enlisted the help of a number of startups to try and reverse that trend and bring the Live Shopping craze sweeping Asia to other markets.

Currently, TikTok relies heavily on digital advertising to bring in revenue, although this has not been as reliable of a profit stream in recent months as it has previously and is forcing the company to look for alternative ways to make money.

Live Shopping is an integral part of the “social commerce” phenomenon – a general term for ecommerce experiences within which customers don’t even have to leave social media platforms to buy items – but other tech companies like Meta, as well as TikTok, have struggled with it in the US and Europe so far.

TikTok Teams Up With Ecommerce Startups

Digital advertising raked in $11 billion in revenue for TikTok during 2022, but the social media platform has struggled to make similar inroads in the world of ecommerce – so it’s drafting in some help.

Startups such as TalkShopLive, YunExpress and ChannelEngine all facilitate order fulfillment via integration with marketplaces and shopping technology.

TalkShopLive’s services were already requested by TikTok back in October, with the social media giant needing support for its North American rollout of a number of new shopping features that launched this month.

The company is, according to the Financial Times, also hiring staff to build an order fulfillment platform from the ground up.

A Mountain to Climb

The problem is that, for both customers and businesses, buying and selling items on TikTok hasn’t exactly been plain sailing.

Recently, several retailers that have used TikTok to sell items have informed the Financial Times that “the level of resources needed to sell on the app was not worth the returns”.

The paper also reports “around 200 new customer complaints” were being recorded daily during the summer, all related to users having shipping issues and long delivery delays.

Should Tech Giants Stop Trying to Make Social Commerce Happen?

By some metrics, certainly not. TikTok’s sister company Douyin, for instance, which is also owned by ByteDance and mainly operates in China, has seen a 320% rise in sales between April 2021 and April 2022.

But while Live Shopping seems to have really caught on in Asia, there’s significantly less enthusiasm for the retail phenomenon across Europe and the US.

TikTok parent company ByteDance isn’t the only big tech company to struggle with social commerce in European and US markets, with Meta announcing that it was phasing out its Live Shopping function in August.

The precise reason why this is the case is somewhat unclear at present, but many experts believe it’s simply down to entrenched tech and ecommerce habits. Most people in the west are used to buying products from Amazon or ecommerce platforms they recognize, rather than streamers.

Of course, this could change any time – especially when companies with the financial clout of ByteDance have money to throw at it until it does.

Tags

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Twitter to Unban Racists, Homophobes and Covid Deniers Under Musk

Musk has also ditched his moderation committee plans, stating that social activist and political groups broke their deal.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has stated that he intends to reinstate the accounts of previously banned Twitter users, he said in a Tweet on Thursday.

The social media platform has already reinstated two high profile accounts in that of Donald Trump and Kanye West, but now it seems that the floodgates could be about to open.

With many Twitter suspensions in place for racist and homophobic behavior, as well as Covid and political misinformation, the move is likely to be controversial.

Twitter Puts Down the Welcome Mat for Banned Users

In a tweet on Thursday, Musk told followers that he would be offering an amnesty to those who had had their Twitter accounts banned under the site’s previous ownership.

Much like he did with Trump’s reinstatement, the ‘Chief Twit’ posted a poll, asking if those who hadn’t ‘broken the law’ should be allowed back on the platform.

Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2022

After the results of the poll were finalised, in which 72% of respondents stated that banned users should be allowed back on, Musk followed up the poll, voted on by over three million people, with the latin phrase “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” – the voice of the people, the voice of God.

It’s the same phrase that Musk used when he canvassed opinion on reinstating Trump, although that poll proved slightly more popular, with over 15 million votes.

Who Could Return to Twitter After Ban Lift?

The list of those who have been suspended from Twitter is long, and makes for grim reading. Musk has already said that reinstatements won’t be gifted to those who broke the law, but even with this in mind the move will still be a controversial one.

Many of those who were suspended from Twitter in the past were done so due to the use of racist or homophobic language. Many more were banned Covid or political misinformation.

It’s a cast list of abrasive figures whom are unlikely to have turned over a new leaf since their original bans, leading to fears that reintroducing them to the platform could lessen discourse and stoke controversy.

Despite the seeming free-for-all of unbanning potentially thousands of accounts, there are some users who won’t be welcomed back on the platform. Musk has already stated that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ suspension will remain in place.

Musk Ditches Moderation Committee

Shortly after taking over Twitter, Musk had originally stated that all bans would be subject to review by a committee formed of ‘widely diverse’ viewpoints.

However, it appears that this proposal has since been canned by Musk, who later followed up the tweet saying “A large coalition of political/social activist groups agreed not to try to kill Twitter by starving us of advertising revenue if I agreed to this condition. They broke the deal.”

It appears that under the new amnesty, banned accounts will simply be reopened, without any moderation taking place, as Musk’s message doesn’t make reference to any such process.

Fears about an increase in offensive and aggressive language on Twitter aren’t unfounded. One study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that shortly after Musk’s takeover, use of homophobic and racist slang rapidly spiked.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Mis-Price ‘Freebie Bots’ Cost Millions for Retailers on Black Friday

Bots are taking advantage of retailer errors, causing chaos and costing online stores big, while shoppers miss out too.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warn that the cyber landscape is becoming more volatile than ever, as scammers cash in on the surge in shopping activity.

As cyber criminals level up their tactics, over 250 retailers have already been exploited by “Freebie Bots” — a new software program that automatically snaps up mispriced goods — while countless consumers have been duped by spoof websites posing as legitimate brands.

But fortunately, as the ecommerce landscape transforms into the wild wild west, there are ways to stay safe online. Read on to learn about these emerging cyber threats, and for information on how to avoid them.

“Freebie Bots” Are Cashing in On Retail Errors

Bot armies have been plaguing the internet for some time, but according to the security specialists Kasada, a new type of bot has recently emerged, and it’s specifically targeting retail businesses.

The emerging scamming software, known as “freebie bots”, began circulating the web ahead of this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday holidays. They work by automatically scanning retail websites for mispriced items, before purchasing them in bulk and selling them for profit.

“Adding Freebie Bots to the mix gives retailers another headache to deal with, one that directly hits their revenues, as they’re compelled to fulfil orders made with pricing errors” – Researchers from Kasada

And the impact freebie bots are having on businesses are pretty severe. After being exploited by these scam bots, retailers are under obligation to fulfil the orders. In addition to missing out on profits (which can be substantial), this can also increase infrastructure costs and damage a brand’s reputation.

According to Kasada, freebie bots have used this technique to purchase over 100,000 products from 250 businesses in the past month, with a combined retail value of $3.4 million.

Spoof Websites Try and Scupper Black Friday Shoppers

Bots aren’t the only cyber threat you need to be wary of this Black Friday. As consumers flock to the internet for big deals, a number of fake websites have also begun popping up posing as legitimate retailers.

These bogus sites, which tend to imitate well-known brands like Louis Vuitton, email potential victims directly, promoting discounts and one-time offers with catchy subject lines like “Sale starts at $100. You’ll Fall In Love With Prices.”

While spoof websites have existed since the beginning of the internet, researchers at Check Point explain they’ve been proliferating in the run-up to the holiday season, catching out more consumers than ever.

The rise in these phony sites chimes with the sudden surge of spam, and phishing messages, which have increased 10% over the past two weeks, according to Google Workspace Trust & Safety Manager, Nelson Bradley.

So, with the tactics of cybercriminals becoming increasingly underhand, how can consumers and retailers avoid being duped this holiday season?

How Can You Stay Scam-Free this Black Friday?

Its typical for consumers to become increasingly distracted this type of year. But with cybercriminals being on their A-game, CISA Director Jen Easterly recommends following a series of measures to be safe, including shopping from trusted sources, using safe purchasing methods, as well as using basic tools like multi-factor authentication.

“Your cyber safety should be treated like your physical safety. Stay vigilant, take steps to protect yourself, and trust your instincts. If you see something that doesn’t look right, there’s a good chance it isn’t.” CISA Director, Jen Easterly

And for businesses, educating yourself on the tactics and tools used by criminals is a sure fire way to keep one step ahead. This should, of course, be implemented alongside a robust cybersecurity strategy that relies on a range of useful tools from virtual private networks (VPNs) to password managers.

Tags

Privacy and Security

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Google Might Ditch 10,000 Workers, Whilst Investing in Self-Writing Code

As big tech grapples with lost profits and productivity, could generative AI be the answer? Google is hoping so.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Google’s reign as the last major tech firm not to make major layoffs could be coming to an end, as the company launches a ‘performance management system’ that could result in 10,000 workers being terminated.

According to The Information, managers in the company have been asked to place 6% of employees on the review, as the company grapples with the same issues that are plaguing the rest of the tech industry.

And as Google prepares to send a large proportion of its workforce packing, it’s turning to an unlikely tool to solve its productivity problems — generative AI. Here’s what we know about Google’s strategy change so far:

Google Plans to Axe 10,000 Workers Under New Productivity System

As layoff season continues, it appears that Google may be following in the footsteps of other major firms like Meta and Twitter, by preparing to let go of 6% of its workforce, roughly equating to around 10,000 employees.

These cuts would be carried out under the guise of a new performance management system, that the Silicon Valley company is launching to recover costs and solve its productivity issues.

According to The Information, under this new system, managers have been asked to categorize 6% of employees that they deem to be underperforming. Sources close to the company reveal that these selected employees could see their jobs being lost as a result, with layoffs expected to take place at the beginning of 2023.

Aside from politely showing ‘underperforming’ workers the door, this scheme also reduces the percentage of employees that can achieve a high rating, meaning a large number of workers might miss out on incentive bonuses and stock grants in the company.

This new management system, which was announced by Google way back in May, is a lot more comprehensive than the previous model, which only placed 2% of employees under review.

Why is Google Resorting to Job Cuts?

While this is the closest the software company has come to announcing widespread job losses, Google’s gripes with productivity are nothing new.

Back in September, leaked audio messages revealed that Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, admitted the company had become “slower” after its headcount ballooned throughout the pandemic. In response, Pichai unveiled a plan to “simplify the company” to make it “20% more efficient”.

But what exactly did this plan entail? Well, as it transpired, Pichai’s vision involved making pretty major cuts to its research and development Area 120, and subsequently, laying off employees who were working on canceled research projects.

And unfortunately for Google’s workforce, Alphabet’s forecast is looking even more somber since Pichai’s plan was first announced. The company’s profits dropped 27% in the third quarter of this year, due to weaker-than-expected earnings and revenue.

So, as Google continues to face the same issues as the rest of big tech, it’s hardly surprising that their workforce is, once again, taking the brunt. But as Google looks to reduce its headcount, looking elsewhere to resolve its productivity issues.

Is the “Future of Software Engineering” Generative AI?

As Google continues to ramp up its investment in AI, the company is rolling out a clandestine program that leverages machine learning to create code, according to sources cited in The Insider.

The project, which is being dubbed “Pitchfork” by company insiders, is part of a wider effort to embrace “generative AI”, an advanced technique that uses algorithms to create images, videos, and code.

But these tools aren’t just being used to build code. According to anonymous Google employees, the technology being used has been designed to learn programming styles, before generating new code based on these learnings, with the ultimate goal of “teaching code to write and rewrite itself”.

“The idea (for project Pitchfork) was: how do we go from one version to the next without hiring all these software engineers?” – Anonymous Google employee

For software engineers that are already being squeezed out by widespread hiring freezes, Google’s adoption of self-writing code technology could sound pretty worrying.

Yet, with most major tech companies cutting costs ahead of a potential downturn, and Twitter’s new CEO and “chief Twit” Elon Musk publicly struggling to find “anyone who actually writes software” after firing 2,000 staffers, its likely that generative AI could be the answer to big tech’s productivity problems.

Tags

Big Tech

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

A Quarter of Workers Still Worry About Covid at Work

A Gallup poll shows that, while the pandemic may be largely over, covid-related health concerns still persist.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Despite the pandemic feeling like an increasingly distant memory for many in the US and Europe, one in four workers are worried about catching the virus at work.

Thanks to video conferencing software, millions were able to collaborate from the safety of their homes as Covid raged on – but now, more and more companies are demanding employees be in the office at least one day a week.

Businesses should be aware that staff anxieties may persist well into the future, even as case numbers continue to fall.

Gallup Poll Showcases Staff Concerns

Despite few to no restrictions remaining across the country, a recent Gallup poll shows that one in four employed adults in the US still say they are “very” (6%) or “moderately” (20%) concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus at work.

A third of people are currently “not too concerned” about Covid in the workplace, while 41% are “not concerned at all.”

The figure of 26% of workers being concerned about Covid released just this week is actually slightly down on the 33% figure Gallup recorded in July 2022.

A year ago, this figure was 36%. The highest recorded rate Gallup ever recorded was in July 2020, when 51% of employees responded that they were concerned.

Some Groups are More Concerned Than Others

Gallup says that concerns about catching Covid at work continue “to be more pronounced among women, Democrats, education workers, and healthcare workers, than it is among their counterparts”, despite an overall decline in all groups.

However, Democrat concern has plummeted since July, falling 13 percentage points to just 38%, as it has among those working in the education sector, with concern dropping from 53% to 40%.

There was no change among employees that consider themselves politically independent (which has stayed constant at 26%), while there has been a small change among republicans, with only 9% concerned (down 5 points).

Give Employees a Say When Working Out Arrangements

It can be tempting, especially if your company’s employees have nestled nicely into a groove of flexible working, to just let employees come in whenever they want, or not at all for that matter.

However, it can be pretty frustrating commuting all the way into the office, only to find that the colleagues you wanted to spend time and collaborate with have decided to stay at home – even if you can still contact them on Zoom or another video conferencing service.

There can be benefits to instituting a “team day” or a minimum amount of days employees are expected to be in the office. The poll results show, however, that it’s likely some staff may have Covid-related concerns with coming in.

It’s crucial to involve your staff in the planning of such “team days” and delegate it to department or team managers if you’re part of a larger business.

Many staff worried about Covid will have very genuine concerns, many of which will likely be based on medical issues – but there is an array of other working arrangement worries they may want to voice – and they’ll appreciate you giving them the time to do so.

There’s a way to create a system that works for everyone, and ensure staff are benefitting from your office space while feeling safe and happy.

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Everyone Is Searching for the True Twitter Alternative – It Doesn’t Exist

Twitter users want out following Musk's takeover - but none of the proposed alternatives are even close to viable.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

To say Elon Musk’s initial weeks at Twitter have been nothing short of tumultuous would be to understate the seismic turmoil the social media platform is going through.

Since October 28th, the day the acquisition was made official, thousands of dismayed Twitter users have been searching in droves for alternatives to Twitter. Meanwhile, the news has been awash with stories about Mastodon and other rival networks.

The reality is, however, that at present there is no true Twitter alternative – while at the same time, Twitter as we know it seems to be morphing into something much uglier than it used to be.

Twitter Will Never Be The Same Again

The very nature of what makes Twitter unique is highly likely to change in the coming months, due to leadership, staffing, and new features. Moderating 230 million users is hard, not least when you’ve axed half your staff and disenfranchised others working for you.

Former Head of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, has left the company along with a string of other top executives. Some commentators are already predicting that major personnel changes like this could instigate degeneration, as a lot hangs on their replacement.

Self-professed free speech absolutist Elon Musk already allowed Kanye West back to Twitter after the rapper’s account was suspended for anti-Semitism – and marked his return with a friendly tweet.

Don’t kill what ye hate
Save what ye love
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022

At the same time, reinstating Donald Trump’s account is a huge risk. The lifting of his suspension signals a dramatic shift in approach to content moderation, platform standards, rules, and perhaps the type of person who will benefit from Musk at the helm.

There are various other sub-plots that almost pale in comparison to that news but will contribute to the rapid – and worrying – evolution of Twitter into something quite different from what we’ve come to expect.

A good example of this is Musk’s introduction of the paid verification program, which has led to the feature being abused and hundreds of businesses and celebrities being impersonated – and, importantly, the fact he was warned that this would happen before doing it.

The Hunt for Twitter Alternatives Begins

With all this in mind, it’s no surprise people are looking for Twitter alternatives. When Musk officially took over Twitter, the number of people searching for other social media options increased exponentially (source: Google Trends):

Mastodon, a decentralized platform for creating self-hosted social media platforms, was perhaps the biggest winner from Musk’s chaotic acquisition and attracted considerable media attention after its user base increased by 6,000%.

Other sites like Hive, which Vanity Fair describes as a combination of “Instagram and Twitter with a hint of nostalgia from Myspace” has also seen a huge surge in sign-ups, hitting one million total users this week.

Countersocial also received some initial traction, with installs skyrocketing 2,300% in th e 12 days following the acquisition.

On top of this, there is also an existing ecosystem of Twitter alternatives frequented by those on the far right – collectively dubbed “alt-tech” – whose creators were spurred on by the stricter rules on sites like Twitter.

This cohort includes Parler, Gab, and more recently, Truth Social, Donald Trump’s network.

Why There is No True Twitter Alternative

Despite initial surges, it’s highly doubtful that any of the above options will provide a genuinely viable alternative to Twitter. The fact is, there is no actual Twitter alternative.

Twitter is completely and utterly unique as a product on the internet. It is the place online where an unmatched amount of mainstream, global news materializes at a hellishly rapid rate.

Elon Musk has not bought Twitter for its technical stack or advertising capabilities – that is not the product here. It is the platform that sits at the fingertips of world leaders, celebrities, and other powerful people, who use it as a tool like very few other sites. That is the product.

It makes sense that out of all of the social media platforms out there, the way people use Twitter is perhaps the most simplistic. You create an account, you post your opinions, and read other people’s thoughts.

On Twitter, you are effectively participating in one, massive, centralized conversation. You might have your account on private, or you might tweet very rarely – the point is, you can, and you can tweet pretty much anyone you like.

It’s a gimmick-free platform, where features and function are very much a secondary consideration. Facebook, another “political” platform has conversely proliferated into a place to game, sell items and organize events.

This is also why content moderation plays more of an outsized importance – the standard of conversation on Twitter is linked to its value in a way it isn’t on other platforms, from networks to games.

Few people use it for much else. It is Twitter, not another platform, that closed its “fleets” feature last year, while virtually analogous features on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have been roaring successes.

A large tech entity won’t replace Twitter. From LinkedIn to YouTube, they all do something “else” and provide an experience that isn’t focused intensely on the swapping of opinions.

Mastodon, Hive and Post Aren’t a Twitter Substitute

Similarly, smaller, novel “alternatives” like Mastodon and Hive won’t replace Twitter either – even if they have similar functionalities, add useful features, or try and remedy problems with Twitter by enforcing things like ultra-strict content moderation. Oft-touted “alternatives” sometimes offer segmented networks designed to target people with specific “interests” or make you use an “avatar”.

The most powerful people in the world do not have time for the bells and whistles – they care about influence, not a fulfilling user experience.

The likelihood that celebrities will give up the influence and power Twitter hands to them – a personal soapbox at their fingertips – is vastly unlikely.

Everyone – journalists, activists, and citizens that want to remain informed – will follow the people with power. We all want to participate in a living, breathing – and often screaming – dialogue. This just isn’t an option on other platforms.

This is why, despite all of the turmoil and people leaving the platform, Twitter still hit its record daily user figure after Musk’s acquisition.

Other smaller platforms simply don’t have the huge reach of Twitter. Nobody is aware of this more than Trump. He has stated that he won’t return to Twitter despite his ban being lifted, but it must irk him to think of the 88 million followers he has left behind on that platform, compared to the just over 4 million he has on Truth Social.

The forecast for those passionate about public debate and participation in politics, as well as those who thought better, more dynamic content moderation could have actually made Twitter a better place, is decidedly bleak.

Tragically, there is no true, Twitter alternative – and that includes Twitter under Musk.

Tags

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Scams to Watch Out for as Black Friday Spam Mail Surges

If you're going to be shopping this Black Friday, you'll be just as vulnerable as everyone else. Here's how to stay safe.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Two of the United States’ biggest consumerist holidays are here this week. First, we’ll stuff ourselves with turkey for Thanksgiving, and the next day we’ll stuff ourselves with deals for Black Friday.

But not all greed and excess is to be celebrated: As Black Friday nears, spammer and scammers are ramping up their email phishing attempts. Since people are trying to get good deals on everything from furniture to clothing to electronics, a fake email has a much higher chance of being opened.

So, consider this your annual reminder. Phishing scams are rising fast. If a deal’s too good to be true, it might be a lie. Here’s our look at which scams have already been spotted this year, and how big a problem the wave of spam could be.

Common Scams? Louis Vuitton, Ray Ban, Gift Card Giveaways

Email phishing attempts frequently mimic more than a few big brand names. After all, if you’re faking the whole thing, you might as well go big.

As a result, international cybersecurity company Bitdefender was able to identify some top brands that have popped up in Black Friday-related spam in recent months. Here are a few names, brands, and scams to be wary of:

Louis Vuitton — bags up to 86% off
Ray Ban — Oakley Costa sunglasses up to 90% off
“Claim” a $500 Home Depot Gift Card
Claimable $100 Walmart reward
QR codes surrounded by harmless-looking Pokémon art
Amazon voucher worth 1,000 euros

Once clicked, some of these spam emails won’t even bother keeping up the Black Friday scam concept. Instead, they send viewers to an online quiz rather than the advertised deal. Fill in everything, and you’re told you “win” an iPhone 13. The catch is that you need to pay for shipping, and you have to enter credit card details to do so.

In the end, you walk away without the free phone, but the phishing scammers do get your financial information and can max out the card.

Black Friday Spam on the Rise in 2022

A full 27% of all Black Friday spam emails were received by United States shoppers, Bitdefender telemetry indicates. And, while 56% of all Black Friday span received between October 26th and November 9th was marked as a scam, that leaves a lot of spam mail floating around.

Sure, the scams on display here aren’t sophisticated: They rely on common brand names or retailers, and they shuttle potential victims through simple, unrelated quizzes. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t vulnerable. Phishing attempts are more likely to be successful on someone who thinks they’ll never be tricked.

Keep an eye out for popular names, and consider investing in a password management tool: All the best password managers will offer an additional service by flagging suspicious websites before you enter details like your credit card information or other login data.

If you’re going to be shopping this Black Friday, you’ll be just as vulnerable as everyone else. And if you want an iPhone 13, you might be even more so.

Tags

Privacy and Security

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Twitter Is Hiring – Here’s What Candidates Can Expect

No free lunches, no remote work hours, and the constant threat of getting fired. Are you hardcore enough? Do you want to be?

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Twitter is officially hiring again, in the wake of a series of layoffs that has dropped the company from 7,500 employees to around 2,700.

CEO Elon Musk announced that sales and engineering positions are now open in an all-hands meeting today. Twitter recruiters have been reaching out to potential employees since last week, reports show.

Do you have what it takes to work at the company? Going by past precedent, you’ll have to be okay with your company making headlines about five times a day. But that’s just the start. Here’s what to know about the ins and outs of Twitter’s company culture at the moment.

1. Be Hardcore

One wave of layoffs was triggered last week by an ultimatum from Musk, the not-so-behind-the-scenes billionare pulling the social platform’s strings. Anyone who wasn’t willing to be “hardcore” in the immediate future was shown the door.

“This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.” ~Musk

This ultimatum led to hundreds more workers leaving. But it’s a bit of a rorschach test: Do you take Musk’s word at face value, seeing a straight shooter whose earned his billions through hard work and willpower? If so, joining Twitter is the opportunity to make your mark as well.

But perhaps your boss telling you to be more hardcore just reminds you of other, less wealthy bosses hoping to compensate for their poor work ethic by squeezing more work out of their employees.

2. No Free Lunches

And don’t expect to be hardcore with a full stomach on the company’s dime: One of Musk’s cost-cutting measures was getting rid of lunches.

Musk holds that providing food for employees cost $400 per lunch (a former employee estimates this cost to be $20-25 per person). Now, employees will have to work through lunches and meetings without the perk encouraging them.

But don’t worry. For every carrot that Twitter has recently removed, it has added a stick: In-office attendance is now mandatory.

3. No Working From Home

Another change: Workers are now expected to work a minimum of 40 hours a week at the company’s physical offices.

Remote work has been normalized in the past few years thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, but not everyone’s happy about it. Some managers cite the arguable benefits of connections and conversation that can only happen naturally when everyone’s physically present. Critics argue that businesses are just trying to justify real estate deals, or that managers want to indulge their worst micromanagement tendencies.

Whatever the case, Twitter’s zero-tolerance policy is another change that makes working at the organization appear to be more of a chore, and will shape the culture by defacto filtering out anyone without the flexibility or ability to turn up for 40 hours a week.

But if they’re really hardcore, they’ll be working 80 hours a week, so that’s kinda like working from home half the time when you think about it.

If you’d rather work from home, here are some companies that will let you do just that.

4. You Might Get Fired at a Moment’s Notice

Finally, you may want to keep your mouth shut around your boss. Musk can accept some disagreement, but won’t want anyone challenging his overall worldview, judging from the outcome of one engineer who critiqued his coding knowledge. You guessed it, he was fired, right in between two waves of layoffs. New employees should plan to deal with the same.

That’s another potential problem for Twitter moving forwards: New employee retention. Takeovers and acquisitions are tough in the best of times — studies show that a stunning 70 and 90 percent of acquisitions fail.

If Musk plans to earn enough to justify the billion-a-year debt he’s now in just to keep Twitter going, he has a lot of work ahead of him, and he needs a lot of hardcore employees with their own lunches to do it for him.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Amazon Shutters Secure Messaging App One Year After Purchase

The commercial version of the app will be closed, but government and enterprise versions will remain.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

Amazon has announced that it is closing its messaging app, Wickr Me, just a year after it was purchased by the compay.

The closure is only expected to affect the consumer version of the app, which has attracted controversy this year, with other products in the Wickr family that are intended for government agencies and businesses, to be unaffected.

The quick closure of the app could be Amazon admitting defeat in trying to crack a crowded marketplace, as well as a cost cutting exercise, as it looks to save cash.

Wickr Me’s Short Amazon Lifespan

Wickr was founded in 2012, and the Wickr Me messaging app is regarded as one of the first mainstream encrypted solutions of its kind. Since then, many competitors to Wickr Me have added their own end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp, which introduced the feature in 2014.

In June 2021, the company was purchased by Amazon Web Services (AWS), and now, just over a year later, the company has taken the decision to close down the public version of the messaging app. In a blog post on the Wickr site, the announcement was made that sign ups to the app would cease on the 31st of December 2022, and that the app would close completely on the 31st of December 2023.

However, the solutions that are currently being used by government and enterprise clients, AWS Wickr and Wickr Enterprise, will remain a core focus for the company. The government is actually a heavy user of the Wickr platform, with the CIA investing over $1 million dollars in the company in the past.

Wickr Me customers have been told that details will follow soon on how they will be able to preserve their existing data.

Wickr Me’s Controversies

Wickr has found itself in the headlines more than it would like of late, with the revelation earlier in the year that the app hosted a thriving community of criminals, which used the messaging service to communicate undetected.

According to a report by NBC, Wickr was named as being the “go-to destination” for people looking to exchange images of child sex abuse, as noted by court documents, law enforcement and anti-exploitation activists. What’s more, Wickr’s owner, Amazon, was highlighted as not doing enough to clamp down on illegal content on the platform, enabling it to thrive through inaction.

Amazon is committed to preventing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in every segment of our business, including Wickr, which maintains strict Terms of Use that clearly prohibit illegal activity. – Amazon statement

One of the reasons that Wickr Me is deemed the criminals messaging app of choice, is that it unlike WhatsApp or Apple Messages, it requires no personal details to sign up for an account.

Amazon Cost Cutting

Despite it’s legacy of over a decade, Wickr Me is still a relatively small player in the world of messaging apps, when put up against its competitors, and it’s main selling point, end-to-end-encryption, has been adopted by most mainstream platforms since.

At a time when Amazon is making urgent spending and staff cuts, its unlikely that the company wants to spend its time working on an app that has a limited userbase, and that is also mired in recent controversy.

With Amazon already making cuts to its retail stores and devices division, we can expect more scaling down from the company in the coming months.

Tags

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer

Twitter Reinstates Trump and Kanye as Chaos Reigns Under Musk

With both figures previously banned for controversial statements, critics worry about a return to hate speech on Twitter.

Written by

Published on December 5, 2022

The Twitter headlines don’t show signs of abating any time soon under Elon Musk’s rule, as the platform reinstates controversial figures Kanye West, and former President Donald Trump, to the service.

Both had previously been removed from Twitter for breaking the platform’s rules, and publishing offensive content. Now though, it seems all that is forgiven and forgotten.

Twitter has been in turmoil since Musk’s $44 billion takeover – the return of these two controversial public figures is unlikely to help.

Trump Back on Twitter

Donald Trump constantly lived on the edge on Twitter, repeatedly making statements that appeared to be untrue and without citing sources. At the time, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was reluctant to remove him, even reflecting later on that “I do not celebrate or feel pride in our having to ban @realDonaldTrump from Twitter.”

However, despite constant warnings of action against his account, and the addition of fact checking boxes to many of Trump’s tweets that disputed his claims, the events of January 6th 2021 proved to be the final straw. As Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, he posted several Tweets that were perceived by Twitter as inciting violence and endangering public safety, and since then, his account has been blocked.

Now, almost two years on, Trump’s account has been reopened, after Musk put up a poll asking if he should be allowed back on the platform. It was a close result, with 52% voting yes, against 48% voting no.

“The people have spoken.” – Musk Tweet about Trump’s reinstatement

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise – Musk was always insistent that he would bring Trump back if he purchased Twitter. However, with Trump fully invested in his own social platform, Truth Social, it remains to see if he will want to come back. There’s every chance he will shun his 87 million followers on Twitter, or at the very least, try to convince them to move over to Truth Social, as he makes his presidential bid.

Kanye West Also Returns to Twitter

An equally controversial figure, Kanye West’s suspension from Twitter has been in place since last month, after the rapper made several anti-Semitic statements that saw him lose several high profile contracts from the likes of Adidas, Foot Locker and Gap.

Musk is insistent that the return of West was done without his knowledge, but the CEO did respond to his first Tweet back on the platform.

Don’t kill what ye hate
Save what ye love
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022

The return of West and Trump will do little to put those at ease who fear Musk’s approach free speech on the platform will see an increase in hate speech and attacks on the marginalized. One study shows that after Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the use of hate speech terms rapidly increased.

With reports that the contractors who handled content moderation at Twitter have been fired, and an ever dwindling workforce, it’s difficult to see who, if anyone, will be flagging offensive messages. Or could this simply be part of Musk’s plan to stop Twitter becoming, in his own words, “too woke.”

Turmoil at Twitter

It may have been less than a month since Musk took over Twitter, but their has been enough news to fill a years worth of headlines, with very little of it good. The biggest upset at the platform has been the firing of half the workforce, with Musk cutting over 3,250 roles at the company shortly after becoming CEO, in a cost-cutting exercise.

Last week, the CEO gave workers the ultimatum that to remain at Twitter they had to commit to being “hardcore”, and that anyone who didn’t sign up to his vision would be let go. It seems many staff called his bluff, with reports of over 1,200 employees deciding to walk away. On Friday, Twitter actually closed its doors and told staff not to return until Monday.

Trump and Kanye are good company for Musk, all of them capable of generating headlines through their behavior, rarely for the better. Pre-Musk, the return of high profile banned accounts would have been seen as controversial for the platform, but today, it’s just another minor update for a company that is struggling to keep its head above the water.

Tags

Social Media

Written by:

Aaron Drapkin Writer