Techmeme
April 7, 2022, 11:15 PM

Top News

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Activision Blizzard will convert all its 1,100 temporary and contingent QA workers to full-time employees on July 1 and raise the minimum hourly rate to $20  —  Nearly 1,100 temp game testers are getting full-time jobs with benefits  —  Activision Blizzard has just announced that all temporary …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple releases a report it commissioned from Analysis Group, showing that the company's iOS apps “are rarely the most popular app of a particular type”  —  Apple today shared a new App Store study that it commissioned from economists at Analysis Group, with the report highlighting …
Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:
Twitter CEO tells staff in an email that Elon Musk will hold an internal AMA, to address employee concerns that Musk will sabotage culture  —  Twitter plans to host Elon Musk for a question-and-answer session with employees after a week of internal outcries over his appointment …
Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Twitter tests Unmentioning with some users on the web, a feature that lets users select “leave this conversation” on a tweet to avoid notifications  —  Twitter might not have an edit button just yet, but it's still delivering at least one useful feature this week.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google releases “multisearch” for Lens, letting users ask questions about photos and screenshots, in beta for US users in English on Android and iOS  —  One of the most interesting announcements at Google's Search-focused keynote in September was a big upgrade to Lens that lets you take a photo and ask questions about it.
CoinDesk:
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives her first speech on digital assets, saying a CBDC “would require years of development, not months”, and more  —  The U.S. official addressed CBDCs, stablecoins and regulations.  —  A digital dollar could become a “trusted money comparable …
TechCrunch:
Paul Vigna / Wall Street Journal:
One-click checkout service Bolt acquires crypto payments startup Wyre, sources say for around $1.5B, which would make it the largest non-SPAC crypto merger yet  —  Deal extends crypto's hot M&A market following record deal activity in 2021  —  Bolt Financial Inc., a payments-focused financial …
Alyse Stanley / Washington Post:
Epic Games and Lego partner to “shape the future of the metaverse” by building a digital experience where children can play safely online, but offer few details  —  Epic Games has already outlined ambitious plans for the metaverse and Thursday the “Fortnite” maker announced it intends to build part of it with Legos.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
Crypto payments startup Strike announces Shopify integration for bitcoin's Lightning Network, letting Shopify merchants in the US opt-in to the payment option  —  The bitcoiner instrumental to El Salvador's announcement at last year's conference waxed philosophical on Bitcoin's role as a payments network.
Rita Liao / TechCrunch:
China's Zhiyi Tech, which provides AI tools to help fashion brands better predict bestsellers for e-commerce livestreaming, has raised ~$100M over three rounds  —  In China, live streaming promotion is emerging as a popular way for brands and influencers to reach consumers …
More: Pandaily
Xinmei Shen / South China Morning Post:
Sensor Tower: Tencent's Honour of Kings and PUBG Mobile are the world's most lucrative mobile games, respectively making $735.4M and $643M in Q1 2022 revenue  —  Honour of Kings, PUBG Mobile and Genshin Impact remained the most lucrative mobile games in the world in the first quarter …
Nitasha Tiku / Washington Post:
Gwyneth Paltrow, Mila Kunis, and other celebrities are pushing women to invest in NFTs, which critics say is a self-serving feminism centered on white women  —  Gwyneth Paltrow and Mila Kunis joined a Zoom in January to encourage 5,000 women in the audience to break into the male-dominated world of crypto.

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More News

Joseph Menn / Washington Post:

Earlier Picks

Naomi Nix / Washington Post:
Jacquelyn Melinek / TechCrunch:
New York Times:
Audrey An / The Keyword:
Foreign Affairs: