platforms

We need more video games that are social platforms first, games second

During these long, mundane physically-distant days, stretching on into an uncertain future like an ever-lengthening beigeish corridor, it’s impossible not to miss hanging out with friends. Especially the kind of hanging out where you’re not really doing anything in particular, not talking about any one thing—just kind of being. As we continue to stay physically […]




platforms

STEM apps and platforms to help kids keep up with science and maths in the lockdown

From coding to engineering challenges, these apps and platforms will keep kids busy




platforms

Facebook, YouTube and other platforms are struggling to remove new pandemic conspiracy video

Platforms including Facebook, Alphabet's YouTube, IAC's Vimeo and Twitter are struggling to stay ahead of the spread of the "Plandemic" conspiracy video, which contains claims that defy the advice of medical experts.




platforms

Amyra Dastur on post COVID-19: Cinema will transform, OTT platforms to blow up bigger than ever

Actor Amyra Dastur believes cinema is going to be transformed in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic with the digital space opening up in a big way. Amyra said the lockdown, which has led to the closing of cinemas and a postponement of shoots, also resulted in some of her projects getting pushed.

"I'm excited to see how cinema is going to transform and how the OTT platform is going to blow up bigger than ever. Luckily I'm not a newcomer so getting work isn't a concern. It is about quality and I believe only quality and not a last name will prevail. "Theatres will need a good six-eight months to have full houses again and in that time viewership on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Alt Balaji, Voot among others will grow... Finally, content is going to overshadow the box office, so it's an exciting time at the moment," the actor told PTI.

Before the lockdown was announced in March, the actor had T-Series' murder mystery "Koi Jaane Na" co-starring Kunal Kapoor up for release in June, but that stands pushed. "We wrapped up shoot in the second week of February but that's been postponed due to the lockdown and our inability to get out and promote, as well as the fact that the industry doesn't know when the theatres are going to be able to open up to the public," Amyra said. She was also shooting for Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's production, "Dongri To Dubai", a web series adapted from author Hussain Zaidi's book of the same name and Tamil film "Bagheera" with Prabhudeva, all of which came to a halt. Her other project, filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar's Amazon Prime Original "Tandav" is currently on the editing stage.

The actor said she was supposed to fly to Chennai for a shoot on March 23, but it got postponed as the makers wanted to see what Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement would be a day later. "I'm glad it was postponed because I would have been in lockdown alone in Chennai. But it's ok because these are the two projects I'll go back to shooting for as soon as the lockdown is lifted."

The actor, who has featured in films like "Judgemental Hai Kya" and "Rajma Chawal", said once the lockdown is lifted, all her projects will resume on a priority basis. "It'll be hectic because everyone wants the same dates but we've managed to prioritise each project according to the new deadlines. I was all set to shoot for a new film and was going to announce it in April so that's been postponed as well but not halted," she added.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever




platforms

Govt make a U-turn, stops sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms

The government on Sunday prohibited the sale of non-essential items through e-commerce platforms during the ongoing lockdown, four days after allowing such companies to sale mobile phones, refrigerators and ready-made garments. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued an order excluding the non-essential items from sale by the e-commerce companies from the consolidated revised guidelines, which listed the exemption given to the services and people from the purview of the lockdown.

The order said the following clause -- "E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions" -- is excluded from the guidelines.

The previous order had said such items were allowed for sale through e-commerce platforms from April 20. However, the reason for reversing the order is not known immediately.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever




platforms

RIL share gains over 4% as Vista Equity Partners to invest Rs 11,367 crore into Jio Platforms

Share price of Reliance Industries gained 4.43% to Rs 1,574 compared to the previous close of Rs 1,507 on BSE. Reliance Industries stock gained 9.11% in the last four days




platforms

After Facebook, Silver Lake to invest Rs 5,655 crore in Reliance Jio Platforms

Facebook last month poured in Rs 43,574 crore for a 9.99 per cent stake in India's oil-retail-telecom conglomerate-led Jio Platforms -- the largest investment for a minority stake by a tech giant.




platforms

From Nani's V to Anushka's Nishabdham, these 5 Telugu movies to hit OTT platforms sans theatrical release

While Amrutharamam got a direct OTT release, five other Telugu movies like DK Bose, RED, Orey Bujjiga, V and Nishabdham are said to be gearing up to hit the internet without a theatrical release.




platforms

Rethinking Antitrust Tools for Multi-Sided Platforms 2018

This report investigates how competition agencies can respond to the challenges posed by the multi-sided nature of platform markets, which are particularly common in the digital economy.




platforms

Regulatory framework for the loan-based crowdfunding platforms

In a growing number of OECD countries policymakers are designing specific regulations for lending-based crowdfunding platforms.




platforms

Silver Lake to invest $747M in India’s Jio Platforms

Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity firm Silver Lake is following suit — and is willing to pay a premium for it. Silver Lake announced on Monday it will be investing 56.56 billion Indian rupees (about $746.8 million) in Jio Platforms for about 1.15% stake in the Indian […]




platforms

Vista Equity Partners to invest $1.5B in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms

Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners said on Friday it will invest $1.5 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms, joining social conglomerate Facebook and Silver Lake that have also made bets on the Indian telecom giant in recent weeks. The planned announcement, which would give the U.S.-headquartered software-focused buyout firm Vista Equity Partners a 2.32% stake in […]




platforms

Silver Lake to invest $747M in India’s Jio Platforms

Weeks after Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator, private equity firm Silver Lake is following suit — and is willing to pay a premium for it. Silver Lake announced on Monday it will be investing 56.56 billion Indian rupees (about $746.8 million) in Jio Platforms for about 1.15% stake in the Indian […]




platforms

Platforms scramble as ‘Plandemic’ conspiracy video spreads misinformation like wildfire

A video about the coronavirus featuring a well-known vaccine conspiracist is spreading like wildfire on social media this week, even as platforms talk tough about misinformation in the midst of the pandemic. In the professionally-produced video, a solemn interviewer named Mikki Willis interviews Judy Mikovits, a figure best known for her anti-vaccine activism in recent […]





platforms

London Victoria station evacuated as commuters get 'trapped on platforms'

Thousands of commuters were left angry and stranded amid chaotic scenes in London this morning, as travellers complained of being trapped in Victoria station.




platforms

Why independent restaurant owners are fighting third-party delivery platforms like Grubhub and Uber Eats

Mark Lennihan/AP ImagesThird-party delivery services are often seen by restaurant owners as a necessary evil.Third-party delivery platforms like Grubhub and Doordash claim to be helping restaurants through the pandemic, but restaurant owners say they're doing the opposite.Most delivery platforms charge restaurants a roughly 30% commission on every order, and restaurant owners say platforms have been slow to offer support and even pay what they owe.On Monday, Doordash announced it would slash fees by 50% through the end of May, but Grubhub is fighting a similar order in San Francisco.Business Insider spoke to restaurant data and marketing entrepreneur Abhinav Kapur, who said, "If there was ever a time to prove that you were a partner to the industry, now it would be the time to do it."Visit




platforms

Vista Equity Partners Invests Rs 11,367 Cr In Reliance's Jio Platforms, Picks Up 2.32 % Equity Stake

Vista's investment will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, making Vista the largest investor in Jio Platforms behind Reliance Industries and Facebook




platforms

Savings platforms saw surge in interest as coronavirus caused market havoc in March

Savers with large pots looked for a safe haven amid market storms caused by coronavirus, with savings platforms that safely spread money around seeing a surge in applications.




platforms

Investing platforms urged to give regular investors a fairer deal on charges

Wealth platforms are being urged to give regular investors a fairer deal on charges. It follows Interactive Investor's decision to ditch its 99p flat fee levied on regular investments.




platforms

Peer-to-peer platforms shut independent trade body

The UK's self-regulating trade body for peer-to-peer platforms has been disbanded and five lenders have instead been subsumed into a separate industry body representing fintech companies.




platforms

Scoob! the new Scooby-Doo film will SKIP theatrical release and head to streaming platforms instead

With the coronavirus pandemic keeping movie theaters throughout the world shuttered, Hollywood studios have had to get more than creative.




platforms

After Facebook, Reliance Jio Platforms in Talks with Other Global Investors for Similar Stake Sale

Without revealing the identity of the companies, RIL in its fourth-quarter earnings statement said the investment would be announced in the coming months.




platforms

Days After Facebook Deal, Jio Platforms Gets Rs 5,655.75 Crore Investment from Silver Lake

The deal comes less than two weeks after Facebook spent $5.7 billion to buy a 9.99 percent stake in Jio. The Facebook-Jio deal was the social media network’s biggest since its $22 billion buyout of WhatsApp in 2014.




platforms

JioMeet Video Conferencing Service to be Officially Launched by Jio Platforms Soon

JioMeet can be used for both personal and enterprise purposes, and has apps for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and a plugin for Outlook.




platforms

Silver Lake Investment in Reliance Jio Platforms: Everything To Know About The Investment Firm

Silver Lake was launched in 1999 with the focus on investment in technology companies. You may probably not know this, but it was in May 2011 that Silver Lake led Skype’s owners to conclude a deal that saw tech giant Microsoft buy the now-incredibly-popular video calling app for $8.5 billion.




platforms

Reliance Jio Platforms, With Facebook & Silver Lake Investments, is Leading India’s Digital Shift

The fact is, Jio has been able to make its mark so far by reaching out to pretty much every strata of the society, and not just those who would potentially return higher revenues per user. The Jio mobile data pricing is the biggest example, which has completely changed the way the telecom industry operates.




platforms

Reliance Jio Platforms And The Investment by Silver Lake: What This Means For You

Jio’s vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion people and businesses throughout India, especially small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers.




platforms

Reliance Jio Platforms And the Plan Forward With Jio Meet And JioMart on WhatsApp

The money invested by Facebook and Silver Lake will help the company achieve what it calls a Digital India vision for 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small businesses, micro-businesses and farmers.




platforms

2 More Companies Eye Stake In Reliance Jio Platforms: Report

After three high profile investments into Jio, as per a Bloomberg report 2 more companies are looking to buy a stake into the $65-billion digital arm of Reliance Industries. A Bloomberg report citing sources privy to the development said General




platforms

2 More Companies Eye Stake In Reliance Jio Platforms: Report

After three high profile investments into Jio, as per a Bloomberg report 2 more companies are looking to buy a stake into the $65-billion digital arm of Reliance Industries. A Bloomberg report citing sources privy to the development said General




platforms

Top 10 Social Media Platforms to Grow Your Business

A highly complex strategy, which takes attention to each of the top 10 social media sites, gives good growth to your business. A comprehensive effort to raise awareness on popular social media platforms with the largest possible audiences requires successful use




platforms

Essentials of offshore structures: framed and gravity platforms / D.V. Reddy and A.S.J. Swamidas

Online Resource




platforms

Environmental load factors and system strength evaluation of offshore jacket platforms / Zafarullah Nizamani

Online Resource




platforms

The ocean of tomorrow: investment assessment of multi-use offshore platforms: methodology and applications. / Phoebe Koundouri, editor

Online Resource




platforms

Active control of offshore steel jacket platforms Bao-Lin Zhang, Qing-Long Han, Xian-Ming Zhang, Gong-You Tang

Online Resource




platforms

Canary in a Coal Mine: How Tech Provides Platforms for Hate

As I write this, the world is sending its thoughts and prayers to our Muslim cousins. The Christchurch act of terrorism has once again reminded the world that white supremacy’s rise is very real, that its perpetrators are no longer on the fringes of society, but centered in our holiest places of worship. People are begging us to not share videos of the mass murder or the hateful manifesto that the white supremacist terrorist wrote. That’s what he wants: for his proverbial message of hate to be spread to the ends of the earth.

We live in a time where you can stream a mass murder and hate crime from the comfort of your home. Children can access these videos, too.

As I work through the pure pain, unsurprised, observing the toll on Muslim communities (as a non-Muslim, who matters least in this event), I think of the imperative role that our industry plays in this story.

At time of writing, YouTube has failed to ban and to remove this video. If you search for the video (which I strongly advise against), it still comes up with a mere content warning; the same content warning that appears for casually risqué content. You can bypass the warning and watch people get murdered. Even when the video gets flagged and taken down, new ones get uploaded.

Human moderators have to relive watching this trauma over and over again for unlivable wages. News outlets are embedding the video into their articles and publishing the hateful manifesto. Why? What does this accomplish?

I was taught in journalism class that media (photos, video, infographics, etc.) should be additive (a progressive enhancement, if you will) and provide something to the story for the reader that words cannot.

Is it necessary to show murder for our dear readers to understand the cruelty and finality of it? Do readers gain something more from watching fellow humans have their lives stolen from them? What psychological damage are we inflicting upon millions of people   and for what?

Who benefits?

The mass shooter(s) who had a message to accompany their mass murder. News outlets are thirsty for perverse clicks to garner more ad revenue. We, by way of our platforms, give agency and credence to these acts of violence, then pilfer profits from them. Tech is a money-making accomplice to these hate crimes.

Christchurch is just one example in an endless array where the tools and products we create are used as a vehicle for harm and for hate.

Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica scandal played a critical role in the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. The concept of “race realism,” which is essentially a term that white supremacists use to codify their false racist pseudo-science, was actively tested on Facebook’s platform to see how the term would sit with people who are ignorantly sitting on the fringes of white supremacy. Full-blown white supremacists don’t need this soft language. This is how radicalization works.

The strategies articulated in the above article are not new. Racist propaganda predates social media platforms. What we have to be mindful with is that we’re building smarter tools with power we don’t yet fully understand: you can now have an AI-generated human face. Our technology is accelerating at a frightening rate, a rate faster than our reflective understanding of its impact.

Combine the time-tested methods of spreading white supremacy, the power to manipulate perception through technology, and the magnitude and reach that has become democratized and anonymized.

We’re staring at our own reflection in the Black Mirror.

The right to speak versus the right to survive

Tech has proven time and time again that it voraciously protects first amendment rights above all else. (I will also take this opportunity to remind you that the first amendment of the United States offers protection to the people from the government abolishing free speech, not from private money-making corporations).

Evelyn Beatrice Hall writes in The Friends of Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Fundamentally, Hall’s quote expresses that we must protect, possibly above all other freedoms, the freedom to say whatever we want to say. (Fun fact: The quote is often misattributed to Voltaire, but Hall actually wrote it to explain Voltaire’s ideologies.)

And the logical anchor here is sound: We must grant everyone else the same rights that we would like for ourselves. Former 99u editor Sean Blanda wrote a thoughtful piece on the “Other Side,” where he posits that we lack tolerance for people who don’t think like us, but that we must because we might one day be on the other side. I agree in theory.

But, what happens when a portion of the rights we grant to one group (let’s say, free speech to white supremacists) means the active oppression another group’s right (let’s say, every person of color’s right to live)?

James Baldwin expresses this idea with a clause, “We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”

It would seem that we have a moral quandary where two sets of rights cannot coexist. Do we protect the privilege for all users to say what they want, or do we protect all users from hate? Because of this perceived moral quandary, tech has often opted out of this conversation altogether. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook, two of the biggest offenders, continue to allow hate speech to ensue with irregular to no regulation.

When explicitly asked about his platform as a free-speech platform and its consequence to privacy and safety, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said,

“So we believe that we can only serve the public conversation, we can only stand for freedom of expression if people feel safe to express themselves in the first place. We can only do that if they feel that they are not being silenced.”

Dorsey and Twitter are most concerned about protecting expression and about not silencing people. In his mind, if he allows people to say whatever they want on his platform, he has succeeded. When asked about why he’s failed to implement AI to filter abuse like, say, Instagram had implemented, he said that he’s most concerned about being able to explain why the AI flagged something as abusive. Again, Dorsey protects the freedom of speech (and thus, the perpetrators of abuse) before the victims of abuse.

But he’s inconsistent about it. In a study by George Washington University comparing white nationalists and ISIS social media usage, Twitter’s freedom of speech was not granted to ISIS. Twitter suspended 1,100 accounts related to ISIS whereas it suspended only seven accounts related to Nazis, white nationalism, and white supremacy, despite the accounts having more than seven times the followers, and tweeting 25 times more than the ISIS accounts. Twitter here made a moral judgment that the fewer, less active, and less influential ISIS accounts were somehow not welcome on their platform, whereas the prolific and burgeoning Nazi and white supremacy accounts were.

So, Twitter has shown that it won’t protect free speech at all costs or for all users. We can only conclude that Twitter is either intentionally protecting white supremacy or simply doesn’t think it’s very dangerous. Regardless of which it is (I think I know), the outcome does not change the fact that white supremacy is running rampant on its platforms and many others.

Let’s brainwash ourselves for a moment and pretend like Twitter does want to support freedom of speech equitably and stays neutral and fair to complete this logical exercise: Going back to the dichotomy of rights example I provided earlier, where either the right to free speech or the right to safety and survival prevail, the rights and the power will fall into the hands of the dominant group or ideologue.

In case you are somehow unaware, the dominating ideologue, whether you’re a flagrant white supremacist or not, is white supremacy. White supremacy was baked into founding principles of the United States, the country where the majority of these platforms were founded and exist. (I am not suggesting that white supremacy doesn’t exist globally, as it does, evidenced most recently by the terrorist attack in Christchurch. I’m centering the conversation intentionally around the United States as it is my lived experience and where most of these companies operate.)

Facebook attempted to educate its team on white supremacy in order to address how to regulate free speech. A laugh-cry excerpt:

“White nationalism and calling for an exclusively white state is not a violation for our policy unless it explicitly excludes other PCs [protected characteristics].”

White nationalism is a softened synonym for white supremacy so that racists-lite can feel more comfortable with their transition into hate. White nationalism (a.k.a. white supremacy) by definition explicitly seeks to eradicate all people of color. So, Facebook should see white nationalist speech as exclusionary, and therefore a violation of their policies.

Regardless of what tech leaders like Dorsey or Facebook CEO Zuckerberg say or what mediocre and uninspired condolences they might offer, inaction is an action.

Companies that use terms and conditions or acceptable use policies to defend their inaction around hate speech are enabling and perpetuating white supremacy. Policies are written by humans to protect that group of human’s ideals. The message they use might be that they are protecting free speech, but hate speech is a form of free speech. So effectively, they are protecting hate speech. Well, as long as it’s for white supremacy and not the Islamic State.

Whether the motivation is fear (losing loyal Nazi customers and their sympathizers) or hate (because their CEO is a white supremacist), it does not change the impact: Hate speech is tolerated, enabled, and amplified by way of their platforms.

“That wasn’t our intent”

Product creators might be thinking, Hey, look, I don’t intentionally create a platform for hate. The way these features were used was never our intent.

Intent does not erase impact.

We cannot absolve ourselves of culpability merely because we failed to conceive such evil use cases when we built it. While we very well might not have created these platforms with the explicit intent to help Nazis or imagined it would be used to spread their hate, the reality is that our platforms are being used in this way.

As product creators, it is our responsibility to protect the safety of our users by stopping those that intend to or already cause them harm. Better yet, we ought to think of this before we build the platforms to prevent this in the first place.

The question to answer isn’t, “Have I made a place where people have the freedom to express themselves?” Instead we have to ask, “Have I made a place where everyone has the safety to exist?” If you have created a place where a dominant group can embroil and embolden hate against another group, you have failed to create a safe place. The foundations of hateful speech (beyond the psychological trauma of it) lead to events like Christchurch.

We must protect safety over speech.

The Domino Effect

This week, Slack banned 28 hate groups. What is most notable, to me, is that the groups did not break any parts of their Acceptable Use Policy. Slack issued a statement:

The use of Slack by hate groups runs counter to everything we believe in at Slack and is not welcome on our platform… Using Slack to encourage or incite hatred and violence against groups or individuals because of who they are is antithetical to our values and the very purpose of Slack.

That’s it.

It is not illegal for tech companies like Slack to ban groups from using their proprietary software because it is a private company that can regulate users if they do not align with their vision as a company. Think of it as the “no shoes, no socks, no service” model, but for tech.

Slack simply decided that supporting the workplace collaboration of Nazis around efficient ways to evangelize white supremacy was probably not in line with their company directives around inclusion. I imagine Slack also considered how their employees of color most ill-affected by white supremacy would feel working for a company that supported it, actively or not.

What makes the Slack example so notable is that they acted swiftly and on their own accord. Slack chose the safety of all their users over the speech of some.

When caught with their enablement of white supremacy, some companies will only budge under pressure from activist groups, users, and employees.

PayPal finally banned hate groups after Charlottesville and after Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) explicitly called them out for enabling hate. SPLC had identified this fact for three years prior. PayPal had ignored them for all three years.

Unfortunately, taking these “stances” against something as clearly and viscerally wrong as white supremacy is rare for companies to do. The tech industry tolerates this inaction through unspoken agreements.

If Facebook doesn’t do anything about racist political propaganda, YouTube doesn’t do anything about PewDiePie, and Twitter doesn’t do anything about disproportionate abuse against Black women, it says to the smaller players in the industry that they don’t have to either.

The tech industry reacts to its peers. When there is disruption, as was the case with Airbnb, who screened and rejected any guests who they believed to be partaking in the Unite the Right Charlottesville rally, companies follow suit. GoDaddy cancelled Daily Stormer’s domain registration and Google did the same when they attempted migration.

If one company, like Slack or Airbnb, decides to do something about the role it’s going to play, it creates a perverse kind of FOMO for the rest: Fear of missing out of doing the right thing and standing on the right side of history.

Don’t have FOMO, do something

The type of activism at those companies all started with one individual. If you want to be part of the solution, I’ve gathered some places to start. The list is not exhaustive, and, as with all things, I recommend researching beyond this abridged summary.

  1. Understand how white supremacy impacts you as an individual.
    Now, if you are a person of color, queer, disabled, or trans, it’s likely that you know this very intimately.

     

    If you are not any of those things, then you, as a majority person, need to understand how white supremacy protects you and works in your favor. It’s not easy work, it is uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but you have the most powerful tools to fix tech. The resources are aplenty, but my favorite abridged list:

    1. Seeing White podcast
    2. Ijeoma Oluo’s So you want to talk about race
    3. Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race (Very key read for UK folks)
    4. Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility
  2. See where your company stands: Read your company’s policies like accepted use and privacy policies and find your CEO’s stance on safety and free speech.
    While these policies are baseline (and in the Slack example, sort of irrelevant), it’s important to known your company's track record. As an employee, your actions and decisions either uphold the ideologies behind the company or they don’t. Ask yourself if the company’s ideologies are worth upholding and whether they align with your own. Education will help you to flag if something contradicts those policies, or if the policies themselves allow for unethical activity.
  3. Examine everything you do critically on an ongoing basis.
    You may feel your role is small or that your company is immune—maybe you are responsible for the maintenance of one small algorithm. But consider how that algorithm or similar ones can be exploited. Some key questions I ask myself:
    1. Who benefits from this? Who is harmed?
    2. How could this be used for harm?
    3. Who does this exclude? Who is missing?
    4. What does this protect? For whom? Does it do so equitably?
  4. See something? Say something.
    If you believe that your company is creating something that is or can be used for harm, it is your responsibility to say something. Now, I’m not naïve to the fact that there is inherent risk in this. You might fear ostracization or termination. You need to protect yourself first. But you also need to do something.
    1. Find someone who you trust who might be at less risk. Maybe if you’re a nonbinary person of color, find a white cis man who is willing to speak up. Maybe if you’re a white man who is new to the company, find a white man who has more seniority or tenure. But also, consider how you have so much more relative privilege compared to most other people and that you might be the safest option.
    2. Unionize. Find peers who might feel the same way and write a collective statement.
    3. Get someone influential outside of the company (if knowledge is public) to say something.
  5. Listen to concerns, no matter how small, particularly if they’re coming from the most endangered groups.
    If your user or peer feels unsafe, you need to understand why. People often feel like small things can be overlooked, as their initial impact might be less, but it is in the smallest cracks that hate can grow. Allowing one insensitive comment about race is still allowing hate speech. If someone, particularly someone in a marginalized group, brings up a concern, you need to do your due diligence to listen to it and to understand its impact.

I cannot emphasize this last point enough.

What I say today is not new. Versions of this article have been written before. Women of color like me have voiced similar concerns not only in writing, but in design reviews, in closed door meetings to key stakeholders, in Slack DMs. We’ve blown our whistles.

But here is the power of white supremacy.

White supremacy is so ingrained in every single aspect of how this nation was built, how our corporations function, and who is in control. If you are not convinced of this, you are not paying attention or intentionally ignoring the truth.

Queer, Muslim, disabled, trans women and nonbinary folks of color — the marginalized groups most impacted by this — are the ones who are voicing these concerns most voraciously. Speaking up requires us to enter the spotlight and outside of safety—we take a risk and are not heard.

The silencing of our voices is one of many effective tools of white supremacy. Our silencing lives within every microaggression, each time we’re talked over, or not invited to partake in key decisions.

In tech, I feel I am a canary in a coal mine. I have sung my song to warn the miners of the toxicity. My sensitivity to it is heightened, because of my existence.

But the miners look at me and tell me that my lived experience is false. It does not align with their narrative as humans. They don’t understand why I sing.

If the people at the highest echelons of the tech industry—the white, male CEOs in power—fail to listen to its most marginalized people—the queer, disabled, trans, people of color—the fate of the canaries will too become the fate of the miners.




platforms

4 Simple Blogging Platforms You Should Know About

Nowadays, creating a blog is a really easy thing to do, as there are services for all tastes and objectives. In addition, today’s major platforms offer numerous features, giving users the options to provide any kind of service.

Among the many tips necessary to launch a successful blog, choosing the right platform is important. WordPress, Medium and other platforms are quite well-known, but there are several other free options you should know about.

complete article




platforms

4 Unexpected Social Media Platforms to Grow Your Brand Awareness

However, social media marketing efforts can span far beyond the core four: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. In fact, these popular platforms see such high users yet have such stringent algorithms that it can be hard to ensure your followers see your organic content, much less that your content helps you capture new consumers.

complete article




platforms

[ASAP] Virus-Inspired Mimics: Dual-pH-Responsive Modular Nanoplatforms for Programmable Gene Delivery without DNA Damage with the Assistance of Light

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c03486




platforms

Electrochemical biosensing platforms on the basis of reduced graphene oxide and its composites with Au nanodots

Analyst, 2020, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C9AN02592H, Paper
Liang Mei, Qingyong Zhang, Min Du, Zhiyuan Zeng
rGO and AuNDs-rGO, synthesized by a simple photochemical reduction method, are used for electrochemical biosensors and show good glucose detection.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




platforms

Trace manganese detection via differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry using disposable electrodes: additively manufactured nanographite electrochemical sensing platforms

Analyst, 2020, 145,3424-3430
DOI: 10.1039/D0AN00018C, Paper
Open Access
Diego P. Rocha, Christopher W. Foster, Rodrigo A. A. Munoz, Gary A. Buller, Edmund M. Keefe, Craig E. Banks
Additive manufacturing is a promising technology for the rapid and economical fabrication of portable electroanalytical devices.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry




platforms

Paper-based platforms with coulometric readout for ascorbic acid determination in fruit juices

Analyst, 2020, 145,3431-3439
DOI: 10.1039/D0AN00477D, Paper
Estefanía Nunez-Bajo, M. Teresa Fernández-Abedul
Paper-based electrochemical platforms with coulometric readout are employed for fast and low cost determination of ascorbic acid in commercial juice samples.
The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry





platforms

Mobiles, TVs, refrigerators to be available on e-commerce platforms from April 20

Electronic items like the mobile phones, TVs, laptops will be available on the e-commerce platforms from April 20, the official said. However, the delivery vans of the e-commerce companies will need permission from authorities for plying on the roads. According to Wednesday's guidelines, commercial and private establishments were allowed to operate during the extended lockdown.




platforms

Minor platforms in videogame history / Benjamin Nicoll

Dewey Library - GV1469.3.N53 2019




platforms

In India Social media platforms to follow code of ethics in all future elections

In India Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have agreed to follow the "voluntary code of ethics" in all future elections, including the upcoming Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls, the Election Commission said on Thursday.

The code, which was derived to act against paid advertisements that violate norms set by the Election Commission, came into force on March 20 in the last Lok Sabha polls.

complete article




platforms

5 Rising Social Media Platforms to Watch

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. If you’re a smart marketer, you have been using the these top social media giants to share your content, promote your products and services and grow your business. But rival platforms are being created all the time, and while many of them don’t reach the same heights of success, a handful could give mega-popular platforms a run for their money. Moreover, if you’re an early adopter of up-and-coming alternatives, your company could reap the biggest benefits.

If you want to be ahead of the curve, keep your eye on the following five social media platforms to watch.

complete article




platforms

Jewellers witness encouraging response from customers on their digital platforms for Akshaya Tritiya

Mr. Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division at Titan Company Limited said, "All 328 Tanishq stores remain shut this year and hence it would be unfair to compare numbers with last year. But the overall customer response to tanishq.co.in from key metros and even with tier-2 and tier-3 towns has been extremely encouraging.




platforms

The business of platforms: strategy in the age of digital competition, innovation, and power / Michael A. Cusumano, Annabelle Gawer, David B. Yoffie

Dewey Library - HD45.C87 2019