Back in 2019, Amazon first announced its Sidewalk network, a new low-bandwidth, long-distance wireless protocol and network for connecting smart devices — and keeping them online when your own WiFi network, for example, goes down, by piggybacking on your neighbor’s network. Since last year, Amazon has been turning its Echo devices into Sidewalk bridges and […]
Ad exchange OpenX slapped with FTC fine for collecting location data on children
OpenX, an advertising tech company, will pay $2 million to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to settle allegations that the company violated federal children’s privacy law. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the FTC alleges that OpenX violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by […]
MrBeast’s ‘Real Life Squid Game’ and the price of viral stunts
First, everyone was talking about “Squid Game,” the Korean psychological thriller that became Netflix’s biggest series launch ever, with 142 million viewers. Now, everyone’s talking about YouTuber MrBeast’s recreation of the show’s titular fight-to-the-death, which racked up 142 million views in eight days. (Don’t worry, no one was killed). Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), the 23-year-old who […]
TechCrunch+ roundup: Growth budgets, hiring tips, zero-party data Twitter Space
Are you curious about marketing with zero-party data? Join a Twitter Space with with Ben Parr, president and co-founder of Octane AI, tomorrow at 3 p.m. PST/6 p.m. EST.
Jonah Hill on the Myth of the Damaged Artist
Jonah Hill Is SuperGood – His 20s were wild: a parade of raunchy, era-defining comedies. Then Jonah Hill shifted gears, directing a deeply personal film and taking on the kinds of rich, complex roles he’s always wanted. Here he opens up to director Ada…
“We are all Martians”
Natalija Majsova (06/09/2020, Strelka Mag; also in a video lecture for the Canadian Centre for Architecture), “Soviet Sci-Fi Film and Different Modalities of Future Ecosystems”: “Irina Povolotskaia’s 1967 debut The Mysterious Wall [75 mins.] pioneered …
Square to buy ‘buy now, pay later’ giant Afterpay in $29B deal
In a blockbuster deal that rocks the fintech world, Square announced today that it is acquiring Australian buy now, pay later giant Afterpay in a $29 billion all-stock deal. The purchase price is based on the closing price of Square common stock on July 30, which was $247.26. The transaction is expected to close in […]