|
Since its acquisition by Elon Musk last week, social media platform Twitter has become a very high-profile example of the trend of job cuts in the tech sector. The deteriorating economy has seen many tech companies announce significant layoffs and a growing number are letting employees go by email or video message, rather than arranging face-to-face meetings. An HR expert explains what’s happening and what it means for those facing redundancy.
But digital layoffs are only one of the concerns about the chief twit’s plans. The decision to charge for verified status – the blue tick on certain profiles – could endanger women’s safety online, says a criminal justice specialist. And if you’ve had enough of Twitter, here’s what you need to know about the alternative many users are flocking to:
For those who struggle to remember their blood type at the best of times, we have some bad news. You may think there are only a handful of blood groups but researchers have just discovered the 44th. It’s called Er (perhaps as in: “Er, sorry I can’t remember my blood type”?).
You may actually have been trying to forget that disgraced ex-health secretary Matt Hancock will be on our TVs in the latest instalment of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Here’s why his “unhappy constituents” could well want him voted out of the jungle.
|
|
Pauline McCallion
Senior Business Editor
|
|
Tesla Billionaire Elon Musk acquired social media platform Twitter in October 2022.
ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
Emma Sara Hughes, University of Liverpool
As a growing wave of tech companies announce job cuts, more employees are being informed by email or video call.
|
Kiryl Lis/Shutterstock
Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
A 44th blood group was recently discovered by researchers at Bristol University.
|
Hasn’t Matt Hancock already got his fifteen minutes?
Alamy/Richard Lincoln
Paula Keaveney, Edge Hill University
Matt Hancock’s controversial appearance on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here raises important questions on the true purpose of MPs.
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Anthony Pickles, University of East Anglia
Who will win the US midterms, the polls, or the gambling markets?
-
Georgios Samaras, King's College London
Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis admits his intelligence agency surveilled journalists but denies using illegal Predator software on them.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Stephen Langston, University of the West of Scotland
Not everyone succeeds straight away and how you deal with failure can really make or break your career.
-
Ella Tennant, Keele University
A break or moment of failure can be an opportunity to create something new and beautiful.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Susan Watson, University of York
It’s not clear what will happen to the safety features that come with Twitter verification.
|
|
Environment
|
-
Sanae Okamoto, United Nations University; Nidhi Nagabhatla, United Nations University
It has psychological consequences for those affected now, but also for those who expect to be in future.
|
|
Health
|
-
Ana Leite, Durham University; Damien Ridge, University of Westminster; Nisreen Alwan, University of Southampton
Long COVID can rob young people of an active life and cast future plans into doubt. But social support can help.
-
Andrew Lee, University of Sheffield
Lagging booster vaccine uptake in England means millions of people may not be optimally protected ahead of winter.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Alessandro Fedrizzi, Heriot-Watt University; Mehul Malik, Heriot-Watt University
Nope, ‘entangled’ particles don’t communicate.
-
Stephan Lewandowsky, The University of Western Australia; Lisa Oswald, Hertie School; Philipp Lorenz-Spreen, Max Planck Institute for Human Development; Ralph Hertwig, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
The internet has been heralded as liberation technology and accused of undermining democracy. The available research shows it is a bit of both.
-
Nataliya Ilyushina, RMIT University
Thousands of Twitter users are jumping ship – and Mastodon might become their new home. But it’s not a clone of the ‘blue bird site’.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
