The startup ‘Genius’ was proclaimed to hold huge promise — even touted as “the future of journalism” by The Washington Post. A service that allows people to annotate any text, adding information, context, or their opinions, they envisioned a world powered by their annotations, both online and offline; instead, they “got blamed for killing music journalism, got banned from Google for gaming search results, and got slammed for being a vehicle for harassment online”. The team’s final move was to sell to a company infamous for buying washed up brands. Read full article here
Societal Issues
To curb drug deaths, communities turn to Reddit, texts and wastewater
With drug overdose deaths on the rise, authorities are attempting to curb the epidemic by tracking and sharing information in real time. In one unique effort, a nonprofit in New York City is using drug-testing equipment and stamping or marking habits of dealers to identify drug batches that may endanger users. Other approaches are also being used, such as monitoring drug-related chatter on Reddit and analyzing local wastewater for opioid and other drug levels. With the combination of these efforts, researchers hope to put a dent in the opioid crisis and reduce overdose deaths. Read full article here
Merv
June 1, 2023
