When Donald Trump pulled off a stunning victory to win the U.S. presidency, the entire world began to speculate about what a Trump administration will look like. As the chief executive of a native advertising network, I — and many others that work in digital media — am keeping a particularly close eye on how the president will handle net neutrality. Read More
I like Digital Reader editor Nate Hoffelder. He is one of the few bloggers about publishing who doesn’t suck up to the industry, nor does he particularly gild the lily. He basically believes that books are great, publishing is probably doomed and that writing is really important. That’s why I was happy that he surfaced and debunked the claims of Chip McGregor, an agent who… Read More
The IEEE unearthed a fascinating 2013 study that showed that a cute dog tail does more than just amuse — it can communicate. The study, created by Ashish Singh and James Young, posited that a Roomba with a tail attached could communicate quickly and easily with a human — a fast, excited wag means things are going OK, while a slow side to side motion shows disdain. “Any… Read More
WhatsApp could put the brakes on Snapchat’s international growth with today’s launch of WhatsApp Status, a new tab for sharing decorated photos, videos and GIFs that disappear after 24 hours. It’s another Facebook-owned Snapchat Stories copycat, but the twist is that it’s end-to-end encrypted like WhatsApp messaging. Read More
Last year, Mobile World Congress surpassed the 100,000 attendance mark, according to its parent body, the GSMA, and this year’s event shows no sign of slowing down. Companies have been teasing their big reveals since January, with some far more willing to spill the beans than others in an attempt to drum up hype before the conference. Here’s what you can expect next week from the… Read More
Monzo, one of a number of new digital-only, or so-called “challenger,” banks in the U.K. aiming to re-invent the current account, is closing in on new Series C funding, which could be announced as early as this week. According to multiple sources, U.S.-based Thrive Capital is leading the round. Read More
Project CSX was a nice enough idea: Get the smartphone community engaged and excited and maybe even gather some good, outside-the-box ideas for mobile devices. In a sense, the project was ZTE’s attempt to foster the sort of community excitement we’ve seen around young companies like OnePlus. It started off well enough — but then things sort of fell apart at the seams. Read More
Once you’re done ordering pizza and locking and unlocking your front door, what’s left to do with your Echo? Starting today, HealthTap users will be able to use Amazon’s connected home assistant for medical advice, if they so choose. Read More
Snap wants to prove to investors in its upcoming IPO that Spectacles can earn money for its business, not just be a brand stunt. So today, Snap begins selling its video-recording sunglasses Spectacles openly online for $129.99 in the U.S. at Spectacles.com. Read More
Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm, has jumped into China’s on-demand cycle war after it backed Mobike. China’s ride-sharing war is last year’s news. The big battle between Uber and Didi Chuxing is essentially over after the latter agreed to buy the former’s China-based business. The new startup drama du jour is in bikes — services that let… Read More
Dah Makan has become the first food-delivery startup to raise significant capital in Southeast Asia this year, bringing some fire back to what has been a popular niche for local investors. The company has closed a $1.3 million seed funding round from backers that include NFQ Capital, East Ventures, Asia Venture Group and Grupara. A former CEO of Nestlé is among the angel investors to… Read More
After more than a decade of being in the popular tech lexicon, people kind of get the idea of “the cloud,” but most probably only understand a bit of it. That’s because the cloud isn’t a single concrete thing so much as a concept that encompasses many technologies. Understanding those pieces and how they intertwine is the secret to fully grasping the ideas behind it. Read More
Former Uber site reliability engineer Susan Fowler accused the company of rampant sexual harassment and human resources negligence in a blog post published today. It’s the latest in a series of events that point to serious questions about Uber’s company culture. Read More
We’ve entered crunch time for getting all those last-minute teasers out before the kick-off of Mobile World Congress. Some have been cagey around their big news ahead of the event in Barcelona, while others, like LG, haven’t left all that much to the imagination. Oppo, the rising-est star in a Chinese market full of them, is playing its cards close to the vest. Read More
Freshly launched startups often don’t have the funding for a fully formed security team, but a data breach or a privacy overreach can be deadly for a new company. That’s why Facebook security engineer Benjamin Strahs is joining TechCrunch at our D.C. meetup and pitch-off this week: He’ll offer advice to founders about how to bootstrap a secure culture at their companies.… Read More
Deep in a rural village in India outside the city of Jhansi, children play on dirt roads where goats and cows roam. The humble and colorful homes have mud floors, and women collect drinking water from wells. All the sights and sounds are quintessential aspects of the region, with the exception of one feature — the use of smartphones to save lives. Read More
Flying from SF to LA every week sucks, and so Sriram Krishnan is leaving a big financial opportunity at Snap to ditch the commute. The former Facebook Audience Network executive spent the last year running Snap’s Ads API and platform, and now he’s leaving. Read More
Money doesn’t necessarily mean freedom. Yet the ability to maneuver in response to business challenges is the one thing a startup founder needs most. Some of these decisions are minor; others are existential. As grueling as it can be to make a call on the hard decisions, it’s much worse to be unable to make a key decision at all. Read More
While the iPhone 8 isn’t going to be announced until September, this week has been packed with rumors about the upcoming device. And it looks like the display is going to be the main star of the show. Rumor has it that Apple is going to announce three new devices — two new versions of the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, and a new high-end device that could cost more than $1,000. Read More
