👉 What Happened on Tech Twitter Last Week - Apr 5th

💀Let the airlines die, 🔥 Virtual Strippers, 👀 Big Brothers are watching you, and more!

Yo! It’s Brett again. It’s been a wild week in internet land because, well, that’s the only land most people are allowed to roam free amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. Most have been stuck in their homes for several weeks now and the cracks are starting to show. I don’t think I can possibly look at another photo of homemade sourdough bread. Hope y’all are fairing well!

Here’s what happened on Tech Twitter the week of April 5th.

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💀 Let the airlines die

Famed investor, Chamath Palihapitiya, argued that the government should NOT bail out big companies because bailouts only benefit wealthy execs and investors. While COVID-19 wasn’t the airlines’ fault like 2008 was Wall Street’s, it feels like we’re on the verge of another similar movement.

Andrew Lawrence @ndrew_lawrence

I have watched the first 12 seconds of this at least 100 times, its better than porn

Mark Cuban held a similar position a few days later: IF we bail out the big companies, we better get a damn good deal.

Pomp 🌪 @APompliano

Damn @mcuban nails it with this one. Corporations think the government is the idiot in the room so that’s why they’re looking for bailouts. US government must get a GREAT deal or else they need to let the company fail.

👀 Big Brothers are watching you

Inspired by successful COVID-19 mitigation strategies in South Korea and China, the US tapped Apple and Google to invest in contact-tracing technology. This will allow the government to notify you when someone you came in contact with (based on your phone’s location) over the last week tested positive for COVID-19.

This is obviously a touchy subject given elevating concerns about privacy, but it may be the US’s best shot at slowing the pandemic.

Tim Cook @tim_cook

Contact tracing can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and can be done without compromising user privacy. We’re working with @sundarpichai & @Google to help health officials harness Bluetooth technology in a way that also respects transparency & consent.

apple.comApple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technologyApple and Google announce a joint effort to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy central to the design.

𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗿𝘂𝗱𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝗶 @ani_pai

9/11 -> Patriot Act Great Depression -> New Deal Covid -> both? A biological Patriot Act might be the only way consumer confidence returns.

💵 Donate 1/3 of your net worth or it doesn’t count

Wealthy tech CEOs have donated large sums of money to combat COVID-19 but many have come under fire for the percentage of their overall net worth these donations make up (obviously people want it higher). Good guy Jack announced that he’s donating 1/3 of his net worth.

jack @jack

I’m moving $1B of my Square equity (~28% of my wealth) to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl’s health and education, and UBI. It will operate transparently, all flows tracked here:

docs.google.com#startsmall tracker

Hoodlum (LOCKUP) 🇺🇸 @HoodlumRIP

Jack Dorsey: Net Worth $3 billion: donates $1 billion to fight Covid-19 Mark Zuckerberg: Net Worth $65 Billion: $25 million donation and 10 Facebook ‘likes’ Jeff Bezos: $124 Billion, net worth. Donates $10.00 Amazon Gift Card

🔥 Virtual Strippers

Every brick-and-mortar-based industry is going through a digital renaissance right now so it’s unsurprising that adult entertainment is too. Digital strip clubs are popping up on Instagram and Zoom left and right. Entertainers are saying they’re making more money in minutes online than they did in hours or days IRL.

Taylor Lorenz @TaylorLorenz

For the past 3 weeks, Justin LaBoy, a former professional basketball player and a social media personality, and Justin Dior Combs, P. Diddy’s 26-year-old son, have been hosting virtual pop-up strip clubs on Instagram Live.

nytimes.comInside the Strip Clubs of InstagramGoing digital may be better for dancers.

CYBERTEASE @Cybertease_

Cybertease is a digital co-op strip club created & run by strippers! were bringing all the excitement & sexiness of a strip club direct to your lap(top) 😉 by supporting Cybertease youre supporting sex workers affected by the coronavirus - tix below 🎟RT https://t.co/LtTyOec8Lfr

🐦 Other Tweets

Kate Rooney @Kr00ney

🚨Square gets approval to distribute emergency SBA loans to small businesses reeling from COVID19 slowdown. Comes with a handful of non-bank lender approvals over the weekend. Interested to see how #fintech plays a role in getting U.S. businesses through the next months..

Brian Chesky @bchesky

We had to pause Airbnb Experiences. Our hosts asked to offer Online Experiences so they could continue hosting. 14 days later, they are live. If you book one, I’d love your feedback.

brianne kimmel @briannekimmel

We have our first marriage proposal in Stay at Home Valley. Live in the time of COVID-19 near @Dropbox. tinyurl.com/w9cypye

Greg Isenberg @gregisenberg

What I learned building YouProbablyNeedaHaircut.com Launched on Sunday, now is the busiest virtual barbershop on the internet - Zoom + Squarespace = the pandemic startup MVP - People yearning to support other people - 100% of people have given $5+ tips Support is a beautiful thing

youprobablyneedahaircut.comYou Probably Need a HaircutJosh Elkin, renown Chef - Instagram

Jason Bergman @bergmantweets

Some crazy @Quibi stats 💰 Raised $1.8B (yes, BILLION) pre launch 📽️ Spends up to $100k/min on content @qz 🤑 Sold $150million worth of ads pre launch 📈 Offering a 90 day free trial to all users Never like when all revenue comes from VC's vs a sustainable biz model...

Parker Conrad @parkerconrad

History shows us that the best companies are started in downturns.

quaranbean @christapeterso

In other news Stanford has made a toilet that identifies you based on your butthole https://t.co/JKSuLk4lD7 https://t.co/RHbMa59ZPO

Zak Kukoff @zck

It’s a little-known fact, but every Google PM’s OKRs are as follows: O: Successfully rebrand communications platform KR: Get 1000 articles covering name change KR: Confuse 500 customers KR: Maintain 1:2 ratio of current:abandoned chat apps

Techmeme @Techmeme

Google rebrands its business-focused teleconferencing app Hangouts Meet to Google Meet and Hangouts Chat to Google Chat, leaving Hangouts brand for consumers (@nickstatt / The Verge) https://t.co/HIgs2xQzJy https://t.co/rKt6CSoKof

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🙏 Thanks

Have a great week y’all. I’ll leave you with some internet creativity beyond the usual sourdough baking tips and Tiger King memes.

Alex Kantrowitz @Kantrowitz

Strong favorite for a Quarantine Award 😂😂hf5

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