blogger better: 2017-10-15

Saturday, October 21, 2017

GitHub’s scandalized ex-CEO returns with Chatterbug

Translation earbuds might eliminate some utilitarian reasons to know a language, but if you want to understand jokes, read poetry, or fall in love in a foreign tongue, you’ll have to actually learn it. Unfortunately, products like Rosetta Stone leave people feeling burned after claiming the process should be easy while never helping you practice talking with a real native speaker. You… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2gWg6tR GitHub’s scandalized ex-CEO returns with Chatterbug Josh Constine http://ift.tt/2gzrOxN
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As Facebook finds itself publicly on the hook for enabling Russian agents to spread divisive propaganda via its platform, be it in the form of fake news, ‘dark ads’, issue pushing Facebook pages, and even political rallies organized using its Event tools, there’s another side to the story of how tech tools are impacting the democratic process currently playing out in… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2ipbLmr Antisocial media? Natasha Lomas http://ift.tt/2gWjNja
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GitHub’s scandalized ex-CEO returns with Chatterbug

{rss:content:encoded} GitHub’s scandalized ex-CEO returns with Chatterbug http://ift.tt/2gzrOxN http://ift.tt/2gWg6tR October 21, 2017 at 06:47PM

Translation earbuds might eliminate some utilitarian reasons to know a language, but if you want to understand jokes, read poetry, or fall in love in a foreign tongue, you’ll have to actually learn it. Unfortunately, products like Rosetta Stone leave people feeling burned after claiming the process should be easy while never helping you practice talking with a real native speaker. You… Read More

http://ift.tt/2gWg6tR GitHub’s scandalized ex-CEO returns with Chatterbug http://ift.tt/2gzrOxN

Redesigning the TechCrunch app

{rss:content:encoded} Redesigning the TechCrunch app http://ift.tt/2l5adzb http://ift.tt/2xW6mdu October 21, 2017 at 01:00PM

Over the last two years we have been working hard to improve the experience of TechCrunch products for our readers. Our tiny-but-mighty product team launched the brand new TechCrunch mobile app earlier this month and we couldn’t be more excited. It has been completely redesigned with the goal of giving you easy access to the news you care about most, no matter where you are. Read More

Sneaker and streetwear reseller Stadium Goods just launched their first app

Stadium Goods, the online (and brick and mortar) marketplace for highly sought after sneakers and streetwear, is launching its first app. Live today to coincide with the startup’s two year anniversary, the first iteration of the app is basically just a mobile marketplace. But Stadium Goods plans to eventually build out this functionality and take advantage of location services and… Read More

http://ift.tt/2znPkBz Sneaker and streetwear reseller Stadium Goods just launched their first app http://ift.tt/2zDVD4Q

Nike is using its new digital studio to build a community of sneakerheads

{rss:content:encoded} Nike is using its new digital studio to build a community of sneakerheads http://ift.tt/2l3hMpY http://ift.tt/2zDR0aR October 20, 2017 at 06:00PM Nike Momofuku

A year after acquiring Virgin Mega, Nike is revealing some of the early results of its experiments with augmented reality and community-building. Virgin Mega was a startup backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group that focused on fan communities and shopping. Ron Faris, who led the startup, told me that Nike acquired Virgin Mega in order to explore those same ideas. Since then, the team… Read More

BlackBerry’s KEYone ‘Black Edition’ offers more than just good looks

{rss:content:encoded} BlackBerry’s KEYone ‘Black Edition’ offers more than just good looks http://ift.tt/2xahpv7 http://ift.tt/2yCj14a October 20, 2017 at 04:05PM

BlackBerry’s most interesting phone in years – if not an entire decade – is the KEYone, an Android device with a classic BlackBerry hardware keyboard that finally answers the needs of truly dedicated thumb typists with a modern mobile OS. Now, the KEYone ‘Black Edition’ has arrived, and it’s more than just a fresh coat of paint on an older gadget. In fact,… Read More

You can now PayPal friends in Messenger and get help via chat

{rss:content:encoded} You can now PayPal friends in Messenger and get help via chat http://ift.tt/2xV4IZO http://ift.tt/2f10HKk October 20, 2017 at 03:00PM

PayPal users in the U.S. will now be able to send and receive person-to-person payments over Facebook Messenger, the company announced this morning. The deeper integration with Messenger’s platform, which will also include PayPal’s first customer service bot for handling customer questions and requests for help, follows a series of tie-ups between the two companies. Last year,… Read More

Studio makes running more exciting with coaching, music and competition

Jason Baptiste wants you to run. He said he’s seen the personal benefits of running since 2009, when he became unhappy with his weight and committed to run a “daily 5k,” something he’s held to ever since. “Not only has running helped me be healthier, it’s helped my mind and spirit become stronger,” Baptiste wrote. “Running has become an outlet for… Read More

http://ift.tt/2l340n1 Studio makes running more exciting with coaching, music and competition http://ift.tt/2xRyRnY

Studio makes running more exciting with coaching, music and competition

{rss:content:encoded} Studio makes running more exciting with coaching, music and competition http://ift.tt/2xRyRnY http://ift.tt/2l340n1 October 20, 2017 at 01:28AM Studio

Twitter bans “Hateful Display Names” and shares Safety roadmap

{rss:content:encoded} Twitter bans “Hateful Display Names” and shares Safety roadmap http://ift.tt/2yBKKjN http://ift.tt/1Cnexeu October 20, 2017 at 12:23AM

Twitter has comitted to a specific timeline for rolling out changes to its Safety features and announced new policies including a ban on hateful display names, and improvements for second-hand “witness reporting” of abuse. By January Twitter plans to have implemented all the abuse changes outlined in the internal email published by Wired earlier this week, as well as the new… Read More

What washing dishes, driving a truck and working in a cemetery taught me about the power of ‘blue-collar’ software

{rss:content:encoded} What washing dishes, driving a truck and working in a cemetery taught me about the power of ‘blue-collar’ software http://ift.tt/2kZbIP8 http://ift.tt/2xSDtz1 October 20, 2017 at 12:00AM

I work in VC. But it wasn’t long ago that I stocked shelves, drove a truck, washed dishes, waited tables and even hauled dirt at a cemetery. This isn’t the usual route to a job in tech and VC, but it opened my eyes to a corner of the tech world I think has the chance to create the next Salesforce, Oracle or LinkedIn: software targeting those who do their jobs outside corporate offices. Read More

Facebook attacks Pinterest with “Sets” of posts

{rss:content:encoded} Facebook attacks Pinterest with “Sets” of posts http://ift.tt/2yuXOK4 http://ift.tt/2znm1Pq October 19, 2017 at 11:08PM

Identity is prismatic. You show different sides of yourself to different friends in your life. Now Facebook wants to let you share the niches of your interests while stealing thunder from Pinterest’s boards. Facebook is now testing a feature called Sets that lets you select several status updates, photos, or videos and share them as a themed collection to everyone or specific… Read More