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Recommended Reading: How Foursquare managed to survive
The Not-So-Surprising Survival of Foursquare Aaron Gell, The New Yorker When Foursquare split its app in two with a second dedicated to check-ins, the move was questionable to say the least. The company eventually brought its popular mayorships back to Swarm and has largely held on to users as a directory for food and more inside the namesake app. The New Yorker takes a look at how the company has been able to survive largely due to its very active users and a trove of data.
Recommended Reading: AI and the future of music
We Are the Robots: Is the Future of Music Artificial? Jack Needham, FACT Artificial intelligence is invading more of our lives by the day and it's going to work making music as well. FACT takes a look at the use of robots for creative exploits and if we as a collective audience are ready for AI to compose our tunes.
Recommended Reading: The story of 'Legion,' Marvel's latest TV show
Marvel's 'Legion,' explained Eric Watson, Polygon Marvel's latest TV series debuted on FX this week, and if you're a little lost on the backstory or just need a quick refresher, Polygon is here to help. The gaming news outlet posted a primer on Legion this week that offers a look at the most recent comic to make the leap to the small screen. If you're looking for a review of the show, The Atlantic has you covered there.
Recommended Reading: Yves Béhar on design in age of AI
10 Principles For Design In The Age Of AI Katharine Schwab, Fast Company In an age when artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of our lives, it's important to have some guidelines to keep innovation focused. Designer Yves Béhar sat down with Fast Company to discuss just that, laying out 10 design principles that AI product makers should keep in mind.
Recommended Reading: Is Mark Zuckerberg going to run for president?
Zuckerberg 2020? Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is making his way around the US after promising to meet with people in each state before the end of the year. This nationwide tour has a very similar feel to that of someone who's running for office. So, is Zuck going to throw his hat in the ring for 2020? Maybe not, but there are some interesting signs he might make a run.
Recommended Reading: Video games and the issue of slavery
How Historical Games Integrate or Ignore Slavery Amanda Kerri, Rock Paper Shotgun Video games certainly don't claim to always offer a depiction of the "real world," but for those titles rooted in historical events, how the narrative addresses certain events is key. One of the issues those historical games have to wrestle with is how to address slavery. This piece from Rock Paper Shotgun takes a look at how games have integrated events or ignored them completely.
Recommended Reading: The Wii U wasn't for everyone
The Wii U Was Great, Just Not For Me Luke Plunkett, Kotaku Before Nintendo revealed all the details about its upcoming Switch console, a lot of us took a moment to reflect on its predecessor: the Wii U. While the console offered compelling gamine experiences for some, it wasn't for everyone. Kotaku discusses just that, including its appeal among younger players.
Recommended Reading: Some suggestions for Twitter in 2017
A Billion Dollar Gift for Twitter Anil Dash, Medium Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asked the masses this week what the company should focus on in 2017. After a year filled with harassment issues and the failure to court a buyer, the next few months will be very important for Twitter's future. Tech entrepreneur and blogger Anil Dash penned some suggestions for the company and the list would be a great place for Dorsey to start in January.
Recommended Reading: How Russia hacked the US
The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the US Eric Lipton, David E. Sanger and Scott Shane, The New York Times Within the last week, the CIA, Obama administration and FBI have all agreed that Russian intervened in the presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump. The White House went so far as to say that the cyberattacks were directed by president Vladimir Putin himself. The New York Times offers a detailed look at the Russian hack of the DNC which led to emails and other documents making it into the hands of WikiLeaks and other websites.
Recommended Reading: Meet the attorney who's fighting revenge porn
The Attorney Fighting Revenge Porn Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker Carrie Goldberg started her practice to "be the lawyer" she needed after being harassed online by an ex. Now she's a pioneer is dealing with revenge porn cases, defending victims against hacking, leaking and other online attacks when relationships come to an end.
Recommended Reading: Should Facebook start fact-checking news?
Facebook Shouldn't Fact-Check Jessica Lessin, The New York Times How should Facebook combat fake news? The company isn't sure yet, but one tech journalist argues fact-checking isn't the answer. The Information's editor-in-chief Jessica Lessin penned an op-ed for The New York Times this week explaining why Facebook shouldn't take on the task of fact-checking news links that its users share on the site. From censorship to truth not always being black and white, this piece lays out why the social network allowing editors to decide what's newsworthy could impact privacy and journalism as a whole.
Recommended Reading: Fake news writer takes blame for Trump's win
Facebook Fake-news Writer: 'I Think Donald Trump Is in the White House Because of Me' Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post Facebook's struggle with fake news has been widely reported and the issue is still a hot topic in the days following the US presidential election. The Washington Post caught up with Paul Horner, a man who has made a living off of news hoaxes over the last few years, some of which got picked up by the media and the Trump campaign as legit stories. "His followers don't fact-check anything -- they'll post everything, believe anything," Horner said. "His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist."
Recommended Reading: Trump's own polling models prove accurate
Trump's Big Data Mind Explains How He Knew Trump Could Win Izzie Lapowsky, Wired While it could take some time to uncover the finer points of why the polls were so far off in the 2016 presidential election, the head of President-elect Donald Trump's data team knew the candidate had a good chance of pulling out a stunning upset. Wired talked with Cambridge Analytica's Matt Oczkowski to get some details on their internal polling models which correctly predicted how most of the states would vote.
Recommended Reading: The internet and the truth
How the Internet Is Loosening Our Grip on the Truth Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times Thanks to rise of online media, we're able to find loads of "facts" to support nearly any stance we take on any particular issue. During this year's presidential election, it has become quite clear that Facebook and the internet as a whole have become an echo chamber where we're free to hunt for the information that supports a certain point of view rather than actual facts. The New York Times takes a look at how we got here, the damage that's been done and if there's any way to reverse the effects.
Recommended Reading: President Obama on science and innovation
Barack Obama: Now Is the Greatest Time to Be Alive President Barack Obama, Wired The White House Frontiers Conference took place this week to "explore the future of innovation here and around the world." President Obama is also guest editor for the November issue of Wired where he discusses science and other advancements in both essay and interview form. Above is the president's writing on technology and more. There's also a joint interview with MIT's Joi Ito where the two discuss AI, self-driving cars and and other futuristic topics with Wired's Scott Dadich.
Recommended Reading: Behind the scenes of Google's Pixel phones
Behind the Pixel: Google's First Real Threat to Apple's iPhone Mark Gurman, Bloomberg Before Google's Pixel event had even started on Tuesday, Bloomberg already posted a behind-the-scenes article on how the phones were made. There's some solid perspective to complement all of the news and analysis you've likely already read, so this is certainly worth as you settle in for a relaxing weekend.
Recommended Reading: The role of hip-hop in 'Luke Cage'
The Unexpected Hip-Hop Crossover in New Netflix Series 'Luke Cage' Adelle Platon, Billboard Based on the trailers Netflix released ahead of this week's Luke Cage debut, you might've guessed that hip-hop plays a big role in the new series. Thanks to Billboard, we have a full rundown of the score, cameos and background on the director for some added information ahead of the upcoming binge session.
Recommended Reading: A closer look at Nike's self-lacing shoes
The Secret Lab Where Nike Invented the Power-Lacing Shoe of Our Dreams Scott Eden, Wired Nike announced this week that it's self-lacing HyperAdapt shoes will go on sale November 28th. They're sure to be crazy limited, but the company invited Wired in for a behind-the-scenes look at the shoe's development. You might have a hard time grabbing a pair of your own, but at least you can take a closer look at the design process via some leisurely reading.
Recommended Reading: Snowden's escape from Hong Kong
How Snowden escaped Theresa Tedesco, National Post For two weeks in 2013, the most wanted man in the world hid from authorities. National Post has the story of how refugees helped hide Edward Snowden in the slums of Hong Kong before his eventual escape. This account of those events hasn't been told until now.
Recommended Reading: Gaming's gender problems continue in VR
With VR mode, 'Dead or Alive' goes from creepy to harassment Allegra Frank, Polygon Earlier this week, we caught a glimpse of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 in virtual reality that's set to launch the same day as PlayStation VR. The game allows the user to continually touch a female character in a bikini even after she repeatedly asks them to stop. Dead of Alive has already garnered its share of attention for how it depicts and treats women, but now it rekindled the debate about what is and isn't okay when it comes to these virtual worlds.
