Zoom Readies Email and Calendar Products to Defend Itself Against Microsoft, Google
Kevin McLaughlin, The Information
Hoping to stop its customers from jumping ship to those products, Zoom plans to debut its own email and calendar services, possibly as soon as its Zoomtopia conference for customers in November, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans. The company has spent the better part of two years quietly developing the new services, which some employees refer to as “Zmail and Zcal.”
Ex-Twitter, Facebook Executives Urge Lawmakers to Rein In Social-Media Platforms
Emily Birnbaum, Bloomberg
Brian Boland, a former vice president with Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook, and Alex Roetter, Twitter’s former senior vice president for engineering, warned the Senate’s homeland security committee that social media companies including YouTube, Twitter, Meta and TikTok have failed to address the harm their platforms can cause, including how their algorithms can amplify harmful content.
Google cancels half the projects at its internal R&D group Area 120
Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
The company on Tuesday informed staff of a “reduction in force” which will see the incubator halved in size, as half the teams working on new product innovations heard their projects were being canceled.
California sues Amazon, accusing it of anticompetitive behavior
Rachel Lerman and Cat Zakrzewski, The Washington Post
Amazon penalizes sellers on its site if they offer products elsewhere for lower prices, the state alleged. That makes it harder for others to compete, therefore entrenching Amazon’s market power, the state said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.
Trump’s Social Media Company Is Trying to Hide Its Struggles From the Public
Adam Rawnsley and Asawin Suebsaeng, Rolling Stone
Truth Social isn’t giving users a full picture of its engagement metrics.
Gay dating app Grindr names new CEO ahead of its public listing
Zachary Schermele, NBC News
George Arison will take the reins in October, following years of controversy surrounding the popular app.
GameStop adding NFT trading cards to loyalty program perks as it deepens push into digital world
Jack Stebbins, CNBC
The partnership marks GameStop’s latest venture with cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens, which are unique digital assets, as the struggling retailer works to transform its business.
Walmart introduces virtual try-on tech which uses customers’ own photos to model the clothing
Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
Walmart is expanding its support for AI-powered virtual try-on technology that allows online shoppers to better visualize clothing on models that look like themselves in both appearance and body type.
Amazon’s Live Audio App Launches Creator Fund
J. Clara Chan, The Hollywood Reporter
To be eligible for payments, creators must host at least one live show each month. According to a Wednesday blog post announcing the fund, Amp will then assess show performance based on factors like “listener engagement and show performance metrics, such as show popularity with new and recurring listeners.”