Skip to main content

Tech: TikTok’s uncertain future

The biggest tech news and scoops.
View in browser
INSIDER
Subscribe

10 THINGS IN TECH

Happy Friday, folks! I'm Jordan Parker Erb. Before we begin, I have some ~professional news~ to share. 

There won't be a newsletter on Monday (we'll be off figuring out what 2023 is) and then Tuesday's edition ... will be my last! I'll be moving into a different role at Insider, and Diamond Naga Siu, a senior reporter on our tech analysis team, will be taking over the newsletter.

I'll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday to say goodbye — so hold onto your tissues until then.

For now, we've got a lot to cover, including more of the year's top stories. From burnout among open-source developers to the downfall of Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication, Future, it's a packed edition. 

Let's get to it.


If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.


tiktok logo behind silhouette of woman using smartphone

1. Could TikTok vanish from the US? Amid security and privacy concerns, there's a renewed push for TikTok to sell its US operations, and government bans on the app are raising questions about a full ban for consumers in the United States. We broke down how TikTok could avoid a ban.

2. These are Microsoft's most significant departures and hires of 2022. The company's most significant departures include executives who resigned following Insider's reports on misconduct allegations. Microsoft also made some notable hires, like ex-Amazon Web Services executive Teresa Carlson. See who joined and left Microsoft this year.

3. An Insider reporter asked ChatGPT to write her cover letters. The writer gave the bot some real job descriptions, then sent the cover letters to hiring managers — both of whom said they'd have given her an interview, but that the letters lacked personality. See what hiring managers said about the AI cover letters.

4. An anonymous worker describes cheating on an exam to boost their career in the tech industry. The worker told Insider that they used "exam dumps" to pass technical certifications, and that the answers were easy to find online with a quick Google search. But even though it gave them an advantage, they now see it as harmful — they explain why.

5. Here's how European VCs are advising their founders ahead of a looming recession. We asked investors from firms like Lightspeed, Balderton, and Kiko Ventures what they're advising their portfolios. From focusing on the long-term vision to watching their runway, here's the advice they shared.


More top reads from 2022:

illustration of hands holding up a wobbly stack of tech logos: amazon, google, facebook, and microsoft against a black background with open source code

6. Open-source developers are burning out — and it's putting the entire internet at risk. The internet and many of the world's largest companies rely on open-source software, which is built by developers who make little to no money. This year, developers told us that they're fed up, and some are quitting and even sabotaging their own projects. Why that's bad news for the rest of the internet.

7. Intuit gave most Mailchimp employees a 10% raise this year. But morale remains low. Despite the 10% raise, doled out in April, Mailchimp employees told Insider that people nonetheless felt belittled and were quitting in droves. Inside the attrition at Mailchimp.

8. Following Russia's invasion, Ukrainian software developers used code to inspire, launch attacks, and defend their country. Insider talked to Ukrainian developers about how they were mounting a defense both online and off, from attacking Russian websites and creating bots to combat disinformation to picking up artillery. How eight developers fought back. 

9. Eighteen years after news-aggregator website Digg, Kevin Rose is staking his redemption on a new kind of media company. Rose, an early internet entrepreneur, founded a members-only club, called Proof, for people who buy and sell one-of-a-kind art on the blockchain — a move that put him back on top as a pioneer of the new-new internet. Inside Rose's meteoric resurgence.

10. Earlier this year, Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication Future shut down. The publication from prestigious venture capital firm a16z was supposed to be the next big thing in media. But a year and a half later, the publication is dead in the water. A look at what happened.


Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

Powered By SailthrU

Comments

Popular Posts

💡The most innovative iPhone trick of the year.

Watch the performance: The ULTIMATE every-day carry. Make the physical light on the back of your iPhone come to life and move around. Then hand everything out for examination. This is a wildly innovative idea you have to see to believe.   ...

Breaking News: Top lawmakers strike funding deal, potentially averting weekend shutdown

Breaking News Alert Top lawmakers strike funding deal, potentially averting week...

The GOP popularity contest

Presented by New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers: Matt Friedman's must-read briefing on the Garden State's important news of the day Mar 06, 2025 View in browser   By Matt Friedman Presented by  ...

Supercell ID Login [059 397]

059 397 - Use the verification code below to log in. ...

Only 5 Magic School seats left for these classes.

...

Breaking News: Trump encourages Daines to jump into Senate GOP leader race

Breaking News Alert Trump encourages Daines to jump into Senate GOP leader race ...

"A mind-reading MASTERPIECE."

Watch a full performance here: https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/4760 This is the kind of trick you end your show with. It's that good. Two spectators each think of a name, or a place.   They don't even tell each other what they're thinking!   And yet you are able to read their thoughts through sheer mind-power. "One of my strongest effects of the last 30 years" - Bob Cassidy This was the great Bob Cassidy's signature effect.  A flash of brilliance so inspired, that it can turn anyone into a master...

Breaking News: Biden’s family privately criticizes top advisers at Camp David meeting

Breaking News Alert Biden's family privately criticizes top advisers at Camp...

VW plans to lay off 2,000 at software division / Ford adds three providers to its EV charging network

Plus, General Motors and UAW reach tentative agreement Inside Transportation For October 30, 2023 Thank you to our sponsor 1 On Friday, the board of directors at Volkswagen voted to lay off 2,000 workers at its Cariad software division between 2024 and 2025. The plan would still require the approval of the works council.  More: The news comes as version 1.2 of the software architecture Audi Q6 E-Tron and the Porsche Macan was delayed by 16 to 18 weeks. Version 2.0 of the software architecture is being completely redeveloped, as is the automaker's scalable systems platform.  In May , VW replaced Cariad's CEO Dirk Hilgenberg with Peter Bosch, who previously was an executive on the Bentley team. The automaker also let go of CFO Thomas Sedran and CTO Lynn Longo as it sought to accelerate development timelines. 2 Ford announced it is adding three EV charger providers, with a total of  10,000 units , to i...

US GDP contracted by 0.9% in Q2 / Spirit & JetBlue $3.8B merger / Abu Akleh family calls for U.S. investigation

Plus: Pro-Russian agents infiltrated Ukrainian military and security agencies ahead of the invasion. Inside.com Part of   Network July 28, 2022 Presented by The U.S. economy contracted by 0.9% between April and June. This is the second consecutive quarter of economic contraction, since the economy shrank by 1.6% in the first quarter , but the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has not yet announced that the U.S. has entered a recession. More: A recession is frequently understood as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, but the NBER assesses a number of other metrics in its evaluation of the U.S. economy's health, including employment, overall economic output, retail sales, and household income. Consumer spending, which accounts for ~2/3 of total economic output, rose at a 1% annual rate in Q2, down from 1.8% in Q1, the U.S. Department of...