Elon Musk Posts "Sex Tape" Online: "Best. Clickbait. Ever."

Accounts using racist language sent more tweets following the takeover and called on others to do so as well, The Washington Post reported. Elon Musk said Twitter will have a "content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints."Susan Walsh/AP Elon Musk's Twitter takeover sparked a surge in the use of the N-word on the social media platform. A social media research group told The Washington Post the use of the slur increased by nearly 500%. Musk said that Twitter will form a "content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints." After self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" Elon Musk closed the $44 billion deal on Twitter, anonymous accounts set about testing the limits of the social media platform's moderation policies, The Washington Post reported.The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a research group that analyzes social media content to predict emerging threats, said that use of the N-word on Twitter increased by nearly 500% in the 12 hours immediately after Musk's deal was finalized.The newspaper also noted that several online trolling accounts called on others to use racist language in the aftermath of the deal."Elon now controls twitter. Unleash the racial slurs. K---S AND N-----S," said one account, using slurs for Jewish and Black people, per the outlet. "I can freely express how much I hate n-----s … now, thank you elon," another said, The Post reported.Journalist David Leavitt also noticed an increase in accounts tweeting hate speech. He tweeted on Friday: "There's a massive flood of literally hundreds of people each minute using the N-word and rampant hate speech happening on Twitter right now post Elon purchase."Twitter was also flooded with sexist and anti-LGBTQ messages, per The Post. Anonymous trolling accounts ran "tests" on Twitter's moderation policies by calling for the deadnaming of transgender people and the use of offensive terms, like "groomer," according to the report."Almost immediately I noticed an increase in anti-trans harassment, it's very visible," said Erin Reed, a trans activist and queer legislative researcher, per The Washington Post.Some of the Twitter posts appear to have been organized on other platforms including 4chan, the NCRI said.Alex Goldenberg, NCRI's lead intelligence analyst, told The Washington Post that "online trolls regularly test the limits of moderation." He added that the online trolls may be intending "to make as big a mess as possible for Twitter's new management."—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022Musk tweeted on Friday that Twitter will form a "content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints." He added that major decisions on moderation won't be made until the council meets.Nonetheless, conservative figures have celebrated the deal, suggesting that Twitter's new ownership will loosen the rules on content moderation and strengthen free speech.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted "FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!!" on Thursday evening. On the same day, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted that Musk's purchase of Twitter was "the most important development for Free Speech in decades."In the hours preceding the deal being closed, accounts for far-right figures appeared to see a boost in followers. Accounts belonging to Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Arizona Rep. Kari Lake, for example, witnessed a surge in new followers in the 24 hours leading up to the deal being finalized, according to Memetica, a digital investigations company.Thousands of new accounts were created during that period, The New York Times reported.Memetica CEO Ben Decker told the newspaper the accounts that gained thousands of followers "are really well-known purveyors of disinformation, harassment, and hate." Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

The Bill Gurley Chronicles: Part 3 By Alex of the Macro Ops Substack What if there was a way to distill all the knowledge that someone’s written over the last 25 years into one, easy-to-read document? And what if that person was a famous venture capital investor known for betting big on companies like Uber, Snapchat, Twitter, Discord, Dropbox, Instagram, and Zillow (to name a few)?  Well, that’s what I’ve done with Bill Gurley’s blog Above The Crowd.  Gurley is a legendary venture capital investor and partner at Benchmark Capital. His blog oozes valuable insights on VC investing, valuations, growth, and marketplace businesses.  This document is past two to the one-stop-shop summary of every blog post Gurley’s ever written, part 1 can be found here and part 2 is here. May 29, 2009: Will Apple Make An Actual Television? Makes Sense To Me (Link) Summary: The thought of Apple (AAPL) making a physical TV seems wild. Yet according to Gurley, there are six reasons why this wasn’t such a farfetched concept. First, TV is a commodity business and AAPL excels at charging a premium on an otherwise commoditized product (i.e., MP3 players). Second, AAPL already makes large iPads that people love. Creating an even larger piece that AAPL fanboys would love to hang in their home makes sense. Third, TV will add an internet stack and AAPL might have to make their own hardware to support that. Fourth, It’s a huge market (Gurley estimates ~$2.5B in sales). Fifth, the TV would integrate with the Apple iOS, creating a seamless experience. Finally, AAPL has the retail footprint to sell its physical TVs.  Favorite Quote: “For Apple, the fact that the TV business has become a commodity business will not be a roadblock. In PCs and MP3 players, they have proven they can charge a huge premium and extract enviable gross margins even where others have starved.” June 2, 2009: A Really Interesting Online Education Company In Korea: Megastudy (Link) Summary: Education feels like one of the last industries not hit with the capitalist bug. Maybe it’s the massive bureaucratic red tape or the incumbent teacher’s union. Regardless, Gurley showcases a South Korean company that’s turning to capitalism to give teachers better pay and students better education. The company is Megastudy. There are a few reasons Gurley loves the business:  Subscription service for each course Easily scalable for teachers as they teach once to as many students as they want Teachers get ~23% of revenue from the course sales (this created $1M for teachers) Incentives hinge on how engaging, productive and informative teachers are to students Gurley said he invested in a company trying to do something similar in the US, Grockit. The company was eventually bought by Kaplan in 2013.  Favorite Quote: “Many here argue that U.S. teachers are underpaid, so in that sense it should be a huge welcome.  That said, I don’t think any teacher union in the U.S. would support the “eat what you kill” business model in use at Megastudy.”   June 8, 2009: Amazon’s AWS Strategy Becomes Clearer Every Day (Link) Summary: Amazon’s strategy when they entered the cloud business was simple: offer the lowest-cost cloud infrastructure and obsess about the customer. The second part is reminiscent of their retail business, and a meme from an old Jeff Bezos video. This comfortability in running a low-margin business allowed AMZN to move first in the space before IBM, MSFT, etc. Second, Gurley notes that no other cloud company listens to their customers like AMZN. It’s also fascinating to see how AMZN grew their cloud business: via rogue/small developers. While most saw this as a bug, insiders knew that’s exactly how you want to grow that business (i.e., bottoms-up growth).  Favorite Quote: “Many in the IT world are quick to point out that its only small businesses and rouge developers in large organizations are using AWS.  This is exactly how these markets develop.  Amazon is simply selling to the innovators and early adopters in the market — the exact customers that are prescribed in Crossing the Chasm. These are the customers that others will follow, and by the time the laggards come into the market, the game will be over.” July 15, 2009: Bill Gurley On The “Free” Business Model (Link) Summary: The freemium business model is one where a company offers a product or service for free (or marginally zero cost) to its customers. On one hand, it’s a great way to disrupt an industry, and a “simple form of the innovator’s dilemma strategy.” Yet Mark Cuban and Malcolm Gladwell disagree with the “panacea” of the freemium model. The bottom line is that if you have highly differentiated content, you should charge for it.  Favorite Quote: “Basically, there is always a cost to delivery, even if it’s really low on a marginal basis, and in volume, it can get quite expensive on the cost side. He also, appropriately highlights that “Free” is not a panacea of a business model. It doesn’t always work.” July 27, 2009: I Do Not Believe That Zappos Was “Forced” To Sell (Link) Summary: The hot rumor in July of 2009 was that Zappos was forced to sell to Amazon by Sequoia Fund (an investor in Zappos). Gurley thinks that wasn’t true for three main reasons:  Tony (Zappos CEO) could have withheld his vote at the BOD level, or even dissented.  For the exact same reason, Tony could’ve withheld a positive shareholder vote from his common shares.  Tony could have informed Jeff Bezos that he does not want to sell.  Favorite Quote: “Personally, I think it’s a great match and a great outcome for both companies.  They have a shared mission and very similar service-oriented customer brand.” July 29, 2009: Counterpoint To Calacanis On Yahoo-Microsoft Deal (Link) Summary: Obsessing over what competing businesses are doing is a sure way to destroy economic value. Nowhere is this best seen than when companies tried to mimic Google’s offensive search-based ad playbook. Gurley reasons that “laying chase” to an increasing returns business (like GOOGL ad network) is a waste of time. On the other hand, AMZN is a great example of a company recognizing the desire to clone, and doing the opposite. Instead of plunging into search and ad-based models, AMZN created AWS where they can control the pace of the game.  Favorite Quote: “For all their efforts, it’s unclear to me that Yahoo or Microsoft have created any positive equity value whatsoever based on their obsession with Google. I do not have access to the specific numbers, but from a cash flow perspective it would be easy to imagine that its a net negative for both of them.”  August 4, 2009: More IPO News, Ancestry.Com Files S-1 (Link) Summary: According to journalists, 2009 was a doom-and-gloom year for IPOs. Gurley’s take sounded much different. There were five IPOs during the year (up until this post) and all of them were doing well. At the same time, Ancestry.com filed their S-1. The company opened around $13/share in 2009. They were later bought by a PE firm for $32/share. Not a bad return for the pessimistic IPO market of 2009! Favorite Quote: “I wonder how many successful IPO’s we need before people will stop saying the window is closed.  Looks perfectly open to me.” August 20, 2009: A Real Time Free Vs Fee Example: Rosetta Stone Vs. LiveMocha (Link) Summary: LiveMocha is a free online language learning website with an incredible community of learners and contributors. These contributors often create courses and open the site to new languages for free. Of course, LiveMocha isn’t guaranteed a seat at the profitability table anytime soon. The company doesn’t have a clear monetization strategy, and we don’t know how sticky the consumer brand is compared to the household name, Rosetta Stone.  Favorite Quote: “If you read our previous thoughts on the free business model, we made one key point. Free is not necessarily a game plan, or a guaranteed model for success, but rather a market reality. Someone may be able to do what you do for free.  Does it guarantee they will be wildly successful? No, but it still may be a massive threat.  Microeconomics is not a zero-sum game. It’s perfectly reasonable for all the players in a market to not generate excessive (or any) profits.” August 24, 2009: What Is Really Happening To The Venture Capital Industry? (Link) Summary: The VC industry was under heavy pressure in 2009 due to underperformance and bloating AUMs. Gurley suggested the problem stemmed not from VC itself, but from its source of funds. VC firms receive most of their capital from pensions, endowments, and foundations. These are the largest pools of capital in the world. Over time, most of these pools of capital have increased their allocation to VC-based alternative investments. As such, the size of the VC industry ebbs and flows with how much money institutions decide to invest.  Favorite Quote: “There are many reasons to believe that a reduction in the size of the VC industry will be healthy for the industry overall and should lead to above average returns in the future. This is not simply because less supply of dollars will give VCs more pricing leverage. We have seen over and over again how excess capital can lead to crowded emerging markets with as many as 5-6 VC backed competitors. Reducing this to 2-3 players will result in less cutthroat behavior and much healthier returns for all companies and entrepreneurs in the market. Additionally, at a stabilized market size of well over $15B a year, there should be plenty of capital to fund the next Microsoft, Ebay, or Google.”  September 29, 2009: Want To Know More About The Future Of Internet TV?: Let’s Look To Korea (Link) Summary: Studying countries with faster technology adoption is a great way to spot potential trends. Korea was that country with over-the-top (OTT) Internet-based video streaming. The top three South Korean OTT providers passed 800K subs during the year with 90% broadband penetration rates. While that seems high, Gurley notes that estimates a few years back called for millions of subscribers.  Favorite Quote: “One way to have an advantage in “predicting” what will happen is to look at other countries that are further evolved in terms of broadband. The most obvious of these, with over 90% broadband penetration, is South Korea.” October 29, 2009: Google Redefines Disruption: The “Less Than Free” Business Model (Link) Summary: Google licensed its map data from two main companies: NavTeq and Tele Atlas. As such, the data-based companies had an economic advantage over Google. That was until Google deployed its own cars and created its own turn-by-turn GPS application. Then Google did the unthinkable, they gave it away for free inside its Google Android OS. In one move, Google went from price-taker to price-maker. Favorite Quote: “This is not just incredible defense. Google is apt to believe that the geographic taxonomy is a wonderful skeleton for a geo-based ad network.  If your maps are distributed everywhere on the Internet and in every mobile device, you control that framework.” January 5, 2010: Android Or IPhone? Wrong Question (Link) Summary: It was easy to think Apple and Android fought head-to-head. But that wasn’t true. The iPhone partnered with AT&T, demanded wild economics (upfront payments & revenue shares), and closed its user interface/ecosystem. Google made Android open-source and paid cellular carriers via advertising revenue shares. The result? iPhone captured the high-end of the market while Android flooded/dominated the lower-end where basic smartphones were 10x better than a consumer’s existing option.  Favorite Quote: “This is why the two products do not compete head to head. With its super aggressive model, Android will be the choice of the masses, and with its sleek design and non-compromising price point, Apple will rule the high end.” February 8, 2010: Virtual Goods, Accounting, And The Power Of The “Rental” Model (Link) Summary: In the virtual economy, renting is a better business model than ownership for six main reasons:  Items become obsolete as a player levels up Users experience substantial inventory glut  Allows for more marketing opportunities when item needs to be replaced Price segmentation based on length of rental (i.e., 1 day, 7 day, or 30 day rental pricing) Creates recurring revenue business vs. one-time purchase Simpler accounting as there is no “durable” virtual good Favorite Quote: “American journalists and corporate executives have been slow to appreciate the beauty, brilliance, and consumer allure of the virtual goods business model.” April 28, 2010: When It Comes To Television Content, Affiliate Fees Make The World Go ‘Round (Link) Summary: If you want to understand the cable/media industry, follow the money, or in this case, the affiliate fees. Affiliate fees were a $32B business in 2010. ESPN is a good example. Content providers like ESPN “charge” $2.00/sub/month to cable companies for the right to stream ESPN content on a cable channel. Gurley notes that affiliate fees affect every aspect of the TV business, from operations to content production to financing/packaging. That there is so much money on the line ($32B) means it’ll be challenging for technology to disrupt the incumbent model.  Favorite Quote:  “The final and most significant reason is that this is a massive, massive business, and it is critically important to understand where the money flows (most people don’t). You can spend plenty of time talking about other issues, but when it comes to understanding the key factor at play in nearly every major business decision in television, you will find affiliate fees – all $32 billion of them.” July 8, 2010: Google Acquires ITA: Will Deeper Vertical Integration Lead To Higher Revenues? (Link) Summary: GOOGL can’t easily penetrate new verticals for two key reasons: competition and LTV-based assumptions. Existing verticals (like travel) offer a significantly better consumer experience, often due to community-based user-generated content (UGC) and hyper-specific datasets. GOOGL cannot easily mimic these advantages. Second, GOOGL’s CPC charge would switch from an “investment’ in Lifetime Customer Value (LTV) to a repeat transaction (or fee) in the eyes of company marketing departments.  Favorite Quote: “If you are searching for a book or an author you go to Amazon, or at the very least you do a search like “Man in Full Amazon” so that you go directly to the page you want on Amazon. The same is true for hotels with TripAdvisor and for restaurants with OpenTable. These sites offer deeper and richer experiences for a vertical searcher precisely because they incorporate deep meta-data, faceted search, transaction connectivity, and typically a form of community or UGC (user generated content).” July 15, 2010: On Google, Growth, Pricing Power, And Valuation Multiples (Link) Summary: GOOGL traded at ~18x 2010 earnings at the time of writing. Why were they so cheap? It wasn’t competitive positioning, as nobody could successfully dethrone GOOGL’s search engine dominance. And it wasn’t lack of growth as GOOGL was generating 20%+ top-line revenue growth. According to Gurley, GOOGL traded at a discount because its business model was “too good.” It grew reached $10B 3x as quickly as GOOGL. However, GOOGL didn’t possess MSFT’s massive embedded pricing power, so Gurley saw little operating leverage inside GOOGL’s business.  Favorite Quote: “With its ad optimization engine so amazingly efficient, Google has no obvious pricing power against its current installed base. There is simply no way to “double” the amount of spend from each customer, much less a way to take it up 20X. Additionally, they have not yet identified a product that would represent Google’s version of Microsoft Office in terms of revenue leverage.”  November 15, 2010: Silicon Valley’s IPO Anxiety (Link) Summary: Anxiety about going public is a self-fulfilling prophecy that leads to fewer IPOs, thus fewer new “merchandise” for investors to purchase. Gurley notes that in 2010 most IPOs came outside of Silicon Valley, reaffirming the self-fulfilling prophecy. Sure, Sarbanes-Oxly makes it more expensive to go public. And yes, there are more short-term oriented investors in public markets. However, companies assume those risks for the potential to capture sales/earnings multiples they’d never see if they stayed private.  Favorite Quote: “To this point, and perhaps ironically to some, most of the people I know that work in high tech mutual funds and hedge funds would like to see more IPOs not less. They are tired of trading the same large technology names that are showing limited equity returns over the past 10 years, and have very low growth opportunities/ambitions.” March 24, 2011: The Freight Train That Is Android (Link) Summary: Android and Chrome aren’t business “products”, but a strategy of expanding GOOGL’s existing economic moat. GOOGL removes the layer between itself and its end-user by offering free (or less-than-free) software products (like OS, Search Engines, and Maps). The Search Engine funds this expensive “scorched-Earth” moat expansion policy via its Advertising business (its castle). In essence, GOOGL wants all the market share, but none of the economics. How can one compete against that defensive model? It’s simple, you can’t.  Favorite Quote: “This is the part that amazes me the most. I don’t know if a large organized industry has ever faced this fierce a form of competition – someone who is not trying to “win” in the classic sense. They want market share, but they don’t need economics. Imagine if Ford were faced with GM paying people to take Chevrolets? How many would they be able to sell? What if you received $0.10 for every free Pepsi you consumed? Would you still pay $1.50 for a Coke?” May 24, 2011: All Revenue Is Not Created Equal: The Keys To The 10X Revenue Club (Link) Summary: Only a select few companies can (and should) trade at 10x Price/Sales. The reason is that revenue (and revenue growth) isn’t created equally. There are good and bad flavors of growth. Gurley reveals the ten most important criteria for Revenue Growth Quality by asking 10 questions:  Does the business have a competitive advantage (Buffett’s “moat”)? Does the business possess network effects?  How predictable/visible is the company’s revenues?  Are there high or low switching costs?  Is this a high or low gross margin business?  Does the business generate positive marginal profitability? How concentrated is the company’s revenues?  Does the company depend on 1-3 key partners?  Does the business grow via advertising or organic word-of-mouth?  How fast is the company growing revenue?  This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a great starting point in determining if a business has what it takes to (potentially) trade at 10x Price/Sales.  Favorite Quote: “What drives true equity value? Those of us with a fondness for finance will argue until we are blue in the face that discounted cash flows (DCF) are the true drivers of value for any financial asset, companies included. The problem is that it is nearly impossible to predict with any accuracy what the long-term cash flows are for a given company; especially a company that is young or that might be using an innovative and new business model.”  September 14, 2011: On IPOs: If You Are Going To File, Make Sure You Price (Link) Summary: Companies that file an S-1, only to pull the filing, sow seeds of doubt amongst investors, bankers, and internal employees. Pulling an IPO filing begs many questions, like “Was their valuation too high?” or “Maybe there isn’t enough demand for the stock?” Or even “I wonder if the company’s growth is slowing down and they don’t want to publish those figures?” Regardless of the reason, companies that file S-1s should have the courage to see it through.  Favorite Quote: “An open IPO window attracts two types of companies – those that should go public, and those that “need” to go public for capital reasons. Portions of the “need” group will always fail to find supporters, and therefore you should not view delays and withdrawals as signs of a weak IPO market.”  September 18, 2011: Understanding Why Netflix Changed Pricing (Link) Summary: Hollywood forced Netflix to change its pricing. Netflix’s original business model formed around the 1908 “First Sale Doctrine” Supreme Court Ruling. The ruling allowed NFLX (or anyone) to rent a DVD the same day of purchase. In this model. NFLX has relatively fixed costs and unlimited “streaming” rights. However, digital is the opposite model. Hollywood demanded an affiliate fee-like pricing model, where NFLX paid Hollywood per subscriber per month for the right to digitally stream its content. Digital now became a fixed rights distribution with unlimited potential costs. NFLX had to increase prices to make its digital model work.  Favorite Quote: “Netflix could not afford to pay for digital content for someone who wasn’t watching it. This forced the separation, so that the digital business model would exist on it’s own free and clear. Could Netflix have simply paid the digital fee for all its customers (those that watched and not)? One has to believe they modeled this scenario, and it looked worse financially (implied severe gross margin erosion) than the model they chose.” November 15, 2011: You Don’t Have To Tweet To Twitter (Link) Summary: Twitter doesn’t compete with Facebook or other social media platforms. Instead, it competes with other news sources, like print/TV media, blogs, and other websites where users publish information. The great thing about Twitter, too, is that you don’t have to tweet to recognize its value. Users get tremendous value from following other people without the need for others to follow them. Plus, Twitter’s strong-form network effects grow with each new user on the platform as more users amplifies any one person’s potential to share information at scale.  Favorite Quote: “Much like Google, Twitter points out to the world. It’s a “discovery engine” and an “information utility” rolled into one. With Twitter, you get news faster, you see updates from your favorite artists, you hear directly from key politicians, and gain insights from influencers in a wide variety of specializations. Just as Facebook is symmetric in terms of its poster-reader relationship, Twitter is highly asymmetric. The majority of the tweets on Twitter are posted by a small sub-set of the users.” Years: 2012 – 2015 January 5, 2012: Thinking About Diets And Other Complex Matters (Link) Summary: Whether it’s diets, stock prices, or weather changes, humans love finding patterns for complex matters. If something is too complex for our feeble human brain to comprehend, fear not! We simply create a causation or a pattern so that our minds can somehow understand it. The lesson? Watch out for those that spew “certainty”, those that avoid fresh perspectives or people who won’t / can’t change their minds.  Favorite Quote: “When it comes to not fully understood complex systems, it is easy to get things wrong. In fact, its easy for everyone to get them wrong. Don’t fear the new idea or the fresh perspective, and don’t believe something just because everyone else does. But watch out for the preacher with certainty — the ones that are spewing hellfire and brimstone. They are the ones most certainly to be wrong.” February 1, 2012: Why Facebook Clearly Belongs In The 10X Revenue Club (Link) Summary: This was one of my favorite Gurley posts as we became a fly on the wall, listening to how Gurley analyzed Facebook (FB) at the time of IPO. Gurley runs FB through his 10x Revenue Club Criterion and determines that the company firmly belongs as a card-carrying member. Gurley ended up valuing FB around $96B market cap. As of this writing, it trades at $540B.  Favorite Quote: “With all the hype, assume a 12x multiple on the $6, and you end up right at $72B. You can double-check this with earnings. As operating margin is stable, 60% growth would result in $1.6B in after-tax earnings. At $72B, this is a 45 PE ratio for a company growing at 60%. At a 60 PE, you would have a $96B market capitalization.” February 23, 2012: Why Dropbox Is A Major Disruption (Link) Summary: Gurley saw Dropbox (DBX) as a major disrupter because it took something highly complex (file synchronization) and made it “brain dead simple.” However, it’s not in making something formerly complex, simple. It’s the fact that DBX now eliminates dependence on specific computer hardware and software. Who cares if you use iMac or Windows? And who cares if you lose your laptop or phone? If everything’s stored on DBX, you haven’t lost anything. DBX, in essence, commoditized computer hardware and software.  Favorite Quote: “Once you begin using Dropbox, you become more and more indifferent to the hardware you are using, as well as the operating system on that device. Dropbox commoditizes your devices and their OS, by being your “state” system in the sky.”  April 19, 2012: My Life With Bing (Link) Summary: Gurley switched his default browser from Google to Bing for two months. His findings were interesting. He noticed that on “core search” functions, Bing was on-par with Google. However, the biggest difference Gurley noticed was how conditioned he was to Google’s UI/UX. Moreover, he noticed how frustrating it was trying to navigate (read: learn) a new UI/UX in Bing. In other words, customer lock-in doesn’t have to come from product superiority or barriers to entry. It can come from familiarity with navigation and the power of personal routines.  Favorite Quote: “At the end of the day, for me, my user “lock-in” is associated not with the quality of Google results, but rather with the understanding of the UI features and levers.  More like a traditional software application.” April 27, 2012: Intuit To Acquire Demandforce For $424MM (Link) Summary: Demandforce is a case study on two important company-building topics: focus and local networks. Gurley frequently mentioned that Demandforce flew under-the-radar from the media, and instead focused all their efforts on their customers and product. Additionally, Demandforce operated in the Local Internet world of small business. Demandforce gave local businesses access to enterprise-level SaaS “front office” tools. In effect, the company leveraged the power of the Internet with the pervasiveness of smartphones to service a $125B+ industry. Favorite Quote: “In a day and age of social media, where many companies project a persona much larger than reality, Demandforce chose instead to focus on its customers and its products. We never even announced Benchmark’s funding of the company, which I believe is unprecedented. The Demandforce team always felt that the attention should be focused on the customer rather than the company.” June 25, 2012: Social-Mobile-LOCAL: “Local” Will Be The Biggest Of The Three (Link) Summary: Local is a massive and exciting market opportunity for startups to build the next billion-dollar business. There are a few reasons for this belief. First, smartphones have given startups access to billions of people’s locations, allowing them to build hyper-local products and services (think Nextdoor, etc.). Internet adoption rates also remain historically underpenetrated for local small businesses. Finally, local graphs incentivize startups to go deep into specific verticals (like travel, accounting solutions, table reservation), insulating itself from larger incumbents like Google. Favorite Quote: “But the really exciting part is that we are still really early in this process of transformation away from listing/directory advertising to a local Internet.  By way of comparison, in the fourth quarter of 2011, Southwest Airlines reported that 86% of its revenue was booked online.  By comparison, only 12% of US restaurant reservations are booked online. Only 15% of dentists are connected to customers through services like DemandForce.  Only 3% of takeout orders are processed through online offerings like GrubHub. And less than 1% of realtors are premier agents on Zillow.” Tyler Durden Sun, 07/17/2022 - 16:30.....»»

Hulu has many original series like "The Handmaid's Tale," "The Dropout," and "The Great." Here are the best Hulu exclusive shows to stream. Prices are accurate at the time of publication.When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.Elisabeth Moss stars on "Handmaid's Tale."Sophie Giraud/Hulu Hulu gives subscribers access to several award-winning original shows, like "The Handmaid's Tale."  The service is also home to exclusive miniseries, including "Pam & Tommy" and "The Dropout." Hulu costs $7/month for ad-supported streaming, and you can get the ad-free plan for $13/month. Hulu Streaming Service $6.99 FROM HULUIn addition to a ton of great movies and network TV shows, Hulu has an impressive collection of original series. From award-winning titles like "The Handmaid's Tale" to new releases like Steve Martin's "Only Murders in the Building," there's a lot to catch up on in Hulu's library of exclusives. If you're not a Hulu subscriber yet, it's simple to sign up through the Hulu website, and the service is easily accessible to stream from most smart TVs, smartphones, media players, and internet browsers. The ad-supported plan costs $7 a month, while ad-free streaming is $13 a month. To help you decide what to watch, we've highlighted some of the service's best original shows. And if you're on the fence about signing up, this selection should help you determine if Hulu's lineup is worth the price of admission. Our picks represent a range of genres, and all of the series we've selected are categorized as fresh by critics on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. 'Only Murders in the Building'Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin in "Only Murders in the Building."Craig Blankenhorn/HuluFrom the minds of Steve Martin and John Hoffman, "Only Murders in the Building" is a murder-mystery-comedy starring Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and Martin himself. Though the three main characters are very different at a glance, they share one key trait: an obsession with true crime. When a murder takes place in the trio's apartment building, they team up and follow the clues to find the culprit.All 10 first-season episodes are available to stream right now, and a second season is set to premiere on June 28.'Pam & Tommy'"Pam & Tommy."HuluBased on the real-life scandal from the '90s, "Pam & Tommy" stars Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. After an unhappy contractor steals the couple's sex tape and posts it online, the video goes viral well before "viral" was a term we understood. The miniseries is a combination love story and crime drama.All eight episodes of the limited series are available to stream now.'The Great'"The Great" is on Hulu.Hulu"The Great," is a fictionalized and satirical take on the life of Catherine the Great. Rather than offer a historically accurate account of events, the show takes a more playful and comedic approach to its story. The series stars Elle Fanning as Catherine, Nicholas Hoult as Peter, and Sebastian De Souza as Leo.The first two seasons of "The Great" are now available to stream on Hulu. A third season is in development.'The Dropout'Hulu"The Dropout" is a series executive produced by Elizabeth Meriwether, starring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes. Based on Holmes' real life, the show follows the young entrepreneur's rise and fall as she launches Theranos, a health tech company based on a lie. The miniseries details the ambition, success, fraud, and inevitable demise of the start-up and its founder.The series premiered on March 3 and all eight episodes will be available to stream on April 7.'Woke'IMDBThis comedy series is packed with cultural analysis as it follows the life of Keef, a Black cartoonist. Keef's life is rocked by an altercation with the police, and afterwards he discovers that he can talk to inanimate objects. Keef's character is based on the show's co-creator, Keith Knight, whose comics in the '90s shed a light on race in America.The first and second seasons of "Woke" are now available to stream.'Dopesick'Michael Keaton in "Dopesick."HuluMichael Keaton and Rosario Dawson star in this limited series inspired by a New York Times bestseller. "Dopesick" is a drama that investigates America's opioid crisis, and how the country's worst drug epidemic was spurred by one corporation. Through the series, we follow our main characters as they seek out the truth and fight the system that has taken advantage of so many.It's only eight episodes long, all of which are available to stream on Hulu.'Letterkenny'HuluThis Hulu original is a Canadian sitcom starring Jared Keeso, Nathan Dales, Michelle Mylett, and K. Trevor Wilson. Originally a YouTube series, "Letterkenny" details the daily trials and tribulations of Letterkenny residents, a fictional rural town in Ontario. Smart and funny, the comedy illustrates what it's like living in a small town of less than 5,000 people.The show premiered back in 2016, and all 10 seasons are available to stream on Hulu, the latest of which was released in 2021.'Solar Opposites'Hulu"Solar Opposites" is the latest adult animation series from the mind of "Rick and Morty" co-creator Justin Roiland. It's the story of four aliens on a mission to protect a super computer who crash-landed in suburban America. As the show's name suggests, the team is divided on how to feel about Earth, resulting in hilarious disagreements. The first two seasons and a holiday special are available on Hulu, with seasons three and four on the horizon as well.'Nine Perfect Strangers'Nicole Kidman in "Nine Perfect Strangers."Vince Valitutti/HuluThis star-studded miniseries is based on the New York Times bestseller by Liane Moriarty, and features Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, and Bobby Cannavale. "Nine Perfect Strangers" is about just that: nine people living totally different lives, whose paths cross at a boutique health-and-wellness resort.The drama unfolds for the resort's participants as the boutique's director embarks on a journey to reinvigorate them — mind, body, and soul. All eight episodes are available to stream now.'The Handmaid's Tale'HuluHulu Originals' bread and butter, this series based on Margaret Atwood's novel of the same name is set in a dystopian future in which women have been forced into sexual servitude. Elisabeth Moss has won two Emmy Awards for her outstanding and emotional performance as June.Four seasons are currently on Hulu, and it's been renewed for a fifth.'Animaniacs'"Animaniacs"HuluYakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner are familiar faces for any '90s baby who grew up with the original "Animaniacs" series. Hulu's reboot of the show finds the characters two decades separated from their original run but with similarly humorous adventures and songs throughout each episode. The Warners adapt to their time away from showbiz as do favorites Pinky and the Brain who, in the premiere, utilize memes to take over the world.Two seasons are now available to stream on Hulu, and a third season is in the works.'Love, Victor'HuluThis teen drama is based on the popular movie "Love, Simon" and follows Victor as he adjusts to life at a new high school. The series offers an examination of Victor's family life and his sexuality as he struggles between his interest in his girlfriend and another boy.Two seasons of "Love, Victor" are now available to stream. A third and final season is set to premiere in June.'Ramy'IMDB"Ramy" is a comedy drama centered on an American Muslim navigating the cultural divide between his Egyptian immigrant community and his millennial peers. The show's star and co-creator, Ramy Youssef, won the 2020 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series.The first and second seasons of "Ramy" are now available to stream on Hulu. A third season is in development.'Wu-Tang: An American Saga'HuluBased on the true story of the rise of the Wu-Tang Clan, this miniseries follows Bobby Diggs aka The RZA as he tries to lead his group of friends away from the drug- and crime-riddled streets on New York. The music they create together chronicling their daily struggles and triumphs eventually leads them to meteoric success.The first and second seasons are currently available to stream. A third and final season is on the way.'Pen15'Hulu's "Pen15"HuluComedians Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle star as their 13-year-old selves in a show that captures all of the awkwardness of middle school in the year 2000. The rest of their classmates are portrayed by actual teenagers adding a hilarious twist to this clever comedy.Both seasons of the series are now available to stream. 'The Act'HuluIn 2015, the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard captured the nation's attention after it was revealed to be orchestrated by her daughter in an attempt to escape Dee Dee's abusive Munchhausen syndrome by proxy. "The Act" chronicles all the twists and turns of this captivatingly complex true crime story.The limited series features a total of eight episodes. 'Shrill'HuluAidy Bryant stars as Annie, an overweight woman who, despite societal pressures, has no interest in changing her body. But she's out to make improvements in other areas, namely her career, love life, and family life, but of course having it all is never easy.All three seasons of the comedy from executive producers Lorne Michaels and Elizabeth Banks are streaming now.'Harlots'HuluIn 18th-century London, Margaret Wells butts heads with a rival brothel owner as they vie for control of the city's underground. Plus, she's got daughters to raise amidst her dangerous business dealings. This British drama's three seasons are currently streaming on Hulu.'Marvel's Runaways'HuluThese six teenagers couldn't be more different, except one important commonality — their parents are all evil. Now they must find a way to work together to take down their parents' criminal enterprise.Based on a Marvel Comics series of the same name, all three seasons of "Runaways" are available to stream. Though originally developed as a Hulu original, "Runaways" is also now available to stream on Disney Plus.'Difficult People'HuluBilly Eichner and Julie Klausner star as best friends navigating life in New York City. They're both struggling comedians, but their careers aren't the only thing they're struggling with. They're, well, difficult people, and they can't stand anyone but each other. All three seasons of "Difficult People" are currently streaming.'Future Man'IMDBProduced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, "Future Man" is an outrageous sci-fi comedy full of clever observations and gross-out gags. When a janitor named Josh Futturman (Josh Hutcherson) is recruited by two time travelers to save the world, the very fate of humanity is put in peril — with hilarious results.All three seasons of "Future Man" are now available to stream on Hulu.'Casual'HuluValerie has just gotten a divorce, and now she and her teenage daughter must move in with her bachelor brother, Alex. With Valerie ready to get back on the horse, Alex must help her navigate the craziness of the dating scene — using the dating app he's invented. All four seasons of "Casual" are currently streaming.'The Bisexual'IMDBLeila has identified as a lesbian her entire adult life, but when her 10-year relationship with Sadie ends, she finds herself attracted to men for the first time. Her new roommate helps her navigate dating both men and women and deal with the upheaval of her entire life and identity. The first season of "The Bisexual" can be streamed now.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri first hinted at the popular feature's return last year after it disappeared in 2016. There's also a new "favorites" option. Instagram head Adam Mosseri.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for WIRED Instagram is bringing back its chronological feed, which it got rid of in 2016. The app has been using an engagement-based ranking, which has become controversial. The algorithm has been found to prioritize divisiveness, violence, and misinformation. Instagram is bringing back a chronologically-ordered feed option, its parent company Meta said Wednesday, after years of user outcry to bring back the popular feature. "We want you to be able to shape Instagram into the best possible experience, and giving you ways to quickly see what you're most interested in is an important step in that direction,"the company said in a blog post. The app will also introduce a "favorites" feed, it said. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri first said the time-ordered option could come back at a Congressional hearing in December 2021. The app changed to engagement-based photos rankings in users' feeds in 2016. "We've been focusing for a few years now on how to give people more control over their experience, like favorites, which puts accounts you favorite at the top of your feed," Mosseri told senators during a hearing about protecting kids online. "Another we've been working on for months is a chron feed. I wish I had a specific month to give you, but right now we're aiming for early next year."Engagement-based rankings order content based on how likely users are expected to interact with those posts. Mosseri said at the hearing that engagement-based rankings are a way to connect people with the content that they might find most appealing.But they've become a contentious topic as critics say they've helped spawn clickbait articles or stories that news outlets write to hook readers' attention. And engagement-based rankings have also been found to prioritize violent, toxic, false, and politically divisive content. Engagement-based ranking can also lead to days-old posts surfacing in the app instead of new content, frustrating users. Instagram and its parent company, Facebook (now called Meta), have specifically fielded criticism over their algorithms.Former employee-turned whistleblower Frances Haugen shared documents with the press and Congress that revealed, among other things, that Facebook employees were concerned that an algorithm change would promote sensationalistic content. An internal memo showed that Facebook made the change because people were using the app less.Facebook, now known as Meta, has disputed many takeaways from the trove of documents, saying they don't fully encompass its efforts to combat bad actors and promote mental health. When Instagram swapped its chronological feed for an algorithmic one in 2016, it said, "the order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you'll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post. As we begin, we're focusing on optimizing the order — all the posts will still be there, just in a different order."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told Congress Wednesday the feed could launch in 2022 as an alternative to the controversial engagement-based algorithm. Instagram head Adam Mosseri.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for WIRED Instagram is bringing back its chronological feed, which it got rid of in 2016. The app has been using an engagement-based ranking, which has become controversial. The algorithm has been found to prioritize divisiveness, violence, and misinformation. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said the app is bringing back the option of a chronologically-ordered feed, which it ditched in 2016.During a congressional hearing about protecting kids online Wednesday, Mosseri told senators the company is  "currently working on a version of chron feed we're hoping to launch next year.""We've been focusing for a few years now on how to give people more control over their experience, like favorites, which puts accounts you favorite at the top of your feed," Mosseri said. "Another we've been working on for months is a chron feed. I wish I had a specific month to give you, but right now we're aiming for early next year."So-called engagement-based rankings order content based on how likely users are to interact with those posts. Mosseri on Wednesday defined engagement-based rankings as a way to connect people with the content that they might find most appealing.But they've become a contentious topic as critics say they've helped spawn clickbait articles, or stories that news outlets write to hook readers' attention. And engagement-based rankings have also been found to prioritize content that is violent, toxic, false, and politically divisive. Engagement-based ranking can also lead to days-old posts surfacing in the app instead of new content, frustrating users. Instagram and its parent company, Facebook (now called Meta), have specifically fielded criticism over their algorithms.Former employee-turned whistleblower Frances Haugen shared documents with the press Congress that revealed, among other things, that Facebook employees were concerned that an algorithm change would promote sensationalistic content. An internal memo showed that Facebook made the change because people were using the app less.When Instagram swapped its chronological feed for an algorithmic one in 2016, it said "the order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you'll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post. As we begin, we're focusing on optimizing the order — all the posts will still be there, just in a different order."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Mark Zuckerberg is the multibillionaire founder behind Facebook (now Meta) who is shaping the course of social interaction and virtual reality online. Mark Zuckerberg has led Facebook, now Meta, for nearly two decades.David Ramos/Getty Images Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg grew up outside of New York City and dropped out of Harvard after founding Facebook. He's built it into a multibillion-dollar company while weathering numerous scandals and controversies. Here's a look at his career rise, personal life, and controversies over the years. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has weathered success and controversy in equal parts over the past 19 years.The millennial CEO is credited with creating a social network that has more monthly active users than any single country in the world has people, and his majority voting rights give him complete control of the company — which also means he's often the focal point of any backlash.As it grew from a social network called Facebook to a metaverse company named Meta, the company that Zuckerberg built has weathered scandal after scandal even as it saw seemingly unstoppable growth. But things have shifted as Facebook user numbers stalled out last year for the first time, Zuckerberg's net worth plunged, and Meta layoffs affected more than 21,000 people, marking the biggest cull in the company's history.Still, Zuckerberg's net worth is estimated at $108 billion, making him the 10th richest person in the world. At the beginning of the 2022, Zuckerberg was worth $125 billion.At the same time, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have poured billions into efforts to cure human diseasea via their foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; amassed a sprawling real estate empire in Hawaii; and expanded their family to include three young daughters: Maxima, August, and Aurelia.Here's a look at the timeline of Zuckerberg's career, from his early life in a New York suburb to his role as one of the most powerful CEOs in the world:Early life, familyNew York City seen through the frozen Hudson River in Dobbs Ferry, New York.Amir Levy/Getty ImagesWhile he's now a titan of Silicon Valley, Mark Zuckerberg was raised in the quaint town of Dobbs Ferry, New York. He was born to Edward and Karen Zuckerberg, a dentist and psychiatrist, respectively. He has three siblings: Randi, Donna, and Arielle.Source: New York MagazineYoung computer programmerRick Friedman/Corbis via Getty ImagesA precocious child, Mark at age 12 created a messaging program called "Zucknet" using Atari BASIC. He also coded computer games for his friends at a young age.Source: New York MagazineBuilding a music streamer in high schoolJusting Sullivan/Getty ImagesWhile attending high school at the renowned Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, he built an early music streaming platform, which both AOL and Microsoft showed interest in. Still a teen, he rejected offers for an acquisition or a job.Source: New York Magazine Other interestsUnfortunately, this isn't actually Zuckerberg fencing.Murad Sezer/ReutersHe wasn't just a computer nerd, though. Zuck loved the classics — "The Odyssey" and the like — and he became captain of his high school fencing team.Source: The New YorkerBefore Facebook, there was Face mashZuckerberg and Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes.Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty ImagesSoon after Zuckerberg started at Harvard University in 2002, he earned a reputation as a skilled developer. His first hit was "Face mash," a hot-or-not-style app that used the pictures of his classmates that he hacked from the school administration's dormitory ID files.Source: The New YorkerYoung lovePriscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg.Bloomberg via Getty ImagesZuckerberg met his now-wife, Priscilla Chan, at Harvard in 2003. Chan told Savannah Guthrie on "Today" that they met at a frat party thrown by Zuckerberg's fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi.Source: TodayFounding "The Facebook"Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty ImagesZuckerberg started "The Facebook" with several friends out of his dorm room, and dropped out of school in 2005, after his sophomore year, to focus on the social network full-time.Source: The New YorkerCEO Mark ZuckerbergPaul Sakuma/APZuckerberg wasn't always the polished statesman he is now. In Facebook's early days, he carried business cards that read, "I'm CEO, B----."Source: TechCrunchFacebook's series A fundingPaul Sakuma/APZuckerberg's company raised its $12.7 million Series A round of funding while he was barely of legal drinking age.Person of the YearTimeIn 2010, Time magazine named Zuckerberg "Person of the Year."Source: Time"The Social Network" dramatizes Zuckerberg, Facebook's storyJustin Timberlake and Jesse Eisenberg playing Sean Parker and Mark Zuckerberg, respectively.Sony Pictures/"The Social Network"Not many tech CEOs get to see themselves immortalized on the big screen, but the 2010 movie "The Social Network" put a dramatized version of Facebook's founding story in theaters. The film earned eight Academy Award nominations, but Zuckerberg strongly maintains that many of its details are incorrect.Source: New York MagazineThroughout Facebook's rise to greatness, Zuckerberg also spent his free time studying Chinese. By the fall of 2014, his Mandarin was so good that he managed to hold a 30-minute Q&A in the language.Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 22, 2016.REUTERS/Albert GeaThroughout Facebook's rise to greatness, Zuckerberg studied Chinese in his free time. By the fall of 2014, his Mandarin was so good that he managed to hold a 30-minute Q&A in the language.Facebook's historic IPO catapulted Zuckerberg's net worthAPZuckerberg took Facebook public on May 18, 2012. The IPO raised $16 billion, making it the biggest tech IPO in history at the time. Zuckerberg became the 29th-richest person on the planet overnight.Priscilla Chan becomes Mark Zuckerberg's wifeMark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan embrace during a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative event in 2016.Beck Diefenbach/ReutersThe day after Facebook went public, Zuckerberg and Chan got married. The relatively low-key event was actually a surprise wedding — guests thought they were celebrating Chan's medical school graduation.Zuckerberg designed Chan's ruby ring himself. Chan walked down the aisle with Beast, the couple's Hungarian Puli, who they adopted in 2011.The two honeymooned in Italy, flying in on a private jet and staying at a five-star hotel, Portrait Suites, where rooms started at 800 euros per night. But they still kept it casual at times when looking for something to eat — paparazzi spotted the couple eating at McDonald's while overseas.Starting a familyAP Photo/Manuel Balce CenetaIn 2015, Zuckerberg and Chan announced the birth of daughter Maxima, or "Max" for short. "There is so much joy in our little family," Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook.Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is bornPeter Barreras/APIn honor of Max's birth, the couple announced their plan to sell 99% of Zuckerberg's Facebook stock over time— worth about $45 billion at the time — to fund the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The initiative funnels money toward issues like personalized learning, curing diseases, and connecting people.Before announcing that new effort, Zuckerberg and Chan had committed $1.6 billion to philanthropic causes, including donations to the Centers for Disease Control and the San Francisco General Hospital, which was eventually renamed after Zuckerberg.Goal: curing all diseasesAPIn September 2016, Chan and Zuckerberg pledged $3 billion towards efforts to cure the world's diseases by the end of this century. "Can we help scientists to cure, prevent or manage all diseases within our children's lifetime?" Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook. "I'm optimistic we can."Another baby on the wayAdam Berry/GettyIn May 2017, Chan and Zuckerberg announced they had another baby on the way. They welcomed a second daughter, August, later that year.Zuckerberg's wealthFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.APZuckerberg is one of a very small group of people who is worth more billions of dollars than years he has lived. Still, he's far from flashy about it — the CEO famously wore only a hoodie or a gray t-shirt with jeans for over a decade, although he's switched it up in recent years.In 2014, when he was the third-richest man in the world, he bought a black Volkswagen GTI with a manual transmission, which cost around $30,000. However, he did reportedly pay for an Italian Pagani Huayra supercar around the same time.Life on KauaiA beach in Kauai, Hawaii.Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty ImagesZuckerberg also likes to spend his money on privacy. In October 2014, he shelled out around $100 million for 700 acres of secluded land on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. He's since amassed a total of 1,500 acres, though his presence on the island remains controversial among locals.Palo Alto mansionZillowIn Palo Alto, California, Zuckerberg reportedly bought his 5,617-square-foot home for $7 million in 2011, and then spent an additional $45 million on the four houses and land around it for the sake of privacy.Sources: Insider, San Jose Mercury News  San Francisco mansionDolores Park in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood.Ahmet Karaman/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesHe also bought a $10 million mansion in San Francisco, and then spent more than $1 million on remodeling and additions — like a $60,000 greenhouse — that took a year to build and reportedly disturbed neighbors in the process. He sold the property in 2022 for $31 million.Source: SF Gate, InsiderFacebook acquisitionsFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on stage at an Oculus developers conference in 2016.Glenn Chapmann/AFP via Getty ImagesZuckerberg hasn't been afraid to spend his company's money either. Facebook made some major acquisitions in the 2010s, including $1 billion for Instagram, $19 billion for WhatsApp, and $2 billion for Oculus. Today, Facebook apps are used by billions of people each month.Source: InsiderReturning to HarvardAssociated PressIn May 2017, Zuckerberg returned to Harvard as its youngest commencement speaker ever. During his speech, Zuckerberg touched on a range of topics, including climate change, universal basic income, criminal justice reform, and "modernizing democracy" by allowing people to vote online. He also received an honorary doctorate at the ceremony.Rubbing elbows with the rich and powerfulZuckerberg with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.SUSANA BATES/AFP via Getty ImagesZuckerberg frequently meets with high-profile figures and celebrities, including Snoop Dogg, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and former President Barack Obama.Source: FacebookFacebook, fake news, and the 2016 electionAssociated PressShortly after the 2016 presidential election, Facebook was accused of spreading misinformation that led to Donald Trump's win. The CEO brushed off the claims: "Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook ... influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea."But about a year later, the first evidence of Facebook's role emerged. The company revealed that Russian parties spent around $100,000 on roughly 3,000 ads, and that 126 million Americans likely saw Russia-funded posts intended to sway them.Zuckerberg has always been passionate about political issues, but he kicked up his rhetoric significantly around the time that Trump was elected. However, he still worked behind the scenes to communicate with Trump, including attending private dinners at the White House.President Zuckerberg?Mark Zuckerberg's public image is recovering thanks to his new fitness obsession and leadership through tech's tough times.Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesIn 2017, Zuckerberg announced that his personal challenge for the year — an annual tradition of his since 2009 — was to visit every US state. The stops he made sparked speculation that he had plans to run for president one day, but he denied the rumors.Cambridge Analytica scandalAPIn March 2018, data analytics company Cambridge Analytica was revealed to have harvested data from over 50 million Facebook users' profiles — a number Facebook later said was closer to 87 million — using it to target voters during the 2016 election. The group was hired by the Trump campaign.Zuckerberg was called on to appear in front of lawmakers in two testimonies that lasted five hours each. Zuckerberg left with a laundry list of requests for answers and action items.Facebook's stock tumbled in the months following the congressional hearings and the Cambridge Analytica scandal. At its lowest, its stock was down 18% from what it had been before the story broke.Facebook's global role questionedNasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesFacebook also faced accusations in 2018 that its moderation efforts weren't adequate in stopping the proliferation of hate speech and disinformation on its network. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were cited as contributing to political violence and deliberate misinformation in Myanmar, India, Germany, the Philippines, Brazil, and more.Sources: Reuters, Insider, Buzzfeed NewsInstagram co-founders departInstagram cofounders Mike Krieger, left, and Kevin Systrom.Jim Bennett/WireImageIn September 2018, Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger abruptly announced they were leaving Facebook. It was later reported they had left amid "growing tensions" with Zuckerberg, and that the pair was fighting with Facebook leadership over Instagram's "autonomy."Sources: Bloomberg, InsiderWhatsApp co-founders speak outWhatsApp cofounders Brian Acton and Jan Koum.ReutersThe departure of Instagram's cofounders was quickly followed with scathing remarks from WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton, who detailed disagreements with Facebook executives over user privacy. Both WhatsApp cofounders had left the company earlier that year.Source: Forbes, Washington PostFacebook data hackThe Asahi Shimbun via Getty ImagesTo add to an already scandal-ridden year, Facebook announced in September 2018 it had been hacked. Around 30 million users had their personal information compromised, making it the worst hack in Facebook's 15-year history.Stepping up security in wake of scandalGetty ImagesIn 2019 and 2020, Facebook spent around $23 million on personal security for Zuckerberg and his family. In 2018, his security costs had nearly doubled in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.Source: Insider, InsiderCongressional testimony againAP Photo/Andrew HarnikIn October 2019, Zuckerberg was once again called on to testify in front of Congress — this time, about Facebook's plans for its Libra digital currency. Congressional members also grilled him on the company's content moderation practices and its lack of diversity.Zuckerberg's goal for a new decadeFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.GettyFor 2020, Zuckerberg set a goal for the decade. "My goal for the next decade isn't to be liked but to be understood," Zuckerberg said. After the criticism it faced in dealing with political misinformation in 2016, the company geared up for a "tough year" with the 2020 presidential election.Source: InsiderAntitrust Congressional testimonyYouTube/House JudiciaryZuckerberg testified before Congress yet again in 2020 — alongside Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai — over matters of antitrust. Facebook was later hit with two antitrust suits that sought to break up the company.Source: InsiderChan, Zuckerberg fight COVID-19Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg.Ian Tuttle/Getty Images for Breakthrough PrizeThroughout the coronavirus pandemic, Zuckerberg attempted to quash misinformation about the virus and vaccines on Facebook, hosted regular town halls with virus experts, and, through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, contributed millions to finding COVID-19 treatments.Source: Insider, Insider, InsiderFacebook deals with Trump post-Jan. 6Getty/Business InsiderEarly in 2021, following the violent insurrection at the US Capitol, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was suspending Trump indefinitely after he used the platform to "condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters." The company's Oversight Board later upheld Trump's ban, though Meta went on to reinstate his account in 2023, and Trump made his first post upon returning to the platform this March.Source: Insider, Insider, Insider, InsiderAnother major Facebook data breachMark Zuckerberg.Charles Platiau/ReutersFacebook experienced yet another major data breach in 2021. This time, 533 million Facebook users' phone numbers and personal data were leaked online.Source: InsiderFacebook becomes MetaEmployees change the sign outside Meta's headquarters in Menlo Park, California.Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesFacebook announced in October 2021 that it would change its corporate name to Meta to reflect its ambition to become "metaverse first." The company began trading under the new stock ticker MVRS on December 1, 2021.Source: InsiderNew Meta milestoneWachiwit/ShutterstockIn February 2022, Meta hit a new milestone, though not a positive one: Facebook's user numbers shrunk for the first time in its history, sending the stock plummeting.Source: InsiderSheryl Sandberg leaves FacebookSheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg walk together at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference.Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesZuckerberg's longtime second-in-command, COO Sheryl Sandberg, announced in June 2022 that she would leave the company. "Fourteen years later, it is time for me to write the next chapter of my life," she wrote on Facebook.Source: InsiderExpecting againMark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.Peter Barreras/Invision/APIn September 2022, Zuckerberg's wife was pregnant with their third child together. In March 2023, he announced the birth of their third daughter, Aurelia. "You're such a little blessing," he wrote in an Instagram post.Zuckerberg's net worth dropsGetty ImagesZuckerberg's wealth skyrocketed over the course of the last few years, but took a major hit in 2022. Though he started that year with a $125 billion fortune, it had dropped to $35.2 billion by November, making Zuckerberg the 29th-richest person in the world at the time.Source: BloombergMeta layoffsGettyAlso in November, Zuckerberg announced Meta would lay off more than 11,000 people, roughly 13% of its workforce, in the biggest cull in the company's history.The layoffs were caused in part by overhiring during the pandemic tech boom. "At the start of Covid, the world rapidly moved online and the surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth," he said at the time. "Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected."In Meta's earnings release for Q4 2022 in February 2023, Zuckerberg hinted more cuts could be coming when he said 2023 would be Meta's "year of efficiency." The following month, he confirmed those suspicions, announcing Meta would lay off 10,000 additional workers in a second round of job cuts.Source: Insider, Insider, Insider, InsiderMetaverse faces questionsMark Zuckerberg as an avatar during Connect 2022MetaSome Meta investors remain unhappy with Zuckerberg's metaverse plans, and shares of the company fell 24% after the company disclosed in October 2022 that it missed earnings targets. Zuckerberg said he intends to continue spending billions on Meta's VR division and building the metaverse.Source: InsiderMeta stock buybacksThe Meta logo.Arnd Wiegmann/ReutersMeta announced a $40 billion stock buyback in February to appease shareholders as the company's business and revenue growth stalled. News of the buyback sent shares up 23%, and Zuckerberg consequently saw his net worth rise, gaining roughly $12 billion in a single day. Today, his net worth is around $75.8 billion, making him the 13th-richest person in the world.Source: Insider, TheStreet, Bloomberg Billionaires IndexRead the original article on Business Insider.....»»

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A lead magnet can entice people to connect with your business, allowing you to deepen relationships and turn them into clients or customers. Ashley Louise, left, a cofounder and the CEO of Ladies Get Paid, and Jenn Robbins, the founder of The Flexible Funnel Studio.KT Gifting a product or service in exchange for contact information can help engage new customers. Known as a lead magnet, the gift should be tied to the value your company offers. Develop and market a lead magnet like any other product or service. This article is part of "Marketing for Small Business," a series exploring the basics of marketing strategy for SBOs to earn new customers and grow their business. Lead magnets are a critical tool for growing a thriving email- or text-marketing list and getting customers into a sales funnel.A lead magnet is a gift that a business offers people in exchange for their contact information, such as a free course download or a one-time discount."More than ever, lead magnets are important because people are a little stingier with their email addresses," Jenn Robbins, founder of The Flexible Funnel Studio, a digital-marketing agency, told Insider.Given how easily we can get inundated with emails these days, a high-value lead magnet can entice people to connect with your business, allowing you to deepen the relationships and turn them into clients or customers. Best of all, you don't have to be a marketing expert to see results.Ashley Louise, a cofounder and the CEO of Ladies Get Paid, an online platform that offers paid courses on career advancement and money management for women, started experimenting with lead magnets last year. In the past year, more than 8,500 prospective customers have downloaded her free e-books and printouts."The best thing about these assets is that they have a long tail distribution, meaning they continue to be found and shared, increasing our surface area for acquiring new email addresses," Louise said. Insider spoke with small-business owners about what they'd learned about making a lead magnet successful. Give a peek at the value your company offersRobbins said a good lead magnet achieved two things: It gives the customer a taste of the value your company offers, and it relates directly to something you're trying to sell. In other words, it's not about baiting people into your company's orbit to boost your email list. "If your lead magnet doesn't specifically tie to something you offer, then you're going to lose people along the way," Robbins said. "It doesn't matter if people have an email list of 30,000 people — if nobody's buying, then everybody's wasting their time." For example, Robbins worked with a farmer whose lead magnet was a recipe book, which enticed people to buy the company's products featured in the recipes. When brainstorming ideas for lead magnets, Louise considers what made her opt in to other companies' lead magnets. Often, she'll Google a question and download a resource that promised a solution.She said to ask yourself: "What is the very specific problem that someone would use this lead magnet to solve — and then you need to deliver them the exact solution." She added that she often looked to her membership community for inspiration.This approach led to her company's most popular lead magnet to date: a beginner's guide for ChatGPT, which had 5,000 views on its landing page within two weeks of launching.Use your established marketing channels When you promote a lead magnet, it's best to treat it like any other product or service you're selling."You're not asking them for money, but you're asking them for their time and their email address," Robbins said. Distribute your lead magnet via the channels that are effective for your other marketing efforts, such as social media, podcasts, online advertising, or linking to your lead magnet in blog posts or articles.Then, make sure you're pointing people to a strong landing page — not just asking them to "download my freebie" with no context. Instead, Robbins said, explain what the free item is, what's included, what the person can get out of it, plus who you are as a business owner and why you're the right person or company to offer this solution.Follow up quicklyFollow up within a week of a new sign-up, Robbins said, with a welcome sequence of five to seven emails that further introduce your work; share more resources, such as a blog post or podcast; and suggest a call to action to keep them engaged. Open rates tend to be highest in the first email sequence, she said.Lead magnets can also be an effective tool for segmenting and reengaging existing email subscribers, Louise said. When she sent a free course to her email list on how to use ChatGPT in a job search, an automated follow-up email went to those who downloaded the course, touting other job-search products available at Ladies Get Paid."That was a way for me to identify people who are not just readers, but they're engagers," Louise said. "Those are the people who are more likely to buy our products."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Joe Biden Defiles The Corpse Of The Strategic Petroleum Reserve Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance Yesterday, an apparently fake headline circulated on Twitter (or X, or whatever the f**k it’s called this week), alleging that President Biden was open to “depleting” the Strategic Petroleum Reserve due to rising oil prices. Many quickly accepted the headline as genuine, perhaps because it sounded precisely like something President Biden might say. I spent some of the afternoon looking for the source and it was not The Wall Street Journal, as claimed on Twitter. Though the headline was fabricated, it almost doesn’t even matter at this point. President Biden has made it clear that tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is perpetually under consideration, undoubtedly because oil prices (and the prices of everything, i.e. inflation) have become a headline issue in the upcoming presidential election. In essence, the lower oil’s price is, the easier it is for President Biden to claim success in fighting inflation. Reduced oil prices also enable leftists to argue that limiting drilling domestically does not adversely affect consumers and therefore, we should all do whatever the f**k they want at any and all times, including cheering them on while they deface priceless historic works of art, all in the name of sacred “climate change.” However, by perpetuating this oil price “solution” charade with a series of short-term fixes, the administration sacrifices our country’s long-term goals, ultimately causing more harm than good. As Jim Bianco correctly noted on Twitter yesterday, the SPR was created to prevent supply shocks (i.e. shortages of actual oil) that the U.S. saw in the 1970s — not to manage prices of ample supply. And then there’s that pesky term “strategic” that keeps popping up. Has “The Big Guy” ever asked himself what that word means in the context of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? After all, it’s not just the petroleum reserve, it’s the strategic petroleum reserve. Oxford defines the word as “relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them”. The word implies long-term planning, something evidently lacking in the administration’s approach. Their decisions instead seek short term political currency by depleting our national reserve, meant for emergencies, not market fluctuations. Price serves as a rationing mechanism and government interference distorts this natural function. I am once again reminded of the chief reminding Marcus and Mike in Bad Boys 2 of the meaning of the word “tactical”. “What’s your job description? What is your job description,” the public asks Biden as the SPR lays bone dry. “Tactical narcotics team! Key word: tactical! Displaying finesse and subtlety in achieving the goal! Tell me gentlemen, what was subtle about your work today? 42 cars - and a boat!” “Strategic petroleum reserve. Key word: strategic! Definition: relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them. Tell me President Biden, what was long-term about defiling the corpse of the strategic petroleum reserve to get gas prices down $0.10 for 10 minutes?” Not only is the move not “strategic”, it makes us look vulnerable on the world stage. Ironically, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman tried to warn us back in late 2022 that emptying our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was a stupid idea to try and “temporarily” fix oil market prices. "People are depleting their emergency stocks, had depleted it, used it as a mechanism to manipulate markets while its profound purpose was to mitigate shortage of supply. However, it is my profound duty to make it clear to the world that losing emergency stock may become painful in the months to come," he said back in October. 50% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Subscribe and get 50% off and no price hikes for as long as you wish to be a subscriber. After all, everyone knows there’s only one organization that’s allowed to manipulate oil supply, and that’s OPEC. Oh, and now maybe BRICS, which is soon to have 6 of the top 10 largest oil producers in the world, making up about 40% of the world’s total oil supply Not only did the Biden Administration not heed this warning, but they also seem to have little to no understanding about geopolitics or free market economics. If they did, they would see they are putting the country into a precarious position when it’s totally unnecessary. They continue to use the SPR as a short term solution to what is going to become a long-term problem. The plundering shown above will do very little to the price of oil over the long term. Somewhere, OPEC is laughing. Here’s where draining the SPR has gotten us over the last year: Meanwhile, using up the SPR does little to ensure energy security in potential times of war (we technically aren’t, but we’re fighting Ukraine’s war), natural disaster (read: Maui, etc.), or other significant crises (a massive developing Cold War and erosion of the petrodollar). As Zero Hedge noted last week, we are at the lowest levels of total crude inventories in America since 1985, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Per Bloomberg, oil prices had been coiling for a few days ahead of data out last week and are “breaking out recently after OPEC reported that global oil markets face a supply shortfall of more than 3 million barrels a day next quarter - potentially the biggest deficit in more than a decade.” “If realized, it could be the biggest inventory drawdown since at least 2007, according to a Bloomberg analysis of figures published by OPEC’s Vienna-based secretariat,” a report last week said. It continued: OPEC’s 13 members have pumped an average of 27.4 million barrels a day so far this quarter, or roughly 1.8 million less than it believes consumers needed, according to the report. And so, the problem is that no matter how many times Joe Biden taps the SPR, it’s fruitless, because OPEC calls all the shots. OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) gets together and decides how much oil they're going to pump and sell on the market. By controlling the supply of oil, they can influence its price. If they produce less, scarcity kicks in and prices go up; if they produce more, there's a surplus and prices go down. The situation is even more absurd given that the Biden administration is actively preventing U.S. companies from drilling for more oil. Our reserves are a safety net for national emergencies, not a solution to $80 or $100 per barrel oil. And this is not a national emergency, but an “electability emergency” for President Biden. The disconnect between halting drilling leases and daily pump pain boils down to dollars and cents. Short-term gains in electability come at the expense of long-term national interests and you and I paying more at the pump. Voters and consumers have two ways to think about the issue: one is the delusional take that the administration is actively doing its job and managing the issue by diving into our nation’s surplus at a time of need. The second is the double-whammy of a reality check that the administration is selling the country’s safety net out, putting us in a precarious position, and exacerbating price issues by stopping oil companies from bringing new supply online. It’s literally an instance where the government is making the problem worse than it was to begin with. But once again we are reminded that the nation is unable to deal with even a slight moment of temporary discomfort when it comes to markets and prices. We continue to focus on short term fixes, not just with the strategic petroleum reserve, but with the stock market and the economy, meaning that the long-term prices (literally and figuratively) we will eventually pay will be that much more consequential. More from Fringe Finance: Sick Thoughts Of Capitulating 100 Sigma Events? Fed Rate Cuts Should Scare The Shit Out Of You Peter Schiff: Fed Money Magicians Running Out of Rabbits Joe Rogan Will Interview Donald Trump The Unforgivable Ivermectin Swindle This Popular Stock Could Be An Unexpected Land Mine QTR’s Disclaimer: I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. These positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important. Tyler Durden Thu, 09/21/2023 - 12:25.....»»

Troops from one battalion published a video online in which they said they had abandoned their equipment after being ordered to form an assault group, according to a report. A building burns after shelling in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on December 4, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.YEVHEN TITOV/AFP via Getty Images Russian forces are using desperate tactics to hold back Ukrainian advances, according to a think tank.  Soldiers say they're being ordered to make "ill-conceived" counterattacks, the Institute for the Study of War said. Ukraine is making slow but significant progress on the front near Bakhmut.  Russian commanders are ordering troops to make "ill-conceived" and "hysterical" counterattacks near the east Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in an urgent bid to regain lost ground, according to a respected US think tank. The Institute for the Study of War said recent posts by Russian military bloggers and servicemen revealed desperate conditions for the Russian military near Bakhmut, which has been at the center of ferocious fighting. Troops from one battalion published a video online in which they said they had abandoned their equipment after being ordered to form an assault group and attack in the Bakhmut direction, the ISW said. The think tank added that soldiers were being posted to the front line with shoddy artillery shells that don't explode when fired, and referred to reports that Russia had been sacrificing safety and quality in its efforts to build weapons quickly.It added that morale was low after Ukrainian forces killed "most of an unspecified Russian regiment and almost an entire retreating assault group in the area."The ISW cited a Russian military blogger posting on Telegram, who criticized flawed orders to counterattack and retake the village of Andriivka, near Bakhmut. "The milblogger claimed that the Russian military command was planning 'weak' counterattacks and failed to provide accurate intelligence to Russian assault units. The milblogger observed that Russian forces also lack artillery support, while 'hysterical' counterattacks are depleting Russian resources and reserves," said the report. Insider has been unable to verify the claims cited by the ISW, but it's one of a series of reports painting a picture of desperation as Russia seeks to stop Ukraine from breaking through its defensive lines. As Insider's Sophia Ankel reported, Ukraine is believed to have punched through Russia's formidable anti-tank and "dragon's teeth" defenses with vehicles for the first time, according to multiple analysts.George Barros, a lead analyst at ISW, located the assault near the southern village of Verbove.Experts believe that Ukraine is probing several axes on the front line simultaneously, as part of a strategy to get Russia to spread its forces thin. The UK's military intelligence on Wednesday said that Ukraine was drawing closer to cutting off a crucial supply route to Bakhmut.The city has been the scene of some of the most ferocious fighting in the war, with Russian forces taking control of the region in May in one of the Kremlin's few notable recent successes. "Since 15 September 2023, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have secured the villages of Klishchiivka and Andriivka, approximately 8km to the south of the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut. This tactical success brings Ukrainian forces closer to the T 05-13 road, one of the main supply routes into Bakhmut from the south," the UK Ministry of Defense said. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Google recently tweaked its rules to permit AI-generated content – then sent search results into chaos for some site owners. Google CEO Sundar Pichai.Beck Diefenbach/ReutersA recent Google Search update is causing anger across the web. Some site owners say they are being pushed down in results with huge drops in traffic.Google recently tweaked its guidelines to permit AI-generated content.Morgan Overholt saw half of her website's traffic disappear overnight."This is a joke," another person wrote on a forum for website owners. "I've got long-form content, well written, well researched, filled with original image content LOSING to 500 word AI generated crap…Google is apparently forcing publishers to generate AI spam or die."Those are just two voices in a chorus complaining that Google's latest "helpful content" update – which is meant to improve the quality of search results – has sent their websites tumbling down the rankings.The new update, which has been rolling out this month, promised several positive tweaks to punish pages that are built only to rank well in search engines.But it also came with a big red flag that currently has a lot of website owners worried: human authorship is no longer necessary.As spotted by SEO Roundtable's Barry Schwartz, Google recently tweaked the documentation explaining how it defines "helpful content." No longer is it "helpful content written by people, for people," but simply, "Helpful content written for people."The timing of that change, which coincided with the latest Search algorithm update, has made many website owners nervous about what's to come. One travel blogger said she watched 80% of her traffic disappear in the space of 48 hours, with posts "very obviously AI written" now outranking her."Yesterday we saw 55% drop from normal traffic, today it's even worse," Overholt, who runs several travel-related websites, told Insider. She watched pages that previously ranked first for certain terms tumble to fifth, sixth, or seventh place in Google search results. Web pages that are three or four years old now rank above her, she added. (Overholt has written freelance articles for Insider in the past).Fluctuations are common when Google pushes out new updates, and content creators often complain when important things like this change. But some website owners claim they've never seen a shift like this before.AI content and 'rehashing'"The helpful content ranking system was designed to show more content in search results that's created to help or inform people, and less content created solely to rank better on Google Search," a company spokesperson told Insider. "We are not targeting content produced by any particular method – AI or otherwise – we're concerned with the quality of a given webpage and its helpfulness to readers."One major goal seems to be to demote sites that reuse and rejig information that's already online for the purpose of ranking higher in Search results. The problem is that large language models are trained on masses of content that's been scraped from the public internet. So, in essence, these AI models are cleverly rehashing what's already been published. That should be something Google punishes. Although, the company is also developing its own AI models that do similar things, so it's conflicted here. Google Search advocate John Mueller spent the day trying to calm some website owners down, while explaining the goals of the company's recent update. He debated with one website owner back and forth over their website, which focuses on the net worth of celebrities. Schwartz reported the details at Search Engine Roundtable on Wednesday. Mueller's response shows what a tricky situation Google finds itself in. One the one hand, the company is saying AI content is OK, but on the other, Mueller is criticizing a site owner for using ChatGPT. "I think you should focus on unique, compelling, high-quality content that adds to the web," Mueller wrote on X. "As you have it now, it looks like a compilation of ChatGPT output on topics that tons of sites have already covered."In August, Mueller addressed similar issues during a Reddit chat. One comment stood out as an inadvertent condemnation of Google's own AI model efforts, which include pitching newsrooms on having its machines write stories automatically. "By definition (I'm simplifying), if you're using AI to write your content, it's going to be rehashed from other sites," Mueller said. Spotting AI content is impossibleIt's unclear how much of the content that has been bumped up is AI-generated, or whether this is just other content written differently by humans. That underscores a problem for both users and Google: It's currently impossible to spot the difference between machine-generated content and human work.Google continues to say that content built entirely for the purpose or ranking high in search results will be punished. But the company no longer says it's blocking AI content from getting through, as long as it appears to pass quality tests run by Google's own bots.It's a battle that the company will be fighting on multiple fronts. Generative AI is making content creation much easier and faster. That is likely to trigger a flood of machine-generated content on the web. Picking out which AI-powered blog or image is better than another one, amongst thousands on the same subject — all automatically published within a few hours — will be a herculean task, even for a tech company as savvy as Google. An AI 'tank man'The tech publication 404 reported on Wednesday that a search for the Tiananmen Square "tank man" was recently returning an AI-generated version of the iconic image. Insider was unable to replicate it, but several other people corroborated 404's findings, suggesting that Google made some changes after 404 published its story.It's not the first time Google has served up an AI version of a well-known piece of digital content. Last May, Futurism reported that the top result for "Johannes Vermeer" was an AI-generated version of The Girl With the Pearl Earring.When it comes to images and video, there may be ways to tackle the problem: Google and others are building ways to watermark images and video that are AI-generated, which could help search engines detect them. But the latest changes have many people nervous that the AI content flood has begun and Google is letting it flow with few guardrails.Are you a Google employee? Got a tip? Contact reporter Hugh Langley using encrypted messaging apps Signal or Telegram at +1 (628) 228-1836. Check out Insider's source guide for suggestions on how to share information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Elon Musk said multiple times he "voted for Biden" in 2020, but a new book says he didn't vote in the general election, thinking it a waste of time. A new biography shows that Elon Musk didn't actually vote for Biden in 2020, despite telling Tucker Carlson he did.Alex Wong/Getty Images; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Elon Musk has said multiple times that he "voted for Biden." According to Walter Isaacson's new biography on Musk, he didn't actually vote on election day. Apparently, Musk believed that his vote wouldn't make a difference because he lived in California. Elon Musk has seemingly changed his tune about how he voted in the 2020 US presidential election.Rather, he apparently didn't vote in the general election — telling biographer Walter Isaacson that he didn't make it the polls, contradicting what the Tesla CEO previously said online and in interviews about his voting history and political beliefs."I didn't vote for Donald Trump. I actually voted for Biden," Musk told Tucker Carlson in an April interview on Fox News. "Not saying I'm a huge fan of Biden because I would think that would probably be inaccurate, but you know, we have difficult choices to make in the presidential elections," Musk said.Two months earlier, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, that "I voted for Biden." It's not clear if Musk was referring to the general election — or if he previously cast a vote for Biden in a primary, but Insider reached out to Musk seeking clarification but didn't hear back ahead of publication.But Isaacson writes in his new book, simply titled "Elon Musk," that while Musk had been planning to vote for Biden on election day, "he decided that going to the polls in California, where he was then registered, was a waste of time because it was not a contested state."Musk had already developed a "deep disdain" for Trump by this time but wasn't a Biden fan either, according to Isaacson's book — a feeling that seemed to go back a few years."When he was vice president, I went to lunch with him in San Francisco where he droned on for an hour and was boring as hell, like one of those dolls where you pull the string and it just says the same mindless phrases over and over," Musk told Isaacson.Still, Musk said he would have voted for Biden in 2020, but decided against it because he lived in California, an uncontested blue state. Musk's sentiments toward Biden soured in August 2021, according to Isaacson, when Biden hosted an event celebrating electric vehicles. Biden invited the leaders of GM, Ford, Chrysler, and the leader of United Auto Workers, but did not invite Musk.Musk's relationship with both Biden and Trump has been turbulent in the time since. Ultimately, however, he expressed concern with the US's "ancient leadership," telling Carlson in his Fox interview that he wants someone "normal" to vote for in 2024.Though Musk said he has a history of voting for Democratic candidates, he said he placed his first Republican vote in the 2022 primaries."To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic," Musk wrote on social media ahead of the 2022 primaries.Musk's politics shifted to the right in recent yearsHis political swing seems to have been spurred around 2020. Musk was openly resentful of California's stay-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, so much so that he moved Tesla's HQ to Texas. During that same year, he posted a tweet saying "Take the red pill," red-pilled being a common phrase among conservatives. He also clashed with Elizabeth Warren and other progressives on Twitter, which he has since purchased and rebranded to X.In May 2022, he tweeted saying that the "woke mind virus" would "destroy civilization." More recently, he helped Gov. Ron DeSantis launch his 2024 campaign for US president on X in a livestream that was delayed due to technical issues and crashes.Musk's statements of support for Republicans have not gone unnoticed by some on the left. Some Democrats have said they would stop supporting Tesla due to Musk's recent social media posts. One Tesla owner told CNN he was worried that the cars would become "the new MAGA hat." Isaacson's book also revealed that "Curb Your Enthusiasm" creator Larry David confronted Musk about voting Republican when the two were seated near each other during a wedding reception. David "seemed to be fuming" at Musk, Isaacson wrote."Do you want to just murder kids in schools?" David asked the Tesla CEO, who was "baffled and annoyed" at the question, according to Isaacson. The wedding took place only days after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children dead.Musk replied that he was "anti-kid murder.""Then how could you vote Republican?" David said. The comedian later told Isaacson that Musk's negative posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the Democratic Party were "sticking in my craw."Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Instagram is the top photo-sharing app with over a billion users. Learn how to sign up for the free social media platform, post pictures, and more. The Instagram app on an Apple iPhone.Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images Instagram is a free social media platform for sharing photos and videos with your followers. It's become an especially popular way to connect with brands, celebrities, and friends. Instagram has an array of features, from short-form videos to live streaming and private messaging. One could argue that Instagram is a social media network like no other. The popular user base platform is built almost entirely around sharing images and videos. This visual twist is why Instagram is the cultural powerhouse it is today.With over a billion registered accounts, from small businesses to large institutions, news organizations to cultural hubs, celebrities, photographers, musicians, and not to mention the cottage industry of influencers — it's hard to remember a time when Instagram didn't exist.So, if you've found yourself out of the Instagram loop, then read on. We'll give you a crash course on how the app works, how to get started, and eventually, how to get 'gramming like a pro. How to sign up for InstagramTo help you get started, let's walk through some of the basics: How to download InstagramFirst things first: You'll need to download Instagram to use the app. It's available for free on iOS, Android, and Windows devices. While there isn't an app fully optimized for iPads, you can still enjoy the full IG experience on your iPad by changing your App Store settings to find the app.How to create an Instagram accountUpon opening the app for the first time, you'll be prompted to create a new account, or log in with your Facebook account. If you choose to make a new account, the process is straightforward: you'll be asked for your phone number or email address, full name, desired username, and password.Once you create an account, it's worth noting that you can create — and switch between — multiple Instagram accounts without logging out, a very useful feature if you wish to run separate accounts for personal and professional use.Even though Instagram is designed primarily for smartphones, the desktop experience — once very limited — has steadily improved over the years. Today, you can get on Instagram from your computer and use a web browser to edit your profile, view your feed, like and comment on posts, and send and receive direct messages. You can even post on Instagram from the desktop app.Setting up your profileAfter you create your Instagram account, you're going to want to set up your profile. Your profile page is a hub for all your photos and videos where you can keep track of who you're following and who's following you. It's also where you can access your settings. InsiderProfile pages are often the first thing people visit, so it's best to keep your username, profile picture, and bio up to date. Your profile picture is the icon that appears with your username all over the platform, while your bio is a space to offer a brief description of yourself or your brand. You can also add a link in your bio, which can go to your personal website, if applicable. By clicking Edit Profile, you can make changes to your profile page at any time:How to change your Instagram profile pictureHow to change your Instagram bioHow to change your Instagram usernameIf you're running an Instagram account for your business, you can also add your location.Customizing notificationsKeeping up with your friends and followers on Instagram means making sure you're getting the right notifications, at the right time. The platform gives you the power to choose what push notifications it sends to your device.For example, perhaps you want to receive a notification when you get a new follower, or when someone comments on your post. Or maybe you're feeling inundated with pings and you would like to turn your notifications off completely. You can adjust your notifications by going into your profile, tapping the three lines in the top-right corner of the screen and selecting the three lines icon in the same location, and then tap Settings followed by Notifications.InsiderNow that you have the app downloaded, and your profile set up, it's time to start sharing.How to use InstagramAt its core, Instagram is a social media platform, and a highly visual one at that. Every time you open the app, you'll be met with a main feed of recent posts from the accounts you follow. At the bottom is a menu bar, which is accessible anywhere you are in the app.Here's what each button does, from left to right:Use these buttons to navigate between your feed, search and Explore, new post, Reels, and your profile.InsiderHome: Your main feed where you can scroll through photos and videos posted by your friends.Search and explore: The magnifying glass icon takes you to the Explore page, where you can search and browse content from accounts you don't follow but may be interested in.New post: The "plus" icon allows you to create a new story, post, Reel, or Instagram Live.Reels: This tab includes short videos (up to 90 seconds long) from users you may or may not be following. You can scroll to the next video by swiping your finger from the bottom of the screen to the top.Profile: This icon navigates to your profile page that shows your bio and posts. It's also where you can access your settings.Like other social media networks, Instagram is what you make it. For most people, checking Instagram is equal parts voyeurism and self-expression. For the entrepreneurial set, like business owners, brands, and influencers, Instagram is an indispensable marketing tool with unmatched reach.But going back to basics, Instagram works off a simple premise: You follow accounts that interest you. In turn, people follow you. Much like on Instagram's Meta app sibling Facebook, people can "like" and comment on your posts, and you can do the same to their posts. Whether you maintain a low profile or amass a following, how active you are is entirely up to you.Uploading, editing, and posting photosTo share a photo or video on Instagram, tap the plus button (located at the bottom of the screen). From there, you can select photos or videos from your phone's camera roll to post. For every post, you can choose to apply a filter, which, depending on who you ask, is either essential to the Instagram experience or unnecessary, given that many other photo editing apps come with their own filters. Filters make it easy to edit shots with different visual pre-set overlays. For example, some filters, like Mayfair, give everything a pink hue; others, like Willow, turn everything black-and-white.You can adjust how intense (or not) the filter is as well using a slider when you select the filter and then tap it one more time.There are a lot of options in Instagram's posting screen.InsiderOnce your post is to your liking and ready to go, there are a few more options you can do before you hit the share button:Add a caption: Captions are always a good idea. You can use words, emojis, or hashtags. Just like in comments, you can also mention friends by typing @ in front of their username. Keep in mind you can edit Instagram post captions at any time — or delete posts. Tag people: Instagram allows you to "tag" someone in your photos. When you tag someone, they'll get a notification in their activity feed. (This is separate from mentioning them in your caption.)Add location: Location tags lets others know where your photo was taken. Clicking on a location tag brings you to its corresponding location feed, where you can peruse other public posts.Also post to other social accounts: Instagram also gives you the ability to publish a post to other social accounts at the same time. By linking accounts, you can cross-post to Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tumblr. Exploring and finding people to followThe best way to find people to follow is by tapping the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the app. This will open the Explore page, where you'll find a feed of suggested posts based on what Instagram thinks you're interested in.You can scroll down for more posts, or use the search function at the top to find specific accounts or posts.InsiderWhen it comes to interacting with others, Instagram works less like Facebook and more like Twitter. In most cases, you don't have to send a friend request or wait for the other person to accept it.When you follow other people, Instagram will make sure you see their posts in your feed. For the most part, people can see who you're following and who's following you, at all times.However, if you have a private account your followers are restricted and unable to view who currently follows you. Sending and receiving direct messagesInstagram's direct messaging system lets you chat privately with anyone who follows you. If you send a message to someone who doesn't follow you, that message will be sorted into its own "message requests" folder. To start the conversation, the person on the receiving end must accept the message.Direct messages are also available in the app and on the desktop website.InsiderTo access your message menu, tap the paper airplane icon in your home feed. From there, you'll be shown all the people you've had conversations with in the past. You can also tap the pen and paper icon in the top right-hand corner to start a new conversation, or the camera icon to start a video chat.Once you're in a conversation, you can send all sorts of messages. These include basic text messages, animated GIFs, and more. You can also share Instagram posts. And you can "like" messages, or delete messages if you no longer wish to see them.The only users that you'll have to ask to follow are those who have made their account private. When you tap Follow on a private profile, you'll have to wait for that user to accept you before you can officially follow them and send them a message.You can also connect your phone contacts to Instagram, which can be another great way to find friends on the app.Instagram featuresAs you might expect, Instagram rolls out new features regularly. From new content to an ever-expanding set of creative tools, Instagram offers plenty of opportunities for self-expression and creativity.Here are the latest and greatest Instagram features worth knowing:Instagram StoriesMany people use Instagram exclusively for creating and viewing Stories, which are customizable posts that only last 24 hours. These posts, which could be a mix of photos and short-form videos, are presented in a slideshow format and accessible through the top of the home feed. And when we say customizable, we mean customizable. Unlike regular posts, which include only simple filters, Stories boast all kinds of creative elements, including:Animated stickers and cartoonsPolls and quizzesDynamic song lyricsLinks to donation funds and charitiesThere are several ways to add to your Story, but the easiest is to tap your profile icon at the top-left hand corner of your home feed. From there, you can either take a photo or video live, or choose one from your phone's gallery. You'll then have the opportunity to draw, add text or any of those other creative elements we mentioned above. While Stories are designed to disappear after one day, they're automatically saved to your private Archive (which we'll explain in just a bit) after expiring. You can also create a Highlight, which will publish Stories permanently on your profile for visitors to watch at any time.Instagram LiveInstagram Live is a feature that lets you livestream, or broadcast live video, from your device to anyone who wants to watch. Viewers can send you messages and hearts while you stream, making this a great way to talk to all your followers at once, or broadcast an event.To go live on Instagram, you'll need to open Instagram and, from your feed, swipe right and select Live from the options at the bottom of the screen. You can go live for up to four hours at a time — after that, the livestream will end and you'll need to start again.ReelsBuilt as a rival to TikTok, Reels is Instagram's dedicated video platform, letting users upload videos up to 90 seconds long.Once you record a video, you can edit it and add music, text, and special effects. Other users can like or comment on your Reels videos, so they can be a fun way to attract new followers.To watch someones else's Reels, you need to tap the icon, located in the center of the bottom menu on the app. (It looks like a mashup of a play button and a clapperboard.) Here, you can watch videos that others have uploaded and make Reels of your own.Instagram ShoppingGiven Instagram's popularity, it's no surprise that brands are doing everything they can to turn Instagram users into customers. According to Instagram, nearly half of people shop on Instagram weekly. Instagram Shopping is one way to use Instagram for your business by connecting potential customers to your products.Instagram tips and tricksInstagram is simple to use, but can take a while to master. Here are some of our favorite tricks that aren't so obvious to beginners.Schedule posts in advanceInstagram has become a massive part of nearly every company's online presence, and if there's one thing that social media brand managers love, it's scheduling a post in advance.Instagram does have a native post scheduler — but that's reserved for those with professional accounts. Still, there are dozens of third-party programs, like Buffer, that can handle the scheduling for you.Save Instagram videos to your phoneIf you've found an amazing video on Instagram that you just need to save, you're in luck — there are several ways to save Instagram videos.If you're trying to save one of your own videos, it'll just take a few taps to save the video directly to your camera roll. If you're trying to save someone else's video, however, you'll need to record your screen or use a third-party app.Post different photo formatsWhen Instagram first launched in 2010, the edits were limited. You could only post square photos — anything else either wasn't allowed, or would be cut off.Nowadays, the rules are a bit more lax. But if you want to post two common photo types — panorama shots and Live Photos — you may have to make some edits beforehand.To post a panorama photo, you can either zoom out so it fits in a single photo, otherwise you'll need to split up your shots beforehand using a third-party app. If you have an iPhone and want to post a live photo, you'll need to convert it into a video first.Archive posts instead of deleting themIf you're unsure about deleting your post, Instagram offers an archive feature instead. This is great if you only want to hide a post temporarily.To archive a post, open it, tap the three dots in the top-right, and then select Archive. The post will be hidden immediately. Once you've archived a post, you can navigate to your private Archive with just a few taps.Note: Every Story you post will be saved to your Archive automatically once they expire.Privacy and securityIt's also important to manage your privacy and security settings to your liking. Manage who can see your postsLike Facebook, Instagram allows you control who can see your posts. The easiest thing to do is make your Instagram Private.When you set your account as Private, the only people who will be able to see your posts and other activity are your followers. And before people can follow you, you'll have to approve them. Another way you can do this is by setting up a Close Friends list. The Close Friends feature allows you to create Instagram Stories that can only be viewed by specific people. If you want to use Stories to send quick updates to your friends, this is the way to go.Finally, if you run a Business account and you don't want users under a certain age following, you can set an age limit on your account — the minimum age you can set depends on where you live.Change your personal account informationWe've already mentioned that you can change your username whenever you like. But if you're unhappy with how you set up your account, you can edit other pieces of information too.With just a few taps, you can change the email connected to your account. If you want to make sure your account is secure, you can change your Instagram password at any time.Download and back up your data Like most social networks, Instagram has an obscure menu that lets you download every bit of content you've ever posted on the app. This includes your photos, videos, comments, messages, profile information, and more.The only content you can't download are Stories you've posted and let expire without saving.To download your Instagram data, head to the Settings menu in your app and then select Your activity followed by Download Data. Once there, fill out the form, and your data will be emailed to you within a few days.If you don't want to download all your data, you can also simply view it in the app.Protect yourself and others from harassmentInstagram has a long set of rules to ensure that all users have a safe and fun time in the app. But like all sites, it's not hard to find people who break those rules. Other users can comment on pictures and videos that you post to a public profile - but if you want to post something without leaving it open to comments, you can disable the comments on specific posts.If you ever find a user harassing you or someone else, you can report them to Instagram. There's no guarantee that Instagram will act on the report, but alerting them to it is better than doing nothing.The bottom lineWhether you're an aspiring influencer, photography lover, or an everyday social media user, Instagram is a great place to be. It's easy to get started, so if this guide has piqued your interest, give it a try.If for whatever reason you later decide it's not for you, you can delete your Instagram account at any time. No commitment needed.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Viral videos of Missouri Republicans using flamethrowers didn't actually show them burning books, they say. But State Senator Bill Eigel said he would burn books if he had the opportunity. nullBrandon Woyshnis/Getty ImagesTwo Missouri Republicans were accused of burning books at a fundraising event Friday night. Both denied that was the case and revealed that they were burning a pile of cardboard. The pair had different responses to the false accusations. Videos showing two Missouri State Senators incinerating a pile of cardboard went viral after people online accused the pair of burning books — but their responses to the accusations were markedly different.State Senators Nick Schroer and Bill Eigel attended a fundraising event Friday night where flamethrowers were being auctioned, resulting in videos and photos being posted of the pair online."Burning down the swamp!" Schroer wrote alongside a photo of him using the flamethrower.Neither candidate specified that they were burning books during the event. However, the story caught fire, and multiple X posts went viral condemning the state Senators for torching the supposed books."Missouri Republicans at a literal book burning," one post said. "They think flamethrowers should be legal but history books should be destroyed."Schroer denied that they were burning books, writing on X that the "fake news" was spreading "division and hate."James Murphy, Schroer's chief of staff, also clarified to Insider the accusations that Schroer is "a modern-day book-burner are false." Murphy also railed against those he described as "the left" and "liberal trolls" for starting the rumor online."Senator Schroer participated in a St. Charles County Central Committee Fundraiser, FreedomFest," Murphy said. "There, he was invited to engage in a unique and memorable act of lighting a bonfire of empty boxes with a flamethrower. This caused no harm to any books or literature."Eigel, on the other hand, is OK with people thinking he was book-burning. He said he would do it if given the opportunity in a statement sent to Insider."In the video, I am taking a flame thrower to cardboard boxes representing what I am going to do to the leftist policies and RINO corruption of the Jeff City swamp," Eigel wrote, referring to the capital city of Missouri. "But let's be clear, you bring those woke pornographic books to Missouri schools to try to brainwash our kids, and I'll burn those too — on the front lawn of the governor's mansion."Eigel also posted the statement on X, but his account was later suspended. It is unclear what policy prompted the suspension, but Eigel said in a statement to Insider that it was because he wanted to "protect our kids from the vulgar, pornographic material that woke bureaucrats have brought into our schools and libraries."Murphy did not respond to a request for comment from Insider regarding his colleague's statement.Eigel, who is running for governor, did not immediately respond to questions about what books he would burn should he have the opportunity to do so.Crystal Quade, Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and the sole Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the state, condemned Eigel on X."Watching lawmakers use flamethrowers to intimidate folks they disagree with is a jarring reminder of how they view their jobs as a joke, while real people suffer from their cruelty," Quade wrote on Monday.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Matt Gaetz said that despite "dozens" of his former colleagues asking him to run for governor, he's not "focused on any of that talk." Rep. Matt Gaetz named a new legislative director after seeing two aides step down amid the scandal engulfing the Florida Republican.Joe Raedle/Getty Images On Monday afternoon, NBC News reported that Rep. Matt Gaetz is expected to run for governor. Gaetz told Insider in a statement the report was "overblown clickbait." He said that "dozens" of his former colleagues in the state legislature asked him to run. GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz said recent reports that he plans to run for governor of Florida in 2026 are "overblown clickbait."On Monday afternoon, NBC News reported that Gaetz is expected to toss his hat into the ring after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis exits the governor's mansion in 2027 due to term limits. When Gaetz attended a local GOP event on Sunday evening, he "strongly implied several times he would be running for governor," according to NBC.In a statement to Insider, Gaetz downplayed the report."The NBC story is overblown clickbait," Gaetz said. He also said that "dozens" of his former colleagues from the state legislature encourage him "relentlessly" to pursue the position."I wasn't focused on any of that talk, though," he said. "My sole mission right now is to kill the Donalds CR that funds Ukraine, Jack Smith, and a weaponized Biden government." Reports emerged Sunday night that fellow GOP Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and a group of House Republicans had introduced a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government and avoid a shutdown at the end of the month. Gaetz, alongside a handful of other House Republicans, was quick to shoot down Donalds' idea on Twitter."I will NOT surrender," he wrote on Sunday.Donalds on Monday attempted to explain to Gaetz online that defunding the government wouldn't shut Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of former President Donald Trump."It is so painful watching someone I admire so much author a continuing resolution to fund the government agencies I loathe," Gaetz tweeted in response.Gaetz's treatment of his fellow Floridian legislator is notable as Donalds has also been rumored as a possible candidate for governor in 2026. Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 countries that censor the Internet and banned social media. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 countries that censor the Internet and banned social media. Currently, life can barely be imagined without Internet, which has permeated ever faucet […] In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 countries that censor the Internet and banned social media. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 countries that censor the Internet and banned social media. Currently, life can barely be imagined without Internet, which has permeated ever faucet of our existence, and internet access has become a basic human right or requirement in most countries, and currently, more than 63% of the population or over 5 billion people can access the internet across the world. However, unfortunately, this access is not uniform across the world and the countries with the highest internet penetration rates in 2023 have a penetration rate of at least 90% while the penetration rate in countries with the lowest internet penetration rates in 2023 doesn’t even exceed 25%. Photo by Taylor Vick on Unsplash However, internet access is entirely different to full and free internet access, as the latter is often not available even in countries where a majority of the population can access the internet. This is especially true in countries where authoritarian governments are established as opposed to democracies, as the former enact a higher form of censorship, often to ensure that all information is not available to the public, especially when such information would be damaging to their reign. Currently, the countries that censor the internet and banned social media impose moderate to severe bans especially on social media sites, as with the advent of social media, information has never been as fast or easily accessible as ever before. At the same time, false or misleading information has also never been as easily available, all of which has had a major impact on social media companies. While many of the countries that censor the internet and ban social media cite misinformation as one of the reasons for doing this, generally the actual reasons are more nefarious in nature, and global internet freedom is continuing to decline. China is one of the countries with the highest levels of censorship on social media and on the internet in general, which has a negative impact on global growth for some of the most valuable social media companies in the world, especially since famous social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Snapchat owned by Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP) and Google and YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), are all banned there. While Facebook initially used to operate in China, it was banned in 2009 after the Urumqi riots, with the Chinese government claiming that activists used the platform to organize and communicate during the riots. Because of this, WeChat has grown to be one of the top social media companies in the world, though on the other hand, this has led to revenue losses from the biggest market in the world by far. Despite this, Facebook still earns billions in revenue from China by selling ad space to government agencies and Chinese businesses, and in 2018, Facebook earned between $5 to $7 billion thanks to Chinese advertisers, which equated to nearly 10% of its total revenue. Even in 2023, part of Meta’s ad revenue growth has been attributable to China, with the company stating in its Q2 2023 earnings transcript “Online commerce benefited from strong span among advertisers in China, reaching customers in other markets. On a user geography basis, ad revenue growth was strongest in Rest of World at 16%, followed by Europe, North-America and Asia-Pacific at 14%, 11% and 10%, respectively. Foreign currency was a headwind to advertising revenue growth in all international regions.” On the other hand, there is a difference between countries with the highest censorship and social media bans and countries which work to limit misinformation, which as we mentioned, is a major concern. This became a global issue after the 2016 elections when Facebook was accused of not doing enough to prevent misinformation which was said to play a major role in the election outcome. Before the elections, a major algorithm change implemented by Facebook resulted in users being directed to more feeds pertaining to friends and family, thus reducing the reach of reputable news publishers, which allowed misinformation to spread unfiltered. Post the elections, Facebook implemented another major change in its algorithm in 2018, and has also hired additional content reviewers, which number around 15,000 currently, out of a total team of 30,000 responsible for safety on Facebook, which in turn has resulted in an increase in costs, and hence lower margins. Similarly, Google is also said to have made several changes to its algorithm in a bid to show more relevant and higher quality content. However, the search engine has then been accused of simply giving much more relevance to larger websites rather than simply focusing on websites which actually deliver the best quality, which has adversely impacted revenue for smaller websites and made it much harder to gain traction. This has also resulted in accusations that quality of Google search results have arguably declined, and givien a competitive advantage to other search engines such as Bing, which Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has paired with ChatGPT, gaining users ever since. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) mentioned this in its Q2 2023 earnings call, stating “Bing continues to gain share in the United States, and daily users of our Start personalized content feed increased over 30% year over year. We are now empowering retailers and expanding our third-party inventory. With PromoteIQ, we are building a complete omnichannel media platform for companies like the Australian retailer, Endeavor, as well as Canada’s Hudson’s Bay and Global, the largest Brazilian TV broadcasters chose Xandr to launch a new media buying platform in that market.” Forbes also mentioned the impact of pairing ChatGPT with Bing, stating that after the announcement, downloads peaked at 150,000 per day and while the tech is still in its infancy because of which costs are high as is the potential for errors, this could revolutionize the search engine industry by providing the highest quality and most relevant information, and could impede on Google’s absolute dominance of the search engine market. Methodology To determine the countries that censor the internet and ban social media, we headed over to Freedom House where we obtained data on the organization’s ranking of each country based on internet freedom. However, the rankings also involved internet access levels which we did not consider as those criteria are not relevant to censorship. We considered all criteria including government and national regulatory authorities interference in internet access, and ranked each country based on the average of its ranking for each separate criteria, which was then used to calculate the overall score, with countries being ranked from highest score to lowest (lowest indicates the least level of internet freedom). 20. Rwanda Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 28 Rwanda’s government, like most governments in our list, have continued to impose internet restrictions and tighten control, with extra authoritarian steps such as requiring YouTube channels to register with the Rwanda Media Commission thankfully being abandoned for now. 19. Thailand Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 27 While initially Thailand’s internet censorship policies focused on pornographic websites, internet censorship has continued to increase in the country in the last 15 years, with tens of thousands of websites continuing to be blocked in the country. 18. Venezuela Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 25 Because of harsh laws in the country regarding internet posts, Venezuelans often self-censor themselves, while increasingly authoritative behavior from the government has seen internet freedom continue to decline. 17. Sudan Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 25 While Sudan had been slowly improving in terms of internet freedom, the 2021 coup in the country resulted in further restrictions on the internet, and anti-coup protests resulted in nationwide restrictions on the internet. 16. Turkiye Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 23 While some countries continue to improve in terms of internet censorship, Turkiye is going the other way as internet freedom is still declining. The Social Media Law passed in 2020 has continued to be used to make social media platforms remove content while thousands of people have been facing criminal charges for their social media posts. 15. Ethiopia Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 23 In March 2023, Amnesty International called out Ethiopia after select social media sites were banned in the country for over a month, after tensions resulting from a disagreement in the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia. 14. Uzbekistan Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 21 While internet restrictions are lessening slightly in Uzbekistan, a lot more still needs to be done in order to ensure Uzbekistan isn’t counted in this list. 13. Pakistan Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 21 The Pakistani government and military are both to blame for Pakistan being among the countries censoring the internet and blocking social media. The country has blocked YouTube multiple times, including for a few years from 2012 to 2016 after an anti-Islam film was aired on YouTube. Recently, after major protests against the military, mobile internet was blocked for a few days as well. 12. Kazakhstan Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 20 Kazakhstan has often resorted to blocking internet access or shutting off the internet for the entire country when deemed beneficial for the government, including on January 5 2022, in an attempt to quell any civil unrest. 11. Belarus Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 20 One of the few European countries which censors the internet and blocks social media apps, Belarus has required all media outlets to register with the government or otherwise be blocked. Many independent publications have to use foreign based internet domain in order to escape the ire of the Belarusian government. 10. United Arab Emirates Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 19 While the UAE has provided high speed internet access to almost all of its citizens, many social media apps such as WhatsApp remain banned in the country, while like most Muslim countries, pornography websites are also completely banned. 9. Egypt Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 19 Internet censorship in Egypt increased after the El-Sisi regime began, and high levels of surveillance, in addition to harsh criminal penalties have led to higher censorship in the country. 8. Cuba Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 17 While the Cuban government itself imposes internet restrictions, another reason why it’s among the countries that censor the internet and block social media apps is because of U.S. sanctions, which also make it difficult to access various platforms and websites. 7. Bahrain Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 17 Despite Bahrain being among the countries with the highest internet penetration rates in the world, most countries in the Middle East heavily censoring content and carrying out strict monitoring of social media, and Bahrain is included in this list. 6. Vietnam Insider Monkey internet freedom score: 14 Vietnam significantly imposes restrictions and limitations on internet content in the country, though it has improved somewhat by ending its throttling of Facebook servers. Further, harsh sentences are imposed on those engaging in online expression which isn’t approved by the government. Click to continue reading and see 5 countries that censor the internet and banned social media. Suggested Articles: 18 Biggest Generative AI Companies In The World 12 States With The Largest Refining Capacity 20 Countries with Highest Rates of Hair Loss Disclosure: None. 20 countries that censor the internet and banned social media is originally published on Insider Monkey......»»

Ukraine has used decoys, cellphone data, and a range of other ploys to ensnare Russian troops during the conflict, often with impressive results. A rocket is launched from a truck-mounted multiple rocket launcher near Svyatohirsk, eastern Ukraine, on May 14, 2022.YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images Russia has proven vulnerable to deception during the Ukraine war.  Ukraine has used decoys, cellphone data, and a range of other ploys to ensnare Russian troops.  Problems with Russia's command structure and equipment leave it vulnerable to deception.  Deception has been at the heart of some of history's most successful military campaigns, and it's an art Ukraine has excelled at in its battle to resist and drive out Russian forces.In many ways, it's had to. At the outset of the full-scale invasion, Russia's vastly larger army and equipment reserves appeared ready to quash any resistance. Ukraine therefore had to rely on its improvisational skill to offset the imbalance, exploiting Russian mistakes and using deception and cunning to inflict blows on the invaders.As a report by the UK think tank the Royal United Services Institute found last year, Russian forces have been vulnerable to deception — not because its soldiers are stupid, but because of weaknesses in how they are organized and structured. It said the Russian military lacked tactical commanders with the experience to spot dubious intelligence, or to sense when a situation contains a hidden danger."Deception has succeeded against Russian forces at all echelons and across all three service branches," the report said. Ukraine, too, suffers from leadership failures, but it has been admired for its canny ability to adapt, innovate, and quickly seize the advantage on the ground.Meanwhile, Russia frequently finds itself the agent of its own disasters. A fleet of ailing UK farming trucks deceives Russian snipers A British farm car before and after it was refitted into a Ukrainian military vehicleCar4UkraineIvan Oleksii, a 25-year-old esports analyst, told Insider in December that he was buying old British farm trucks and refitting them for military use in Ukraine.The trucks, he said, had a crucial feature enabling them to deceive Russian snipers — the driving seat was on the right-hand side, unlike other European vehicles where it's on the left. Oleksii said his team often put dummies on the left side to aid the deception, saving the lives of Ukrainian troops driving the refitted vehicles.Russian troops use cell phones – making them easy targets A Russian military radio is displayed during an open-air exhibition of destroyed Russian military equipment and tactical gear on June 15, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine.Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesThe Russian military has had serious problems supplying troops with communications equipment during the war, meaning some have had to resort to using their own phones to communicate. This has allowed Ukraine to detect their positions using cellphone data, and target them in missile strikes. In January, Ukraine killed 89 Russian troops who had gathered in the east Ukrainian town of Makiivka in one of the single biggest losses of life during the conflict.The Kremlin said Ukraine had been able to identify the location of the troops because some were using cell phones at the site.Even top commanders in the early weeks of the conflict had to resort to using cell phones to communicate on the battlefield, with Ukraine successfully targeting one general and his staff in a March 2022 strike after detecting his unsecured phone signal.It's a problem Russian troops still face, with Russian mercenary group Rusich recently posting on Telegram that communications equipment shortages exist across the Russian front line. The wooden decoy Russians blew up with a $35,000 drone — and crowed over on social mediaSide-by-side stills from Russian drone footage (L) and Lt. Cmdr. Oleksandr Afanasyev (R).Kremlin Prachka/Telegram / Oleksandr Afanasyev/Instagram / InsiderEarlier this year Lieutenant Commander Oleksandr Afanasyev and his fellow soldiers spotted a Russian reconnaissance drone scoping out their equipment, stationed at a cluster of farm buildings near Lyman, in the Donetsk region.A Russian drone had earlier damaged a tank there, and Afanasyev wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. So he and the others installed a wooden version of the tank made out of empty 155mm shell boxes.Soon after, a drone strike took it out.Russian social media unknowingly celebrated the strike, sharing the video and saying that a "tank" was destroyed with a Lancet drone, a weapon with an estimated price tag of $35,000. The video earned a share from Russia's top propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov.But Afanasyev posted his own video showing the reality — that, as Insider confirmed, they had just wasted a drone on a now-charred pile of wood. Russians also celebrated taking out a radar array — which again turned out to be fakeUkrainian soldiers in the field are not the only ones turning out decoys. Ukrainian steel company Metinvest says it's creating convincing fake howitzers, mortars, and radars — anything that might be an enticing target for Russia.According to the company, Russian forces recently blew up what they believed was a valuable Ukrainian P-18 Malakhit radar array in the Donetsk region, celebrating the feat in propaganda videos. But Metinvest, in remarks Insider was unable to independently verify, said it was actually a plywood and metal replica. The company says over 250 of these decoys have so far been handed over to the Ukrainian military. When a Russian journalist posted a picture of a Wagner Group base online and got it blasted to piecesThe Wagner Group's Russian headquarters in St Petersburg, November 4, 2022.Igor Russak/ReutersSometimes it is just Ukraine taking advantage of a situation.In eastern Ukraine's Popasna, a base used by the mercenary pro-Russian Wagner Group was bombed to rubble by Ukrainian troops in April 2022.As Wired reported, Ukrainian officials hinted strongly that the location had been revealed through analysis of a pro-Russian journalist's social media posts. One since-deleted image even included the base's exact address, according to Wired.Russia has been aware of the power of open-source intelligence for some time, launching a ban on its soldiers posting their locations to social media in 2019, as Task & Purpose reported. But this isn't always enough.Ukraine also isn't immune. According to the Center for Information Resilience, Russian forces were able to identify and strike a munitions factory in Kyiv in April 2022 with the inadvertent help of footage from a Ukrainian news channel.Russian forces fire on a Ukrainian flag, exposing their positionUkraine's military releases balloons carrying the national flag into the sky in Avdiyivka, eastern Ukraine, on September 9, 2023EuropeRecently, a Ukrainian flag attached to balloons was flown over the town of Avdiyivka to mark the 245th anniversary of its founding. As it traveled toward the occupied city of Donetsk, in east Ukraine, the Russian military opened fire on it, a Ukrainian official said.The official, whose claims have not been independently verified, said this allowed Ukraine to identify the Russian position. Ukraine's 110th brigade then "worked effectively to attack the Russian soldiers," he said.When Ukraine made a big noise about a counteroffensive in the south — and surprised everyone by going east insteadUkrainian serviceman from the 25th Airborne Brigade patrolling the street in the liberated city of Izium, Ukraine, on September 14, 2022.Global Images Ukraine via Getty ImagesIn perhaps the most striking recent example of military deception, Ukraine's sweeping counteroffensive in the fall of last year astonished onlookers as it retook a wide swathe of land surrounding the eastern city of Kharkiv in just a matter of weeks.Analysts have called it "the Kherson ruse" because part of the counteroffensive's success depended on convincing the world that Ukrainian troops were going to push toward the southern city of Kherson instead. According to Modern War Institute scholars Huw Dylan, David Gioe, and Joe Littell, Ukraine started loudly signaling that it was going in the direction of Kherson, to the extent that several Western media outlets began confidently predicting the push — and Russia started redeploying its troops southwards."In this case, the Kherson front was dangled as the intended target and Russian commanders took the bait," the scholars wrote.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Here is a look at what to expect when this online apparel retailer posts its latest quarterly results. After U.S. markets closed on Thursday, Adobe beat consensus earnings per share (EPS) and revenue estimates. Fourth-quarter EPS guidance was slightly above the consensus, while revenue guidance was in line with estimates. While the company’s results were outstanding, there are questions about future growth. The stock trades within 10% of its median price target, and it may be fully valued at the level. Shares traded down about 4% shortly after Friday’s opening bell. Lennar also beat consensus estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Gross margin on home sales was about five percentage points below the same period of last year, and revenues were also down 2.3%. Orders for new houses are up 37%, and the dollar value of those orders is up 30% year over year. This leads to a wait-and-see attitude among investors. The stock traded down 4.5% early Friday. Here is a look at what to expect from Stitch Fix Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX), the one notable company scheduled to report quarterly results after U.S. markets close on Monday. No notable results are due out Tuesday morning. This online apparel retailer has seen its stock price drop by about 32% over the past 12 months. Since posting a 52-week high in early February, the shares fell by nearly 50% in mid-May before bouncing higher and finally settling with a dip of around 40% from the February high. Stitch Fix hired a new chief executive officer, Matt Baer, a Macy’s executive who came on board in late June. The big swings in Stitch Fix’s share price begin when investors believe that the stock is undervalued and last until investors believe that they have had enough excitement. Stitch Fix expects to have completed its exit from its U.K. business by the end of October. Rising costs and a weak macroeconomic environment get the blame. Analysts remain cool to the stock. Of 16 brokerages covering the shares, 14 have a Hold rating and none rates it at Buy. At a recent share price of around $3.40, the potential upside based on a median price target of $4.55 is 33.8%. At the high target of $5.00, the upside potential is 47.1%. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue is forecast at $371.98 million, which would be down 5.8% sequentially and by almost 23% year over year. Stitch Fix is expected to post an adjusted per-share loss of $0.21, compared to a loss of $0.17 in the prior quarter and a loss per share of $0.89 a year ago. For the full fiscal year that ended in July, the adjusted net loss is forecast at $1.26, better than last year’s loss of $1.90 per share. Full-year revenue is forecast at $1.63 billion, down about 21.2% compared to the prior year. ALSO READ: 7 ‘Strong Buy’ Energy MLPs With Huge Dividends Wall Street Loves as Oil Surges Towards $100 wallst_recirc_link_tracking_init( "979227527650464569c3f6", "text" ); Stitch Fix is not expected to post a profit in 2023, 2024 or 2025. The enterprise value to sales multiple in each of those years is 0.2. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $2.63 to $6.03. Stitch Fix does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return for the past year is negative 31.73%. Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now......»»

We'll guide you through how to post on Facebook from your desktop computer. You can create and publish posts on the timeline or your Facebook story. I decided to take a random personality test I found online.Fizkes/Shutterstock To post on Facebook, open Facebook and look for the prompt that says "What's on your mind?" Click the text box and a pop up appears, where you can write your post and add photos or videos. When you're done writing your post, click "Post" and it will be published in the Facebook timeline Facebook remains a popular social network for connecting with family, friends, and acquaintances. It's easy to make a post to share with your network. Here's how to do it.1. Open Facebook and look for the text box that says, "What's on your mind?"Insider2. Click the text box and a pop up will appear where you can create your Facebook post.Insider3. Select the dropdown menu underneath your name to choose who you want to see your post: Friends, Everyone on Facebook, or a Custom setting ("Friends except..." lets you exclude specific people from viewing the post).4. Selecting "Add to your post" lets you add additional elements, like photos, videos, GIFs, and polls, to your post. Here's what it looks like when you select the photo option. Insider5. Once you've added text and any additional media elements, the "Post" button at the bottom of the popup will turn blue. Click "Post" to publish your Facebook post and have it appear in the Facebook timeline for your friends to view.To post to a Facebook business page, you'll need to go into the Meta Business Suite.How to post a Facebook StoryLike many other social media platforms, Facebook allows you to create temporary posts called Stories. A Facebook Story can be created from a photo, text on a colored background, a poll, and more. Stories appear in your friends' feeds as well as in the Stories row at the top of the screen — but you can also control who sees your stories. After 24 hours, your story disappears.1. On the Facebook homepage in a web browser, select "Create a Story" in the Story row at the top of the page.If the "Create a Story" option doesn't appear on your desktop homepage, click the plus (+) icon beside your account name on the top right of the page, then select "Story" in the "Create" dropdown menu.Tap or click “Create a Story” to get started.Dave Johnson/Business Insider2. Choose the type of story you want to add. On the web, you can choose "Create a Photo Story" or "Create a Text Story," but on the mobile Facebook app, you'll have additional options:To add a photo or video story, tap a photo in the camera roll or take a photo or video  using the camera icon at the bottom of the screen.Tap "Aa" to add text to your story.Tap "Music" to share a song to your story.Tap "Boomerang" to take a burst of photos, which then plays forward and backward as a short, looping video. Tap "Mood" to choose an image from the GIFs library, to which you can add text and other effects. Tap "Selfie" to do exactly that – take a selfie and add emojis and effects. Tap "Poll" to create a poll for your friends. You can pose a Yes or No question, or edit the Yes and No so your friends can choose a different response. On your phone, there are a lot of story options.Dave Johnson/Business Insider3. You can change who your story is shared with. Select the gear icon. On the web, you'll find it at the top left, next to the Your Story heading. On your phone, it's in the lower left and labeled "Privacy." Choose who you want to share your story with, such as "Public," "Friends," or "Custom." If you choose Custom, you can share the story with specific people only. Click "Save."You can control who sees your story via the gear icon.Dave Johnson/Business Insider4. After you choose the kind of story you want to create and then customize it with text, images, effects and emojis, select "Share to Story."When you’re done, tap or click “Share to Story.”Dave Johnson/Business InsiderHow to add a news feed post to your Facebook StoryIn addition to the usual kinds of stories, you can add items from your news feed to a story as well. To do that, tap "Share" under a post in your news feed and then choose "Share to Your Story." Depending upon their privacy level, not all news items can be shared. Use the Share button to include a news post in your story.Dave Johnson/Business Insider Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»

Tim Gurner, who in 2017 asserted people couldn't afford homes because they spent too much on avocado toast, has once again sparked online outrage. Tim Gurner says he the unemployment rate needs to rise to remind workers who's in charge.Associated Press A millionaire real estate CEO is being dragged online for saying he wants unemployment to increase. "We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around," Tim Gurner said. In 2017, Gurner infamously said buying avocado toast was preventing people from becoming homeowners. The millionaire CEO who infamously bashed aspiring millennial homeowners for buying avocado toast is back with another hot take that's drawing outrage on the internet.Tim Gurner, CEO of Australian real estate company Gurner Group, said at The Australian Financial Review Property Summit on Tuesday that workers need to be put in their place — potentially through unemployment."I think the problem that we've had is that people decided they didn't really want to work so much anymore through COVID," Gurner said. "They have been paid a lot to do not too much in the last few years, and we need to see that change."Gurner said the key to curbing what he views as "arrogance" in the labor market is higher unemployment."We need to see unemployment rise," he said. "Unemployment has to jump 40, 50% in my view. We need to see pain in the economy. We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around."In recent years, a tight labor market empowered workers to ask for more at work, like better pay and working conditions. But some leaders, like Gurner, have been fighting back. Mandating workers return to office, for example, has become a favorite way for some to regain power."There's been a systematic change where employees feel the employer is extremely lucky to have them, as opposed to the other way around," he added. "We've got to kill that attitude and that has to come through hurting the economy."His remarks drew instant backlash."Some of the most evil people in the world are getting more arrogant," one person said on X."Why doesn't he do us a favour and volunteer his job as the first step to the 50%," another person wrote.Even Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chimed in."Reminder that major CEOs have skyrocketed their own pay so much that the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay is now at some of the highest levels *ever* recorded," she wrote.Last year, S&P 500 CEOs earned an average 272 times more than their workers, according to the latest Executive Paywatch report from the AFL-CIO. Those CEOs received $16.7 million in total compensation in 2022, on average, while US workers' real hourly wages dropped for the second straight year, after adjusting for inflation, the report found. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Forbes Australia (@forbesaustralia)  Gurner, who has been featured in Forbes Australia, has a net worth of $912 million, according to a ranking by the Australian Financial Review.This isn't the first time Gurner has sparked an uproar online. In 2017, he suggested buying avocado toast was the impediment to millennials becoming homeowners, seemingly ignoring problems like massive student debt burdens or stagnant wages."When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn't buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each," Gurner told "60 Minutes Australia" at the time. "We're at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high."Gurner's remarks quickly got the meme treatment, sparking countless posts about a hypothetical avocado toast-house trade-off.In the words of one Twitter user at the time: "I was gonna put a down payment on a house last year but then I spent $44,000 on avocado toast."Gurner could not be reached for comment.Read the original article on Business Insider.....»»