Something happened to social media recently. I don’t know exactly when things changed, but almost overnight, randomly scrolling through feeds became a lot less enjoyable. Flame-wars, bad news, fake news, worse news and anxiety-fueling comment sections meant that social media is no longer the escapism it once was. Along comes Binky counter all of that, creating the ultimate anti-social… Read More
from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2sfSKa3 Meet Binky, the anti-social media simulator Haje Jan Kamps http://ift.tt/2rik6XZ
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The top startup accelerators have a history of seeing the future in ideas that sounded silly at the time. After all, who would have foreseen billion-dollar businesses based on renting your air mattress to strangers, or shopping for their groceries? So when prestigious accelerators invest around common themes, it’s worth taking note of what’s resonating. 
The founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most famous flameouts, anonymous social app Secret, is the new product lead for Postmates’ app. After Secret shut down and gave investors back their money, David Byttow went on to raise a $1 million seed round from Index to launch a blog publishing tool for enterprises called Bold. Today Bold was acqhired by Postmates, Byttow confirmed to… 
Apple just unveiled Business Chat, its bid to turn iMessage into a communication platform that can compete with Facebook Messenger – and perhaps, tirn iMessage into one of the main ways you interact with businesses. The company quietly announced the service earlier this week with an update to its developer site, but few details were available at the time. Today was the real… 
Just in time for Disrupt SF I’d like to invite you all to a micro meet-up in Warsaw on July 4. We’ll be holding it at Campus Warsaw, 33C Ząbkowska, 03-736 Warszawa, Poland. The fun starts at 6pm and ends at 8pm with some after-event drinks nearby. The winner of the pitch-off will get a table at Disrupt SF and the second-place winner will get two tickets to Disrupt SF. There are… 
A man in Thailand has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after he was found guilty of insulting the country’s royal family on Facebook. Identified only as Wichai, he is alleged to have published 10 photos, videos and comments on the social network that violate Thailand’s strict lèse majesté regulations that outlaw criticism of the royal family. 
Apple has activated a new revenue stream that could foster communities of digital content creators around the world like those already thriving in China. Apple’s newly published update to its App Store policies officially designates voluntary tipping via virtual currency as in-app purchases that Apple taxes 30%. By taking tipping out of the grey area, more app developers might… 
OwnLocal has acquired Wanderful Media, brining two companies focused on local advertising and deals together. OwnLocal works with local newspapers to turn traditional print ads into digital campaigns. Wanderful, meanwhile, operates Find&Save, a website and app that brings the newspaper deals and coupons online. So there are some obvious similarities. The big reason for the acquisition. 
Target’s mobile app strategy will undergo a significant change, starting this summer. The retailer announced this week it will soon combine the functionality of its Cartwheel savings app with its main shopping app, in preparation for an eventual Cartwheel shutdown. The Target app will also receive a notable upgrade this year, adding support for an indoor map that shows your location in… 
In what turned out to be a surprising SFW podcast Future of Sex podcast creator Bryony Cole joined us to talk about the future of sex, teledilonics and sex robots. Not content to let the media and the world stay squeamish about the topic of sex robots Cole expects many of us to have had sex with a robot by 2047 and believes many of our children will first experience sex with a robot before… 
In a slightly surprising move, Pinterest raised $150 million from private investors this week. Why the firm may have wanted the cash isn’t too hard to understand. When the markets offer you lots of cash on good terms, you tend to say yes. But let’s explore the round for a minute. 
Seed investment firm Lerer Hippeau Ventures is planning to write more later-stage checks, thanks to a new $28 million fund that it’s calling LHV Select. “Since the very beginning, going back to 2010, we’ve always had the same strategy,” said Managing Partner Eric Hippeau — a strategy that’s focused on making seed investments in New York startups. (The firm… 
Facebook is finally getting an office space in San Francisco, and is currently considering several different locations, one of which will house up to 100 Instagram employees, an industry source familiar with the lease plan confirmed to TechCrunch. Earlier today, The Registry reported Facebook is in talks for a space at 181 Fremont in the South Of Market district — a 70-story tower… 
After breaking up in 2014, Taylor Swift and Spotify are getting back together. To celebrate her album 1989 hitting 10 million records sold and selling 100 million total songs, today the pop singer announced she’s making her full back catalog available on all streaming services starting tonight at midnight. Swift was already on Apple Music but now she’s opening up to Spotify and… 
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