Imagine you’re looking for a job. Which social network would you hit first? LinkedIn’s the obvious choice… but perhaps you should give Twitter a chance. It’s apparently becoming the next social platform for targeted job ads and recruiting. Yes, it seems strange — this is after all, the service you probably use to talk about TV shows, the latest sci-fi movies and share Instagrammed photos of your coffee. But at least Twitter hasn’t gathered the same level of concern as Google has, with a number of users questioning its every move and wondering what exactly a search company thinks it is doing developing self-driving cars and augmented reality glasses. Perhaps it’s trying to make it rain.
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Confused? It’ll all make sense once you’ve settled back with your favourite read it later service and gone through our round-up of some of the top tech stories on the web.
The new résumé: it’s 140 characters
Is the web your CV and your social network a list of references? Apparently that’s where we’re headed, according to this report by the Wall Street Journal, which discusses Twitter’s potential for recruitment through targeted promoted posts and snappily summarised résumés that don’t exceed 140 characters.
A year later, Instagram hasn’t made a dime. Was it worth $1 billion?
Ah, the (almost) billion dollar question: Why did Facebook buy Instagram? TIME takes a look at all the major progresses and pitfalls the app has made in the last year, and theorises about what Facebook’s plan may be and when, exactly, it can expect to see a solid return on its investment.
Some see Google as an evil entity, here to distract us with cool things like Android and Glass to distract us from the fact that it’s invading our privacy to make billions off ads. Others see Google as the driving force behind a lot of cool technology and a company that is enriching the world through sharing information, and unfortunately forced to rely on advertising to pay the bills. So, which version is true — what is it, really? Asymco’s Horace Dediu has a theory, and an interesting metaphor to explain it.
No TV? No subscription? No problem
For an increasing number of viewers (especially those with a half decent internet connection), traditional TV is dying a quiet death as streaming video and online downloads have put any series you want pretty much a mouse-click or swipe away. Indeed, the log in details of cable TV accounts are often just used to log on and watch series online instead. The New York Times ponders the rise of shared accounts, touching on the increasing importance of the second screen and social conversations around the latest episode of your favourite show.
They come from everywhere: an interview with Mike Elizalde
Venue takes a trip to the place where sci-fi monsters are made: Spectral Motion, the visual effects studio behind many of the robots and monsters you’ve seen on screen. This Q&A session with its co-founder touches on the ideas and gadgetry behind movies like Hellboy and Blade II, as well as if computer generated effects are really the best option for realistic monster flicks.
