The Twitter App Is Getting A Slight Facelift Today

You might see something different about the Twitter app this morning.

Maybe it's gotten a new haircut? Banned some trolls?

Giphy

The “Me” button is gone from the Twitter iOS app. There's now a navigation menu on the left side of the app.

You'll be able to access your profile, additional accounts, settings, privacy, Twitter Moments, and Lists from the menu.

Twitter said in a blog post that the menu is meant to declutter the browsing experience on its iPhone app. The company had already introduced the menu to Twitter for Android last year, according to its blog post.

Twitter

Like and retweet counts will now update live in the Twitter app in both iOS and Android.

But not on the low-bandwidth version Twitter Lite or on the desktop site. In the past, you'd see updates to the count if you refreshed the page.

And links on Twitter will open in Safari on the iPhone.

Previously, the Twitter app opened links in its own browser, which meant you would have to enter your usernames and passwords for any paywalled site (ahem, Wall Street Journal) that you visited via a Twitter link. Now, if you're already logged into a site on Safari, you won't have reenter that information.

The reply button will look like a speech bubble rather than an arrow, and Twitter is tweaking its typeface. Profile pics will be round instead of square.

Twitter said in a statement that it changed the arrow symbol to a speech bubble in hopes of helping new users, especially first-timers, better understand the social network.

The company wrote that it changed its fonts to be more consistent, and added bolder headlines to “make it easier to focus on what's happening.”

The speech bubble is highlighted in purple, the font in green, and the profile pics in yellow.

Stronger color contrasts will now be available in Twitter's accessibility settings on iOS. You'll also have the option to always open links in Safari Reader view, which looks like this:

You turn Reader View on by clicking the lines to the left of the URL in Safari on iOS. Twitter said it made Reader View and stronger contrasts available to help people with visual impairments use its app.

If you hate the new design, as is often the case with social network updates, you can always go complain about it… On Twitter.

Quelle: <a href="The Twitter App Is Getting A Slight Facelift Today“>BuzzFeed

A Guide To High-Performance Tablets: Surface Pro Vs. iPad Pro

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

The “pro” tablet is like a spork, which I've said before and will happily say again. Gadgets in this category have typically been unexceptional at both of their jobs: 1. being a tablet and 2. serving as a laptop replacement. Tablets offer neither the portability of that other touchscreen device in your pocket — your phone — nor the performance of a desktop computer.

But Microsoft and Apple are trying to convince us otherwise. Each company released new versions of their respective high-performance tablets recently: the fifth generation Surface Pro starts shipping today and the 10.5-inch iPad Pro hits shelves this week. Curious. 🤔

So, if a tablet has “Pro” in its name, does that mean you can get real work done on it? After reviewing this year’s Surface Pro and iPad Pro, I’ve discovered that yes, it’s possible, but it might not be the most efficient or pleasant way to get that work done — and it largely depends on the type of work you’re doing. If you’re wondering whether you need a tablet at all, or which one you should buy, here’s a guide to the pros and cons of each.

Who should even consider getting a tablet?

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

1. People who have $$$$ to burn, bruh! Tablets are amazing luxury devices. They’re giant phones that make Facebook and Hulu and basically any app look uh-mazing. Plus, they’re fun for when you feel like holding a big ol’ slab of glass above your head in bed. FYI: you’ll end up spending close to a grand for a high-end one with a nice screen.

2. If you use digital textbooks or read/annotate lots of PDFs, get a tablet. Big touchscreens make it easy to zoom in and out of text, and get up close to the media, in a way that makes doing the same thing on a phone feel cramped. If reading is your primary activity, you can probably get away with a regular tablet (like the cheaper iPad or new Galaxy Tab) with a third-party keyboard case and stylus. But if you *also* need to do some word processing (emailing, essay writing, and the like) and, occasionally, other stuff (playing games or watching HD movies) on the device, consider a pro tablet.

3. The styluses on these tablets are getting insanely good, and are even used by professional illustrators. If you’re interested in drawing or handwriting, these devices can be an alternative to paper sketchbooks/notebooks.

But “pro” tablets aren’t for everyone.

Touchscreens attract lots of finger grease (gross) and neither of the devices I reviewed for this article are particularly good for typing on laps, if that’s your thing.

Think about whether you really need a touchscreen. There are lots of ultra lightweight laptop options (including this year’s Macbook and Surface Laptop, which each weigh about a pound) that might be more suited to your needs.

The new Surface Pro and 10.5-inch iPad Pro: Should I get the latest?

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

On the outside, the devices seem like they haven’t changed much, but thanks to processor upgrades, the new versions are as powerful as many laptops on the market.

If you’re a power user and can afford it, you won’t go wrong with this year's models. But you could save a few hundred bucks by getting last year’s tablets (the 9.7 iPad Pro or Surface Pro 4), and spend the saved money on extra luxuries, like accessories or additional storage. You won’t miss too much.

You can read my full review of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, but here’s the short version: It has a slightly bigger screen that can accommodate a full-sized keyboard, a faster processor (nearly double the speed compared to last year’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro), and a new feature called ProMotion, which makes all motion — scrolling, zooming, etc. — much more smooth and detailed.

As for the new Surface Pro, the details are below, but the bottom line is this: It has a bigger battery, faster processor, and a new stylus (the Surface Pen) that’s updated to be more accurate and much more pressure sensitive (you can now tilt to shade, but only in the Sketchpad app for now).

Okay, let’s dive in.

It’s a very productive device.

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

That’s because the Surface Pro runs a desktop operating system, Windows 10, instead of a limited mobile operating system. You can stack multiple windows on top of each other, instead of just two apps side-by-side. You can also run the full version of Adobe Photoshop (a must for some designers and illustrators) and use browser extensions. There’s a trackpad built into the Surface Pro’s keyboard cover (sold separately), which makes precise actions that aren’t as easy with your finger, like selecting text, less of a pain.

The keyboard is great.

The keys are satisfyingly bouncy. I had no problem using it all day to type (and typing is 95% of my job). It has backlit keys (helpful for dark classrooms!) and shortcuts for sound, brightness, PrtScn, etc. — all the buttons you’d expect on a full-fledged computer.

It’s a great desktop machine that could absolutely replace your laptop.

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

Unlike the iPad Pro, it’s much more comfortable to work on at a desk if you’re using it for significant amounts of time. But you’ll need accessories to make it more ergonomic.

The Surface Pro has a port (mini DisplayPort) to connect it to an external monitor, which not only means you can see more things on screen at once, but it puts that content at a more comfortable eye level too, so you don’t feel like you’re going to sprain your neck from craning over to look at a little screen. And if the Surface Pro’s tiny trackpad makes your thumb cramp, you can pair a wireless mouse.

There’s also a super-stable kickstand built-in that can be upright while typing or recline to 15 degrees, which happens to be a great angle for drawing.

As a Mac user, switching to a Windows device has never felt easier.

It's been a minute since I last used Windows, and I was nervous about having to re-learn the operating system. But, as it turns out, it's super easy to use the device right out of the box. I signed into the Chrome browser, and everything I needed — my saved passwords, bookmarks, extensions — were all synced and ready to go with little setup. It’s helpful that I work mostly with web apps (Google Docs, Gmail, BuzzFeed’s CMS) and software that essentially works the same across platforms (Slack and Adobe Photoshop/Premiere).

You can easily work with additional devices, without special adapters.

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

There’s a USB port and a microSD reader built into the Surface Pro. It’s great for connecting a backup drive or dumping images from a camera. If you need to present something, cable adapters that connect the Surface Pro’s display to a projector (with a VGA or HDMI connection) are widely available and can be bought from Microsoft (~$40) or Amazon Basics (~$11) for fairly inexpensive prices.

There’s actually a place for the stylus.

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

There’s a new Surface Pen stylus (now sold separately at $100) for writing and drawing. It has an even stronger magnetic connection, so you can securely snap it to the Surface Pro without worrying it’s going to end up in the bottom of your bag (unlike the older version). And if you want to be extra cautious, there’s a $5 Pen Loop with an adhesive side that sticks to the side of your keyboard cover.

If you need power, the Surface Pro goes all the way up to 1 terabyte of storage and 16GB of RAM.

You’ll, of course, need to pay for that top-tier computing power (prices below). If you’d rather poke your eyeball than read about ~specifications~, skip to the next section, Surface Pro Cons. 👇

The following is really for people who need help choosing the right Surface Pro configuration for them.

There are three Intel processors to choose from: Core m3 (for really basic computing like web browsing, writing documents), Core i5 (for Photoshop-ing, multi-tasking with a lot of tabs), and Core i7 (for video editing, gaming). You also have various storage options.

These are the latest chips from Intel (seventh generation Kaby Lake), and they’re faster and more battery-efficient than the previous version. I tested a maxed out Surface Pro (with a Core i7, 512 GB of storage, and 16 GB of RAM). It was absolute overkill, though editing 1080p video in Adobe Premiere was fun.

The Core i5 model with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will be the sweet spot for most, but those truly using the Surface as their primary device will want more storage (256GB) because a full desktop OS takes up a surprising amount of space (approximately 10 gigabytes).

It’s better at being a laptop than a tablet.

Even after shedding the keyboard, the tablet part of the Surface Pro, at over a pound and a half, feels much heavier and bulkier than the one-pound iPad. It’s also much bigger (at 12.3 inches versus 10.5). For the tiny-wristed (hi, it me), it takes some arm strength to hoist the tablet up in the air.

And, for those who opt for the most powerful of the three models ― the Core i7 ― you’ll hear and feel the air running from the fan inside the device. It also runs warm when it’s working hard. The core m3 and core i5 models are fanless (read: quieter) and will run cooler.

The Surface Pro is supposed to get 13.5 hours of battery life, but it got between 7.5 to 9 hours in my testing.

In my first battery test, I put the Pro in overdrive and, as I expected, didn’t get the 13.5 hours Microsoft promised. In my real world high stress test*, I got closer to 7.5 hours of battery life before needing to plug in. With a less stressful test — including battery saver turned on and using Microsoft’s Edge browser instead of Chrome — I got closer to 9 to 10 hours. But you’ll have to use Edge to get that kind of battery life which, ugh.** There’s also some battery drain overnight, even when the device is asleep, and it takes about two hours to fully charge.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the 13.5 hour claim is based on playing videos stored locally (not streamed), and said I received varied results because of various factors, like an active Wi-Fi connection, background processes, and browsing, which utilizes the CPU.

*I downloaded a software update, plugged the device into an external display, connected a wireless mouse, and had 16 Chrome browser tabs (a serious battery hog on any device), OneNote, and Slack open simultaneously.

**Edge also began crashing randomly, for no reason at all. TG for Google Doc auto-save. 🙏

There’s still no em dash keyboard shortcut. What the hell!

You can’t even rely on the trusty Microsoft Word alt+0151 code to type an em dash on the Surface Pro. You need to lift your arm, tap the touchscreen keyboard icon, switch to the numbers/symbols keyboard, and longpress the the hyphen key to conjure the mythical em dash. Also, the emoji keyboard is limited. I am annoyed.

Windows can be kind of funky.

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

Windows overcomplicates even simple tasks. For example, there’s a Settings app *and* a Control Panel app, and some settings options are in one and not the other, and vice versa. And even though I tested a top-of-the-line Surface Pro, there’s a weird delay between tapping a taskbar menu icon and the menu appearing, which means there’s lag …by design?? Details like that make the operating system feel clunky and slow.

The Surface Pro doesn’t have ports that support new technology.

Specifically, it doesn’t have the versatile USB-C port, which can power the device, connect it to an external display, and offer super fast data transfer speeds with a single cable. Those who have newer Thunderbolt 3 displays and accessories will need to buy adapters.

There are security and privacy concerns with Windows 10.

Microsoft has done a significant amount of work to toughen up its security, and Windows 10 is much more secure than older versions like XP, but it’s still not as secure as iOS, which only allows Apple-signed and certified apps to be installed. Bad actors are immediately revoked. Additionally, it’s incredibly difficult for malicious apps to execute code in the background in iOS (like a keylogger that records everything you type), because the system is designed to run one app at a time, and only allows certain functions to run in the background, like music, location, and downloading small amounts of content.

In terms of privacy, the Electronic Frontier Foundation came out strongly against Windows 10 for the amount of telemetry, or the data a computer sends to a company about itself, that Microsoft collects by default. The privacy policy reveals how sweeping this collection can be, especially with Cortana, the digital assistant built into Windows 10. It’s all or nothing with Cortana's location tracking, for example, (you can't use the assistant if you don't share it) and Edge sends your browsing history to Microsoft to help Cortana produce better responses. Microsoft responded to the criticism by adding a setting that reduces data collection, but doesn't eliminate it completely.

It has a killer display.

Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News

If you take a look at the specs, the Surface Pro’s screen actually has a higher pixel density (or pixels per inch) than the 10.5-inch iPad Pro’s, but the iPad’s display feels way better. Fonts on the Surface Pro look just kind of crappy? Janky? Outdated? They're smoother and more attractive in iOS somehow.

Slide to compare fonts on the iPad on the left vs. Surface on the right:

The new iPad Pro also has that new ProMotion tech, which makes Safari webpages look like they’re attached to your finger when you scroll. Motion lag is virtually imperceptible, and it’s almost disarming when you use it for the first time.

The Apple Pencil is an amazing, pen-like stylus.

Quelle: <a href="A Guide To High-Performance Tablets: Surface Pro Vs. iPad Pro“>BuzzFeed

Instagram Made A Feature To Disclose Celebrity #Sponsored Posts

Today, Instagram launches a feature that will allow celebrities and “influencers” to make it more clear when they’re doing a post that is sponsored by a brand. The new tool will say “Paid partnership with…” at the top of a sponsored post or Story.

The feature will be rolling out to only a handful of brands and celebrities at first (including BuzzFeed).

Here’s what it will look like:

It will also work in Stories, not just in standard posts:

It’s no secret to anyone who has ever used Instagram that celebrities do ads on there, and that often it’s kind of hard for the average person to tell if sponsored content is an ad or not. The FTC has strict guidelines about how celebs should disclose ads: Namely, it should be as clear as possible if a celebrity is getting paid to post, got free stuff, or has some other business relationship with a brand. Celebrities are required to tag their ads with #ad or #sponsored (but not just #sp, because that’s not clear), and they shouldn’t bury these disclosures at the end of a long caption that will get cut off.

Simply tagging the sponsor or saying “thanks @BRAND” isn’t enough, and that kind of half-assed disclosure is rampant. According to a recent report, as many as 93% of the ads that the top 50 celebrities on Instagram are doing are not FTC compliant.

But it’s unclear if Instagram’s new feature will actually meet the FTC’s standards for proper disclosure of ads. The FTC told BuzzFeed News it had no comment on this new feature,

But a representative for the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen told BuzzFeed News the group isn't impressed. “We are happy to see that Instagram has the ability to create a feature that helps to identify posts as advertisements, but this new feature does not address the problem of undisclosed paid ads,” said Public Citizen. The sticky wicket here is the term partnership. The FTC thinks that simply hashtagging #partner is unclear.

“If it wants to help identify paid ads on its platform, Instagram should create a system that makes advertisements clear to all users and is compliant with the FTC’s policy. Otherwise, Instagram is enabling deceptive influencer marketing.”

Here's how complicated and confusing it gets: A different consumer advocacy group thinks the wording is perfectly fine. What they’re concerned with is the fact that the disclosure is located in that geotag area, which people tend to ignore. “It appears that the language used clearly discloses the material connection between the endorser and the company,” said Bonnie Patten, executive director of Truth in Advertising. “Where there is room for debate is whether these disclosures are conspicuous.”

It appears Instagram is testing different ways for celebrities to disclose ads. This week, I happened to see that Khloé Kardashian posted in her Story an ad for a vitamin brand that used a black and white sticker that said “AD.” This is not available to us regular folks, but Instagram said that this wasn't part of this particular new feature it's debuting.

Instagram plans on using the limited rollout to gather feedback from the community and launch partners, as well as industry advocates and consumer groups. The next phase will be to create a policy that includes some sort of enforcement. A rep for Instagram told BuzzFeed News, “this is a first step in a journey.”

Quelle: <a href="Instagram Made A Feature To Disclose Celebrity #Sponsored Posts“>BuzzFeed

Facebook Will Now Let You Start A Fundraiser When You Use Safety Check

Facebook is integrating fundraising into its Safety Check feature in the US, which means you could ask all your friends all at once for help if you're caught in a natural disaster or the victim of an attack.

The feature will roll out “in the coming weeks” in the US, but Facebook declined to specify exactly when.

When you check in to say you're safe from a nearby disaster, you'll have the option to share and donate to a registered nonprofit related to the incident or create a personal fundraiser to raise money.

To help prevent people abusing the feature, a Facebook spokesperson said that a team of human moderators at Facebook manually reviews each fundraiser before it goes live to ensure that its description the category it was placed in, i.e. medical expenses, education, crisis relief, a pet's medical expenses, or something else. The spokesperson said there's no way that Safety Check would be triggered for a disaster that didn't happen.

Facebook activates Safety Check when the independent crisis reporting agency NC4 notifies the social network of an incident. When asked about how the agency classifies disasters and what kind of incident would trigger Safety Check, a Facebook spokesperson said that was proprietary information.

In the past, the feature hasn't always worked seamlessly. In the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake, a bug in Safety Check prompted Facebook users in the US and the UK to mark themselves as safe. And in December 2016, Safety Check raised an alarm over an “Explosion in Bangkok, Thailand,” which the company seemed to think was a combination of a firecracker thrown at a peaceful protest and news stories referencing a bombing attack in 2015. A Facebook spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that Safety Check had been correctly deployed in that instance.

Facebook already allows nonprofits and individuals to create fundraisers, but the feature wasn't integrated with Safety Check before. According to Facebook, the feature has been activated 600 times in the past two years, and people around the world have checked in as safe more than a billion times. The company pointed to the $450,000 raised for victims of the Manchester bombing via Facebook Live as an example of the fundraiser feature's success.

Facebook takes a 6.9% cut and $.30 per donation for “payment processing fees, fundraiser vetting, and security and fraud protection” from personal fundraisers. Registered nonprofits pay a slightly smaller 5% fee, and unregistered nonprofits, which receive their Facebook donations via the nonprofit Network for Good, pay a 5.75% fee.

Facebook product designer Preethi Chenan wrote in a blog post, “I couldn’t be more proud of the empathy and care that goes into building this product.” Chenan emphasized the iterative process of designing Facebook's crisis response features and said that the company would be monitoring chatter about it for feedback in various qualitative and quantitative ways.

Another feature that Facebook's rolling out will let you update your friends on what's happening when you use Safety Check.

Previously, your Facebook friends would just see that you had marked yourself as “safe” during nearby disasters. NOW You'll be able to add text to check-ins in the coming weeks, though Facebook declined to specify exactly when. The feature will roll out globally.

Chenan wrote that a large number of people who check in as safe either comment on their check-in or create a new status update to describe what was going on where they are. This new feature simplifies that process.

The new process will also allow you to select “Doesn't Apply to Me” instead of the “Not In The Area” to say you weren't affected, as was the case in the past.

Facebook will also start adding information cards to Safety Check reports.

Sometimes people will see Safety Check alerts before they even know that a crisis or disaster is happening. To alleviate any confusion, Facebook plans to now include an “About” page for safety alerts.

NC4 will write the information cards, which will be based on information provided by government agencies, as well as reports from the scene. The feature will also roll out globally in the coming weeks, exact date unspecified.

Facebook will also expand its Community Help feature, which lets people offer or seek non-monetary help like shelter or first aid.

When it launched in February, Facebook's Community Help feature was only available for natural disasters or accidents, like a tsunami or a bridge collapsing. Now, Facebook will enable the Community Help feature during incidents like terrorist attacks, too. It's also rolling out on desktop. It's available globally today.

Quelle: <a href="Facebook Will Now Let You Start A Fundraiser When You Use Safety Check“>BuzzFeed

Uber Board Member Resigns After Sexist Remark At Staff Meeting Addressing Sexism

Getty Images

Uber board member David Bonderman has resigned, hours after he was criticized for making a sexist remark at an all-hands staff meeting held to discuss an investigation into reports of sexual harassment and discrimination at Uber, a representative for the board confirmed.

The New York Times first reported the resignation of Bonderman, a partner at the private equity firm TPG.

Uber board member Arianna Huffington noted at the meeting on Tuesday that the ride-hailing giant's board is now 25% female: Nestlé executive Wan Ling Martello joined the board on Monday.

“There’s a lot of data that shows that when there is one woman on the board it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman,” she said.

Bonderman then interjected. “Actually what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” he said. Bonderman later apologized in a company-wide email for his comment.

“I want to apologize to my fellow board member for a disrespectful comment that as directed at her during today's discussion,” Bonderman wrote. “It was inappropriate. I also want to apologize to all Uber employees who were offended by the remark. I deeply regret it.”

Quelle: <a href="Uber Board Member Resigns After Sexist Remark At Staff Meeting Addressing Sexism“>BuzzFeed

Uber Employees Are Skeptical The Holder Report Will Change Anything

Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt / AFP / Getty Images

Current and former Uber employees say the ride-hail giant has for years ignored concerns raised by an internal investigation into the company’s culture.

The investigation — and the 13-page list of recommended changes to company structure and culture that resulted from it — came after a former employee, Susan Fowler, went public with allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment and Uber enlisted former attorney general Eric Holder to conduct an independent investigation of her claims. On Sunday, Uber’s board voted unanimously to adopt the report’s recommendations, and on Tuesday, management presented it to employees in an all-hands meeting.

But 10 current and former employees told BuzzFeed that while the report and the board’s receptiveness to it are encouraging, many of the issues and remedies outlined were well-known within the company for some time.

“They have had meetings internally for years where people brought up these concerns,” one employee told BuzzFeed News. “Now that they are doing damage control and Eric Holder’s firm said that need to change things, they are serious about it.”

“Many of us raised [concerns] for a long time,” another employee told BuzzFeed. “Directors of engineering that didn’t do anything are still there.”

“Seems like a good beginning, but unless there is much more behind the headlines, it's woefully inadequate,” one former senior employee told BuzzFeed News.

“They have had meetings internally for years where people brought up these concerns.”

“I would guess none of this news is going to come as a surprise to anybody who’s ever spent any time at Uber,” another former employee said. “How much [of the report] is sort of cosmetic versus how much they actually plan to live it?”

Asked to comment for this article, an Uber spokesman referred BuzzFeed News to comments Liane Hornsey, the company’s chief human resources officer, made earlier in the day.

“Implementing these recommendations will improve our culture, promote fairness and accountability, and establish processes and systems to ensure the mistakes of the past will not be repeated,” she wrote. While change does not happen overnight, we’re committed to rebuilding trust with our employees, riders and drivers.”

The report recommended sweeping changes to the way Uber is run, including creating an ethics committee on the board, offering managers more training, prioritizing diversity, prohibiting sexual relationships between certain employees, and enforcing guidelines on alcohol consumption and drug use at company events. Uber’s reputation has been tarnished by a recent series of bruising accounts of its internal culture, and the Holder report and its recommendations seem to validate many of these stories.

“There’s a lot of improvement to be done and I’m glad we’re taking concrete steps.”

“I think there’s a lot of improvement to be done and I’m glad we’re taking concrete steps,” one current employee said. A former employee echoed a similar sentiment, saying that it is promising to see movement to improve the company’s culture after years of lip service.

Significantly, the report also called for a lesser role for Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick, who announced the same day of the report’s publication that he is taking a leave of absence from the company. “For Uber 2.0 to succeed there is nothing more important than dedicating my time to building out the leadership team. But if we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve,” he wrote in a note to staff Tuesday.

One employee speculated that Kalanick’s absence could help the company turn its culture around. Another employee told BuzzFeed, “I’d prefer him around even if he’s an asshole,” expressing concern about a leadership void. More than a dozen executives have left Uber this year. In Kalanick’s absence, the company will be run by his direct reports, including Rachel Holt, the head of Uber’s US and Canada business.

The report also specifically recommended that Uber reformulate its 14 cultural values, including mantras like “always be hustlin’, toe-stepping, and principled confrontation,” which the report indicated had been used within Uber “to justify poor behavior.”

“The cultural values were announced in 2015, many years in — that's already farcical,” another former employee said. “You don't state cultural values, you have them. So there's now a repeal, then what, replace?”

“It is bullshit that they are patting themselves on the back for just 25% women on the board.”

During the all-hands meeting Tuesday to discuss the report’s findings, Uber board member Arianna Huffington noted that Uber’s board is now 25% female. (Nestlé executive Wan Ling Martello joined the board on Monday.) “There’s a lot of data that shows that when there is one woman on the board it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman,” she said. David Bonderman, another board member, then interjected. “Actually what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” he said. Bonderman later apologized in a company-wide email for his comment.

One current employee brought up Bonderman’s joke as an example of how much further Uber has to go. “That is why it is bullshit that they are patting themselves on the back for just 25% women on the board,” the employee told BuzzFeed.

The report may rectify institutional issues for the future, another former employee said, but it does not compensate for years of ignored concerns.

“I don’t think it’s too late, but it’s a price all the older people paid,” this person said.

Quelle: <a href="Uber Employees Are Skeptical The Holder Report Will Change Anything“>BuzzFeed

An Uber Without A CEO Isn't Going Public Anytime Soon

Wall Street bankers have been salivating for some time over the prospect of an initial public offering by Uber, the most valuable tech startup in the world. Trying to predict an IPO can feel futile even in good times — the ride-hail company hasn't revealed any specific plans — but the decision on Tuesday by Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to take a leave of absence has clouded Wall Street's crystal ball.

Kalanick, engulfed by Uber's roiling sexual harassment crisis, and grieving his recently deceased mother, told employees in a memo that he would be taking “some time off of the day-to-day” for an indefinite period. During this leave, “the leadership team, my directs, will be running the company,” he wrote. “I will be available as needed for the most strategic decisions, but I will be empowering them to be bold and decisive in order to move the company forward swiftly.”

Kalanick in June.

Staff / Reuters

While no one realistically expected Uber to file to go public in the middle of a crisis, the prospect of leadership by committee effectively rules out an IPO in the near future, at least until Kalanick returns, market experts told BuzzFeed News. A successful IPO depends on telling a compelling story to investors, and having a strong leader is a virtual requirement.

“It needs to have a CEO almost as a figurehead,” said Jared Carmel, managing partner of Manhattan Venture Partners, a boutique investment bank and fund manager. “You need leadership, you need confidence. You're asking Wall Street and Greenwich to invest in you. You need to instill confidence in the shareholder base.”

Kathleen Smith, principal of Renaissance Capital, an investment management firm focused on IPOs, said she had never heard of a committee-led company going public. “I've never seen it, because it's such a bad idea,” she said.

“Businesses don't run by committee, whether they're public or private,” Smith added. “That's not going to be a sustained situation.”

Still, reading between the lines of Kalanick's email, it appears that the Uber CEO may not be totally absent during his leave, Smith said. She noted that Kalanick said he'd still be available for “the most strategic decisions.”

Kalanick may still be “calling the shots,” Smith said.

By the time Kalanick does come back, he will be required to share some of his responsibilities with a chief operating officer, and his power will be checked by an independent chairperson, according to recommendations that the Uber board voted on Sunday to adopt.

Having a strong suite of executives surrounding Kalanick should be interpreted by Wall Street as positive, Carmel said. In that case, he said, “everyone can do what they do best.”

An Uber spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Quelle: <a href="An Uber Without A CEO Isn't Going Public Anytime Soon“>BuzzFeed

Engineer Who Exposed Uber's Culture Crisis Calls Internal Investigation "All Optics"

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Susan Fowler, the former Uber software engineer whose viral blog alleging systemic sexism and harassment prompted the company to launch an internal investigation, on Tuesday called that investigation “all optics.” Fowler's criticism came after Uber released the findings of that probe, outlining dozens of recommendations that the ride-hail giant's board says it plans to implement. The company last week said it investigated more than 200 claims of harassment and discrimination, among other allegations, and fired 20 people.

Liane Hornsey, Uber's chief human resources officer, spoke to employees at an all-hands meeting on Tuesday announcing the report's findings. She thanked Fowler during the meeting for being a catalyst for change at the company.

Fowler did not return a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.

Days after Fowler's blog published on February 19, Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick met with more than 100 female engineers at the company. During the meeting, he promised “credible, thorough justice” via an internal investigation by former Attorney General Eric Holder. Kalanick was grilled by the group, who urged him to begin “listening to your own people,” according to an audio recording obtained by BuzzFeed News. “Everyone who’s in these rooms now … believes that there is a systemic problem here,” another participant said, prompting applause.

On Sunday, Uber's board unanimously voted to adopt all recommendations from the Holder report, which we've outlined here.

Quelle: <a href="Engineer Who Exposed Uber's Culture Crisis Calls Internal Investigation "All Optics"“>BuzzFeed

An Early Investor Says Uber Has An Opportunity To "Reset The Culture"

Early Uber investor Freada Kapor Klein told BuzzFeed News that she sees opportunity for Uber to start over after allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and a hostile work environment.

“One of the things abut a rapidly growing company is that most of the people are new, so there is an ongoing opportunity to reset the culture,” she told BuzzFeed News Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, the company released publicly a 12-page list of recommended changes to company structure and culture, which were unanimously approved by the company's board at a meeting on Sunday. They are the result of an independent investigation led by former attorney general Eric Holder into allegations of pervasive sexism and sexual harassment at the company, which is valued at nearly $70 billion.

On Monday, the company's top business executive, Emil Michael, resigned, and on Tuesday, CEO Travis Kalanick announced he would be taking a leave of absence. (Kalanick is also grappling with a family tragedy.)

“With Travis stepping aside and Emil having resigned, and several other departures, with a thoroughgoing set of values and recommendations and controls and audits and checks on the behavior of senior leaders, I think there’s a possibility that things could indeed turn around,” Kapor Klein said.

Kapor Klein with a friend in 2013

Flickr/UC Irvine / Via Flickr: ucirvine

Kapor Klein has been openly critical of the workplace culture at Uber since former engineer Susan Fowler wrote a widely read blog post describing the alleged discrimination and harassment she experienced at the company.

In February, Kapor Klein, along with her husband and co-investor Mitch Kapor, published an open letter lambasting the “toxic pattern” of “sexism, sexual harassment and horrendous management at Uber.” They also criticized Kalanick for selecting “a team of insiders” to conduct the internal investigation into these allegations.

But today, following the public release of the report, Kapor Klein called the investigation “comprehensive,” and praised the willingness of the team to seek outside expertise on tech culture.

Kapor Klein, who reviewed the Holder report prior to today, said she's been in touch with both Liane Hornsey, Uber's head of human resources, and Bernard Coleman, Uber's head of diversity, in recent months. But what her role as a concerned investor will be going forward — whether she'll have a seat on an external advisory board, or what the mechanisms for ensuring Uber does follow these recommendations — remains unclear.

Not everyone was as optimistic as Kapor Klein following the release of the report today. On Twitter, Fowler said her complaint against Uber isn't about an aggressive or sexist culture, but about “laws being broken.”

Kapor Klein said the Holder report was intended to be forward-looking, and believes the company is committed to ensuring that “no person is ever treated like Susan Fowler was treated.” But the question of what, if anything, will be done to make up for the mistakes of the past remains.

“Certainly I think that Susan Fowler, and the employees who suffered in the past, who’ve been mistreated, who've been dismissed, and retaliated against. All those horrible things that have happened – in no way do I think that ought to be forgotten,” she said. “I’d be interested in hearing whether there’s anything that Uber or any other company could do for Susan, to make her whole.”

The recommendations made in the Holder report are, in some cases, quite granular. For example, the report recommends scheduling nightly catered dinners earlier, so that employees can take advantage of the benefit without staying late at work every night. Other parts of the report have specific suggestions for dealing with alcohol in the workplace.

On the surface, it would seem some of the suggestions could apply broadly to a number of companies in the tech industry. But Kapor Klein warned against copy-catting the recommendations without adequate soul-searching. “I would be cautious and would not encourage another company to go through the Holder recommendations and adopt them wholesale,” she said. “Each of the categories needs to be addressed, but in the context of one's business and one's culture and one's values.”

In addition being a founding partner of Kapor Capital, Kapor Klein is a founding member of Project Include, a group that provides advice on diversity and inclusion issues. She said many tech companies have expressed an interest in examining their own workplace practices in recent months, and that the Uber employees who were involved in the months-long process of bringing issues at Uber to the surface should “take some pride in being part of a seismic shift in the tech ecosystem.”

She also said she'll continue to hold Uber accountable.

“We think that Uber ought to be given an opportunity to execute on these recommendations, to do so quickly and unequivocally, but that they ought to be given a chance to do so. And if they don’t do so quickly they deserve all the wrath of everyone.”

Quelle: <a href="An Early Investor Says Uber Has An Opportunity To "Reset The Culture"“>BuzzFeed