10.6.2019
Good to Know: Did you learn something new recently? You’ve got about 6 days to put that new info into action; otherwise, you’ll forget about 75% of it. It’s called “the forgetting curve.”
THE SKINNY
When You’re Out … Payments company, PayPal, just told Facebook’s Libra Association, “Ight Imma head out.” They’re leaving the association.
What Happened? PayPal said it’s not them, it’s us. They just want to focus on their core business. PayPal wants “to continue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations.
What’s a Libra? No, we’re not talking Zodiac signs. Libra is a type of cryptocurrency as well as a financial institution led by Facebook and 27 other corporate backers. The association’s mission is for people to be able to “send, receive, spend, and secure their money” in the name of financial inclusion.
When You Want to Know What’s Next … Even though PayPal is out, Visa and Mastercard could be in. Facebook planned to launch Libra in June 2020. But, there are … challenges. Governments (U.S., France, and Germany) around the world are giving Libra the side-eye on account of Facebook and others potentially bypassing existing financial regulations. The U.S. House Financial Services Committee wants to hear from Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg at a hearing towards the end of October. Then, the committee wants to hear from Mark Zuckerberg himself in January 2020.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
When Things Are Rough … Nigeria’s anti-robbery squad aka SARS is targeting members of the Nigerian tech community. Simply being spotted with a laptop could be cause for detaining you as an Internet “fraudster.” You’ve got two options: Pay a bribe or see how things play out via the system. Nigeria’s tech community leaders are leading a crowdfunding campaign to fight against this.
When Net Neutrality is Back in the News … Last year, the U.S. Federal Communications (FCC) decided that net neutrality (rules that says all Internet communications should be treated equally) isn’t a thing. Many people, including online advocacy groups and 22 state attorney generals, were less than thrilled with the decision and sued the FCC. Earlier this month, a court sided with the FCC with some exceptions – namely, states can do what they want when it comes to how they regulate net neutrality.
THE STREETS ARE TALKING …
WeWork won’t be doing that IPO after all, but it does plan to layoff thousands of employees. Ouch …
$300 billion is how large Southeast Asia’s internet economy will grow to by 2025 thanks to online e-commerce and ride-share food delivery.
Social media video app Tik Tok says no to political ads on its platform.
Google is in on the White House’s job training initiative. It plans to train 250K people for tech jobs.
London-based food delivery platform and Europe’s second-fastest growing startup Deliveroo is on the up and up. The company’s sales went up by £200 million in 2018.
Revolut, British -based digital banking app is on a hiring spree. It’s looking to bring on 3,500 new staff across 24 markets.
Vice Media just scooped up Refinery 29.
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