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Snapchat’s epic strategy flip-flop
It takes courage to say you were wrong about almost everything. But that’s what Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel did this week, and that’s what it will take to save Snapchat. From algorithmic feeds to partnerships to target markets to recruiting adults, Snap is planning a 180-degree turn across the board. Headwinds and face wins…
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Natural Cycles gets $30M for its EU-certified “digital contraception”
Contraception can be a charged topic for many reasons. It’s highly personal, of course. Frequently it’s political. And the stakes, should your method of choice fail, are obviously very high indeed. Which perhaps explains why there hasn’t been a whole lot of innovation in the space — unless you count the prospect of a male pill which…
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A closer look at the capabilities and risks of iPhone X face mapping
On Friday Apple fans were queuing to get their hands on the newly released iPhone X: The flagship smartphone that Apple deemed a big enough update to skip a numeral. RIP iPhone 9. The shiny new hardware includes a front-facing sensor module housed in the now infamous ‘notch’ which takes an unsightly but necessary bite…
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Battery Ventures leads $75M Series D in travel activities platform GetYourGuide
Right after Berlin-based travel activities booking platform GetYourGuide announced its $50 million Series C, one of Europe’s biggest tourist draws, the city of Paris, was rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. The awful events in Paris were clearly not good news for a tourism-dependent business. “We closed the round on the eve of the Paris…
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The trouble with Sandberg saying Facebook allows fake news ads
If the Russian-bought election interference ads hadn’t been bought by fraudulent accounts, “Most of them would be allowed to run” Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said this morning. “The responsibility of an open platform is to allow people to express themselves” she said during the first of an Axios interview series with Facebook execs. “The thing…
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Uber and Deliveroo get a gig economy rights grilling
Uber and Deliveroo execs faced questions from a UK parliamentary committee today as the government continues to deliberate on changes to employment law to account for the rise of gig economy work facilitated by tech platforms. Ride-hailing giant Uber was also grilled over what one committee member dubbed its “aggressive” response to TfL’s recent decision…
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Thinking about the social cost of technology
Every time I call my mum for a chat there’s usually a point on the phone call where she’ll hesitate and then, apologizing in advance, bring up her latest technological conundrum. An email she’s received from her email provider warning that she needs to upgrade the operating system of her device or lose access to…
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Uber only has itself to blame for London license loss
The tech industry’s over-processed supply of irony might not be enough to service all the ramifications of Uber being stripped of its London license by the city’s transport regulator. Uber advocates were immediately scrambling to bust out the reactionary clichés — painting the regulator as “anti-innovation” and claiming London is now ‘closed for digital business’.…
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Documents detail DeepMind’s plan to apply AI to NHS data in 2015
More details have emerged about a controversial 2015 patient data-sharing arrangement between Google DeepMind and a UK National Health Service Trust which paint a contrasting picture vs the pair’s public narrative about their intended use of 1.6 million citizens’ medical records. DeepMind and the Royal Free NHS Trust signed their initial information sharing agreement (ISA) in September…
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Storyline lets you build and publish Alexa skills without coding
Thirty-nine million Americans now own a smart speaker device, but the voice app ecosystem is still developing. While Alexa today has over 25,000 skills available, a number of companies haven’t yet built a skill for the platform, or offer only a very basic skill that doesn’t work that well. That’s where the startup Storyline comes…