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Perhaps you've noticed the expanding number of charges for video streaming subscriptions on your credit card statement. What started with a Netflix subscription has become monthly payments for a half dozen or more video services, from Apple+ and Disney+ to HBOMax and Peacock Premium.
Could the same pay-to-play fate await our social media and communications apps?
Twitter Blue, which is currently available only in Australia and Canada, lets users "unsend" (but not edit!) tweets, get faster customer response for problems, and ... change the colors of the app.
Twitter will never get rid of the free version of its product - but there's precedent for a premium Twitter. Back in 2010 there was a thriving market of third-party Twitter "client" apps that connected to Twitter's API and offered power users extra options. Many of these client apps cost a few bucks to download, and charged additional a la carte fees for extra features.
But: Twitter kneecapped the third-party clients market starting in 2011 by restricting access ot its API - a controversial move that was necessary for Twitter to keep people on its own site so it could build an ad business. Now, ten years later, ads aren't enough, and Twitter is turning to a business model it once squashed.
Facebook now says it will stop giving special treatment to politicianswho say or do bad things on its platform. Politicians will be treated, and held accountable, just like everyone else.
He's loud, brash, confident, and has a string of prescient startup investments under his belt, including early bets on Uber, Robinhood and Calm. Jason Calacanis is part venture capital investor and part podcasting shock jock - and he's a polarizing presence in Silicon Valley.
For many, Calacanis is someone who "cuts through the bulls---" and is shaking up Silicon Valley's stuffy venture-capital scene. But others said the swagger can quickly turn hostile, with some founders describing experiences with Calacanis that left them questioning whether he was more committed to their success or to his own image.
"Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate."
- Apple CEO Tim Cook,in a letter to staff obtained by The Verge, breaking the news to employees that they'll be expected in the office at least three days a week, come September.
The photo above, captured at sunset on the red planet on March 19, is one of several rare photos of Martian clouds recently released by the space agency. Mars doesn't get too many clouds because of its dry atmosphere and super thin air. But clouds do form around the Martian equator at a certain time of year, and Curiosity had its cameras ready for otherworldly weather this season.
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