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On the one hand, Punxsutawney Phil might be upset that he sees his shadow, but the sun hasn’t risen in days where Christine lives, so she’s pretty pissed off that wherever Phil lives there’s a ray of sunshine or two. In other news, Hajee had to move house due to a flooded apartment, the weather is real, and maybe it’s time to start taking climate change seriously.
Meanwhile, for today’s Black History Month tip, we’re watching Angela Davis talk about how we can’t end racism without ending racial capitalism. – Christine And came
TechCrunch’s Top 3
- List: Ron As he writes, tracking the Salesforce layoffs announced last month, even though these were announced in January, some employees are now finding out they’re on the list. oh
- The grocery store goes digital… meaning currency.India’s largest retail chain Reliance Retail is now accepting payments in digital rupees, the central bank’s digital currency; Manish Reports.
- The password is…Dashlan, a password management company, has published its source code to GitHub Paul Writes is one of the first steps the company is taking to provide transparency about the platform.
Startups and VCs
Lex, a hookup and social app launched in 2019 for lesbian personals dating back to the 80s, is evolving. However, exactly how much it will change is still an open question. Harry He wrote. Sure, the venture-backed startup behind the Care app gave it a new lick of paint last week, but with its refocus on “friends and communities,” some users fear it will also ditch the raucous content that Lex loves. “Lex keep it dirty,” the users are chanting.
The growing possibility that anyone can make a convincing sound in someone else’s voice has many people on edge, and rightfully so, Devin writes. AI-provided watermark-generated speech may not fix it all at once, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Here’s another bucket o’ stories for your reading pleasure:
Optimizing Freemium Products: Challenges and Opportunities
Image Credits: Richard Rory (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Offering free samples with the intention of the recipient becoming a paying customer is a staple at food courts, cosmetics counters, and software startups.
Freemium products are everywhere, but unless companies revisit and demonstrate their strategy, there is no effective way to optimize conversions.
“Enabling freemium, especially for established products, adds value to the business but can bring organizational and operational challenges,” writes Constantin Valiotti, director of product development at Pandadoc.
In this article, he presents optimization strategies:
- User activation
- Ways to change
- Product changes
- Where to place barriers and restrictions
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ Our membership program helps founders and startup teams stay ahead of the pack. You can register here.. Use code “DC” for 15% off annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Samsung, Google and Qualcomm are ready to take us to the truth. Ivan He wrote. The trio is developing a mixed-reality platform that Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon describes as “a new era of highly immersive digital experiences that will blur the lines between our physical and digital worlds.” With our Snapdragon XR technology, Samsung’s amazing products, and Google’s experiences, we have the foundation to make this opportunity a reality.
To follow his Apple HomePod review, Brian He caught up with the company’s VP of hardware, Matthew Costello, to discuss Apple’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach.
There will be six more weeks of winter, so how about six more stories?
