Amanda Silberling, Author at TechCrunch

Omegle’s death is the end of an era for anonymous online connection

Amanda Silberling — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 19:18:09 +0000

After 14 years online, Omegle shut down as part of a settlement in a $22 million sex trafficking lawsuit. If anything was a surprise, it was that the anonymous, randomized chat site was still operational. In a time when multibillion-dollar companies nitpick the rules about “female-presenting nipples” and “non-sexually graphic dancing,” how could a website notorious […]

Apple, Disney, Comcast among X advertisers pausing spending after Musk endorsed antisemitic post

Amanda Silberling — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:55:20 +0000

After X owner Elon Musk amplified antisemitic conspiracy theories on the platform, numerous high-profile advertisers have paused their spending on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Since Friday, per various news reports, the following advertisers have paused their spending on X advertisements: Apple Comcast/NBCUniversal Disney Warner Bros. Discovery IBM Paramount Global Lionsgate European Commission Per research […]

What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the app trying to replace Twitter

Amanda Silberling — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 20:30:31 +0000

Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been more than a year since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (which has already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as potential […]

IRL founders allege investors sabotaged company with fake users claims

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 22:31:18 +0000

The founders of IRL, Abraham Shafi and Genrikh Khachatryan, are suing their investors, claiming that they intentionally sabotaged the company. At its peak, IRL was poised to become an event organizing alternative for Gen Z, who are using Facebook less and less. Shafi, the CEO, was suspended from IRL in April to investigate claims of […]

The best techy plant gifts for green thumbs in 2023

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 13:05:16 +0000

Great news for anyone who’s ever been told to log off and touch grass! Whether you’re a natural green thumb or not, it’s easier than ever to grow plants inside. Don’t know when to water your plants? There’s an app for that. Need a constant stream of fresh basil for all your pesto needs? Hydroponics […]

Instagram brings Close Friends feature to the main feed

Amanda Silberling — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 15:00:59 +0000

Instagram’s Close Friends feature is expanding. Previously, users could share stories with a select group of people, rather than all of their followers, but now, users can also share main feed posts and reels exclusively to their Close Friends. Before sharing a post or reel, users can tap an “audience” menu, then select their Close […]

Tumblr to run on skeleton crew as parent company Automattic absorbs staff

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 21:07:25 +0000

According to a leaked memo, Tumblr’s longterm financial woes have reached a breaking point. Aside from a skeleton crew of essential workers in departments like trust and safety, the majority of Tumblr’s 139 workers will be reassigned to other products at parent company Automattic, which employs around 1,900 people. CEO Matt Mullenweg acknowledged the memo […]

TikTokers are sharing Palestinian family recipes to raise money for aid

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:40:11 +0000

“This is Palestinian falafel, and this is my Palestinian grandmother,” TikTok creator Vegan Bodegacat says in a voiceover as her grandmother blends soaked chickpeas with fresh parsley, then scoops the mixture into hot oil, where it quickly browns. “… I’ve been spending my days feeling helpless and hopeless, but it’s better to focus on small […]

Creators have mixed feelings about TikTok’s new monetization program

Amanda Silberling — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 20:05:42 +0000

TikTok is revamping its system for paying creators. With its new Creativity Program, which incentivizes users to make videos longer than one minute, the platform estimates that creators can make more than 20 times what they were previously earning on TikTok. This is great news for more chatty TikTokers, but for other creators, TikTok’s payouts […]

Nintendo confirms live-action Zelda movie is in the works

Amanda Silberling — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 22:50:40 +0000

Zelda fans already got a stellar new game with “Tears of the Kingdom” this year, but Nintendo just dropped another exciting nugget of news: the gaming giant is working on a live-action movie based on the Legend of Zelda franchise. Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the 37-year-old franchise, announced the news this evening. “I have been […]

Spill toasts one year with a $2M seed extension, Kerry Washington and Champagne

Amanda Silberling — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 17:08:04 +0000

Social media app Spill has come to be a bright spot for users in the post-Twitter era.

X runs ‘timeline takeover’ ad promoting anti-trans film

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 23:50:12 +0000

Thursday on X (Twitter), all users saw the same pinned topic under the “What’s happening?” sidebar. As part of a “timeline takeover” — which gives advertisers “priority access to logged-in users’ first impression of the day” — conservative media nonprofit PragerU is promoting the hashtag “#DETRANS” to advertise its new film about “the stories of […]

The demise of Twitter Circles left a void that Instagram Close Friends can’t fill

Amanda Silberling — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 21:25:43 +0000

When X’s Circles feature shut down this week, the app formerly known as Twitter turned its back on the best product it’s shipped since the Quote Tweet. Like an Instagram Close Friends story, Circles allowed users to post to an exclusive, hand-picked group of up to 150 people, where they could be themselves without worrying […]

So long, Twitter Circles

Amanda Silberling — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 19:58:39 +0000

X, the app formerly known as Twitter, has shut down the Circles feature, which allowed users to post to a small, exclusive audience.

Why did Twitter (X)’s valuation tank 56% in one year?

Amanda Silberling — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 21:55:35 +0000

The company formerly known as Twitter, X is valuing itself at $19 billion, per internal documents obtained by Fortune. When Elon Musk bought the company one year ago this week, he paid about $44 billion for the microblogging platform, or $54.20 per share. This internal valuation marks about a 56% decrease in X’s value over […]

Elon Musk’s Twitter a year later: Everything you need to know

Amanda Silberling — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:15:09 +0000

Welcome to Elon Musk’s Twitter (now X), where the rules are made up and the check marks don’t matter. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO announced his bid to buy Twitter in April 2022, zealously driven to rid the platform of spam bots and protect free speech; now, it’s the one-year anniversary since he made his […]

Kids on Roblox are hosting protests for Palestine

Amanda Silberling — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 21:46:50 +0000

In the Lego-like world of Roblox, about a hundred blocky avatars march through a lamplit street, wielding Palestine flags that are larger than their own animated bodies. Characters dressed like cartoonish dinosaurs, steampunk zombies and pastel pink pop stars chant together via instant messages in both Malay and English as they arrive at a stage, […]

All I want from the internet is Homer Simpson singing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 21:09:45 +0000

In a recent New Yorker essay, Kyle Chayka poses a dread-inducing question: When was the last time you had fun on the internet? For his example of pure online fun, he points to a retro Flash gaming site, but I have a more recent answer: The last time I had fun on the internet was […]

Discord is growing its developer monetization efforts

Amanda Silberling — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:06:12 +0000

In a time when X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit have sequestered API access behind steep paywalls, Discord is taking the opposite approach. A few weeks ago, Discord enabled U.S. developers to sell their apps to Discord users in a centralized hub, and today, that feature expands to include developers in the U.K. and Europe. Developers […]

After 50,000 hours, this AI can play Pokémon Red

Amanda Silberling — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 19:10:17 +0000

Almost 10 years ago, the online phenomenon “Twitch Plays Pokémon” convened over a million people to play Pokémon Red at the same time, with each player’s keystrokes registering as commands for the one pixelated avatar. Now, like a Magikarp growing into a Gyarados, the evolution of technology begs a new question: can AI play Pokémon? […]