Where two congresswoman streamed video games with YouTube stars
TL;DR — Among Us succeeded out of nowhere because it had multiple low barriers to entry, and was a social experience over just a gameplay experience. Twitch streamers used this social element as their own flywheel, collaborating with other popular streamers to make each game its own massive event and spectacle.
Among Us, a low-budget murder-mystery style video game, was released in 2018. The gameplay is simple — finish tasks while trying to figure out which of your space crewmates is secretely a murder (the “impostor”). It never did amazing numbers, but with regular updates, it persisted, maintaining a few thousand players a month. The developers — all three of them — kept the game running using their savings accounts. …
…and how will they survive?
TL;DR — There’s mass consolidation happening in an oversaturated market. The pandemic means that meal delivery companies like DoorDash can raise more money and enjoy more engagement. This doesn’t solve the problems of not running a profitable business, though, and the companies will have to hike prices, expand their business model outside meals, or rely on cloud kitchens to turn the corner and sustain profits.
View this pandemic through the lens of what’s been selling out.
Where has the demand gone? First, back in March, every store was out of toilet paper, because...well, I still don’t fully understand that one. Then everyone bought the Nintendo Switch to pass the time with some Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Home gym resistance bands and free weights followed suit, as gyms were basically right behind bars as the most at-risk place to visit, even if things started to “open up”. Think about it…a designated room for people to breathe and sweat? Transmission heaven. …
And how to lead by example
I will be donating $0.10 for every view of this story to the Central Texas Food Bank, a nonprofit providing meals and groceries to those in need.
It feels like the entire entertainment economy disappeared overnight.
In 2019 the festival South by Southwest (SXSW) brought over a quarter of a billion dollars to the local Austin economy. All that money — local restaurant revenue, bar rentals, and Airbnb bookings — vanished when SXSW 2020 was cancelled by the City of Austin amid concerns over the novel corona-virus outbreak.
Sadly, it was the right call. As much fun as SXSW is, it was downright dangerous to hold it given these circumstances. The City of Austin can’t singlehandedly prevent the virus from spreading, but it can ban large gatherings like SXSW to help flatten the curve and reducing the burden on our healthcare systems. …
Self-driving cars have to be part of both companies’ endgames
Uber is currently an unprofitable business. Lyft is too. Both have aspirations to become profitable businesses in the next one–two years, but right now, they aren’t even close. How can they achieve profitability, and what impact would that have on your fare to get from the airport to your Airbnb?
There are a few estimates on how much Uber loses per ride. It’s enough that, up until its initial public offering, your Uber ride was substantially subsidized by Uber’s investors. …
You may have noticed a change in Google Search this week. Or, more likely, you didn’t notice it at all. Google made a subtle but meaningful change to their Google Search UI that makes ads a lot less noticeable. As you can see above, pretty much the only difference between an ad and an organic search result (read: a search result that someone didn’t pay to show you) is the small, tiny, unnoticeable icon on the left.
This is not a coincidence. Google, a company which derives its revenue primarily from ads, has discovered that ads get higher engagement when users aren’t as likely to see them as ads. …
I’m having a fit over this.
TL;DR It’s ALL ABOUT FIT. Focus on finding clothes that fit your body well, and learn what that means before trying to buy a bunch of new interesting pieces of clothing. If you want to learn how to dress well, look for pictures of stylish people with body types similar to yours.
I get asked for advice on dressing well all the time. It’s what I spent all of my money and time on in college, instead of “attending class” or “making good use of my knowledge.”
Fashion, or at least improving your fashion, is not the rocket science most people think it is. It’s not dramatically changing everything about a wardrobe, or buying three of every type of garment from outfit guides. Mostly, it comes down to how much you want your personality to show through your fashion. …
Measurably. With data.
TL;DR Here are the apps.
- Bear
- Google Tasks
- Google Calendar
- Medium / Safari bookmarks
- Inbox Zero
- Audible
- Apple Screen Time
Here’s the thing.
It’s insanely easy to write an article about productivity tools and apps, IMO. I am not adding reader value to Medium by writing an article about how great Gmail is for sending and receiving messages, or how great meditation apps are.
They’re broad generalizations, and don’t drill into specifics or how to measure productivity. …
In five short lessons.
February 2019. I had just completed a completely solo backpacking trip around Europe, or, as I refer to it for Americans hoping to vacation there, “Off -by-one American culture.” I had just finished my undergrad in computer science at UW-Madison, and taken a bit of a gap before starting work in Austin, Texas: the queso capital of my heart.
I’d taken my last internship in summer of 2017. Interview season hadn’t gone quite as I had hoped. I had great interviews lined up, and made it to the final round at some top-notch companies, but for one reason or another, didn’t make the cut. I tell people I took it in stride, but for a few weeks, it killed me. …
…basically, explaining why I showed up to the interview in a suit.
TL;DR While I dressed a bit more formally as a PM, I changed my style to being more casual as a dev, as it fit the audience I interacted with. This set a tone for those working with me. I used both styles to leverage the situation I was in, and you should, too.
P.S. If you’re ever looking for free fashion advice, feel free to shoot me a message, and I would be happy to lend an eye.
It’s August in Austin, and despite it breaking triple-digits in temperature almost daily, I’ve decided to show up to work in a cotton two-piece suit. You can see it in the picture above. I’ve got an interview for a new development gig, and despite the fact that not a single person on the new team wears suits, I’ve shown up for an interview in one. A suit. …
TL;DR: Facebook has all the information you’d expect, and some you might not. Outside of the photos you uploaded and the messages you sent, they collect advertiser information based on your interactions with the website, and use that to extrapolate categories you fall under. To sum it up, they have a lot of information about you.
I’m in the process of deactivating — and moving on from — Facebook, and I have my own reasons for that. That’s not exactly what this short article is about. …
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