Techmeme
February 8, 2016, 12:15 PM

Top News

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter's algorithmic timeline is like expanded version of “while you were away” feature, according to users testing it; opt-out is available  —  Here's how Twitter's new algorithmic timeline is going to work  —  Twitter went into an uproar Friday after a BuzzFeed report …
Jack Dorsey / @jack:
Jack Dorsey responds to #RIPTwitter, links Twitter's identity with real-time, doesn't deny an algorithmic feed but says there was no plan to launch next week  —  Hello Twitter! Regarding #RIPTwitter: I want you all to know we're always listening. We never planned to reorder timelines next week.
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
Sources: Google to release Gear VR-like headset this year compatible with a broad range of smartphones, embed VR technology into Android OS  —  Google pushes further into world of virtual reality  —  Google is developing a new virtual-reality headset for smartphones, and adding extra support …
James Vincent / The Verge:
India bans zero-rated internet services, including Facebook's Free Basics, for infringing on the principles of net neutrality  —  Facebook's Free Basics service has been banned in India  —  Facebook's free-but-restricted internet service, Free Basics, has been banned in India …
Danny Sullivan / Marketing Land:
Hashtags included in 45% of Super Bowl ads; Facebook or Twitter mentioned in only 5% of ads  —  Hashtags In Super Bowl Ads Dropped Slightly To 45% In 2016  —  As with last year, social networks were rarely mentioned, with Twitter and Facebook tied in our count.
Glyn Moody / Ars Technica UK:
GCHQ's data-mining techniques revealed in new Snowden leak  —  Shhh!  Top Secret—don't pass it on...  (credit: GCHQ)  —  A “Data Mining Research Problem Book” marked “top secret strap 1” has been leaked that details some of the key techniques used by GCHQ to sift through the huge volumes …
Andrea Peterson / Washington Post:
Amazon nearly doubled its lobbying expenditures in 2015, focused on issues like sales tax, drones, and cloud services  —  Why Amazon is doubling down on lobbying  —  Amazon nearly doubled its lobbying expenditures in 2015 versus the previous year, spending $9.4 million dollars trying to sway Congress and executive agencies.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Amazon and other retailers should stop selling cheap USB-C cables with faulty wiring that can damage laptops, and instead demand certification for these cables  —  USB-C cables are playing Russian Roulette with your laptop  —  Over the past year or so, one of the biggest tech stories …

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
Deep analysis for deep questions  —  Introducing Superagent.  A new research product from Airtable: Subagents deeply interrogate your topic and turn it into boardroom-ready reports, slides, docs, or websites.
Clay:
Turn any GTM idea into reality  —  Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.
Zoho:
5 tips to simplify email verification in Zoho CRM  —  This is a guest post by Clearout.Nearly 60% of email senders clean their lists regularly, yet average bounce rates still sit at 10.68%.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
How Malwarebytes Is Protecting Millions In The Era Of AI Scams | Marcin Kleczynski
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI Closes in on $100 Billion, OpenClaw Acquired, AI's Productivity Question — With Aaron Levie
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Loyal's Celine Halioua: From Defying Doubters To Pioneering Dog Longevity
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Access:
Notion CEO Ivan Zhao on if AI is really killing software companies
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:15 PM ET, February 8, 2016.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat: