9.16.2015
Good to Know: You don’t need to be a Stanford student to take Reid Hoffman’s new Technology Enabled Blitzscaling class. Anyone can take the class, but you have to apply first. But, hurry! Applications are due tomorrow (September 17) at midnight.
THE SKINNY
It’s Happening!
The Internet freaked over news that Facebook is working on a “dislike button” (tbh, we were pretty amped too).
… Or Is It?
During a public Q&A, Mark Zuckerberg fielded a question from someone in Cairo. The user wanted to know when FB would come out with other alternatives to its “like button.” The Zuck admitted that for years, people have been asking for a dislike button. But, not so fast. He isn’t exactly into the idea of simply allowing people to “down vote” others’ posts. It doesn’t do much for community building.
Giving the People What They Want …
Zuckerberg thinks people really want to be able to express empathy. When your friends share some sad news or hard moments, using the “like” button isn’t appropriate. We’ve all been there. Enter, the empathy button. FB is working on a button that would allow users to show that they understand or can relate to whatever it is their friends are going through. The company is getting ready to test it out before making it official. We’ll be waiting.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
Good News or Bad News First?
Are you sitting? Twitter is being sued. Some users banded together and filed a class action suit. These users claim that Twitter is getting all up in their biz by using its algorithms to read private direct messages and even alter them (e.g., shortening links). They are convinced that this is all for advertising dollars. The group doesn’t quite have evidence that Twitter is doing this to up-charge publishers on advertising, but they are working on it. And in better news, Twitter and Square (both currently being led by Jack Dorsey) are working together in the name of political donations. You’ll soon be able to make donations to your fave politician via Twitter. Speaking of politics, tune into CNN tonight for the second Republican presidential debate. We’ll be there and so will former HP CEO Carly Fiorina.
Play That Back …
Snapchat is evolving so to speak. The company just announced that for $1 you can replay a Snap up to three times before it disappears. The new feature is appropriately called “Replays” and can only be applied to a particular Snap just once. The whole point of this is to boost Snapchat’s revenue, but we’ll see how well this goes over with its users. And, the company also just bought Looksery, a selfie animation app originally brought to us courtesy of a Kickstarter campaign.
We Beg to Differ …
Remember how we told you that a district judge okayed some Uber drivers being called a “class” for purposes of their suit against the ride-hailing app company? Naturally, Uber is not cool with this and plans to appeal. In its request, Uber said that the judge’s ruling was “manifestly erroneous.” Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who is repping the drivers, thinks that this appeal won’t change the original decision.
The Streets Are Talkin’
HP plans to pull an eBay-PayPal this year by splitting into two companies. But in the meantime, it’s making more cuts. Over the next three years, we can expect to see about 30,000 jobs cease to exist.
Speaking of PayPal, the payments company is on the low getting into online gambling after being out of the game for a little over a decade. With its split from eBay, PayPal is no longer banned from this area and is easing back in by appearing on select gambling sites like Caesars Interactive’s WSOP.com.
New Form Digital is blurring lines between old and new media. The video distribution and production company, backed by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Discovery, is working with online stars and celebs on series development. Like traditional TV, the company orders about a dozen shorts via its incubator program, which it may choose to distribute online.
Keeping it Hollywood, the Kardashian-Jenner ladies each have their own apps now. We didn’t think this was possible, but for $3, you can get an even closer look into their lives based on each’s personality. Khloe’s app is for fitness, Kim’s for fashion, Kendall’s for travel, etc.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has a new side hustle. His new startup rocket company, Blue Origin, plans to build rocket ships and launch them into space from Florida. Sounds easy enough. State officials say this will bring $220 million and 330 jobs to the Sunshine state.