Archive for January 23, 2023

Bumble & Netflix Team Up To Help You Find The Date You’ve Been Watching For 

Posted in Commentary with tags , on January 23, 2023 by itnerd

Bumble, the women-first dating and social networking app,  and Netflix have teamed up to help members Find the Date You’ve Been Watching For. The campaign inspires the well-watched to celebrate the shows they love while building connections over their Netflix knowledge in a new way.

Beginning January 30, the Bumble community can put their insider knowledge to the test by playing a Netflix-themed Question Game, “Netflix Nights In”, with their matches around some of Netflix’s biggest shows including Emily in Paris, Stranger Things, Squid Game, Selling Sunset, Love is Blind, Outer Banks and more. The Bumble community can also expect to see some familiar faces in-app and on social, such as Emily in Paris’ Ashley Park, Alexa Lemieux of Love is Blind, and Selling Sunset’s Amanza Smith, as each week’s questions will be introduced by someone from the corresponding show.

Much like being well-traveled or well-read can lead to a conversation over shared interests, being well-watched can be a catalyst for making new connections. According to Netflix, members watch an average of six different genres a month, and a recent Bumble survey found that 53% of Canadian respondents agree that it’s easier to talk to matches or dates if they’ve watched the same movies or tv shows and 56% of Canadians surveyed are more likely to match with someone if they mention a tv show or movie they like on their profile. *

Bumble’s “Netflix Nights In” Question Game requires both people who have matched to answer the question before responses are revealed. Bumble also shared the percentage of good chats is higher when the Question Game is played.

“Netflix Nights In” will be available each Monday in the Bumble app in the US, Canada, and the UK through March 13.

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Is Twitter Down To 1300 Full Time Employees?

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 23, 2023 by itnerd

According to a report from CNBC, Twitter is down to full time employees after Elon Musk has taken the axe and started to randomly swing it:

Twitter’s full-time headcount has dwindled to approximately 1,300 active, working employees, including fewer than 550 full-time engineers by title, according to internal records viewed by CNBC. Around 75 of the company’s 1,300 employees are on leave including about 40 engineers.

The company’s trust and safety team, which makes policy recommendations, design and product changes with the aim of keeping all of Twitter’s users safe, is down to fewer than 20 full-time employees.

Elon clearly is sensitive about this as he Tweeted that the report was incorrect:

The thing is that Elon offered no proof of anything that he said. While on the other hand, CNBC saw documents that allowed them to write this story. Which means that they thought the proof was good enough to go to press so to speak. That gives the believability factor to CNBC. Though I will point this out. Doing some quick math, I see this:

  • If you take CNBC’s numbers at face value, Twitter’s current staff is less than 20% of the 7,500 employees that the company had before Musk’s buyout.
  • If you take Musk’s numbers at face value, the company has retained about 30% of its employees.

Honestly, neither of those numbers look good if you’re Elon. And I can see why Elon might be a wee bit sensitive about this topic as the clear implication is that he’s cut so close to the bone that bad things are going to happen. I suspect that we’ll see who’s right very shortly.

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One-Year Report On The Uber / UFCW Canada Agreement Is Out

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 23, 2023 by itnerd

This week marks one year since Uber Canada and UFCW Canada signed an agreement to give over 100,000 workers on the Uber platform access to representation, and to advocate to provincial governments for new benefits and protections for all app-based workers. As a reminder, the benefits Uber is jointly advocating for are a 120% minimum earning standard, a benefits fund, notice of termination, health and safety protections, and access to workers’ rights.

Today, Uber is releasing a report that shows how this agreement has been working for drivers and delivery people over the last year. Key highlights are:

  • Through representation services offered by the agreement, UFCW Canada filed cases on behalf of 794 workers. 
  • Of those cases, 201 had a positive resolution. 72 workers regained access to the platform and 129 had an account-related issue resolved. 

I’m also sharing a couple of stories from drivers who were helped through the agreement:

Waseem from Ontario

Waseem came to Canada from Pakistan in 2003 and lives in Mississauga with his family. He’s been driving with Uber for the last six years because he gets to work for himself and does not have a fixed schedule. He also enjoys meeting people and likes how professional and easy the app is to use. In the summer of 2022, Waseem got a new vehicle and was having difficulty uploading his insurance documents. The app eventually blocked him and deactivated his account due to potential fraud. This resulted in seven weeks without earnings. Waseem turned to UFCW Canada and they helped him resolve the issue by working with his insurance company and with Uber. Now he’s back on the Uber platform with his new vehicle.

Sandeep from BC 

Sandeep has lived in Surrey, BC with his family since 2019. He started driving with Uber during the pandemic because he likes the flexible schedule and is able to make a good earning. Last year, his account was deactivated due to a misunderstanding with a rider and their drop off location. Sandeep was having a hard time getting his account reactivated through Uber’s support channels. He received an email from Uber about its agreement with UFCW. He contacted UFCW who helped take his case to Uber, and after a couple of months, his account was reactivated. Now he’s happy to be back on the road.

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