for more responsible technology
UPDATE, Nov. 2022: since this article was first published early 2022, FTX, one of the world's biggest crypto exchanges, collapsed spectacularly, taking $8bn in customers' money with it; NFTs' value has plummeted; and Meta has laid off 11,000 people, which *somewhat* questions the validity of investing billions in the metaverse... The maddening thing about technology … Continue reading Why we shouldn’t believe all the web3 hype
Tech is now bigger than ever. Despite - or thanks to? - the pandemic, the sector gathered over 42,000 people in Lisbon this week, for Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech event. Yes, it was as brimming with Silicon Valley bravado as you’d expect. Yet this year, there was a major difference: the biggest crowds were … Continue reading Tech’s n°1 critics are now its biggest stars
Goodbye, 2020! You won't be missed. And as vaccines start to be administered worldwide, we can be reasonably hopeful the crisis will end in 2021. The other good news is that pressure on big tech to be more responsible is not easing up at all, au contraire. Whence these reasons why, this year, technology may … Continue reading How tech *might* get better than ever in 2021
I've updated this post from its original version, written last August. Since then, countries like the UK have slipped back into lockdown, and even rebellious Sweden is preparing to limit its citizens' movements, such is the extent of the dreaded second wave. Still, the only real change is that working from home has lost some … Continue reading 8 ways the crisis has made tech better
Earlier this month, the latest 'responsible tech' bombshell dropped: Chris Hughes (left above), who co-founded Facebook back in the day with Mark Zuckerberg, affirmed in a New York Times op-ed "It's Time to Break Up Facebook". Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, claims Hughes, "Zuck" and Sheryl Sandberg have done nothing to reign in Facebook's huge … Continue reading Ex-execs dissing Facebook: all the rage. But who’s bringing about true change?
If there's one thing that SXSW, the massive gathering that takes over Austin, Texas every March remains today, it's a tech trends barometer. Twitter, Foursquare and Periscope were all launched there, after all. This year, however, as this excellent post from France Télévisions' Kati Bremme (in French) was first to confirm to me, the big … Continue reading Why Time’s up for irresponsible tech
1. Screens now divide rich from poor "Human contact is now a luxury good," asserts this thought-proving New York Times piece. "The wealthy can afford to opt out of having their data and their attention sold as a product," writes Nellie Bowles. "The poor and middle class don’t have the same kind of resources to … Continue reading 4 more reasons to reduce your screen time… after reading this
"If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold." This quote — supposedly from Andrew Lewis/blue_beetle, and more frequently paraphrased as "if it's free, then you're the product" — initially referred to the arrival of ad-funded TV in the 70s. Today, we have become the product 24/7. None more so … Continue reading How to do a data detox
Up until 2018, we'd happily posted the slightest details of our daily lives (ok, only the positive ones) on Facebook, warmly welcomed Alexa into our homes, waited impatiently for the latest iPhone, and not thought twice about letting Google follow us everywhere. This year, we learned, for example, that even turning off Google apps' location … Continue reading 2018: The year we lost Trust in Tech
I'm a head of social media by day. So why am I deleting my personal Facebook account? (I'm not deleting the one I use to manage brands' Facebook pages, as then I'd be out of said job. Pages, unfortunately, remain essential for business today. As long as you have a paid budget, as organic post … Continue reading How to leave Facebook in 5 easy steps… and why
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