Capitol rioters are now getting turned in to the FBI by some creative women using the Bumble dating app, the remote worker boom is attracting real estate startups, and some chatter around whether or not vaccine passports will work.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Monday, January 18, and I’m your host Alex Coop.
LOVE’S A RIOT Women honey-trapping Capitol rioters by matching with them on Bumble dating app to send their info to FBI from technology
A Twitter user in DC discovered several people in her area who attended the failed coup attempt on January 6. She discovered this by matching profiles on the news and social media chatter with their profiles on the Bumble dating app. This eventually led to Bumble removing its political affiliation option on its platform. And when someone asked how reporting insurrectionists was misuse, Bumble told The Sun: “Rest assured that we prohibit any content that promotes terrorism or racial hatred, and we’ve already removed any users that have been confirmed as participants in the attack of the US Capitol.”
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The Wall Street Journal’s story about the appetite for furnished short-term housing among young professionals has caught the attention of LinkedIn users. With many corporate offices closed because of the pandemic, many workers have left cities like New York and San Francisco for cheaper places. Several of them still plan to return after their offices reopen, and they’re reluctant to buy homes or sign long-term apartment leases. A Startup named Landing is one of the early entrants looking to take advantage of the situation. The Wall Street Journal says when it launched in 2019, the San Francisco-based company initially planned to operate in about 30 cities. Because demand grew much faster than expected, its landing chief executive Bill Smith says it’s expanded to 75.
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And lastly, a coalition of health and tech groups has started developing digital “vaccination passports” for COVID-19 in anticipation of governments asking for proof of inoculation. Microsoft and Oracle have teamed up with healthcare companies to create an internationally accepted digital card that can store information such as negative tests or proof of vaccination. This week, EU leaders will discuss a proposal from Greece to introduce vaccine certificates that, according to Bloomberg, would allow holders to travel freely across member states, citing anonymous sources. [LinkedIn]
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Alex Coop, thanks for listening!
