Social media technology
Social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have proved enormously popular, and while they are consumer focused, the principles of collaboration and information sharing that they embody are highly relevant for corporate IT. We analyse the latest trends in social media technology, social networking and explain how they can be applied to enterprise IT strategy.
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News
26 Mar 2024
Apple, Meta and Alphabet under EU scrutiny
Under the new Digital Markets Act, European commissioners are looking at potential issues with the way Apple, Alphabet and Meta operate their platforms Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2024
US sues Apple, alleging smartphone monopoly
A major legal action against Apple over its dominance of the smartphone market has kicked off in the US, alleging anticompetitive practices on Apple’s part that have damaged the sector and restricted consumer choice Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2019
Zuckerberg’s mentor condemns Facebook’s business practices
Long-time Silicon Valley investor speaks out against surveillance capitalism and the lack of rules and regulations governing big tech’s behaviour Continue Reading
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Blog Post
09 Oct 2019
Rebekah Vardy’s out of the party
Coleen Rooney has detailed the detective work that went into unmasking Rebekah Vardy as the alleged mole of her private Instagram account. Adopting the standard celebrity statement release protocol ... Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2019
HETT 2019: Digital literacy gap will never be fully closed, says panel
The increasing use of digital technology in healthcare means it is important for people to be digitally literate to take part, but the digital literacy gap will always be there, says an expert panel Continue Reading
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News
04 Oct 2019
UK and US call on Facebook to walk back encryption plans
The US, Australian and UK governments have asked Facebook to ditch plans to deploy end-to-end encryption across Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2019
Cyber war as big a threat as nuclear war, says ex-RSA head Coviello
Former RSA chairman Art Coviello has been speaking about the devastating potential of cyber weapons, and warned that humanity must learn from history in order to control them Continue Reading
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Blog Post
02 Oct 2019
Mark Zuckerberg’s existential threat
When we heard that some of Mark Zuckerberg’s Q&A sessions with his Facebook massive had been released by The Verge, we hardly expected to witness a grand reveal of them all kicking off their ... Continue Reading
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Opinion
02 Oct 2019
AI vs AI: How can we win the fake news battle?
Many internet browsers and social media companies have been forced to take on a new responsibility to combat the dissemination of false information, but can they succeed? Continue Reading
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News
01 Oct 2019
Interview: James Smith, director of digital, Nationwide Building Society
James Smith says heading up the digital unit at Nationwide Building Society is the best job in the business Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2019
Instagram and WhatsApp – the new tools of social media propaganda
Facebook and Twitter have been cast as the villains of the piece, but social media disinformation and propaganda are evolving in new and alarming directions, say Oxford University researchers Continue Reading
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News
24 Sep 2019
Google pushes back on scale of YouTube phishing threat
Millions of YouTubers may be at risk after some high-profile influencers reported their accounts were compromised in an apparent phishing attack, but the platform’s owner, Google, is not so sure Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2019
Facebook automatically generates pages for Islamic State and Al-Qaeda
Facebook algorithms have auto-generated hundreds of Facebook pages for the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Sharia, according to a whistleblower Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2019
Emotet phishing botnet returns from summer vacation
The Emotet phishing trojan-turned-botnet is back in action after a three-and-a-half month break, say threat researchers Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2019
US lawmakers demand internal Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon documents in antitrust probe
US lawmakers have given big tech companies a deadline to disclose a wide range of documents as the House Judiciary Committee’s bipartisan investigation into competition gathers pace Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2019
Fintech lender increases loan limit as customer demand accelerates
Small business lender Esme Loans has increased its loan limit to quarter of a million pounds as businesses are drawn to its simple and fast digital platform Continue Reading
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Opinion
11 Sep 2019
Regulators globally are shaping up to rein in Facebook
We need to move fast and fix Facebook, before it breaks us Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Sep 2019
The emergence of the shopping centre-as-a-service model
Shopping centres have been morphing into wider entertainment, leisure and hospitality venues for some time, but their role is set to evolve yet further Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2019
Social engineering a factor in virtually all cyber attacks, report claims
Almost every single cyber attack will, at some stage, require a human to be tricked into doing something, according to research by Proofpoint Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2019
National Rail Enquiries hit by rush hour real-time information outage on mobile app and website
National Rail Enquiries confirms it is waiting on a third-party supplier for an update on when access to real-time train departure and arrival information will be restored on its website and mobile app Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Aug 2019
Building a 5G city: Bristol’s valuable lessons for the UK’s digital future
West of England Combined Authority is taking part in DCMS’s 5G Testbeds and Trials programme, exploring applications for tourism and entertainment. We find out how it is applying its learnings to life in Bristol and Bath Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Aug 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 29
In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Brian McKenna, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald take a look back at the last 28 podcasts ahead of the summer podcast pause Continue Reading
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News
21 Aug 2019
Inside Facebook’s engineering culture
An open and transparent culture that encourages developers to take risks and assume the best intent of co-workers has been the defining character of Facebook’s engineering organisation Continue Reading
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Blog Post
07 Aug 2019
8chan history
As we watched a former porn site merchant’s video statement, him sat there in front of a Benjamin Franklin backdrop to the sound of a military bugle call, defending 8chan’s white supremacist ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
02 Aug 2019
Welcome to Limmy’s Twitch
Amazon-owned live video streaming platform Twitch has lost one of its biggest stars to Microsoft-owned rival site Mixer, but rather than lament the departure of Ninja, one clandestine member of the ... Continue Reading
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News
01 Aug 2019
Facebook asked to explain discrepancies in evidence over Cambridge Analytica
DCMS Committee chairman asks Facebook to clarify what it knew about Cambridge Analytica’s use of its data and when Continue Reading
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Podcast
31 Jul 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 26
In this special edition of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload, Brian McKenna and Caroline Donnelly are joined by Bill Goodwin and Sebastian Klovig Skelton to dig into the pair's recent run of in-depth investigative articles on Facebook and its privacy practices Continue Reading
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Blog Post
26 Jul 2019
Apologising with Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg – Sir Nick to you – continues to flourish as Facebook’s hired appeaser, most recently resurfacing from his Atherton mansion with a sound bite about how his employer was “rocked to its ... Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2019
Surge in UK businesses switching bank account providers
The UK system that makes it easy to change bank account has seen a surge in businesses taking up the service Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2019
Facebook shrugs off $5bn fine, reports strong quarter
Investors responded positively after social networking firm reported better-than-expected second-quarter results after budgeting for FTC fine, but the company faces a further antitrust investigation Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2019
Zuckerberg responsible for Facebook privacy compliance after $5bn FTC fine
Facebook pays record fine after breaching users’ privacy, following settlements with Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2019
US Department of Justice launches antitrust probe into dominance of online platform providers
The US Department of Justice has called for an antitrust investigation into how “market-leading” online platform operators in the search, social media and retail space operate Continue Reading
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E-Zine
16 Jul 2019
Computer Weekly – 16 July 2019: Reaping the benefits of digital transformation at Defra
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we check out the digital transformation at Defra, and see how the government department is preparing for Brexit. The new technology chief for the NHS explains how he’s going to bring the health service into the digital age. And we examine how to make a success of enterprise social media platforms. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
11 Jul 2019
Let us troll
This month saw the Church of England release its own Digital charter, intended to improve the online community’s “common sense, kindness and sound judgement”. Now, you can sit there and have a go ... Continue Reading
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Podcast
09 Jul 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 23
In this week’s episode of the Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, Ryan Priest rejoins the show to help this week’s co-hosts, Caroline Donnelly and Clare McDonald, take a light-hearted look at the past week in tech Continue Reading
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News
05 Jul 2019
Challenger bank shuts up shop in UK amid uncertainty
Digital bank Fidor is ending its time in the UK, blaming uncertainties in the market Continue Reading
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Opinion
04 Jul 2019
Why Facebook’s Libra digital currency could run rings round the regulators
Facebook’s cryptocurrency isn’t really a cryptocurrency, nor is it really a money transfer network, but it’s been formulated in such a way that regulators might not be able to do anything to stop it Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2019
Over half a million homes now using full-fibre as access improves
Ofcom’s latest Communications Market Report examines key trends in the UK’s broadband and mobile market, and finds that access to faster broadband is expanding rapidly across all delivery mechanisms Continue Reading
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News
04 Jul 2019
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp outage resolved, but questions remain over what caused it
Facebook confirms that technical difficulties blighted its applications and services for several hours on 3 July 2019 Continue Reading
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News
03 Jul 2019
Why PSD2 adoption in the Netherlands is lagging behind
The Netherlands appears to be falling behind in open banking, even though the Dutch are digitally proficient and are often early adopters of new technology. What is going on? Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2019
Facebook’s privacy game – how Zuckerberg backtracked on promises to protect personal data
Facebook promised its users privacy then quietly abandoned its promises in pursuit of profits. Now it faces antitrust regulation Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2019
Rise of the machines: How AI is changing unified communications
Artificial intelligence is now moving into live UC environments at scale. We look at the impact it will have and what lies ahead Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Jul 2019
The changing face of enterprise collaboration
Enterprises are turning to social platforms to optimise communication among their workforces. Computer Weekly looks at some examples Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2019
Almost half of shoppers still prefer brands with stores
Despite an increasing amount of people shopping online, factors such as product pricing and whether a brand has a physical store still come into play Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Jun 2019
How privacy could breathe new life into personalisation
As much of the advertising technology used by marketers to deliver personalised content online is deemed unlawful, there are signs regulation could actually be a win-win for both consumers and business – as long as the industry embraces change Continue Reading
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Blog Post
26 Jun 2019
Scepticism and the challenges beyond for Facebook’s Libra
Facebook faces major hurdles to make Libra a success even if it overcomes the rampant scepitisim Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
Facebook officially unveils cryptocurrency plans
Facebook has released details about its Libra cryptocurrency, but questions still remain over how, and if, it will work Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
HCL delivers digital services to Cricket Australia
Cricket governing body chooses Indian IT supplier to expand the boundaries of its customer engagement platforms Continue Reading
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News
19 Jun 2019
How AirAsia streamlined its customer service
Integrating multiple customer touch points with Salesforce has enabled Asia’s leading low-cost carrier to shorten waiting time and improve customer service Continue Reading
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Blog Post
19 Jun 2019
Puss in briefs
A Pakistani politician has played down the embarrassment of one of his briefings being streamed live to Facebook with the cat filter on. “The cat filter was turned on by mistake,” said Shaukat ... Continue Reading
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News
18 Jun 2019
Facebook announces global digital currency Libra
Facebook is launching digital coin to open up affordable financial services to the world Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2019
Facebook London hiring spree focuses on tackling online harms
Facebook is hiring for 500 tech jobs in the capital in the next six months, with a particular focus on seeking out and clamping down on malicious content and fake accounts, and curbing other harmful behaviour on its platforms Continue Reading
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Blog Post
13 Jun 2019
Some reflections on Black Mirror
The fifth series of Charlie Brooker’s anthology series Black Mirror landed on Netflix this month, and we were surprised to find it’s moved away from making terrifying technology predictions to ... Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2019
Austrian Supreme Court green-lights GDPR case against Facebook
A potential landmark case against Facebook for violating General Data Protection Regulation rights has been given the go-ahead by the Austrian Supreme Court Continue Reading
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Blog Post
11 Jun 2019
John Suffolk's grilling by MPs exposes the tech industry's troubling amorality
In an astonishing and frankly unprecedented turn of events before the Science and Technology Select Committee this week, Huawei chief security officer John Suffolk was branded a "moral vacuum" by ... Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2019
Big tech chiefs boycott parliamentarians investigating citizens’ privacy
An International Grand Committee on Big Data, Privacy and Democracy considers whether failure to protect citizens’ privacy constitutes grounds for anti-trust regulation against Facebook and other big tech companies Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Jun 2019
How retail store technology is filling the ‘imagination gap’
Retailers are using in-store technology to reduce the time between shoppers’ consideration phase and purchase, but how is it engaging them and triggering conversions? Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Jun 2019
Cutting employees some Slack: The rise of messaging apps in retail
Slack’s 2019 stock market debut raises the profile of enterprise collaboration software, but what options do retailers have in this space and how are they using the technology? Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2019
Facebook loses bid to halt European court decision on EU-US data sharing
Irish Supreme Court dismisses attempt by Facebook to prevent the European Court of Justice considering the validity of US-EU data transfers, after Austrian lawyer Max Schrems argued that they put the privacy of EU citizens at risk Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2019
Microsoft embarks on renewable-powered datacentre push in Sweden
Microsoft is doubling down on its efforts to have more of its datacentres powered by renewable energy, with commitment to make its facilities in Sweden the most sustainable yet Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2019
Hyperscale datacentre operators report first drop in capex growth for seven quarters
Datacentre investments of cloud and internet giants dropped in the first quarter of 2019 after seven consecutive quarters of growth, but market watcher claims it is just a blip Continue Reading
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News
28 May 2019
NHS Digital sets out Internet First policy
NHS Digital is soliciting input to its Internet First policy, a set of standards and guidelines to help health and social care organisations make digital services accessible over the internet Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2019
Paul Smith looks to tailor its back-end systems with Cegid software
British tailor Paul Smith has been working with Cegid since 2015, but it is now considering upgrading to the provider's latest software to reduce costs and increase efficiency Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2019
Hundreds of European retail banks will disappear as challengers scoop up customers
One in every 10 banks in Europe will no longer exist as digital challengers take customers from them Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2019
UC Expo 2019: Experts talk up future tech in unified communications
Automation and AI are increasingly prevalent in unified comms, but do enterprises really need it? Continue Reading
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News
16 May 2019
Fujitsu sets out to restore trust in technology
Trust in technology, how to recapture it, and how to ensure AI doesn’t overstep its bounds were the big messages on the opening day of Fujitsu Forum in Tokyo Continue Reading
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Blog Post
15 May 2019
Clout drought
When Anna Wintour failed to extend a single Met Gala invite to anyone from Computer Weekly this year, she sent out a clear message to the entire world: tech is out. We were left to only imagine ... Continue Reading
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News
15 May 2019
Facebook engaged in ‘calculated’ campaign to eliminate competition, claims businessman
A US businessman is seeking damages from Facebook after accusing the social media company of unfairly blocking “humorous” Facebook pages which generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue Continue Reading
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News
14 May 2019
Spyware targets WhatsApp users
Social media platform issues update after it discovered a flaw being exploited by commercial spyware Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2019
Facebook co-founder: ‘It is time to break up Facebook’
Co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, has published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for Facebook to be broken up, as it faces investigations from the US Federal Trade Commission Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2019
Physical stores – the place to meet your tribe
In a digital world, stores still have a place as community hubs, representatives from Lego, Vans and M&Ms told Retail Expo Continue Reading
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News
07 May 2019
Early adopters expect to pay 32% premium for 5G
Potential early adopters of 5G say they expect, on average, to pay more for their devices and services, but they expect measurable improvements on 4G from the get-go Continue Reading
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News
30 Apr 2019
Brighton Dome theatre gets access to city’s 5G mobile testbed
Brighton Dome & Festival is to deploy a 5G network to explore future applications for the technology in the arts Continue Reading
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News
26 Apr 2019
Facebook faces fresh privacy actions from regulators
Facebook faces legal action from Canada after it dismissed regulators’ findings that it failed to protect customer privacy. The firm has set aside $5bn to settle a privacy action in the US and faces a new investigation in Ireland Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2019
Public becoming more aware of privacy abuses and unethical tech
Widespread abuses of privacy, biometric information and artificial intelligence mean the internet is in poor health, but growing popular awareness of its problems gives some cause for hope, says the Mozilla Foundation Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2019
Online fashion brand Boohoo sees year-on-year revenue growth
Online fashion retailer Boohoo.com has seen a spike in revenue over the past year across all of its operating brands, and has announced the completion of several digital projects Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Apr 2019
Sorry Cadwalladr, I misunderstood
Carole Cadwalladr has used her TED talk to highlight Facebook’s obfuscation regarding political adverts on its site, calling for Mark Zuckerberg to hold a TED talk of his own or risk finding ... Continue Reading
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News
23 Apr 2019
Apple spends upwards of $30m a month on AWS during first quarter of 2019, report claims
According to US media reports, Apple is spending upwards of $30m a month on procuring cloud services from Amazon Web Services Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2019
Facebook leaks: Zuckerberg turned data into dollars in ruthless battle with competitors
Facebook’s CEO ruthlessly exploited personal data shared by its users to turn Facebook into the biggest social network, but internal documents show that privacy appeared to be an afterthought for executives Continue Reading
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Blog Post
17 Apr 2019
Cutting off the internet is a TERRIBLE idea, whether or not you agree with Extinction Rebellion
Many people using the London Underground today will likely have noticed that the usual Virgin Media-run Wi-Fi service is not working. Some might even have been mildly inconvenienced by not being ... Continue Reading
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News
17 Apr 2019
TfL suspends Wi-Fi service as Extinction Rebellion spreads
Transport for London has cut off its public Virgin Media Wi-Fi service to disrupt climate change protests Continue Reading
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Blog Post
17 Apr 2019
Facebook shutters Messenger payments in UK as Brits just not into it
Facebook is closing its peer to peer payments service within Messenger in the UK because of limited take up Continue Reading
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News
15 Apr 2019
Facebook takes extraordinary legal steps to contain document leak
Facebook targets journalists and news organisations for computer searches Continue Reading
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Blog Post
10 Apr 2019
Lush gives up on social media
Since the birth of social media platforms, brands have been carefully adapting their marketing strategies to reach the cool kids on whatever their chosen channel of choice. From MySpace, to ... Continue Reading
- 10 Apr 2019
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News
10 Apr 2019
Skype blocked in UAE will hit businesses as well as people
Skype has been blocked to users in the United Arab Emirates, and its effects will be felt by businesses as well as citizens Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2019
Social inclusion unit aims to expand diversity in IT conversation
New unit at startup hub wants to explore how technology can be applied to address the barriers many people face in participating in society Continue Reading
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Blog Post
04 Apr 2019
Remembering Google+
We remember Google not letting us comment on a YouTube video until we signed up to its barren and now extinct social media platform like it was yesterday, if only in the sense that it’s one of the ... Continue Reading
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News
03 Apr 2019
Marie Claire develops platform to encourage in-magazine shopping
An in-house team at Marie Claire has developed a platform to encourage readers to shop while browsing the site Continue Reading
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02 Apr 2019
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive
On the face of it, the European Parliament’s new Copyright Directive aims to ensure the media industry does not lose out financially to behemoths, but certain articles could see users’ internet freedom stifled. Continue Reading
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Podcast
02 Apr 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 10
In this week’s episode of The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team discusses Twitter spats, the long-running legal saga between HP and Mike Lynch, Asos’s retail tech strategy, G-Cloud 11 and how machine learning is shaking up the healthcare sector Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2019
Fidor founder leaves as parent bank plots future
The founder of digital challenger bank Fidor leaves company as traditional banking parent company tries to sell business Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Mar 2019
What are the options for regulating internet companies?
The UK – and other countries – are likely to introduce new regulations for internet and tech companies like Facebook and Google. We consider what sort of rules they might introduce Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2019
Europe passes controversial Copyright Directive
The European Parliament has passed a new Copyright Directive, including a number of highly controversial articles Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2019
Nominet urges SMEs to register .uk domains to thwart squatters
The automatic right of .co.uk domain name holders to register the shorter .uk domains ends in June Continue Reading
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Blog Post
20 Mar 2019
Vote Leave’s early bath
Vote Leave’s band of zip-wiring cowboy builders has been handed another fine: this time for sending out nearly 200,000 unsolicited texts to the poor sods who entered their contest to win £50m if ... Continue Reading
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News
20 Mar 2019
Government can make better use of tech to tackle loneliness
Report produced by Vodafone urges the government to exploit the potential of technology to alleviate loneliness among older people Continue Reading
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Podcast
19 Mar 2019
Podcast: The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload – Episode 8
In this week’s episode of The Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast, the team reminisces over 30 years of the World Wide Web, gets the low-down on what happened at this year’s Cloud Expo and digs a little deeper into the user IT implications of Brexit Continue Reading
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Photo Story
11 Mar 2019
Web @ 30
It has been 30 years since Sir Tim Berners-Lee's initial proposal for the World Wide Web Continue Reading
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News
08 Mar 2019
House of Lords committee calls for creation of a digital authority to oversee regulation
The proposed regulatory framework would coordinate regulators, assess rules and make recommendations to respond to developments in digital services Continue Reading
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News
07 Mar 2019
Zuckerberg commits to Facebook becoming privacy-focused
After a storm of controversy and criticism over the way Facebook fails to protect users’ privacy, the company’s chief says he plans to transform it into a privacy-focused platform Continue Reading
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News
04 Mar 2019
UK among most expensive countries for mobile data
The UK ranks 136th in the world for the average cost of 1GB of mobile data, according to new statistics Continue Reading