Art by Clark Miller.

The Day TikTok Went Dark in India

By Amanda Florian · May 26, 2023 11:00 AM PDT · 8 comments

On June 29, 2020, as thunderstorms swept Mumbai and daily Covid-19 cases in India surged by almost 20,000, millions of people began experiencing a flood of network errors on their mobile devices. TikTok—and nearly 60 other Chinese apps—had been driven offline in the world’s largest democracy. A sweeping government crackdown on... On June 29, 2020, as thunderstorms swept Mumbai and daily Covid-19 cases in India surged by...

Art by Clark Miller.

ByteDance Is Luring Creators Onto TikTok’s Sibling App—Will They Stick Around?

By Annie Goldsmith · April 28, 2023 11:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Earlier this spring, as Clare Sullivan scrolled through her TikTok feed, she began to notice creators plugging yet another new social media platform. “Follow me on Lemon8!” one said. “It’s going to be the next big thing” the next interjected. “You need to get on TikTok’s new app Lemon8,” another... Earlier this spring, as Clare Sullivan scrolled through her TikTok feed, she began to notice...

Art by Clark Miller.

culture Finance

Wall Street Wants to Dance With TikTok—but Not When Anyone’s Watching

By Michael Roddan · April 21, 2023 11:30 AM PDT · 1 comment

JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a busy week on social media. The bank’s Instagram account shared a picture snapped by one of its employees, Jock G., from atop a 13,000-foot peak in Colorado. Another post showed footage of a corporate run for workers in India. Meanwhile, over at its Facebook page, the bank celebrated the crowning of Miss New... JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a busy week on social media. The bank’s Instagram account...

Art by Clark Miller

The Rise of the Not-Home Not-Office

By Arielle Pardes · April 14, 2023 11:00 AM PDT · 11 comments

Art by Clark Miller

startups real estate

The Rise of the Not-Home Not-Office

By Arielle Pardes · April 14, 2023 11:00 AM PDT · 11 comments

When Jamie Snedden moved to San Francisco from London in late 2021, it occurred to him that he didn’t actually know how to make friends. In college, an abundance of common areas and extracurricular clubs had made it easy to meet new people. Now, working remotely for a startup, he barely left the house. He considered roving between coffee... When Jamie Snedden moved to San Francisco from London in late 2021, it occurred to him that he...

Art by Clark Miller

How Chess.com Became ‘the Wild West of the Streaming World’

By Jessica Lucas · April 7, 2023 11:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

When Michael Brancato began working with Chess.com in late 2017, it wasn’t particularly popular. A product manager at Twitch, Brancato was tapped to spearhead a two-year partnership between the chess site and the video streaming giant, hoping to grow the 1,500-year-old game’s reputation as a legitimate e-sport. He had his work cut... When Michael Brancato began working with Chess.com in late 2017, it wasn’t particularly...

Illustration by Mike Sullivan

At Google, Meta and Other Tech Companies, the Layoffs Are Streaming Live on TikTok

By Chris Stokel-Walker · Jan. 26, 2023 10:21 AM PST · 4 comments

Like many of the 12,000 workers laid off by Google last Friday, Zac Bowling didn’t see it coming. The software engineer, who had worked at the tech giant since May 2015, was building what Google has billed as the future of operating systems, its Fuschia project. He thought his company and his job were safe from the widespread layoffs... Like many of the 12,000 workers laid off by Google last Friday, Zac Bowling didn’t see it...

Art by Clark Miller.

startups culture

Why the Long Face, Founder? The New Executive Coach Has Four Legs and a Mane

By Arielle Pardes · Jan. 6, 2023 11:00 AM PST · 5 comments

Last year, Eurie Kim, a managing partner at Forerunner Ventures, took some of her portfolio founders on a field trip. They were going to spend the day at the Golden Gate Dairy Stables, a ranch in Marin County traversed by scenic trails with pristine views of the Northern California coastline. But Kim and the startup founders weren’t there... Last year, Eurie Kim, a managing partner at Forerunner Ventures, took some of her portfolio...

Art by Clark Miller

The Season’s Hottest Toy? Hint: It’s a YouTuber

By Abram Brown · Dec. 22, 2022 12:00 PM PST

Art by Clark Miller

The Season’s Hottest Toy? Hint: It’s a YouTuber

By Abram Brown · Dec. 22, 2022 12:00 PM PST

In September, Simon Philips found himself in an uncomfortable situation: seated across the aisle from two small children on a 10-hour work flight from Los Angeles to London. “Oh, god. What are they going to do?” Philips remembers thinking. As a father of two, Philips knows how bored kids can behave. Moreover, he’s spent a... In September, Simon Philips found himself in an uncomfortable situation: seated across the aisle...

Animation by Clark Miller

By Day, Elon Musk Rules Twitter—by Night, He’s Invading Our Dreams

By Zara Stone · Nov. 23, 2022 12:00 PM PST · 4 comments

Elon Musk made his first speaking appearance in Aaron Neyer’s dream life one night in mid-November. Neyer, a developer relations engineer at Google, dreamt that he was inside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, where he spotted Musk exiting a meeting. He rushed over to the new Twitter owner and sounded out Musk’s... Elon Musk made his first speaking appearance in Aaron Neyer’s dream life one night in...

Art by Clark Miller

Students Are Using AI Text Generators to Write Papers—Are They Cheating?

By Chris Stokel-Walker · Oct. 28, 2022 11:30 AM PDT · 7 comments

When West—not his real name—enrolled in college last year at the University of Rhode Island, he quickly realized that his professors expected a lot out of him. He had scheduled teaching, he had assignments, he had tests—and he didn’t want to devote an equal amount of time to all of them. “I would like to say I’m pretty smart,” West said. So he... When West—not his real name—enrolled in college last year at the University of Rhode Island, he...

Art by Clark Miller

‘Sometimes You’ve Got to Fight Fire With Fire’: A Vigilante Coder Goes to War Against Misinformation

By Jessica Lucas · Oct. 14, 2022 1:00 PM PDT · 1 comment

For the people closest to Christopher Bouzy, like his wife Jennifer, the battles he wages against trolls online can be both captivating and devastating to watch. “It’s fun when he mops the floor with them,” she said. “I’m really proud! I’m like, ‘Yeah! Get them.’ But it’s stressful. Especially when they put out your address and all this other... For the people closest to Christopher Bouzy, like his wife Jennifer, the battles he wages against...

A collage of Shuffles collages by Mike Sullivan.

Can a New Collage App Make Pinterest Cool Again?

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug. 26, 2022 9:01 AM PDT

A collage of Shuffles collages by Mike Sullivan.

Can a New Collage App Make Pinterest Cool Again?

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug. 26, 2022 9:01 AM PDT

Bec Martínez-Cristillo was hours into her search for an eight-character access code. She’d scrolled through Reddit threads. She’d sorted through hundreds of TikTok and Instagram comments. She’d even considered buying a codeon Depop, Gen Z’s favorite resale app, where they were priced from $5 to $100. Then, late last week, Martínez-Cristillo... Bec Martínez-Cristillo was hours into her search for an eight-character access code. She’d...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

How BeReal Became NSFW: Photo-Snapping Gen Z Employees Create a New Privacy Worry for Employers

By Annie Goldsmith · Aug. 5, 2022 12:00 PM PDT · 5 comments

It was 2:37 p.m. on a Tuesday when new university grad Connor (not his real name) got the push notification on his iPhone: “It’s time to BeReal!” A full-time employee in the corporate offices of a major retailer, Connor took his cue from the red-hot social media app BeReal and shot a quick photo of his workstation. He then scrolled through his... It was 2:37 p.m. on a Tuesday when new university grad Connor (not his real name) got the push...

Art by Clark Miller.

Bad Algorithm! How to Retrain Your Social Media Feed

By Annie Goldsmith · July 29, 2022 10:00 AM PDT

The algorithms have some behaviorial issues. All over social media, people are complaining about the content recommendation engines have been spinning up recently. It’s too random. It’s “terrible…unusable…like junk mail.” It’s even, at times, oddly biblical. This is a dramatic reversal from an earlier cultural moment, when Instagram’s and TikTok... The algorithms have some behaviorial issues. All over social media, people are complaining about...

Art by Clark Miller.

Can the Pro-Abortion Rights ‘Camping’ Movement Really Make a Difference?

By Flora Tsapovsky · July 22, 2022 11:00 AM PDT

When 19-year-old Jordan Benewiat posted a TikTok on June 24 inviting women to “camp” with her, it got 45,600 views and an outpouring of positive responses. Benewiat, who recently moved from Kansas to her sister’s home in Medford, Ore., said the invitation, intended for women in states with abortion bans, was genuine: “I totally stand behind... When 19-year-old Jordan Benewiat posted a TikTok on June 24 inviting women to “camp” with her, it...

Culling the ‘Chicken of the Tree’: YouTube Hunters Are Taking Down Invasive Species in the Name of the Environment

By Jessica Lucas · July 9, 2022 7:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Culling the ‘Chicken of the Tree’: YouTube Hunters Are Taking Down Invasive Species in the Name of the Environment

By Jessica Lucas · July 9, 2022 7:00 AM PDT · 1 comment

Darcie Arahill started fishing at the age of 3 in her home state of Florida and never really stopped. Under the tutelage of her father, she learned to respect nature and the delicate balance of the ecosystems around her. Today, Arahill, 33, has gained notoriety as a bikini-clad “blonde babe” who posts clips on YouTube of herself reeling in... Darcie Arahill started fishing at the age of 3 in her home state of Florida and never really...

So Your Startup Died. What Do You Do With All That Swag?

By Cory Weinberg · June 18, 2022 7:00 AM PDT · 5 comments

Megan Auringer started as a project manager at construction startup Katerra in January 2018, the same month it announced an $865 million fundraising round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the world’s largest private tech investor. Over the next few years, the company kept collecting checks from venture capitalists, while Auringer collected free... Megan Auringer started as a project manager at construction startup Katerra in January 2018, the...

Art by Clark Miller

Meet the Mathfluencers: Teachers Are Turning to TikTok to Sharpen Kids’ Math Skills

By Kaya Yurieff · June 3, 2022 1:35 PM PDT · 2 comments

Sixth graders at Polly Ryon Middle School in Richmond, Tex., clamored to get into a certain math class at the beginning of the last school year. That’s not because they’d heard rumors that the class was easy or that they’d get to watch a lot of movies between lessons. The reason: The class was taught by Deidre Kelly, a teacher with1.5 million... Sixth graders at Polly Ryon Middle School in Richmond, Tex., clamored to get into a certain math...

Art by Mike Sullivan.

The University of Indecision: For Some High School Seniors, TikTok Is the New College Counselor

By Margaux MacColl · May 7, 2022 7:00 AM PDT

It was almost May 1-–the ominously named Decision Day when high school seniors across the U.S. must commit to a college—and undecided teenagers were getting desperate. After touring campuses, studying college websites and asking their families for advice, there was only one option left: making a TikTok. “Everyone comment I have 3 days left to... It was almost May 1-–the ominously named Decision Day when high school seniors across the U.S....

Art by Clark Miller

‘The Perfect Slot Machine’: TikTok’s Most Addictive Design Features Are Being Cloned Across the Internet

By Annie Goldsmith · April 15, 2022 12:00 PM PDT · 1 comment

Art by Clark Miller

‘The Perfect Slot Machine’: TikTok’s Most Addictive Design Features Are Being Cloned Across the Internet

By Annie Goldsmith · April 15, 2022 12:00 PM PDT · 1 comment

To the untrained eye, it’s hard to distinguish between a TikTok post and the videos you’ll find on Snack, a new video-based dating app. And there’s a very good reason for that. “When we came up with the idea for Snack,” said founder Kim Kaplan, who was previously an executive at Plenty of Fish, a dating app bought by the Match Group for $575... To the untrained eye, it’s hard to distinguish between a TikTok post and the videos you’ll find...

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