📡 How does 🛫happen?! You'd think someone should know!
Welcome to this week’s Pulse!
How’s it going? I’ve got a really - and I mean really! - important exam in two days, and the fact that you’re getting a pulse today means you are very - and I mean very - dear to me!
Thank you for being giving me a key to your inbox! I really appreciate it — I do! Now, you know what to do!
- 𝕭𝖊𝖓 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 [ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖎𝖝 ]
🗞 NEWS
Shopify will be joining the Libra Association; will contribute financially and operate a node that processes transactions of Facebook’s stablecoin [TechCrunch] - a rare win!
WhatsApp lets some private group chat invite links get indexed by search engines like Google, allowing anyone to join [Vice] - talk about privacy, WhatsApp FROM Facebook! 😂 What can I say!? I’m a Telegram user!
Apparently, Apple is ‘considering’ letting you set your own default browser and email apps on iPhones and iPads and third-party music services on the HomePod [Bloomberg] - a reason to look forward to iOS 14?
Microsoft brings combined Word, Excel, and PowerPoint app to iOS [TNW] - Microsoft Office on iOS: one app to rule 'em all!
Google launches Android 11 Developer Preview earlier than expected, with new display types, improved messaging, biometrics, and more; final release expected Q3 [9to5Google].
Inside the FBI’s complaint against two ex-Twitter employees who allegedly accessed personal info of thousands of users on behalf of Saudi Arabia for $300K+ [BuzzFeed].
EU proposes rules for “high risk” AI systems and a regulatory framework for data governance in order to drive digitisation across sectors like health, policing [TechCrunch].
🧠 INSIGHTS
Flying: harder to explain that you'd think - Credit: Kartik Chaturvedi on Unsplash
No One Can Explain Why Planes Stay In The Air
You’d think they know, but…
On a strictly mathematical level, engineers know how to design planes that will stay aloft. But equations don’t explain why aerodynamic lift occurs.
There are two competing theories that illuminate the forces and factors of lift. Both are incomplete explanations.
Aerodynamicists have recently tried to close the gaps in understanding. Still, no consensus exists.
Super interesting piece by Ed Regis on ScientificAmerican.
📊 STATISTICS
Video Streaming Stats - Credit: Nielsen
Video Streaming Stats from Nielsen
A new age of media is upon us. As a number of powerful media companies enter the streaming video marketplace in a very big way, choice in this promising arena has never been greater.
The Nielsen report notes that 60% of Americans subscribe to more than one paid video streaming service. Better still—especially for platforms entering the streaming market—is that 93% of U.S. consumers say they will either increase or keep their existing streaming services.
Read more on Nielsen.
And more on streaming wars on PwC.
HBOMax will be happy to hear 👆— and I can’t wait for 👇
FRIENDS Reunion
Matthew Perry on Instagram “It’s happening… @HBOMax”
Top Social Media Apps Worldwide Jan 2020 - Credit: SensorTower
Top Social Media Apps Worldwide for January 2020 by Downloads
TikTok was the most downloaded social media app worldwide for January 2020 with 104.7 million installs, which represented a 46% increase from January 2019. The countries with the most installs of the app during this period were 🇮🇳 at 34.4% of its total downloads and 🇧🇷 at 10.4%.
Facebook was the second most installed social media app worldwide last month with 61.9 million installs, which represented a 1.5% increase YoY. The countries with the largest number of Facebook installs were 🇮🇳 at 20.5%, followed by 🇧🇷 at 9.9%. Instagram, Likee, and Snapchat rounded out the top five most installed social media apps worldwide for the first month of the decade.
Read more on SensorTower.
📱 TOOLS & APPS
Persona: Scientific personality test
It’s a really good one!
Pikaso: Screenshot Twitter like a pro
Super handy if like sharing tweets on Instagram!
PhotoRoom: Create studio-quality product pictures in seconds [iOS | Android coming soon | Web App Beta]
Remove backgrounds, and more… Freemium (free basic, plus premium features)
🎧 AUDIO STIMULATION
The CryptoQueen - Planet Money
A mysterious woman promises a financial revolution. That promise leads to greed, corruption and… a beauty pageant.
If you’re into crypto, definitely worth a listen.
The Stars - Throughline
Astrology has existed for thousands of years and has roots that span the globe. But is it a science or a religion or just a kind of personality test? And why is it more popular than ever? This week, the story of how finding our fates in the stars moved from the fringes to the mainstream and became a multi-billion dollar industry.
If you know your star sign, you’ll enjoy this!
🐦 TWEETS of the WEEK
Knowledge is the compound interest of curiosity.
When I was 24 and working at Apple I found myself in a heated debate with an engineer that I'd not met before.
Since I was young and knew everything, I was lecturing this man on some nuances of how drag and drop should behave when activated on a text selection.
RIP Larry Tesler. Thank you for giving us Cut, Copy, and Paste.
😂 FUN STUFF
Hard to argue with that!
200,000 years to get to this stage of peak carbohydrate consumption efficiency
https://t.co/uo8iT8thrT
small changes, huge results - Sent to me by a friend on WhatsApp!
That's all for this week...
See you next week - same place; same time. Until then, take care of yourself, and wish me luck — and share pulse with a friend!
Ciao!