Since Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, many users have been searching for a new social networking platform they can call home. Mastodon, a social network built on open-source software, seems to be their best bet, with just over a million active users already signed up. But is it worth the hype? What is Mastodon? The events which have transpired since Elon’s takeover has sent Twitter on a tumultuous downward spiral. From the exodus (or ousting) of thousands of staff to the new Twitter Blue feature being pulled from the site in
With constant news of layoffs, hiring freezes, and restructures, we know it’s a hard time for many in the tech industry – especially people of color. When underperforming, companies retreat to what they know and who they know. They default to what is familiar, and, all too often, this means older, white men. We saw this at the peak of the pandemic, and it seems we are seeing it now. POCIT was launched to platform the stories of people of color in tech but also to create new ones. Our recruitment platform has
Twitter has terminated the contracts of almost all its staff based in Accra, Ghana. The news comes after Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of the app, which has seen thousands of employees worldwide laid off work. Twitter’s presence in Africa In April 2021, Twitter announced its plans to build a team in Ghana as a part of its broader mission to expand its services across the region. After almost a year of working remotely, Twitter’s African staff finally opened a physical office in the continent. But celebrations were short-lived. A mere
Over the last 48 hours, dozens of Twitter employees took to the platform to announce that they had lost their jobs following Elon Musk’s recent acquisition. Employees have flooded the app using the hashtag #LoveWhereYouWorked with an emoji to signify that their time at the social media giant has ended. After ousting CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, general counsel Sean Edgett and chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde last week, Elon Musk has made it clear that things at Twitter will never be the same again. Impact on Black & Latinx
According to Twitter trolls, the old rules against bigotry and hate speech no longer apply now that Musk has officially taken over the popular social media app. The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) shared that the number of tweets using the N-word had increased by 500% more in 12 hours following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Yoel Roth, Twitter’s Head of Safety and Integrity, also reported a huge increase in tweets with bigoted content, racial slurs and hate speech. He tweeted that a short-term trolling campaign was largely to blame, with
Dealing with constant harassment online can be incredibly distressing. Not only does it make you feel helpless, but it can also make you hyper-exposed when your social media account is under attack. Block Party gives users more control when dealing with online harassment. The app uses protections to filter out abuse from troll accounts, which tend to be new accounts without a profile photo or a page with less than 100 followers. The latest update allows users to record their reasons for blocking an account, so they don’t have to
In his first move as Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk has ousted its CEO Parag Agrawal. After months of back and forth, Musk has closed the $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter. Wasting no time, Musk fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal as well as chief financial offer Ned Segal, and general counsel Sean Edgett. Chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, who reportedly played a key role in Trump’s Twitter ban, has also been fired. Read: Musk’s Twitter Layoffs Take A Hammer To Diversity And Inclusion Efforts Sources reported seeing at least one of the fired executives
25-year-old Iddris Sandu is a technologist and founder of Spatial Labs (sLabs) an organization committed to reshaping the future of commerce, Blockchain technology, and fashion. The technologist, born in Accra, Ghana, moved to Los Angeles when he was three years old. After teaching himself how to code and partaking in a range of internships and consultancy programs, Sandu set his sights on reshaping the way technology exists in the world. Additionally, he stuck to his word and became one of the youngest founders to enter Black Enterprise’s 40 under 40 list. The
Black visionary Gianni O’Connor is on a mission to unleash the true power of technology. Through artificial intelligence, O’Connor is working to build a one-of-a-kind AI personality that will make it easier for users to converse with their game console – sound strange? We’re officially stepping into the future. Who is Gianni O’Connor? Gianni O’Connor’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2012 when he launched the music social media site Micsu (later Mozrt). The 29-year-old UK-based entrepreneur then founded the social trading app Trad3r and, most recently, Go Games. “I love being
Are Black and Latinx neighborhoods more prone to experiencing slower internet services? According to a recent study by The Markup, the households that suffered from slower internet service were based in prominently lower-income areas with fewer white residents. Despite the service being a lot slower than the other household, both are paying the exact same price for their internet services – meaning the slower internet speed doesn’t come at a cheaper price. Racial Digital Divide In the study, The Markup gathered and analysed more than 800,000 internet services from AT&T,
