Hello, readers. Hallam Bullock here, reporting from London. I don't suppose you've seen my Twitter profile's blue check? It seems to have gone missing.
Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, last week began removing blue verification check marks from users who have not signed up for its subscription service (including yours truly). But he since appears to have changed his mind, instead giving certain celebrities the check marks for free (not including yours truly).
Chaos has ensued. Dead celebrities were among those to initially receive the verification badges, including Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, and Michael Jackson. A troll account impersonating a Disney TV channel even got a gold check mark, posted a racial slur, and then lost the check mark. And, of course, memes abound.
Here's the latest on the Twitter mayhem — now, let's take a look at today's top stories.
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1. Tim Cook is bullish on India being the new China for Apple. The opening of Apple's first store in India attracted queues of around 300 people, with customers stopping to take selfies with a beaming Cook.
- It comes 14 years after Apple first opened a store in China, and it's since seen impressive growth in the country. Cook is now hoping that India will present the company with a similar opportunity.
- "I see a lot of similarities to where China was several years ago. And so I'm very, very bullish and very, very optimistic about India," Cook told investors in 2017.
- Is he right? We pulled together three charts breaking down Apple's risk and opportunity in India.
How India differs — and why that could pose problems.
In other news:
2. A new device can project phone calls onto the palm of your hand. Forget wearables or phones. Your hand is the latest frontier of tech devices. A former Apple employee demonstrated their AI-powered invention during the 2023 annual TED conference. Check out the handy creation here.
3. Insider's London bureau chief uses ChatGPT to write stories for her five-year-old son. "Wow, that's like magic," Spriha Srivastava's son screamed as the chatbot finished writing a story about Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and him. How ChatGPT helps make bedtime fun, innovative, and less stressful.
4. We crunched the numbers to see which major tech firms have reduced their headcount the most. Twitter has been the most cutthroat, cutting around 80% of its staff since 2022. Here's how other Big Tech companies measure up.
5. How to strike sponsorship deals with brands. A TikTok and Instagram creator with over 1 million followers shared the email template and slideshow he uses to secure brand deals. He also revealed his top six tips for cold pitching, including to aim high (such as contacting C-suite execs). Get his strategy here.
6. Snapchat's ChatGPT competitor has some "horrifying" answers. My AI has been accused of lying, gaslighting, and being creepy to users. So, Insider's Jordan Hart tested it out for herself. Here's how the experiment went.
7. China's Tesla rival unveiled a Model Y competitor. XPeng just released its fifth electric vehicle model, called the G6. It's a sleek, quick-charging SUV that gets more than 450 miles on a full charge. Check it out here.
8. The worst ways to earn a passive income. This entrepreneur has tried dozens of side hustles. Some worked, while others left her with less money than before. She now makes six figures and shares the worst methods, including flipping products and running ads. Check out the full list here.
Odds and ends:
9. Turning an abandoned Home Depot shed into an oversized tiny home. This 23-year-old and his dad are converting a $5,250 shed into a "fantastic retreat." They took Insider behind-the-scenes with them on their journey. Get the full house tour here.
10. Where the ultra-wealthy enjoy buying second homes. Coastal and mountain towns are favored seasonal retreats for the wealthy, including Miami, Aspen, and Paris. Check out all 27 popular places among the ultra-wealthy here.
Today's team: Hallam Bullock and Shona Ghosh in London.
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