Archive for the ‘Social Networking’ Category

From Facebook intern to the crosshairs of Congress: TikTok chiefs stellar rise – The Guardian

TikTok

Shou Zi Chew, who joined ByteDance, the parent company in 2021, wont let his children use the app

Thu 23 Mar 2023 10.47 EDT

Shou Zi Chew has said the most gruelling experience of his life was a five-day survival course in the jungles of Borneo when he was serving as a conscript in Singapores armed forces.

The TikTok chief executive, whose trans-global academic and business career has rapidly propelled him to the top job at one of the worlds biggest tech companies, will need to display some of that mettle as he battles to ensure the corporate survival of the controversial but immensely popular social video app.

The 40-year-old Singaporean, who faces questioning by US lawmakers on Thursday amid talk of a possible ban in the US, came from a relatively modest background: his father worked in construction and mother in bookkeeping. His fate was transformed at the age of 12 when high marks on a national exam got him into an elite high school, where he added fluency in Mandarin to his native English.

Following his military service Chew is a reservist officer in the Singaporean army until he is 50 he obtained a bachelors degree in economics from University College London.

He stayed on in the UK capital, becoming a banker at Goldman Sachs for two years, investment experience that would eventually lead him to meet a young Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikToks parent, ByteDance, when he was developing the company in a crammed apartment in Beijings university district.

In 2010, Chew gained his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he got his first experience of life in the tech sector with an internship at Facebook while the social networking company was still in startup mode before going public in 2012.

It was also where he met his Taiwanese-American future wife Vivian Kao, with whom he has two children. Chew whose TikTok profile was created in February last year and has just 23 posts, including videos of him attending the Super Bowl and NBA games as well as meeting celebrities such as Bill Murray does not allow his children to use the app, having said last November that they are too young.

After business school, Chew joined the venture capital firm DST, founded by the Israeli-Russian IT billionaire Yuri Milner, where his Mandarin qualified him to be its China-focused partner.

This would see him make his pivotal visit to Zhangs ByteDance in 2012 before the team created TikTok, resulting in Chew and his partners investing in the startup the following year.

He also led investment in Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker with global ambitions to take on Apple, which he joined as chief financial officer in 2015 at the age of 32.

Chew helped to secure financing that led to the companys public listing three years later. At the time this was one of Chinas biggest ever tech initial public offerings, although its share performance has since been mixed. He was made head of its international business in 2019.

In 2021, Zhang persuaded Chew to join ByteDance as its first chief financial officer. Two months later, he was elevated to chief executive following the abrupt departure of the former Disney executive Kevin Mayer after just three months, as the Trump administration attempted to force a sale of TikToks US assets.

Chews rise to the top of the tech industry landed him a spot on Fortunes 40 under 40 list in 2021.

The low-profile exec is now embarking on a media offensive as part of TikToks wider efforts to galvanise support to avert a ban in the US and other countries.

This could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you, he said in a post appealing to US TikTok users.

{{topLeft}}

{{bottomLeft}}

{{topRight}}

{{bottomRight}}

{{.}}

Read the original post:
From Facebook intern to the crosshairs of Congress: TikTok chiefs stellar rise - The Guardian

EXCLUSIVE: The MCU’s Star-Lord Becomes an Amazing 1/2 Scale … – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Fans have a chance to bring the Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord home with a 1/2 scale bust.

The new bust from Diamond Select Toys, designed by Joe Allard and sculpted by Rocco Tartamella, features Peter Quill, better known as Star-Lord, resting atop a base modeled after his iconic ship, the Milano. Standing approximately ten inches tall, the run on this product is capped at 1,000 pieces, each accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and full-color packaging. This bust is scheduled to ship in Fall 2023, with pre-orders set at $200 beginning Friday, March 24, through Diamond Select.

RELATED: The MCU Omitted Star-Lord's Most Iconic Weapons - Here's Why

First appearing in 2004's Thanos #8, the Peter Quill of the primary Marvel Universe made a name for himself as an interstellar freedom fighter before forming a new iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy with familiar characters such as Rocket Raccoon and Adam Warlock. The character became a household name following Chris Pratt's debut as Quill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Pratt reprised the role for 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, 2019's Avengers: Endgame, and is set to return for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is slated to be the longest of the films in the MCU trilogy, standing at 138 minutes, according to writer and director James Gunn. Apart from the film's runtime, Gunn has confirmed its Chinese theatrical release date, saying, "[Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3] opening in China May 5. I'm so happy that our friends in China can enjoy the movie in theaters at the same time as the rest of the world!" This makes the latest Guardians film the third Marvel movie to secure a Chinese release following Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

RELATED: Rocket Raccoon's Comic Book Origin is Even More Bizarre Than his MCU Counterpart

Gunn also warned fans to be on the watch for spoilers on social media in the coming weeks. Gunn advised on Twitter, "It might be wise to be careful what you're reading on social networking sites starting at the end of April if you want to avoid spoilers for [Vol. 3]." He also offered some reassurance, saying, "That said, I don't think your enjoyment of the film will be diminished much by knowing them."

The 3D Movie Star-Lord 1/2 Scale Bust will be available for pre-order on March 24 for $200 from Diamond Select Toys. Orders will ship in Fall 2023. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to arrive in theaters on May 5, 2023.

Source: Diamond Select Toys

Read more:
EXCLUSIVE: The MCU's Star-Lord Becomes an Amazing 1/2 Scale ... - CBR - Comic Book Resources

American tycoon who helped set up Bebo turns store into ‘Britain’s poshest corner shop’ – Daily Mail

An American tycoon who helped set up the social media networking site Bebo has now turned a store which was built by his great-great-grandfather into 'Britain's poshest corner shop.'

Michael Birch set out to renovate an English village, as locals say they 'love' the makeover.

He made his fortune by helping to set up several social media networking sites - including Bebo - which he sold for a whopping $850million in 2008.

The creator of the once popular site has since been spending his cash on buying building and land in Woolsery, north Devon, and renovating 'derelict' stores.

There is also a personal element to his project, as some of his family are from the village and he visited it as a boy.

Birch and his wife have already begun restorations, buying the local pub, fish and chip shop, manor house, several properties - as well as 90 acres of farmland.

They have now transformed the 'derelict' local store into a posh shop.

However, this has received mixed reaction from locals.

Birch's great-great grandfather built Woolsery village shop which remained in the family until it was sold in 1961.

His grandmother Millicent Andrew was also born on village shop's premises in 1900.

Some say they 'absolutely love' the makeover - but others saying it would have been 'better seeing investment on a local level'.

Speaking out about the transformation, one local said: 'Absolutely love our village shop make over. All the buildings were listed and derelict back in 2015 and have been renovated at the cost of millions.

'We've already been lucky enough to have the pub, restaurant, fish & chip shop completely renovated by a millionaire who spent his childhood in the village.

'The manor house is still being done up and there's a bakery to be added as well.

'So lucky to buy in this village without any knowledge of the investment that was being planned.'

But another said they would have rather seen the investments go on a local level, that would have 'benefitted the local families.'

They said: 'Beautiful renovations clearly needed In the village but given it was an American tech millionaire owning it all it would have been better seeing investment on a local level and some sort of cooperative that benefitted the local families.'

The shop now sells basics such as bread, milk, tins and biscuits and offers local products including sausage rolls, pasties and artisan spreads and cakes.

But some locals have commented on the extortionate prices - with a two litre bottle of milk costing 2.10 - which are much higher than seen in other local stores and supermarkets.

A tin of Heinz soup cost 2 at the new shop - even more expensive than Waitrose which sells it at 1.70 and Sainsburys for 1.50.

However, most locals seem happy to spend the expected premium prices in exchange for the investment in their small village, with one local commenting: 'No one would run at a loss, convenience stores are more expensive. At least they're selling some local good stuff too.'

Birch and his wife, Xochi, are currently renovating a manor house which is set to become a 17-bedroom hotel with a second restaurant.

In addition the couple own 90 acres of farmland in the village which will provide ingredients.

Original post:
American tycoon who helped set up Bebo turns store into 'Britain's poshest corner shop' - Daily Mail

Nokia chosen by CANARIE as sole IP router provider of ultra-high-capacity backbone network for Canadian research, education and innovation – Yahoo…

Nokia Oyj

Press Release

Nokia chosen by CANARIE as sole IP router provider of ultra-high-capacity backbone network for Canadian research, education and innovation

Nokia 7750 Service Router delivers unmatched performance and reliability to support vital research in climate science, clean energy, medicine, cybersecurity and more

High throughput capacity and availability, transferring petabyte-sized files for researchers around the world

23 March 2023Espoo, Finland Nokia today announced that CANARIE, the high-speed backbone of Canadas National Research and Education Network (NREN), has chosen the Nokia 7750 Service Router as the IP/MPLS platform to support its more than 34,000 km network connecting 13 provincial and territorial networks to each other and to more than 100 NRENs around the world.

CANARIE and its partner networks enable breakthrough research from scientists across disciplines such as high-energy physics, biology, medicine, the environment, and astronomy, where, for example, data is gathered on millions of galaxies dating back billions of years. With a proliferation of instruments like telescopes, sensors, and detectors that gather more data with greater precision, sensitivity and speed, supercomputers must process petabytes of raw data. Additionally, because research collaboration happens across the globe, that data must be transferred rapidly, reliably, and securely, while containing costs.

The 7750 SR platform is designed to solve this monumental challenge with 100 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s services over an IP/MPLS network capable of supporting more than 46 Tb/s of capacity. This equates to transmitting about 30 terabytes of data in just 10 minutes, equivalent to sharing 5,000 two-hour Netflix movies in 1080p HD. This kind of massive capacity also makes network automation and DDoS security paramount, which the Nokia 7750 SR supports with advanced telemetry streams of flow-level data and insights in near-real time.

Mark Wolff, CTO at CANARIE, said: We are pleased to work with Nokia as we continually improve the capabilities of Canadas National Research and Education Network. Nokia networking technology will allow CANARIE to better connect Canadas researchers, educators, and innovators to each other and to global data, technology, and colleagues.

Story continues

Dr. Vach Kompella, Vice President, IP Networks Division at Nokia, said: We are thrilled to work with CANARIE and equip the scientific community across Canada and globally with proven IP technology. This more than triples CANARIEs wide area network capabilities from 100G to 400G, while enhancing their resiliency, security, and flexibility.

Nokia has deployed mission-critical networks to more than 2,600 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale, and public sector segments around the globe. It has also extended its footprint to more than 560 private wireless customers worldwide across an array of industrial sectors and has been cited by numerous industry analysts as the leading provider of private wireless networking worldwide.

Resources and additional informationWebsite: 7750 Service Router | Nokia Networks

About NokiaAt Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

Media InquiriesNokia CommunicationsEmail: Press.Services@nokia.com

Follow us on social mediaLinkedIn Twitter Instagram TikTok Facebook YouTube

View post:
Nokia chosen by CANARIE as sole IP router provider of ultra-high-capacity backbone network for Canadian research, education and innovation - Yahoo...

This 40-year-old introvert makes $2 million a year3 things she always does to ‘look and feel more confident’ – CNBC

People are often shocked when I tell them I'm an introvert, especially since my job involves a lot of socializing and relationship building.

There are many misconceptions about introverts: We're shy, we don't like to socialize, we don't take risks. But that's not the case. I've built a successful publicity business that generated over $2 million this past year.

I'm proof that you don't need to be an extrovert to succeed. Here are three things I always do to look and feel more confident:

Introverts can be very self-critical. But rather than focusing on what I lack, I find confident through my strengths. I love taking personality assessments like the Myers-Briggs test to help me better understand where I shine.

My Myers-Briggs type is INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging). I learned that INFJ's strengths lie in advancing causes and the people they believe in.

For me, this means helping others achieve their goals by bringing them together at retreats and networking events.

When I feel less confident, I turn to my "praise folder" that I created on my iPhone. I save screenshots of text messages, social comments and emails I receive from people thanking me. These positive words remind me that I'm good at my job.

I like wearing bright colors, too. Without saying a word, they naturally draw attention and help me step into the role of a more outgoing person when I need to be.

I'm never going to be comfortable around hundreds of people at once. I like to be thoughtful with my responses, and I sometimes struggle with big, fast-moving group conversations. But that's okay.

At networking events, I remind myself that I don't have to talk with everyone in the room. Going deep with two or three people is more meaningful than trying to make small talk with every person.

I also focus on quality over quantity when it comes to being creative. Unlike my extroverted peers, I'm not a content machine with new ideas to share every day. Instead, I create fewer pieces of strong, intentional posts on social media.

You'll never see me on my laptop at a co-working space, unless I'm there to socialize. I need ample alone time to feel my best. I love working quietly from my apartment with no distractions.

Being in meetings all day drains me as well. Some are necessary, but I've discovered a lot of helpful alternatives.

I use Loom, a video messaging platform, to share ideas and updates with my team. This has saved me over 100 hours in meetings. When colleagues want to meet to explore a collaboration, I might invite them to chat with me on Voxer, a walkie talkie app.

And I typically only do public talks or interviews once a year, or when I have a big launch coming up. After that, I retreat back into my introvert shell and focus on my business. That's what feels good to me, and it's helped me make millions while staying true to myself.

Selena Soo is a publicity and marketing expert for entrepreneurs and influencers. She has worked with more than 4,000 clients. Follow her on Instagram.

Don't miss:

The rest is here:
This 40-year-old introvert makes $2 million a year3 things she always does to 'look and feel more confident' - CNBC