David Holmes

Fast Company

Google Hopes Taylor Swift Will Finally See Green In YouTube Red

As artists and record labels clamor over YouTube payouts, some are skeptical that Google’s subscription service can change the equation.

Fast Company

The Music Industry’s New War Is About So Much More Than Copyright

We’re listening to more songs than ever thanks to YouTube. Eight charts that explain why that isn’t necessarily music to the ears of Taylor, Bono, and the big labels.

Fast Company

Don’t Be Too Surprised That Peter Thiel Is A Trump Delegate

Silicon Valley has long venerated as a genius a man whose rhetoric is often just as controversial as that of the presumptive GOP nominee.

Fast Company

Artists Claim YouTube Pays Them Less Than Spotify. Are They Right?

The video behemoth argues that it shouldn’t have to pay as much as other streaming services.

Fast Company

Why More People Can’t Get Suboxone, The Drug That Might Have Saved Prince

For some, Suboxone is just another addiction. But for many many others it’s a lifesaver.

Fast Company

Voter ID Laws May Have Actually Increased The Likelihood Of Voter Fraud—By Hackers

States that passed voter ID laws didn’t just potentially disenfranchise voters. They made their elections more vulnerable to hackers.

Fast Company

Marissa Mayer Isn’t The Only CEO Poised For A Massive Payday If Fired By A New Owner

The news that the Yahoo CEO could net a $55 million severance package made for breathless headlines this morning.

Fast Company

YouTube’s claims about the royalties it owes to musicians sound . . . curious

Over the past two years, YouTube has joined Spotify and Pandora as a frequent target of artists claiming that they’re owed royalty payments. YouTube maintains that its users only listen to one hour of music a month, compared to Spotify’s users, who listen to 55 hours a month. Not entirely convinced by YouTube’s “one-hour” claims, the … Continue reading “YouTube’s claims about the royalties it owes to musicians sound . . . curious”

Fast Company

RIP @MagicRecs: 2013-2016

Chatbots are apparently all the rage now, but that hasn’t stopped Twitter from retiring one of the earliest—and most effective—examples of a social bot: @MagicRecs, a surprisingly intuitive and non-intrusive bot that recommended accounts or tweets to users via Direct Messages. Update: Twitter sent the following clarification about the demise of @MagicRecs: “@MagicRecs is no … Continue reading “RIP @MagicRecs: 2013-2016”

Fast Company

President Obama urges smart gun adoption

On both his Facebook page and the White House website, the president announced a set of initiatives aimed at urging gun manufacturers to adopt smart gun technology, writing: “As long as we’ve got the technology to prevent a criminal from stealing and using your smartphone, then we should be able to prevent the wrong person from pulling a … Continue reading “President Obama urges smart gun adoption”

Fast Company

NBC strikes deal with Snapchat to share Olympic highlights

According to Bloomberg, this is the first time the network has agreed to share video of the Olympics, making it all the more noteworthy that the Comcast-owned company selected upstart Snapchat as its first video partner, and not a more established second-screen social network like Facebook or Twitter.

Fast Company

Huffington Post says editor made a “mistake” in Uber coverage

The announcement this week that Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, had joined the board of Uber triggered an avalanche of concern that she might discourage her journalist employees from any critical coverage of the $60 billion ride-sharing company. Huffington vowed to stay out of Uber coverage—but within 24 hours, the Washington … Continue reading “Huffington Post says editor made a “mistake” in Uber coverage”

Fast Company

Since 2013, Facebook has spent over $16 million to protect Zuckerberg

That includes $4.3 million spent on the Facebook CEO’s security detail in 2015 alone. Compare that to the $1.5 million used to protect Oracle CEO Larry Ellison last year, the $1.6 million to protect Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and the $1.3 million to keep Zuckerberg’s colleague, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, safe. That must make the … Continue reading “Since 2013, Facebook has spent over $16 million to protect Zuckerberg”

Fast Company

Twitter to App Store: Stop calling us a social network

After years of being categorized as a “Social Networking” app in the iOS App Store, Twitter has decided to reclassify itself as a “News” app, TechCrunch notes. One reason for the change is that Twitter’s brand identity is now less about connecting with friends and family and more about getting the news of the day the … Continue reading “Twitter to App Store: Stop calling us a social network”

Fast Company

Report: Alphabet in late talks to offer FIat Chrysler self-driving car tech

According to The Wall Street Journal, Alphabet (the company formerly known as Google) is more concerned with supplying its technology to incumbent automakers like Fiat (the company formerly known as Chrysler) than building its own vehicles operated by robots (the dominant civilization formerly known as humanity).

Fast Company

Elon Musk’s SpaceX wins its first-ever Air Force launch contract

It’s been over 10 years since the Air Force allowed any company other than United Launch Alliance—a partnership between mega-corporations Boeing and Lockheed Martin—to manage one of its space launch contracts. So when the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center announced that the contract for its next GPS satellite would be open to industry … Continue reading “Elon Musk’s SpaceX wins its first-ever Air Force launch contract”

Fast Company

Kabul hosts Afghanistan’s national female wheelchair basketball championships

It’s been a bummer of a week for basketball fans, as three of the NBA’s most exciting players—Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and the preposterous basketball mutant Stephen Curry—all went down with injuries. But don’t worry: these Afghan women taking part in today’s final match of the National Female Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Kabul are here … Continue reading “Kabul hosts Afghanistan’s national female wheelchair basketball championships”

Fast Company

Arianna Huffington tells HuffPo staff that Uber board position won’t influence coverage

On Wednesday, Uber announced its newest board member: Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post. The move has left many questioning whether HuffPo can continue to report on Uber impartially. In an effort to assuage these concerns, Huffington gave an interview to HuffPo labor reporter Dave Jamieson, who published a piece titled, “Arianna Huffington Did Not Edit … Continue reading “Arianna Huffington tells HuffPo staff that Uber board position won’t influence coverage”

Fast Company

Snapchat’s speed filter blamed for teenager’s traumatic brain injury

The feature, which shows the velocity at which your smartphone is moving when you send a Snap, reportedly prompted some users to speed-race their friends while sending messages to each other. At least two people have been hospitalized for Snap-Speed-Accidents: Wentworth Maynard, despite minding his own business and definitely not Snapping while driving, ended up … Continue reading “Snapchat’s speed filter blamed for teenager’s traumatic brain injury”

Ideas

How Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel” Plans To Convert Viewers Into Activists

Ideas

This Map Shows Where People’s “Civic Space” Is Most Threatened

Ideas

Why IBM Pays Its Employees To Take Time Off To Tackle The World’s Problems

Entertainment

This Chrome Extension Makes Every Trump Tweet A Little More Honest

Entertainment

UPDATED: “Sex And The City” Star Mario Cantone Graciously Volunteered To Be SNL’s Anthony Scaramucci–And Now He Never Will Be

Entertainment

Inside The Dumbest First Amendment Battle Of 2017

Co.Design

Spaces

Donald Trump’s Drawing Is Even Worse Than You Think

Spaces

This Skatepark Is A Sculpture You Can Ride

Cities

This Crowdsourced Project Is Mapping Mysterious Photos Of Lost New York

Fast Company

Technology

Trump Takes Victory Lap On Foxconn’s Plans For New U.S. Factory

Technology

Facebook’s Rumored Smart Speaker Is A Great And Terrible Idea

Ideas