Mailchimp’s website builder ups the ante with a free domain for five years
As small businesses scramble to build web presences, the online marketing company is offering an unusually generous freebie to help them get started. The coronavirus has plenty of small businesses,...
View ArticleClosed libraries are offering parking lot Wi-Fi, e-books, and Zoom story time
Even when shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic, libraries are coming up with creative ways to serve their communities. On March 16, the El Dorado County Library in California closed its doors to...
View ArticleCellphone contact tracing draws skepticism as a solution for slowing COVID-19
People are dubious of proposals to track cellphones for finding potential coronavirus transmission, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Most Americans don’t think tracking cellphone...
View ArticleWhile stuck at home, this VC built a virtual version of Silicon Valley
Investor Brianne Kimmel created the digital environment Stay at Home Valley, which has sprouted versions of tech company headquarters and even an engagement celebration. The San Francisco Bay Area is...
View ArticleSBA warns about potential breach for coronavirus-linked small-business loan data
The Small Business Administration warned that data on nearly 8,000 applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans may have been leaked. The Small Business Administration has warned applicants for its...
View ArticleFrom bar trivia to fantasy role-playing, Zoom is the world’s new game room
“We must find ways to play with each other. It’s so nourishing for our souls.” When game design students at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts create new ideas for video...
View ArticlePrescription delivery by UPS drone? CVS customers in this Florida retirement...
UPS and CVS announced plans to begin making drove deliveries in The Villages, Florida, in early May. UPS will begin using drones to deliver CVS prescription medication in early May to people in The...
View ArticleAmid virus-era messaging boom, LinkedIn rolls out new chat features
LinkedIn’s communications features used to resemble email. Now the company is retooling them into a faster mobile messaging experience. Workers are dealing with disruptions caused by the coronavirus...
View ArticleContact tracing apps are on the way. Will they help us get back to normal?
With Apple and Google announcing more details for their exposure notification API, it’s clear coronavirus contact tracing apps are coming. But it’s not clear people will use them. As the United States...
View ArticlePlayers are flocking to this digital escape room, built with Zoom and Google...
The interactive experience has proven popular with companies looking for team-building activities—and with bored families. In a world inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, you and your fellow...
View ArticleWhy Atlassian is buying Halp, a Slack-first help-desk company
Instead of competing with Slack, Atlassian is acquiring a service that lives right inside it. As companies increasingly use chat systems such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, other workplace tools have...
View ArticleFacebook and Instagram are about to become small-business shopping hubs
Facebook is targeting small merchants with a new ‘Shops’ feature, letting them promote collections of goods within Facebook and Instagram. As online shopping continues to be a lifeline for many stuck...
View ArticleThis tool could help hospitals struggling to repair their equipment amid...
iFixit has launched a collection of medical device repair manuals for everything from ventilators to hospital beds, to help technicians keep equipment up and running. The repair-manual site iFixit...
View ArticleReport: Texas-size rivalry for Tesla’s Cybertruck factory heats up
It’s something like a blue-collar version of Amazon’s HQ2 hunt. In what feels a bit like a blue-collar version of Amazon’s famous HQ2 competition, the Associated Press has reported that Austin and...
View ArticleNorth Dakota’s COVID-19 app has been sending data to Foursquare and Google
A new report from Jumbo Privacy finds that a coronavirus contact-tracing app is sharing location data with Foursquare and an advertising ID with Google. The official COVID-19 contact-tracing app for...
View ArticleTwitter and Jack Dorsey face mounting backlash for Trump’s tweets about...
Twitter users urged Jack Dorsey to do something about Trump implying without evidence that Joe Scarborough was involved in the death of a onetime intern. Twitter users are calling out CEO Jack Dorsey...
View ArticleSick of Zoom calls? Try this Sims-style virtual world instead
Teooh wants to use video game-like avatars for professional meetings and conferences in an effort to mimic in-person interactions. If you’re getting tired of Zoom meetings and Houseparty get-togethers,...
View ArticleReport: Racial justice groups hit by more cyberattacks during George Floyd...
Cloudflare, which filters out attacks on websites, saw big jumps in digital attacks on advocacy groups after Floyd’s killing. Protests have emerged across the country after the death of George Floyd,...
View ArticleAmid pandemic and protests, Cloudflare is defending vulnerable websites
Project Galileo, Cloudflare’s free web protection program for nonprofits, media, and other civic groups, has seen growth in this massive news year. Project Galileo, Cloudflare’s operation that gives...
View ArticleChurches are closed, but religion has a new home on the internet
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, houses of worship have been forced to figure out how to bring services, rituals, and other religious practices online in an engaging way. In ordinary times, about a third...
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