When developing software, we are often trying to get users to stay engaged with an app for as long as possible, while competing for the valuable attention span of users that other popular social applications have already won.
One of the larger debates in the final months of Donald Trump’s presidency revolved around his social media presence and how much he should be allowed to say online. On Twitter, for example, he was given free rein for most of his presidency, tweeting a staggering 12,200 times in 2020. However, in the final months, Twitter began posting warnings with tweets that were factually incorrect, and eventually banned him altogether.
The progression of Trump’s fall from Twitter has prompted many to question social media platform policies on content moderation. Large social media platforms have revealed the complexity of content moderation, and the ongoing evolution of the field.
Recently, I was browsing through the archives of the podcast Reply All (well worth doing, if you’re interested in unusual stories about how technology impacts our lives) when I came across an episode titled “The Snapchat Thief”.
The gist of this episode is as follows: a young woman reports that her Snapchat account has been hacked, and asks asks the hosts of the show to help her investigate. She’s received emails from Snapchat telling her that her password has been changed and her account is now associated with a different phone number — and she’s also received threatening texts from the hacker, warning her not to report the hack to Snapchat. She’s spooked, and has no idea how the hacker gained access to her account, or even why they would want to.
If you work in the tech industry, coding bootcamps are something you have probably heard of, possibly attended, or know someone that graduated from one. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, the industry of coding bootcamps is fairly new, with the first ones starting around 2011-2012. In the short time they have been around, these alternative education programs have gained significant popularity, making their presence known in the tech world.
Being a new hire can be overwhelming in more ways than one. Meeting new people, learning how the company operates and how to become a successful member of the team.
In order to make this transition smoother, an onboarding process can be put into action. Going through this process typically happens once during the course of employment, beginning at the time of hire. Over time, faces become familiar and the day to day tasks become more routine, minimizing the unknown.
Looking into a classroom today, things might not look much different than they did 10+ years ago. But if you take a closer look, amongst the books and desks, there are computers, smart boards, and iPads. Technology has always had an influence on education, and in the digital age of today, modern tech companies and education institutions are working together to build effective learning tools.