“Now that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have plummeted from last year’s absurdly high valuations, the techno-utopian mystique of so-called distributed-ledger technologies should be next. The promise to cure the world’s ills through « decentralization » was just a ruse to separate retail investors from their hard-earned real money.”
“Uber is developing a new short-term staffing business, dubbed Uber Works, that would help to diversify its business ahead of next year’s planned initial public offering. Uber hopes to apply its “on-demand” model and large database of contractors to provide a temporary workforce for events and corporate functions, such as waiters or security guards.”
“Uber Technologies Inc. recently received proposals from Wall Street banks valuing the ride-hailing company at as much as $120 billion in an initial public offering that could take place early next year, according to people familiar with the matter.That eye-popping figure is nearly double Uber’s valuation in a fundraising round two months ago and more than General Motors Co. , Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are worth combined.”
“Rachel, poétiquement surnommée Angel of death, joue elle la carte de l’émotion : « S’il vous plaît, ne fermez pas ce site ! Je m’y suis fait de nombreux amis et je ne peux pas les contacter autrement. » A l’unisson, Masked Lady, à peine distraite par l’appétissant riz à la persane qui s’étale quelques centimètres plus haut, s’alarme : « J’ai tellement de souvenirs liés à ce site… Je n’ai pas envie de tous les perdre. ».
Au milieu d’innombrables messages du même acabit, d’autres se font plus agressifs : « Ne fermez pas ce site, petites m*****. Vous vous apprêtez à débrancher la seule chose qui vous maintient en vie », commente ainsi Samishii, visiblement peu au fait du modèle économique de Google.”
“Solid is guided by the principle of “personal empowerment through data” which we believe is fundamental to the success of the next era of the web. We believe data should empower each of us. Imagine if all your current apps talked to each other, collaborating and conceiving ways to enrich and streamline your personal life and business objectives? That’s the kind of innovation, intelligence and creativity Solid apps will generate. With Solid, you will have far more personal agency over data – you decide which apps can access it.” – Tim Berners-Lee
“C’est le mouvement antiharcèlement #metoo, en 2017, qui a fait de Bumble un phénomène de société. En un an, le site est passé de 22 millions d’inscrits à 40 millions, la croissance la plus rapide jamais constatée dans le secteur. Phénomène rare parmi les start-up, il dégage des bénéfices. Whitney Wolfe se défend de tout opportunisme. « Il n’y a pas un moment où on s’est dit qu’il fallait être en phase avec un mouvement culturel, affirme-t-elle. C’est notre identité, notre voix authentique, et ça l’était avant #metoo ». Bumble se voit comme une ruche. Sa couleur emblématique est le jaune, celui des abeilles (Bumble vient de bumblebee, « bourdon » en anglais). Elle ambitionne de « redonner une place de pouvoir à la femme », décrit Whitney Wolfe.”
“La compétition pour notre attention dégrade toujours les contenus, rappelle Tim Wu. Elle nous tourne vers « le plus tapageur, le plus sinistre, le plus choquant, nous propose toujours l’alternative la plus scandaleuse ou extravagante ». Si la publicité a incontestablement contribué à développer l’économie américaine, Wu rappelle qu’elle n’a jamais cherché à présenter une information objective, mais plutôt à déformer nos mécanismes de choix, par tous les moyens possibles, même par le mensonge. L’exploitation attentionnelle est par nature une course contre l’éthique. Elle est et demeure avant tout une forme d’exploitation”.
“The idea of streaming such graphically-rich content that requires near-instant interaction between the game controller and the graphics on the screen poses a number of challenges. When streaming TV or movies, consumers are comfortable with a few seconds of buffering at the start, but streaming high-quality games requires latency measured in milliseconds, with no graphic degradation.”
“Amazon.com Inc. is considering a plan to open as many as 3,000 new AmazonGo cashierless stores in the next few years, according to people familiar with matter, an aggressive and costly expansion that would threaten convenience chains like 7-Eleven Inc., quick-service sandwich shops like Subway and Panera Bread, and mom-and-pop pizzerias and taco trucks”.
“The Facebook-WhatsApp pairing had been a head-scratcher from the start. Facebook has one of the world’s biggest advertising networks; Koum and Acton hated ads. Facebook’s added value for advertisers is how much it knows about its users; WhatsApp’s founders were pro-privacy zealots who felt their vaunted encryption had been integral to their nearly unprecedented global growth.
This dissonance frustrated Zuckerberg. Facebook, Acton says, had decided to pursue two ways of making money from WhatsApp. First, by showing targeted ads in WhatsApp’s new Status feature, which Acton felt broke a social compact with its users. “Targeted advertising is what makes me unhappy,” he says. His motto at WhatsApp had been “No ads, no games, no gimmicks”—a direct contrast with a parent company that derived 98% of its revenue from advertising. Another motto had been “Take the time to get it right,” a stark contrast to “Move fast and break things.”