11.16.2015
Good to Know: In case you were wondering, the Internet has spoken and Justin Beiber > One Direction. We try to keep you young, folks …
THE SKINNY
What Is Going On With The World?
Last Friday, terrorists launched coordinated attacks (involving suicide bombs, shootings, and hostage situations) in and around Paris. Attack sites included Stade de France (a soccer stadium in Paris), a concert hall, and restaurants. The horrible attacks took the lives of 132 people and injured hundreds more. ISIS, the Islamic State, claimed responsibility, and 23 people have been arrested. France is still on the hunt for one of the attackers, 26-year-old French national and Belgian born Salah Abdeslam. Authorities believe he’s one of eight gunmen responsible for shootings at the restaurants. While the search continues, France launched airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.
Rising to the Occasion …
Internet companies stepped up to help out in their own way. Facebook’s “Safety Check” feature kicked in for those in Paris to mark themselves as safe via their profiles. It’s the first time the feature has been used for an event that’s not a natural disaster. Also, FB users were able to apply filters of the French flag over their profile pics to show solidarity. Soon, the hashtag “#PorteOuverte” (meaning “open door”) started trending on Twitter for people looking for a place to stay. AirBnB pitched in by launching its own disaster response effort by connecting those who needed shelter with hosts for “at little or no cost.” … Google made international calls to France via Google Hangout free through the weekend so people could connect with loved ones.
What About Us?
While many expressed their support for Paris, others, particularly those in Beirut, Lebanon, questioned why the same had not been done for the city, which had been the victim of similar attacks just two-days prior. Those attacks claimed the lives of 40 people. One point of contention – FB didn’t activate “Safety Check” for Beirut nor was there an overlay option for the Lebanese flag available to users to show support. FB said it chose to activate its “Safety Check” feature due to the high level of activity around the Paris attacks. One company rep said, “[t]here has to be a first time for trying something new, even in complex and sensitive times, and for us that was Paris…”
What Comes Next?
Well, FB has changed up its policy on “Safety Check.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that the feature will be used for more human disasters moving forward. Hacker group Anonymous is ready to rage against ISIS. In terms of what governments are doing, it’s hard to say. The G20, an international forum with 20 of the world’s major economies and governments, meet this week in Turkey. The topic of conversation during these summits are typically around economic policy and other global issues . G-20 leaders have already vowed to step their game up against ISIL aka ISIS aka the Islamic State.
How’s the Recovery?
In the meantime, Periscope and Snapchat users are documenting how Paris is getting back on track.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
By Any Means Necessary …
In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, France is definitely going on the defensive. The attacks come at an interesting time just shortly after the French Parliament passed sweeping, controversial reforms of its surveillance laws. The legislation passed in May, post attacks on magazine Charlie Hebdo. Basically, the law goes beyond just checking up on suspected terrorists’ calls and emails but also allows for Internet service providers (ISPs) to put in place “black boxes” to scoop up metadata on how millions of everyday folks use the Internet. The French governments says ISPs must hand this info over to intelligence agencies. If things gets especially bad, then France reserves the right to launch “ISMI catchers” to monitor and track mobile phone communications.
When It’s not quite ‘out with the old, in with the new…”
Workers love the “gig economy” model – a lot. Thanks to on-demand companies like Gigwalk, traditional companies are relying on this model to upgrade their old biz processes. To keep things simple, rather than Gigwalk using its technology to compete with traditional companies like Crossmark (a sales and marketing company in consumer goods), it’s choosing to license its technology to would-be traditional competitors instead. As WSJ puts it, “[i[t is as if Uber had decided to sell its technology to taxi companies instead of driving them into oblivion.“ Meaning, traditional companies get to be more efficient with their operations, and workers get more flexible hours. Looks like a win for everyone involved.
THE STREETS ARE TALKIN’
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook says no chance on consumers seeing an iPad-Macbook hybrid.
Venture capitalist and Facebook board member Marc Andreessen is up to things … Over the past two weeks, he’s sold off a bunch of his shares in the company (1.5 million), bringing in about $160 Mill. No word yet on Andreessen’s motivations. #ShadyBoots
Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad is dismissing reports that his company is struggling. Conrad says the company is doing great and is snatching up new employees left and right. In other news, the company’s also coming out with its own payroll platform.
Snapchat’s trying to offer users more variety. It’s selling users new Lenses for added special effects to their selfies. The cost? 99 cents. Only problem is that users are not here for it! Translation: No one’s trying to pay for these filters.