Meta Episodes

Facebook wants to copy Clubhouse too, and meanwhile I got to try out Twitter Spaces last night. Did Microsoft make a run at acquiring Pinterest, and would the government let that happen? Is Peacock the sick man of the streaming wars? And an interesting raise around the creator economy.Sponsors:CalderaLab.com code TECHMEME at checkoutAirMedCareNetwork.com/tech offer code TECHLinks:Facebook Is Said to Be Building a Product to Compete With Clubhouse (NYTimes)Microsoft approached Pinterest about a takeover (Financial Times)iOS 14.5 Beta Directs 'Safe Browsing' Traffic in Safari Through Apple Server Instead of Google to Protect Personal User Data (MacRumors)Bumble makes Wall Street debut in a milestone moment for female founders (CNN Business)NBCUniversal’s Streaming Strategy Raises Prospect of WarnerMedia Merger (The Information)Andreessen Horowitz Wins Deal for Creator Economy Startup Stir at $100 Million Valuation (The Information)Machines Are Inventing New Math We've Never Seen (M…

Mommy and Daddy are fighting. This time it’s Apple and Facebook and it’s getting pretty heated. The EU okays Google’s acquisition of Fitbit. Substack has resurrected Google Reader, in spirit at least. And why the new antitrust lawsuit against Google is maybe the most serious yet, because we’re talking about actual felonies here. Potentially. Allegedly.Sponsors:OurCrowd.com/rideJoinFightCamp.com/techmemeLinks: Apple’s seismic change to the mobile ad industry is drawing near, and it’s rocking the ecosystem (CNBC) Facebook Attacks Apple Software Changes in Newspaper Ads (Bloomberg) Apple Responds to Facebook's Anti-Tracking Criticism, Says Users Deserve Control and Transparency (MacRumors) Facebook Wades Into ‘Fortnite’ Maker’s Dispute With Apple (WSJ) Facebook criticizes Apple as it welcomes Europe’s new tech rules (CNBC) EU approves Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit, subject to conditions (CNBC) HBO Max Is Launching on Roku, After Device Maker and WarnerMedia Finally Bur…

I try to give you the outlines of the Facebook antitrust thing, and what it might mean for tech. Airbnb makes its market debut. Crunchyroll finds a safe home away from AT&T. I bet folks at HBO are jealous. Boston Dynamics finds a new guardian as well, that hopefully can find something useful for it to do. And it really is, finally, the end of the road for Flash.Sponsors:Amazon.com/ridehomeTinycapital.comLinks: The FTC is suing Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp (The ...

Facebook and Apple are calling each other names again. “Privacy Thief!” “Monopolist!” And why we might see more of this in the coming years. Roblox files maybe the most exciting S-1 of this IPO batch. Stadia is going to work around the App Store too. Another big milestone crossed for self-driving cars. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Netgear.com/bestwifi Amazon.com/techmeme Links: Apple doubles down on upcoming iOS 14 privacy features, slams Facebook for collecting ‘...

WhatsApp gets disappearing messages ten years after Snapchat! A new entry-level, ultra-lightweight drone from DJI. Productivity laptops are getting interesting designs, ala gaming laptops. Ethereum 2.0 is coming. How and why Jack Ma pissed off the Chinese government. The Xbox Series X reviews are in. And Justice Department just sued to block Visa from buying Plaid. But that just broke, so I’m telling you it happened now. We’ll analyze it tomorrow. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme Canva.me/ride Li...

Facebook unveils the Oculus Quest 2, as a part of its Facebook Connect (formerly Oculus Connect) event. Amazon Music gets podcasts. Spotify puts the Apple One bundle on blast. Developers have found yet another reason to get pissed at Apple. And AT&T is not only bringing advertising to HBO, they want to add ads to you phone as well.Sponsors: PayPal AppExtraHop.com/techmemeLinks:Oculus Quest 2 delivers standalone VR with sharper 90Hz screens for $299 (Engadget) OCULUS QUEST 2 REVIEW: BETTER, ...

Facebook goes back to its roots by going back to school with Campus. The Long-Term Stock Exchange is ready for its closeup. The former head of the NSA is joining Amazon’s board. The second-gen Motorola Razr is here. And an in-depth review and assessment of whether or not Microsoft’s Surface Duo knows what it wants to be. Sponsors: Doubleup.agency Today In Digital Marketing Podcast Links: Facebook reinvents Facebook with the launch of Campus for college students (The Verge) Former NSA chief Keith...

Soon you can only use an Oculus if you have a Facebook account. But bizarrely, the Facebook Portal (along with the Echo Show and Google Nest Hub Max) is opening up to Zoom. Netflix is testing a “shuffle play” feature. Blackberry phones are coming back. And Apple hits a $2 trillion market cap. Sponsors: BlueNile.com code: RIDE Metalab.co Links: You’ll need a Facebook account to use future Oculus headsets (The Verge) Zoom is coming to Google Nest, Amazon Echo, and Facebook Portal smart displays (T...

What to expect from tomorrow’s Big Tech Congressional testimony. Instagram is trying to woo TikTok stars. Qualcomm has some amazing new quick charge tech. Roblox continues to look like the next big thing. And Deadspin—the true Deadspin—lives to fight another day. Sponsors: Metalab.co Harrys.com/techmeme Links: Their Businesses Went Virtual. Then Apple Wanted a Cut. (NYTimes) Google’s Top Search Result? Surprise! It’s Google (The Markup) Congress has battled airlines, banks, tobacco and baseball....

Facebook fails its own civil rights audit. Details of the new Thunderbolt 4 standard. Details on the new Snapdragon chip. Unpacking what might be in store for the newly announced Samsung Unpacked event. And not an interesting raise, so much as a hella interesting product launch. Sponsors: CodeWizardsHQ.com offer code RIDE DoubleUp.agency Links: Facebook Fails to Appease Organizers of Ad Boycott (NYTimes) Facebook Decisions Were ‘Setbacks for Civil Rights,’ Audit Finds (NYTimes) Exclusive: Apple ...

Twitter takes down a bunch of accounts it says are government propaganda. UK regulators are gonna take a hard look at Facebook’s Giphy acquisition. I explain, in depth, why Chris Cox returning to Facebook is such a big deal. The big PlayStation 5 reveal, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: ApolloNeuro.com/ride Metalab.co Links: Twitter deletes China-linked accounts that spread false information about Hong Kong and Covid-19 (CNN Business) UK competition watchdog launches i...

What I believe is the first ever walkout in Facebook history, the biggest acquisition in Zynga history, Samsung Access is an interesting ARR play to get ahead of an Apple Prime subscription, and an Android event this week was cancelled, but a PlayStation one was announced. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency Kiwico.com/ride Links: Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Walkout to Protest Trump Posts (NYTimes) Facebook, Snapchat join chorus of companies condemning George Floyd death, racism (Reuters) Twilio, Box...

The US strikes at Huawei again. Apple acquires a VR startup and there’s conflicting rumors on those AR glasses. Is Silicon Valley really about to become a ghost town? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Classified Ad: IbisWritingAcademy.com Links: U.S. moves to cut Huawei off from global chip suppliers as China eyes retaliation (Reuters) Scoop: Facebook to buy Giphy for $400 million (Axios) Apple Acquires Startup NextVR that Broadcasts VR Content (Bloombe...

Huge Facebook investment in India. Tech earnings season is back, and this promises to be a super interesting one for all the reasons you can imagine. Two iPhone zero days found out in the wild. Patreon does do layoffs but says creator numbers are holding up. And a roundup of the iPhone SE reviews. Sponsors: CognitoHQ.com Tinycapital.com Links: Facebook invests $5.7B in India's Reliance Jio Partners (TechCrunch) Facebook Invests $5.7 Billion in Indian Internet Giant Jio (NYTimes) Netflix blows aw...

A wicked Windows zero day is out in the wild without a patch. Google is open sourcing a cool new AI architecture. Instagram wants you to co-watch your feed with a friend. A popular “challenger bank” comes to the US. And the iPad Pro reviews are in.Sponsors:Metalab.coZapier.com/rideLinks: Microsoft says hackers are attacking Windows users with a new unpatched bug (TechCrunch)Apple promises App Store expansion to 20 new countries starting next month (9to5Mac) Google open-sources framework tha...

Yelp is showing how the restaurant industry is in deep trouble. Instagram makes ready to clone the last Snapchat feature it hadn’t copped yet. The very interesting lessons behind a self-driving startup closing its doors. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Zapier.com/ride Links: Amazon AWS launches $20 million initiative to help fight the coronavirus (CNBC) Instagram prototypes Snapchat-style disappearing text messages (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s DirectX 12 ...

I’ve said before, Steven Levy is the dean of the tech writers. All the way back in 1984 his classic book Hackers defined a tech space that wasn’t even fully aware of itself yet. Steven has written book length histories and examinations of Apple and Google, and now, with his new book, Facebook: The Inside Story , he finally tells the full Facebook story for the first time. Not the movie version, but the real story of how Facebook became Facebook from the earliest days at Harvard through the rise ...

Introducing Facebook News. Did the major US Carriers do an end-run around Google out of spite? Amazon is back to making as little profit as it possibly can, HBO Max makes its aggressive pricing move, and, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Sponsors:MealimeLegalForce RAPC (650-390-6461 or raj@legalforcelaw.com)Links:Rupert Murdoch wanted Mark Zuckerberg to pay him for news stories — and now Facebook is going to do just that (Recode)[Update: Google responds] Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, a...

Zuckerberg defends Facebook as a champion of free speech, will iPhone users have unlimited photo uploads to Google Photos while Pixel 4 owners will not, dial back your expectations for the Photoshop iPad app, the Vatican has a wearable prayer gadget, and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:WeWorkRemotely.comVistaprint.com promo code RideLinks:Samsung says fingerprint security fix is coming as early as next week (The Verge)Defiant Zuckerberg Says Facebook Won’t Police Poli...

Listen in on Mark Zuckerberg rallying the troops, GoPro hopes newer cameras revive its fortunes, prepping for the Microsoft event tomorrow, the SEC slaps a crypto company on the wrist, and Tesla’s new Smart Summon feature has made for some viral videos. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Capterra.com/ride Links: All Hands on Deck (The Verge) READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF MARK ZUCKERBERG’S LEAKED INTERNAL FACEBOOK MEETINGS (The Verge) GoPro launches two new cameras as it tries to become profitable this year ...

More revelations about the horrible job that is Facebook Moderation, Best Buy now doubles as a Genius Bar—sorta, YouTube has some new AR tricks and is mulling some changes for kids, and the reaction to Facebook’s crypto play has me fascinated.Sponsors:SVB.com/nextCastroLinks:BODIES IN SEATS (The Verge)Apple expands authorized repairs to ~1,000 Best Buy Stores (TechCrunch)The new Kindle Oasis lets you adjust color temperature for night reading (The Verge)YouTube's new AR Beauty Try-On ...

Facebook announces Libra, Twitch acquires Bebo, are unmanned convenience stores something people even want, Facebook wants more houses in Silicon Valley, and LA real estate is starting to look like Silicon Valley.Sponsors:SVB.com/nextCastroLinks:Facebook announces Libra cryptocurrency: All you need to know (TechCrunch)FACEBOOK’S CALIBRA IS A SECRET WEAPON FOR MONETIZING ITS NEW CRYPTOCURRENCY (The Verge)Libra White Paper Shows How Facebook Borrowed From Bitcoin and Ethereum (CoinDesk)...

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up Facebook, more developer details from I/O, Uber has an arbitration problem, shoe tech is real, and get ready for 64 megapixel smartphone cameras.Sponsors:Wix.com/podcastMetalab.coLinks:It’s Time to Break Up Facebook (Chris Hughes/NYTimes)Google is testing Mini-apps in Search and Google Assistant (VentureBeat)Google to allow users to pay for Android apps using cash (TechCrunch)Uber’s Arbitration Addiction Could Be Death by 60,...

This Facebook cryptocurrency is real, people, Microsoft has a blockchain product as well, Verizon is looking to unload Tumblr, Softbank is considering an IPO for the vision fund and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:PixelUnion.netInstacart. Promocode RIDE at checkout.Links:Facebook Building Cryptocurrency-Based Payments System (WSJ)Project Libra: Facebook to launch stablecoin-based payments network (The Block)Report: Facebook looking to disrupt credit cards with cr...