Big Tech’s Senate grilling. Last week, the heads of Google, Twitter and Facebook were again in the hot seat with a tense hearing on the subject of censorship in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Republican senators in particular took issue with the companies’ moderation policies, which they believe to be unfair toward conservative viewpoints. At the same time, these companies have grappled with a deluge of misinformation and extremism in the lead up to tomorrow’s election. As weighty and complex as all these topics are, the primary question spreading like wildfire on Tech Twitter was, “What the heck is going on with Jack Dorsey’s beard?” [New York Times + SFist]
Reddit won’t cut pay for remote workers who leave SF. Of course, much has already been written about whether the employees of tech companies in pricey locales like San Francisco who choose to work remotely permanently should maintain salaries commensurate with most tech hubs’ heightened costs of living. Reddit announced last week it will not dock these workers’ pay, and it’s believed to be the first major company to publicly take this stance. [CNBC]
What makes a music recommendation engine good? Sometimes it can feel like music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music know your music tastes better than you do. But how? We spoke with Lauren Pufpaf, a former DJ who now serves as COO of the SF-headquartered Feed.fm, a B2B music service, to learn about the machinations of a music recommendation engine that knows exactly when you’re in need of a dance-floor jolt from Disclosure versus the soothing coo of Valerie June. [Built In SF]
Udemy for Business tops $100M in annual recurring revenue. The SF-based edtech company’s corporate learning tool just announced it surpassed a critical milestone, scaling from $1 million in annual recurring revenue to $100 million in five years. The company saw a surge of enrollments amid the pandemic and is growing rapidly, with companies like Disney and Toyota hopping on as new clients this year alone. [Built In SF]
Can tech save office culture in the time of COVID? At a time when the number of COVID-19 cases is again rising across most of the country and the remote-work revolution shows no sign of stopping, some tech employers with massive office leases are growing anxious about safe back-to-office plans. Tech tools like Salesforce’s Work.com software and Maptician’s employee tracking and scheduling platform are being touted by some as a way to bring back office culture. [Bloomberg]
Salesforce launches $100M impact fund. Salesforce Ventures recently unveiled its second impact fund geared toward investments in companies working in the areas of sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. The fund totals $100 million, double the amount of its inaugural 2017 fund. [Built In SF]
