Former Amazon and Goodreads employees detail how Amazon let the book review site languish with limited resources while mining it for user-generated data
A prominent author's decision to pull her new novel from publication after being ‘review bombed’ highlights Goodreads's power in publishing … Mastodon: @freemancrouch@mastodon.social and @SDZ@mstdn.so...
Internal documents: the CDC bought location data from millions of phones in the US to analyze compliance with COVID-19 rules, especially in the Navajo Nation
Newly released documents showed the CDC planned to use phone location data to monitor schools and churches, and wanted to use the data for many non-COVID-19 purposes too. Tweets: @timmarchman , @lemon...
A look at Chinese fast fashion online retailer Shein, as 2020 sales reportedly hit $10B thanks to knockoff items, a nimble supply chain, and social media
By connecting China's garment factories with Western Gen-Z customers, Shein ushered in a new era of “ultra-fast” shopping. Tweets: @lmatsakis , @shiraovide , @lmatsakis , @lemonsand , @lmatsakis , @mi...
Investors have poured $1B+ into startups looking to turn mom-and-pop stores into digital retailers and mini-tech hubs, especially in South and Southeast Asia
Corner stores don't look like much. Maybe the one nearest to you has dusty shelves lined with bags of chips and cookies … Tweets: @lemonsand , @paulbisceglio , @lmatsakis , @bcmerchant , and @cengizy...
A look at Libro.fm, an indie audiobook company, and Bookshop.org, whose 10% affiliate share extends to its 3K+ partners, including NYT, Vox, and 560 bookstores
without forgetting the crucial role indie bookstores and their brilliant booksellers serve as members of local communities. http://read.medium.com/Yp4eKWN Angela Lashbrook / @lemonsand : I wrote about...
Studies that try to place a monetary value on consumer privacy have such varying results that researchers are beginning to conclude that it's the wrong approach
No one knows. And it might be time to stop asking. — For big tech platforms, this was the year when violating users' privacy got expensive. Tweets: @privacyproject , @willoremus , @profcarroll , @w...
Amazon has done little to improve Goodreads, which has basically remained a list-making app with design flaws and features that don't help avid readers
Despite Amazon's innovation elsewhere, Goodreads has stagnated for 12 years, and its problems are endless Tweets: @patchworkbunny , @css , @crapshoot101 , @basche42 , @mckinneykelsey , @mka_ultra , @m...
A look at Life360, a location-sharing app aimed at families, and conversations with teens who installed the app and their concerns about privacy and autonomy
@lmatsakis in @Wired https://www.wired.com/... Ted / @tedonprivacy : 1. This is child abuse 2. If you feel the need to do this to your *16 year old*, you seriously failed at parenting https://twitter....