10 Things in Tech: 'Zoomtowns' face catastrophe
Happy Friday, readers! Today we are taking a look at the challenges facing America's new "Zoomtowns," and one veteran reviewer reveals their favorite home tech gadgets.
Now, let's get started.
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1. America's new "Zoomtowns" are facing a remote-work catastrophe. The rise of remote work — accompanied by a hot housing market — has caused a mass migration to rural areas across America. Now, many long-time locals are feeling the squeeze from the stream of newcomers.
- Rural and semirural communities are struggling to keep pace with population growth they didn't plan for. As remote workers are priced out of the cities and suburbs, many areas need to increase available housing to meet demand.
- Some experts refer to the inequality-driving demographic shift as "rural gentrification," as small towns face big-city problems they don't have the resources to manage.
- Many locals have been driven into tent cities and homeless shelters by rising rent and house prices, as America's Zoomtowns find themselves on the edge of catastrophe.
In other news:
2. Mark Zuckerberg says the metaverse will bleed money for up to five years. As per Bloomberg, Zuckerberg told shareholders that some products wouldn't be ready for 15 years, despite spending $10 billion on the metaverse in 2021 alone. Here's everything he said.
3. US tech companies are "underwater" on equity granted to workers. Big tech companies, known for paying employees well with a combination of salary and stock, are left in a precarious situation after their share prices plummeted. Check out which tech companies are in the biggest hole.
4. Elon Musk is being sued by a Twitter shareholder. The proposed class-action suit alleges that Musk manipulated the value of the social media company via his tweets about the takeover being on hold, which hurt investors and employees.
5. YouTubers break down how much they make per month. From 5,000 subscribers to 500,000, the amount YouTube creators make per month can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. Here's how much they earn.
6. Tesla is planning a wild Supercharger station in Hollywood. As per Bloomberg, Tesla has submitted plans with the city of Los Angeles to build a Supercharger station, complete with a restaurant and drive-in theater. Here's what the plans look like.
7. Salesforce is navigating stormy seas. Salesforce's venture-capital arm has invested in some of the biggest names in cloud software — including Zoom, DocuSign, and Box. But as cloud-software valuations have fallen, the value of Salesforce's investments has dropped. As a result, the company has had to cut costs and slow hiring.
8. Sequoia's Pat Grady explains why the market downturn is a golden opportunity for tech investors. As other firms pulled back, Sequoia has kept its typical investing pace. Grady explains what other investors and doing wrong, and what Sequoia is doing right.
Odds and ends:
9. Veteran smart home reviewer reveals the products they use daily. From smart locks and high-tech cameras, to connected pet feeders and sophisticated light switches, these are their favourite gadgets.
10. Ever had the Spam Risk message appear on your phone? Then you've likely had a scammer, spammer, or telemarketer try and contact you. Here's why the message appears on your phone, and what you should do when it does.
People moves in tech:
- Technology and business editor John Paczkowski is leaving BuzzFeed News to join Forbes.
- Glossier CEO Emily Weiss has stepped down.
- Marty Swant, editor of the Forbes CMO Network, has left to join another publication.
- Global Payments appoints tech industry veteran Masseh Haidary as CEO payments Oceania.
- Michael Mestrovich, a former CIA CISO, joins Rubrik as chief information security officer.
- Okta picks Philip Goldie as ANZ vice president.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
Curated by Hallam Bullock in London (Feedback or tips? Email hbullock@insider.com or tweet @hallam_bullock.)