Techmeme
August 19, 2021, 9:15 AM

Top News

Alex Heath / The Verge:
Facebook announces Horizon Workrooms, a virtual meeting space with avatars, spatial audio, a whiteboard, and more, in beta on Oculus Quest 2  —  It wasn't long into a recent press briefing I attended in virtual reality when Mark Zuckerberg showed up to talk about the metaverse.
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Facebook, for the first time, shares a report on the most widely viewed domains, links, posts, and Pages on Facebook in the US during Q2  —  A video of two cats walking, tails intertwined, looking like the best of friends.  A resource site for Green Bay Packers alumni.
Ethan Zuckerman:
Facebook's new report reinforces its narrative that most content on the News Feed is not news, but doesn't provide enough data to make meaningful conclusions  —  What content is popular on Facebook?  —  This is a surprisingly difficult - and very important - question to answer.
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Apple says NeuralHash flaw found by researchers in CSAM detection system was in a generic version of the software and not in the final version it plans to use  —  Apple said the version of NeuralHash analyzed by researchers is not the final version that will be used for iCloud Photos CSAM detection.
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Nvidia beats with record Q2 revenue of $6.51B, up 68% YoY, Gaming revenue of $3.06B, up 85% YoY, and Data Center revenue of $2.37B, up 35% YoY  —  - Nvidia reported earnings on Wednesday for its second fiscal quarter that ended on August 1, beating Wall Street estimates on the back of strong graphics cards sales.
Maggie Fitzgerald / CNBC:
Robinhood reports Q2 revenue of $565M, up 131% YoY, net loss of $502M, down from $58M net income in Q2 2020, and crypto revenue of $233M; stock down 5%+  —  Robinhood's revenue more than doubled in the second quarter to $565 million, bolstered by a massive surge in crypto trading …
CNBC:
Robinhood says crypto accounted for ~52% of all transaction-based revenue in Q2, and 62% of crypto revenue came from dogecoin  —  - Robinhood reported quarterly results on Wednesday for the first time as a public company.  — Crypto made up over 50% of transaction-based revenue in the second quarter …
Matt Robinson / Bloomberg:
SEC sues three ex-Netflix software engineers and two others for allegedly using confidential subscriber growth numbers to trade ahead of earnings announcements  —  - Group allegedly made $3 million in profits from illicit tips  — Scheme involved illegal trades on subscriber data, SEC says
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Amazon plans to open several large physical stores across the US, starting in Ohio and California, to extend its reach in clothing and other areas  —  Online shopping pioneer wants a larger retail presence to sell clothing and household items and facilitate exchanges
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Facebook says it took action against 12 COVID vaccine misinfo “superspreaders” but disputes claims that those 12 were responsible for 73% of misinfo on Facebook  —  Back in March, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published  —  a report linking more than two-thirds …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Sources: OnlyFans is struggling to find investors, possibly due to hosting adult content; pitch-deck shows it predicts $5.9B GMV in 2021 and $1.2B net revenue  —  OnlyFans, the online creator platform known for its adult content, is struggling to find outside investors, according to multiple sources.
Pew Research Center:
Survey of 11,178 US adults: 48% say the government should restrict false info online, up from 39% in 2018; 59% think tech companies should, up from 56% in 2018  —  Amid rising concerns over misinformation online - including surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, especially vaccines …
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Netflix says it is now rolling out support for Spatial Audio on iPhones and iPads  —  Netflix has confirmed that it is now rolling out Spatial Audio support to its iPhone and iPad applications.  This enables an immersive experience using directional audio filters, and it has been a long time coming to Netflix users.

Sponsor Posts

ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs  —  You know us for voice.  Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency.  Hear it for yourself.
Niantic Spatial:
World models need real-world data  —  Scaniverse is the gateway to spatial services — self-serve and built for AI and robotics.  Large-area 3D reconstruction from 360° cameras and precise localization, anywhere machines operate.
Zoho:
ETL tool evaluation checklist: 6 things to look for before you choose  —  Your data is only as valuable as your ability to move, prepare, and access it efficiently.  Choosing the wrong ETL tool can lead to months of rework …
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

Hard Fork:
Tim Cook's Legacy + The Future of U.B.I. With Andrew Yang + HatGPT
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:
Chapter's Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz: From Palantir To $3B Medicare Disruptor
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI President Greg Brockman on GPT-5.5 "Spud," AI Model Moats, and Cybersecurity Risks
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.
Lenny's Podcast:
How Anthropic's product team moves faster than anyone else | Cat Wu (Head of Product, Claude Code)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Access:
Silicon Valley finally has its "Succession"
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:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
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 9:15 AM ET, August 19, 2021.

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

Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times: