Obviously, today's biggest headlines aren't tech-centric, but the industry has plenty of news of its own, like the growth of short-video apps in China, Facebook's removal of Russia-linked accounts and a big investment in ride-hailing company Grab. So take a break from midterm news and check out your Daily Crunch for November 7, 2018. 1. China's obsession with short videos has its internet giants worried Initially geared toward Chinese youth, short-video apps have increased in popularity across all age groups -- including the elderly. Over one-third of the country's 1.4 billion people are active on these apps every month. People above the age of 50 now spend as much as 50 minutes on them every day, compared to only 17 minutes a year ago. Apps like TikTok don't compete directly with WeChat, but data suggests that use of instant messaging services has waned amid the fledgling video scene. 2. Facebook connects Russia to 100+ accounts it removed ahead of mid-terms "This is a timely reminder that these bad actors won't give up — and why it's so important we work with the U.S. government and other technology companies to stay ahead," said Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy. 3. Grab pulls in $250M from Hyundai as ongoing round reaches $2.7B The Singaporean startup that recently bought Uber's Southeast Asia business continues to announce investors for its ongoing Series H. Hyundai's involvement includes a big strategic element: electric vehicles. 4. Dropbox introduces Extensions for deeper integration with third-party tools Dropbox Extensions enhance customers' ability to build workflows and integrations with third-party partners. 5. Sling TV's growth further slows in Q3, but still leads rivals in terms of subscribers It appears that Dish's live TV streaming service Sling TV has been impacted by the increased competition from rivals. Sling TV still leads the market with 2.37 million subscribers, but its momentum is slowing. 6. The disappearing Form D After some investigation, Danny Crichton wonders if startups are (increasingly?) not filing disclosures with the SEC as a specific strategy to avoid scrutiny. 7. Where's the accountability Facebook? Facebook has yet again declined an invitation for its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to answer international politicians' questions about how disinformation spreads on his platform and undermines democratic processes. |
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