Techmeme
August 17, 2015, 3:50 AM

Top News

New York Times:
Amazon tests how far to push white-collar workers to achieve its ever-expanding ambitions, creating a bruising, data-driven workplace  —  Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace  —  SEATTLE — On Monday mornings, fresh recruits line up for an orientation intended to catapult …
Nick Ciubotariu / LinkedIn Pulse:
An Amazonian's response to “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace”  —  Disclaimer and proviso: “The postings on this site are my own and don't represent Amazon's position in any way whatsoever”.  —  Update: I really appreciate the notes of thanks this post has received, here and on other social media avenues.
John Cook / GeekWire:
Full memo: Jeff Bezos responds to brutal New York Times story, says it doesn't represent the Amazon he leads  —  The cruel and back-stabbing environment described by The New York Times in a recent report on the workplace culture at Amazon.com has struck a nerve with Jeff Bezos …
More: TechCrunchThanks:@taylor_soper
ProPublica:
Joe Pinsker / The Atlantic:
Wikipedia's dwindling ranks of volunteer editors struggle to stop editors paid by PR firms  —  The Covert World of People Trying to Edit Wikipedia—for Pay  —  On January 11, 2013, James Heilman, an emergency-room physician and one of Wikipedia's most prolific medical editors …
M.G. Siegler / 500ish Words:
Avoid being featured in the App Store at launch: your app will likely have issues and first-time users won't give you a second chance  —  Avoid the Feature  —  Early on, all those downloads are not your friend  —  It's right there, like a glittering lure in a dark sea.  An email from Apple.
Tweets: @joshconstine
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
New Dark Web study shows drug market turns over $100M+/year in illegal substances, and the ecosystem is becoming more resilient to crackdowns, setbacks  —  Crackdowns Haven't Stopped the Dark Web's $100M Yearly Drug Sales  —  After more than four years and two giant law enforcement busts …
Tweets: @naval
Roger Cheng / CNET:
Nextbit, led by Android and HTC vets, will launch its Android smartphone on September 1 priced at $300-$400  —  Google, HTC vets prep ‘friggin’ awesome' smartphone for Sept. 1 launch  —  Nextbit makes the bold claim that its smartphone will actually get better over time thanks to software tweaks.
Bryan Bishop / The Verge:
Inside Industrial Light & Magic's secret Star Wars VR lab  —  I'm on Industrial Light & Magic's motion capture stage, standing inside what they call “the cave.”  It's not much to look at: two big screens angled at 90 degrees, awash in a smeary blur of images.
More: Ubergizmo and Gizmodo
Chelsey Dulaney / Wall Street Journal:
Expedia extends termination date for Orbitz deal from August 12 to November 12  —  Expedia Extends Termination Date for Orbitz Deal  —  Expedia has pushed back the termination date for its merger with Orbitz Worldwide by three months as the hotel industry urges the U.S. government to reject the proposed tie-up.
Ron Lieber / New York Times:
Alleged sexual assault by Airbnb host highlights need for the company to improve safety policies  —  Airbnb Horror Story Points to Need for Precautions  —  Early in the evening of July 4, Micaela Giles's mobile phone started sounding alerts, and a series of messages straight out of a horror movie began scrolling down her screen.

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Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch: