Nearly four months ago, amid a firestorm of critical coverage stemming from a whistleblower's leaks, Facebook shifted its strategic focus to building an immersive version of the internet it calls the "metaverse" and changed its company name to Meta. READ MORE
New York’s Adams Tells CEOs to End Work-From-Home Policies
New York City Mayor Eric Adams told leaders of major companies in the city it was time to get their workers back in offices, emphasizing that empty buildings are holding back the city’s pandemic recovery. READ MORE
These Countries Have Introduced a Four-Day Week: Here's Where the US Stands
This week, Belgium became the newest country to offer workers the right to complete their workweek in four days, rather than the typical five, without a loss of salary.
Bloomberg reported that the move was made as part of an agreement "that aims to make Belgium's notoriously rigid labor market more flexible." READ MORE
The "Crapification" Of The US Economy Is Now Complete
The U.S. economy has fundamentally changed, and not for the better. There are numerous dynamics behind this decay, and I'll discuss a few of the more consequential ones this month.
One consequential dynamic few mainstream pundits dare discuss is the "crapification" of the entire U.S. economy. That isn't my description, "crapification" is now in common use. If the word offends you, substitute terminal decay of quality, competition, utility, durability, repairability and customer service. READ MORE
Facebook is staring down a 'perfect storm' of challenges that will define its future
Facebook has had an abysmal week.
In its fourth-quarter earnings report, parent company Meta revealed a major revenue shortfall, missing Wall Street expectations amid challenges spurred by its multibillion-dollar investment in its augmented reality “metaverse,” setting off a wave of stock-price volatility Thursday. Markets closed with Facebook down 26 percent, having shed roughly $230 billion from its market value — the biggest-ever one-day loss for a U.S. company. READ MORE
Beyond the Great Resignation, 7 trends that will shape work in 2022
At the start of 2021, many of us expected the world to return to normalcy, including a large-scale return to the workplace for many employees. But 2021 proved more volatile than anticipated given the rise of new COVID-19 variants, a massive war for talent, quit rates at an all-time high and the highest inflation levels in a generation. READ MORE
Dotdash Meredith ends print editions of six magazines
Dotdash Meredith, owned by media mogul Barry Diller's IAC, has decided to stop publishing the print editions of six magazines including Entertainment Weekly and InStyle as part of a digital push.
The move would result in 200 job losses and impacted titles also include EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, Dotdash Meredith Chief Executive Officer Neil Vogel said on Wednesday in a memo to staff that was seen by Reuters. READ MORE
Wells Fargo asks employees to return to office in mid-March
Most of Wells Fargo & Co's employees, including those in customer-facing roles, will return to their offices on March 14 and work under a hybrid flexible model, according to a company memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday. READ MORE
CEO sees more supply chain trouble ahead
Maersk has a front-row seat to global supply chains. It says more trouble is ahead.
The supply chain issues that have walloped the global economy and spurred inflation during the coronavirus pandemic are not getting much better, Maersk CEO Søren Skou told CNN Business on Wednesday. READ MORE
Employee engagement is out. Here’s a better metric
As companies scramble to retain top talent and boost productivity in 2022, many will seek to double down on employee engagement.
They may be wasting their money. READ MORE
14 experts say how the net’s worst problems could be solved by 2035
In the early 21st century, the internet—and the social internet, in particular—has enabled a more connected world. But it’s also enabled and amplified some of humanity’s worst behaviors. Fringy, toxic opinions and outright disinformation proliferate. Antisocial behavior is normalized. Facts—when they can be recognized—are used to bolster preexisting opinions, not to challenge assumptions. Kids (and adults) measure their self-worth by their Instagram comments and follower count. Expecting the huge tech companies that operate the platforms to proactively fix the problems gets more unworkable as online communities grow into the billions. READ MORE
Silicon Valley's tech monopoly is over. Is the future in Austin, Texas?
When Tesla announced last fall that it was moving its corporate headquarters from California to Texas, officials in Sacramento seemed more surprised than concerned.
After all, Tesla was expanding its sprawling Fremont, Calif., assembly plant, which already employs thousands of people. It’s building a battery factory in the Northern California town of Lathrop. READ MORE
Internet guru on Web3: "Get ready for the crash"
With Web3 touted as the next evolutionary stage of the internet, businesses and investors are eagerly hopping on the bandwagon. Tech giants including Alphabet, Facebook-owner Meta and Microsoft are staking their claim in the emerging blockchain-based economy, some non-fungible token companies are already valued in the billion, and cryptocurrency trading platforms are experiencing hockey stick-like growth. READ MORE
Have You Heard Of Q-Commerce? Why And How It’s Taking Off
The trend toward speedy, last-mile delivery has grown exponentially worldwide in the past five years. According to a study by Clutch, online shoppers now typically receive packages within two to three days. But there are still limitations.
As it turns out, two-day delivery is no longer enough, not for consumers or for e-commerce leaders wanting to provide the ultimate customer experience. The aspiration now is for near-instant delivery and at no extra charge. READ MORE
A giant donut-shaped machine just proved a near-limitless clean power source is possible
There's no silver bullet to the climate crisis, but nuclear fusion may be the closest thing to it. In the quest for a near-limitless, zero-carbon source of reliable power, scientists have generated fusion energy before, but they have struggled for decades to sustain it for very long. READ MORE
Everything wrong with your workplace is hiding in plain sight
The most authentic space in the workplace is the bathroom. It’s the place where employees go to find momentary solace, to break down, to text their significant other, to face themselves in the mirror. Office bathrooms (or their pandemic alternative, the private Slack channel) are where workers vent about toxic corporate culture. They’re where schemes for solidarity are assembled. Office bathrooms are where people go to bare their physiological and emotional realities away from company judgment. READ MORE
A 29-year-old CEO is pushing crypto during the Super Bowl by giving away millions in bitcoin
Americans tuning in to the Super Bowl on Sunday will be inundated with ads from cryptocurrency companies, including the trading platform FTX, which plans to give away millions of dollars in bitcoin.
FTX has spent heavily on sports partnerships to try to make itself a brand name in crypto, including an ad with NFL star Tom Brady, a sponsorship with Major League Baseball and a $135 million deal to rename the Miami Heat’s stadium the FTX Arena. READ MORE
The biggest chip deal in history has fallen apart
SoftBank's record-breaking sale of a prized chip designer to Nvidia has officially been called off.
At an initial value of $40 billion, the US chipmaker's acquisition of British design firm ARM would have been the largest semiconductor deal on record. READ MORE
Whether Remote Or On-Site, Here’s How The Hottest Early-Stage Startups Compare
Remember the days when working at a hot early-stage startup meant trekking to an office in a major tech center like Silicon Valley or Boston?
These days, a commute is not necessarily required. At scores of venture-backed companies, the ability to work from home is already the status quo—a perk as ingrained as office-based enticements like free coffee and snacks. READ MORE
Forget America's Great Resignation. It's the Great Upgrade
The churn in the American job market is without precedent.
A record number of American workers quit their jobs last year — of the 68.9 million separations in 2021, 47.4 million jobs were left voluntarily. READ MORE