HMV Tunbridge Wells becomes seventh store to reopen after closure threats February 22, 2019 New HMV owner Doug Putman reopened another of the chain’s stores earmarked for closure this morning. In the seventh reopening since 27 closures were announced earlier this month, HMV Tunbridge Wells is pulling up its shutters after Putman secured his latest rental renegotiation deal. The Canadian entrepreneur has been looking to strike deals with landlords [...]
Elon Musk denies claims Tesla is getting involved in bitcoin February 21, 2019 Elon Musk has said Tesla has no plans to get involved with bitcoin at the moment, believing that the cryptocurrency is not an efficient use of the company’s resources. The Tesla chief executive praised cryptocurrency as a potential replacement for paper money in an interview on FYI, a podcast by ARK Investment published today. “Crypto is [...]
Twitter rolls out political ad tracking tools in Europe ahead of EU elections February 19, 2019 Twitter has launched new tools in Europe to make it easier for users to identify ads paid for by political campaigns, ahead of key elections due in May. The news follows similar moves by fellow social media firm Facebook, as tech platforms prepare to face potential regulation and renewed disinformation efforts from hostile actors. The European [...]
HMV Meadowhall brought back from closure in latest reopening February 19, 2019 HMV has reopened its fifth store earmarked for closure today, as new owner Doug Putman continues his run of rental renegotiations with high street landlords. The music chain’s branch in Meadowhall, which was the only one in Yorkshire to shut down after HMV was acquired, opened up its doors this morning. We're so stoked! The [...]
Gang of Seven ex-Labour MPs told to have the courage of their convictions and trigger by-elections February 18, 2019 MPs who have quit the Labour party to form a new independent alliance are facing growing pressure to trigger by-elections. Seven MPs – Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Ann Coffey, Gavin Shuker, Mike Gapes and Chuka Umunna – announced on Monday morning they had resigned from Labour in protest at the party’s approach to [...]
Forget social networks – the future is community media, says the boss of Disciple Media February 18, 2019 In February last year, Matt Hancock (then culture secretary, now health secretary) launched his own smartphone app, imaginatively titled… “Matt Hancock”. Many scoffed at the idea of an MP thinking themselves so important that they needed an app. And there were jokes about how the app asked for user consent: “Matt Hancock would like to access [...]
Tech giants should be held to compulsory ‘code of ethics’, MPs say February 18, 2019 Facebook and other tech giants should face stricter regulation to tackle the spread of fake news and misuse of personal data, MPs said today. Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was harshly criticised in the final report on disinformation by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, having declined several invitations to attend [...]
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey admits ‘huge fail’ in not preventing online abuse February 13, 2019 Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey has said that tech firms such as his own have not done enough to protect victims of online abuse. In a conversation with Recode, Dorsey awarded Twitter a 'C' grade for its past efforts, and labelled the current climate a "huge fail" on the part of Silicon Valley. Myself? C. We’ve made [...]
Revolut’s Valentine’s Day advert caused a social media storm – and shows the pitfalls of using comedy in marketing February 11, 2019 Roses are red, violets are blue, there’s a company in hot water and it’s called Revolut. The fintech challenger bank, which offers a mobile-based banking service, recently launched a new ad campaign of Tube posters that joked about the spending habits of its customers. One of the four adverts read: “To the 11,867 people who [...]
Twitter shareholders spooked by 2019 outlook despite strong full-year results February 7, 2019 Twitter shares were down eight per cent this afternoon as it announced mixed full year results peppered with strong financials for 2018 but weak forecasts for the year ahead. The social media giant was under pressure to beat analyst expectations after strong report cards from Facebook and Snap. But despite succeeding for the year ending [...]