It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Friday October 16, and I’m your host Alex Coop.
More WFH woes, but in the meantime Dropbox makes WFH permanent, plus, a Facebook exec speaks out and calls Facebook ‘a threat to democracy.’
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LinkedIn users are buzzing about the lack of hallway run-ins and water cooler conversations, inviting others leaders to share their stories and concerns about the ongoing remote work era. As the nationwide closure of offices has forced millions of workers to work remotely, employees are craving those spontaneous ideas and memorable connections. Similarly, WFH has made it harder for employees to benefit from mentorship opportunities. The loss of these critical moments of relationship building is sparking a lot of debates about how we foster a similar connection in a virtual world.
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Speaking of WFH, San Francisco-based Dropbox announced Tuesday that will stop asking employees to come into its offices and instead make remote work the standard practice. According to CNBC, for employees that need to meet or work together in person, the company is setting up “Dropbox Studios” where those interactions can be performed safely. Dropbox had more than 2,800 employees as of Dec. 31.
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And lastly, The Independent is reporting that a former Facebook executive says that social media giants are a danger to democracy and could eventually cause a US civil war. Tim Kendall, the former director of monetization at Facebook, says that the social media industry needs urgent reform to prevent a devastating outcome. He said, “I truly believe things will not get better until tech companies move away from creating exploitative products that drive conflict over conversation, division over unity, and misinformation over truth.”
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Alex Coop, thanks for listening.