NewsBytes Briefing: Clubhouse finally launches Android app, and more
What's the story
Clubhouse just found out the hard way that it is no De Beers, and that boosting app popularity with artificial scarcity doesn't work forever. After facing a ten-fold fall in app downloads on iOS, Clubhouse makers have been kind enough to grace us Android peasants with the elusive voice-only social media platform. Unfortunately for Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces has already beaten it to the punch.
Saving lives
Ola Foundation saves lives by ferrying oxygen concentrators to patients
Moving on from fake scarcity to real one, Indian ridesharing platform Ola is doing its bit to help with the pandemic wave that has consumed the country. The company's philanthropic arm Ola Foundation is ferrying life-saving oxygen concentrators to patients' doorsteps. All of this is done free of charge. Corporate initiatives like these go beyond mere lip service and genuinely save lives.
Rocket science
Here's why you shouldn't laugh at Musk's meme currency plan
Rocket science is no joke, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will launch Dogecoin to the moon with funds secured using the very same meme cryptocurrency. If that makes you dismiss Musk's far-fetched plan, let us remind you that's exactly what everyone said when he announced plans for reusable rockets. Except, the Falcon 9 has completed its record 10th successful launch as well as landing.
Too many cooks
But you may laugh at Netflix's attempts to democratize entertainment
Sticking to plans that sound too good to be true, Netflix just announced it's working on allowing users to influence development of shows under pre-production. Think of it as Netflix's earlier attempts with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch at allowing users to interactively choose the storyline. However, this time around the poor directors and producers get their creative freedom stifled by John Doe from the interwebz.
Birds of a feather
After vaccine racism, Bill Gates faces far greater PR headache
This might only be tangentially related to technology, but if you need an excuse to move from Windows to Linux, this could work in a pinch. As it turns out, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates's questionable relationship with sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein—long after he was publicly convicted of the heinous crimes—is one of the factors in his recent divorce with wife Melinda Gates.