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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Meta announced that it's adding new features to its Instagram Reels templates this week.</li><li>New templates will make it easier to make content, but it'll also increase the likelihood that content looks the same.</li></ul>On Tuesday, <a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-reels-templates-updates/">Meta announced new updates to Instagram Reels</a> that'll simplify using templates and make it easier to reuse elements from other people's reels. The updates are meant to make it easier to "create engaging reels," per the post, but it could have the unintended consequence of making people's feeds monotonous — more repetition and template-based content has turned competitor TikTok's main feed into an unappealing slush of content.Insider reported in April that Instagram was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-beta-testing-editing-feature-reels-video-templates-tiktok-creators-2022-4">testing its templates feature</a> with a small group of users. Templates lower the bar to create videos, making it easier to make your own content while using an existing format. <a href="https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-reels-templates-updates/">Tuesday's announced updates</a> will make it easier to find trending or saved templates in a new browser, use templates that you see while scrolling, and add text and transitions that were used in the original reel when you use a template. In essence: it's going to be easier to find and use templates, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/18/23799349/instagram-reels-templates-trending-effects-editing-browser">and as The Verge's Mia Sato noted</a>, that's probably going to make things a lot more repetitive when you're scrolling. TikTok — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-reels-tiktok-clone-facebook-launches-today-united-states-2020-8">also known as the short-form video app that Instagram Reels is a clone of</a> — has templates as well. Located in the app's video creation center, they allow users to sync photos to music. The platform's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brands-tiktok-videos-celebrities-legal-risk-experts-advertising-2023-4">integration with video editing software CapCut</a>, however, has made it so easy to make videos for certain trends (like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QK1vlzWky4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this one using clips from the anime film "Akira"</a>) to the extent that people <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lllxxny/video/7235936175733640454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">make jokes about them taking over their entire For You Page. </a>Trending audio, a cornerstone of both TikTok and Reels, is one thing. But templates can make the scrolling experience worse: it's one thing to hear the same sounds over and over again, but seeing the same clips, transitions, or graphics video is, put simply, extraordinarily boring. In its early days, TikTok <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/best-tiktok-videos-funny-tiktoks">used to be a bastion of creativity</a>, where people would stage elaborate videos that <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nnbucher/video/6715892997705321733">showed toilet papers rolling like Chef Boyardee cans</a> or <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@maxboonch/video/6731346215327321349">skits set to chopped up, nonsensical Billie Eilish lyrics.</a> That kind of content still exists on TikTok — but amid the churn of low-lift videos, it feels much more difficult to find. Reels is <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@_adammcg/video/7247559019253075226?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7192678209945847338" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already the butt of the joke </a><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@treerights/video/7147659947491216682?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7192678209945847338" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for being several trend cycles behind</a> TikTok. But rather than learn from TikTok's mistakes, it seems to only be repeating them.

New tweaks to Instagram Reels are pushing it further into the repetitive rut that's made scrolling TikTok insufferable

New Delhi, As global layoffs deepen, Indian startups are not far behind and have sacked thousands of employees in the past 3-4 months, with many more to be given pink slips in the coming months amid deepening funding winter. In <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, more than 21,000 employees have been laid off by more than 70 startups to day, including from unicorns like BYJU'S, <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword>, MPL, Innovaccer, Unacademy, Vedantu, Cars24, <keyword id="2808667" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oyo" source="Orion">OYO</keyword>, Meesho, Udaan and many more. The edtech sector has laid off the most employees, with 16 edtech startups laying off more than 8,000 employees to date. With the onset of January, more and more Indian companies are slashing jobs across the spectrum. The new year has already seen more than 16 homegrown startups sack employees in the country. Social media company <keyword id="3358959" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sharechat" source="Orion">ShareChat</keyword> (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd) has laid off 20 per cent of its workforce due to uncertain market conditions. Backed by Twitter, Google, Snap and <keyword id="526777" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tiger-global" source="Orion">Tiger Global</keyword>, ShareChat has about 2,300 employees, and the layoff impacted about 500 people at the company, Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer has sacked nearly 245 employees, or about 15 per cent of its workforce, across teams in India and the US. Innovaccer cofounder and CEO Abhinav Shashank cited an "uncertain macroeconomic environment" as the reason behind the job cuts, according to an internal mail sent to employees and accessed by leading startup news portal Inc42. This was the second layoff at the company in around 4-5 months' time amid the deepening funding winter and recession fears. In September last year, Innovaccer laid off nearly 120 employees, or less than 8 per cent of its workforce. Online food delivery platform <keyword id="6358977" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="swiggy" source="Orion">Swiggy</keyword> confirmed that the company is laying off 380 employees as food delivery growth slows. MediBuddy, an end-to-end digital healthcare platform in India, has laid off 8 per cent of its workforce, around 200 people, across all departments as a restructuring exercise. Homegrown online vehicle repair platform GoMechanic, backed by <keyword id="563136" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sequoia-india" source="Orion">Sequoia India</keyword>, has laid off 70 per cent of its workforce as the startup struggles to raise funds amid serious concerns of accounting troubles. The company has asked the remaining staff to work without pay for three months, according to reports. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) voice automation startup Skit.ai has asked more than 115 employees to go, mostly from its India team, as part of the "restructuring process" amid the deepening funding winter. Even IT giant <keyword id="10862" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="wipro" source="Orion">Wipro</keyword> has laid off more than 400 fresher employees for poor performance in internal assessment tests. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budgeting-for-climate-change/articleshow/97378027.cms">Budgeting for the fifth C</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/an-app-that-wants-to-turn-fear-of-stock-markets-into-fun-raises-75-lakh-from-sharks/articleshow/97378121.cms">An app that wants to turn fear of stock markets into fun raises ₹75 lakh from sharks</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/steps-taken-in-subsidence-hit-joshimath-inadequate-declare-himalayas-eco-sensitive-zone-say-experts/articleshow/97411665.cms">Steps taken in subsidence-hit Joshimath inadequate, declare Himalayas eco-sensitive zone, say experts</a>

70-plus Indian startups show exit door to 21K techies, more pink slips coming

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Hey there! To the Milwaukee bar-goers <a href="https://www.insider.com/milwaukee-fans-pay-bar-tabs-jets-win-aaron-rodgers-injury-2023-9">banking on the Jets losing to get a free bar tab</a> only to be let down, welcome to the club. Take it from a Jets fan: Even when they win, they still manage to disappoint.In today's big story, we're looking at Apple's big event that gave us our first look at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-15-event-announcements-usb-c-titanium-pro-watches-2023-9">the new iPhones and Apple Watches</a>. What's on deck: <ul><li>Markets: A <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/bill-gross-slams-jeff-gundlach-over-bond-king-nickname-2023-9">billionaire beef</a> over who is the rightful "Bond King."</li><li>Tech: Some of the best bits from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/elon-musk-biography">Elon Musk's new biography</a>.</li><li>Business: Why the West has struggled to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/affordable-housing-crisis-us-west-coast-cause-explained-2023-9">keep up with housing demand</a>.</li></ul>But first, I need a new phone.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-15-event-announcements-usb-c-titanium-pro-watches-2023-9"></a><div type="image" title="Tim Cook holding up the iphone 15" height="4000" width="5333" msid="103639343" hostid="261" sizebytes="141866"></div>The big story<h2>A new iPhone era</h2>Are you ready for some new Apple products?It's September, which means Apple is unveiling some new stuff. The tech giant's launch events are a chance for it to show off new devices with the help of some <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiP1l7jlIIA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flashy visuals</a>. This year's edition included a skit about Apple's pledge to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-pledges-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2030-2020-7">reach zero carbon emissions by 2030</a>, featuring Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer as "Mother Nature." Apple CEO Tim Cook, who also appeared in the scene, even <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-skit-tim-cook-acting-octavia-spencer-iphone-event-2023-9">won over some fans online</a> with his acting chops.But the show's real stars were the new versions of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-15-event-announcements-usb-c-titanium-pro-watches-2023-9">Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch</a>. Apple is sunsetting its ring/silent switch, a staple of the phone since its original iteration. Instead, the iPhone 15 Pro <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-action-button-replacing-ring-silent-switch-since-first-iphone-2023-9">includes a new "action button."</a> The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are also the first iPhones made from titanium. Meanwhile, the new Apple Watch has some tricks up its sleeve. Dubbed the "double tap," users can do a myriad of things on their Apple Watch by simply <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-watch-series-9-double-tap-feature-2023-9">tapping their index finger to their thumb</a>. According to Apple, it's possible thanks to a new algo triggered by "changes in blood flow when the index finger and thumb perform a double tap," which is a great example of how tech is equally terrifying and incredible.Insider's Sarah Jackson, Jordan Hart, and Lakshmi Varanasi have a rundown on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-15-event-announcements-usb-c-titanium-pro-watches-2023-9">the biggest news from the event</a>. But if you were hoping a new iPhone will send Apple's stock soaring, think again. Shares slumped about 1.7% on Tuesday by market close, extending a tough September for the tech giant. To be sure, Apple's stock usually doesn't immediately rise from a new iPhone announcement. Prior to Tuesday's event, <a href="https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/apple-iphone-15-event-today/card/what-history-says-about-apple-stock-on-iphone-launch-days-v2f9jovW61EdJpqDLkTS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple's shares fell an average of 0.2%</a> on days a new iPhone was announced, according to Barron's. New iPhones eventually pay off. Historically, Apple's share price has enjoyed double-digit returns, on average, six months after the release date. The new iPhones and Apple Watches are set to be available September 22. But all bets are off this year, as Apple remains caught in the rising tensions between the US and China. According to multiple reports, several state agencies and companies in China ordered staff to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-iphone-ban-office-workers-worry-bosses-apple-huawei-2023-9">stop bringing Apple devices</a> to their offices. Early Wednesday, China said it issued <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-says-it-has-not-banned-purchase-use-foreign-phone-brands-2023-09-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no such ban</a>, but did warn of "security incidents related to Apple's phones."3 things in marketsBefore the opening bell:US futures fall <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/premarket">early Wednesday</a> ahead of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/august-cpi-report-inflation-outlook-fed-rate-hikes-goldman-sachs-2023-9">new inflation report</a>. It comes after a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-news-oracle-apple-nasdaq-tech-iphone-sp500-investors-2023-9">difficult Tuesday</a> for tech stocks.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-economy-consumer-spending-gone-2023-9"></a><div type="image" title="discarded American Express credit card in dirt" height="1280" width="1706" msid="103639344" hostid="261" sizebytes="315326"></div><ul><li>Most investors believe US consumers are going to cut spending next year. The majority of the 526 investors polled by Bloomberg predict <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/us-consumer-spending-could-invert-by-early-2024-household-savings-2023-9">personal consumption will decrease</a> in early 2024. Some even believe it could happen as early as this year, as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-outlook-economy-consumer-spending-gone-2023-9">household savings have consistently fallen</a> for the past 23 months.</li><li>Jamie Dimon sounds off. The JPMorgan CEO raised concerns about the impact a recession and additional interest-rate hikes would have on consumers and businesses. And he looked to a longtime business associate — Warren Buffett — to make some of his points. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-dimon-economy-recession-interest-rates-buffett-banks-war-prices-2023-9">Here are eight of his best quotes</a> from a recent interview.</li><li>Wall Street billionaires are fighting over nicknames. Pimco cofounder Bill Gross, who is also known as the Bond King, took umbrage with the fact DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/bill-gross-slams-jeff-gundlach-over-bond-king-nickname-2023-9">shares the same moniker</a>. "Pimco had $2 trillion, ok? DoubleLine's got like $55 billion. Come on — that's no kingdom, that's like Latvia or Estonia," Gross said during a recent interview.</li></ul>3 things in tech<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ceo-isnt-worried-about-falling-behind-on-ai-2023-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><div type="image" title="sundar pichai (left) chatgpt logo on a phone (right)" height="960" width="1280" msid="103639345" hostid="261" sizebytes="45706"></div><ul><li>Google CEO isn't worried about falling behind on AI. Sundar Pichai said in an interview that he's "very comfortable" about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ceo-isnt-worried-about-falling-behind-on-ai-2023-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google's position</a>. But a few months ago, the company internally issued a code red over the rise in ChatGPT's popularity.</li><li>Catch up on the buzzy Elon Musk biography. From <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-used-hypnosis-convinced-sister-she-dog-book-2023-9">learning hypnosis</a> as a child to whispering about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-justine-alpha-relationship-wedding-wife-mother-queens-isaacson-2023-9">being the "alpha" in a relationship</a>, Walter Isaacson covers a lot in the Musk biography. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/elon-musk-biography">Follow along for the highlights</a>.</li><li>Read the leaked, internal email that Google lawyers sent to employees. Google's top lawyer Kent Walker <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-email-google-lawyer-sent-staff-about-antitrust-case-trial-2023-9">sent the memo to employees</a>, asking them to "please refrain from speculating or commenting on this (or any legal case), internally or externally." The government sued Google in 2020, accusing it of illegally maintaining a monopoly in search. And the trial begins this week.</li></ul>3 things in business<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/affordable-housing-crisis-us-west-coast-cause-explained-2023-9"></a><div type="image" title="A conveyer belt full of houses crashes into a mountain in the West." height="554" width="739" msid="103639348" hostid="261" sizebytes="78068"></div><ul><li>The American West paradox. Housing prices in western US states like Colorado and Arizona are soaring. They appear to have ample empty land to build more homes on. But the West has a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/affordable-housing-crisis-us-west-coast-cause-explained-2023-9">potent concoction of barriers</a>: legal and cultural hostility to dense housing, mixed in with environmental protection.</li><li>The next frontier of creator-fan relationships: group chats. Patreon doesn't think subscriptions are enough. "We often say that creators have never felt further from their fans, and fans have never felt further from each other," Patreon's community product lead told Insider. Now, top fans could have the opportunity to be in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/redefining-creator-fan-relationship-patreon-launches-community-features-group-chat-2023-9">group chats with their favorite creators</a>.</li><li>The top high-paying, fast-growing jobs for the next decade. Insider's analysis examined roles that pay fairly well and are projected to grow in the 10-year period after 2022. Software developers and financial managers led the pack, each with a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-high-paying-fast-growing-jobs-careers">six-figure median annual wage</a>.</li></ul>In other news<ul><li>Amazon launched <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-new-supply-chain-services-third-party-sellers-sites-fba-2023-9">a new product</a> that gives discounts for cross-border transportation, automated inventory replenishment, and other services.</li><li>Testing out the new, divisive Walmart <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-shoppers-divided-stores-redesigned-taller-carts-phone-slot-cupholder-2023-9">shopping cart</a>.</li><li>The now-imploded FTX is looking into taking back millions spent on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-wants-to-reclaim-millions-from-celebrity-sponsorships-shaq-osaka-2023-9">partnerships with celebs</a> like Naomi Osaka and Shaquille O'Neal.</li><li>Scientists can't figure out the mysterious lights in the sky right before a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mystery-lights-seen-before-morocco-earthquake-scientists-baffled-videos-2023-9">devastating earthquake hit Morocco</a>.</li><li>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cold-medicine-fda-phenylephrine-congestion-does-not-work-2023-9">FDA ruled</a> that a decongestant in common cold drugs like Sudafed, Allegra, and Dayquil doesn't work.</li></ul>What's happening today<ul><li>The third season of "The Morning Show" is released on Apple TV+. The drama (which is about an early morning television show) stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.</li><li>Beep beep: Media days for the North American International Auto Show kick off today. Also known as the Detroit Auto Show, it's one of the largest auto shows in the world. Cadillac, Jeep, and GMC are scheduled to meet with the press today.</li><li>Earnings today: Cracker Barrel <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">and other companies</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/best-steakhouse-in-every-state-according-to-yelp-2023-9"></a><div type="image" title="gravy being poured on to a steak" height="525" width="700" msid="103639349" hostid="261" sizebytes="27840"></div>For your bookmarks<h2>Steak by state</h2>The best steakhouse in every state. Yelp chose the <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-steakhouse-in-every-state-according-to-yelp-2023-9">best in each state</a> based on customer reviews, and they cover a variety of meats: whiskey steak, garlic beef, elk quesadilla, and more.The Insider Today team: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/diamond-naga-siu">Diamond Naga Siu</a>, senior reporter, in San Diego. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/hallam-bullock">Hallam Bullock</a>, editor, in London. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/lisa-ryan">Lisa Ryan</a>, executive editor, in New York.

Insider Today: Apple's new iPhone is here

<ul class="summary-list"><li>You can reverse a <keyword id="11894125" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tiktok" source="Orion">TikTok</keyword> using the Time section in the Effects menu of the app's video editor.</li><li>Reversing a TikTok can spawn many cool content ideas.</li><li>When you reverse your TikTok, you'll be shown a preview of your video before you publish.</li></ul>TikTok videos can range from basic point-and-shoot posts to music videos and complex comedy skits. This massive variety of content and the platform's popularity is largely because of how TikTok's editing tools make it possible to customize your videos without advanced knowledge and editing software. From straight within the TikTok app, you can add filters, music, other videos, and more to your clip.If you've been interested in upping your posting game, or have been inspired by another TikTok you saw, you might want to try adding a "Reverse" effect to your video. This will make your video run backwards — a simple change that can spawn many cool ideas.Here's how to access and use the Reverse effect on your TikTok videos.<h2>How to reverse a TikTok</h2>Once you're already logged into your account, this should be quick and easy to accomplish:1. Open your TikTok app on your Android phone or iPhone.2. Tap the plus sign in the bottom-middle section of the screen.<div type="image" title="Tap the button located in the bottom-middle of the screen." height="498" width="1284" msid="89355506" hostid="261"></div>3. Press and hold the red button to start recording your video, and release the button when you're done.<div type="image" title="The TikTok app with the record button highlighted." height="2778" width="1284" msid="89355507" hostid="261"></div>4. Tap Effects at the top right of your screen — it's an icon that looks like a clock.<div type="image" title="The TikTok app with the Effects button highlighted." height="2778" width="1284" msid="89355509" hostid="261"></div>5. In the new list of options that appears at the bottom of your screen, swipe right and tap on Time.<div type="image" title="The TikTok Effects menu with the Time option highlighted." height="2778" width="1284" msid="89355510" hostid="261"></div>6. Select Reverse — you'll then see a preview of your new, reversed video appear on the screen.<div type="image" title="The TikTok Time menu with the Reverse option highlighted." height="2778" width="1284" msid="89355511" hostid="261"></div>7. If you like the Reverse effect, tap Save in the top-right corner and then select Next to continue posting as you normally would.<div type="image" title="The TikTok Time menu with the Save button highlighted." height="2778" width="1284" msid="89355513" hostid="261"></div>Quick tip: If you don't like the reversed effect, you can remove it by selecting None. There are also two other effects that you can use: Repeat – which loops your video – and Slow-mo, which puts it in slow motion.

How to reverse a TikTok video to make it run backwards

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Employee-experience manager was fifth on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fastest-growing-us-jobs-fields-industries-sectors-career-growth-linkedin-2023-1">LinkedIn's list of the fastest-growing jobs</a> in the US.</li><li>The role involves helping employees stay interested and productive in their jobs.</li></ul>Nearly three years after the pandemic yanked many of us from our offices and workplace routines, a new type of professional is on hand to help make sense of all the ways our jobs have changed.Behold: the employee-experience manager.The role scarcely existed a decade ago but ranked fifth on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fastest-growing-us-jobs-fields-industries-sectors-career-growth-linkedin-2023-1">LinkedIn's latest list of the 25 fastest-growing jobs</a>.At a time when employers are grappling with an array of human-resource challenges including an enduring <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-labor-shortage-how-long-indeed-glassdoor-report-worker-power-2022-11">labor shortage</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/highly-engaged-burned-out-employees-turnover-risk-2021-12">burnout</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quiet-quitting-answer-corporate-burnout-tiktok-yes-2022-8">low engagement</a>, employee-experience managers are a touch point between the rank-and-file and senior leadership.On top of responsibilities around tracking and analyzing workflows and assisting with HR tasks like recruiting, hiring, and performance reviews, they are culture carriers for the organization."My job is to create a great experience and community for our people," said Jack Lau, an employee-experience manager at Gearbox Publishing SF, an 80-person division of the video-game-development company Gearbox Software. "And that's from the moment they're looking for a job with us to the day they leave."LinkedIn suggests employee-experience managers command an average salary of $55,000 to $125,000, depending on the company and industry. The job typically requires three to five years of experience, and many people in it have transitioned from roles like office manager or human-resources business partner.To get a better understanding of the role and how to get a job as an employee-experience manager, Insider spoke with Lau, 38, via phone from his office in San Francisco.This interview has been edited for length and clarity.How did you get your start at Gearbox?The job evolved. I started five years ago as an office manager doing all the things office managers do. I ordered supplies and company lunches, took care of shipping and receiving, and booked travel and planned events. I knew everyone at the company and had a lot of institutional knowledge.When the pandemic hit, everybody started working from home — except for me. I was in the office five days a week to check the mail and make sure our servers were up and running. Being there by myself, I thought about my colleagues and what we were all going through. I began to think more about how I could help the company adapt to allow people to feel connected to something.What did you come up with?To bring everyone together, I had to put my whole self out there. So I started creating content like an influencer. Every morning I put up a new TikTok video on our company's Slack channel.At first they were silly: dances and trending sound effects. Then I realized I could give company updates: let people know about open enrollment, announce a charity initiative, or introduce new hires. People liked it, so I did more, including a virtual employee talent show where people showed short videos of skits or karaoke. We had 100% participation.Is that when you became an employee-experience manager?Not exactly. During this time, I was also taking initiative in my career. I took courses online in facilities management and budgeting. I also got an associate professional HR certificate. That helped me grab responsibilities here and there.Then, about a year and a half ago, a few HR people left and there was a business need for me to take on more. With my reputation and body of work, I raised my hand, and my director said go for it.What's your day-to-day like?Our employee experience before the pandemic was centered around an in-office environment. Now 90% of our people work remotely, so everything has to be different.I recently created a culture guide for our employees. It includes our mission statement, company values, and sections on how to get things done here. It's your basic 411 that sets you up for success.I've also ended up owning a lot of our recruitment and onboarding.How does onboarding work now?It's a 90-day process and involves a mix of in-person and remote activities, depending on where the person lives. I try to make it fun. I don't want to bombard people — I want to hold their hand and show them how to be a good citizen here. Once you do that, they stick around.We've retained 95% of the people we hired during the pandemic because we've fostered connections. That's something I'm proud of.How's the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceos-recession-global-economy-layoffs-inflation-davos-2023-1">current economic uncertainty</a> affecting your role?We're in the Bay Area, and so the news from Meta and Google affects us. Mainly it's a distraction.Luckily, our leadership was disciplined and didn't overhire in the pandemic. We're investing in the future and looking to increase headcount this year.What else do you do to ensure a positive employee experience?Not everybody works the way we used to. That's been eye-opening to our leadership. Some people are introverts; they're happy to be left alone to do their work. Other people are social butterflies who thrive off interaction. So I'm trying to help make sure all our employees get what they need.It's often about making really small efforts, but over time the consistency matters. Sometimes it's a 15-minute phone call. Asking "how are you doing?" I'm giving people an opportunity to get things off their chest. What I've learned is that when you listen to people and pay close attention, they'll tell you what they want.

Here's why employee-experience manager is one of the fastest-growing jobs in the US

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The game studio behind "<keyword id="4395289" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="cyberpunk-2077">Cyberpunk 2077</keyword>" and "<keyword id="2421825" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Witcher-3">The Witcher 3</keyword>" has been hacked, it said on Tuesday.</li><li>Moreover, the hackers took the source code for both games.</li><li>Access to source code allows software pirates to remove anti-piracy tools and distribute games.</li></ul>Less than two months after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-cyberpunk-2077-anticipated-launch-pulled-from-stores-2020-12">the disastrous launch of 2020's most hotly-anticipated game</a>, the studio behind "<keyword id="1609072" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cyberpunk">Cyberpunk</keyword> 2077" has been hacked.Polish game development house <keyword id="2847945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="CD-Projekt-RED">CD Projekt Red</keyword> <a href="https://twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/1359048125403590660">announced on Tuesday morning</a> that its computer systems were breached, and that the hackers were able to retrieve the source code for both "Cyberpunk 2077" and "<keyword id="2837879" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Witcher">The Witcher</keyword> 3."Source code is closely guarded by game development studios as it enables easy access to removing anti-piracy and anti-cheat software. Theoretically, the hackers could strip anti-piracy measures from both games and distribute them for free online.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-hbo-max-lean-into-tiktok-influencer-campaigns-2021-2">Netflix, HBO Max, and other streaming services are flooding TikTok with splashy ads, comedy skits, and viral dances, as they battle to sign up new users</a><keyword id="2847944" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="CD-Projekt">CD Projekt</keyword> Red said it isn't negotiating with the hackers."We will not give in to demands or negotiate with the actor," <a href="https://twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/1359048125403590660">the company said on Twitter</a>,"being aware that this may eventually lead to the release of the compromised data." CD Projekt Red said it is working with authorities to determine its next steps.Alongside the announcement, the game studio shared an image of the hacker's message, which said they took source code for "Cyberpunk 2077," "The Witcher 3," "Gwent," and "the unreleased version of Witcher 3." In addition to game source code, the hacker said they took, "all of your documents relating to accounting, administration, legal, HR, investor relations and more." The hacker also said they encrypted the company's servers.In its statement, CD Projekt Red said the stolen data didn't include personal information gathered from its players.You can read the statement in full right here:

The game studio behind 'Cyberpunk 2077' and 'The Witcher 3' has been hacked, and the attackers are threatening to release the source code to both games

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="1937558" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Space-Jam">Space Jam</keyword>: A New Legacy" is entertaining, but messy in spots. It's also too long.</li><li>Still, <keyword id="112378" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="LeBron-James">LeBron James</keyword> is a better actor than <keyword id="56589" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Michael-Jordan">Michael Jordan</keyword>. </li><li>Warning: Spoilers ahead for "Space Jam: A New Legacy."</li></ul>Sorry Michael Jordan, but LeBron James wins this game. Comparisons between the Jordan-led "Space Jam" (1996) and James' "Space Jam: A New Legacy," out in theaters and on HBO Max on Friday, are inevitable. Both movies have very similar plots, each featuring one of the biggest basketball players of their time."Space Jam: A New Legacy" follows James as he and his fictional son Dom (Cedric Joe) are stuck inside a computer server-universe controlled by the manipulative Warner Bros. artificial intelligence software Al-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle).Like Jordan in the original film, James is forced to team up with Bugs Bunny (voiced by Jeff Bergman), Lola Bunny (voiced by Zendaya), Sylvester (also voiced by Bergman), and the rest of the "Looney Tunes" crew to play a high-stakes basketball game against Al-G and his team. <h2>James delivers a stronger acting performance than Jordan</h2><div type="image" title="Don Cheadle and Lebron James in Space Jam" height="2247" width="2997" msid="84445339" hostid="261"></div>"Space Jam" was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/11/15/20-years-later-space-jam-is-the-movie-we-never-knew-we-needed/">a commercial success, making over $200 million</a> in the global box office, but Jordan's subpar acting chops didn't exactly earn positive <keyword id="52147" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="reviews">reviews</keyword> from movie critics then, who <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170513231353/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archives/1996/documents/00443452.htm">said the NBA star acted "wooden" in the film</a>. James, however, is a better actor than his predecessor despite spending a good chunk of the movie as a cartoon. (Jordan remained live-action throughout the '90s version.) He's not a good actor, but he's certainly better at it than Jordan and it's genuinely endearing watching James struggle while trying to bond with his onscreen son. Despite James' star power and charisma, the real stars of the movie are Cheadle, an occasionally funny line in the script, and the "Looney Tunes" cartoons.The cartoon characters make a nostalgic comeback in the sequel, bringing back all of their decades-old antics like painting fake tunnels on the side of a mountain.Still, a few things are noticeably different. Not only is the sequel less about basketball, but "A New Legacy" also has some mature themes that might've been missing from the 1996 movie. For instance, Granny (voiced by Candi Milo) from "Sylvester &amp; Tweety Mysteries" is seen enjoying a martini.<div type="image" title="lola bunny in space jam" height="2159" width="2879" msid="84445345" hostid="261"></div>Lola Bunny is also <a href="https://www.insider.com/space-jam-director-defend-lola-bunny-redesign-zendaya-sexualized-2021-7">desexualized in the sequel</a>, compared to the Jordan-led "Space Jam," where the bunny is seen wearing a crop top and hip-hugging shorts. The 2021 version wastes no time making that point. Lola's first scene is less about her look and more about sending a message that she's the most capable athlete in the "Looney Tunes" crew. You immediately root for her. Despite these changes, "A New Legacy" heavily relies on "Looney Tunes" nostalgia and maybe even anticipates that the children who watched and enjoyed "Space Jam" in 1996 will be back as adults to watch the sequel.The latest movie is filled with skits that older "Looney Tunes" viewers will instantly recognize: Bugs eating a carrot, Sylvester unsuccessfully resisting trying to eat Tweety (voiced by Bob Bergen), and the Tasmanian Devil (voiced Jim Cummings) spinning into a vortex that sucks up everything in its path.Except in this film, Bugs briefly gets drunk while chatting with James. <div type="image" title="bugs bunny in space jam" height="2247" width="2997" msid="84445354" hostid="261"></div>Other bright spots in a cast that's stacked with cartoons and NBA stars include Cedric Joe and Sonequa Martin-Green, who are delightful in their roles as Dom and James' on-screen wife, Kamiyah, along with Cheadle as Al-G.Al-G is a villain with no backstory and you don't need one to take an instant liking to him anyway. Above all, Al-G wants to be taken seriously which is, frankly, a ridiculous request because he's a character in "A New Legacy," a movie that works best when it leans into its silly premise. The script tries to make the most of the movie's ridiculous yet entertaining plot with hilarious one-liners like Bugs saying it "sounds awfully familiar" when the cartoon rabbit is asked to play basketball with an NBA superstar. It's just as funny watching Al-G tell the 6'9"-tall James, "I thought you'd be taller" when the two meet for the first time. <h2>Sadly, the movie fumbles the ball more than once</h2><div type="image" title="lebron james in space jam" height="2247" width="2997" msid="84445363" hostid="261"></div>Despite earnest performances by its cast (both real and cartoon), "A New Legacy" tries to cram so much into the plot yet only has a total running time of two hours.The movie, produced and distributed by Warner Bros., includes a dozen too many nods to other movies and TV shows from the studio like "Games of Thrones," "Harry Potter," "The Flintstones," and, bafflingly, "The Matrix" series. In a busy montage, each "Looney Tunes" character is given a movie-star introduction, featuring scenes recreated from various Warner Bros. movies.Unfortunately for the viewer, you are not given a moment to enjoy the references because the film has already moved on to the next scene in the sequence. It's confusing and feels like a messy vanity project for the studio.For most of "A New Legacy," the script avoids being messy by finding the right balance between being silly and being serious, but it stops being entertaining whenever it leans too far in either direction.<div type="image" title="lebron james and bugs bunny in space jam" height="1079" width="1439" msid="84445369" hostid="261"></div>A few people around me laughed at a conversation between Kamiyah and James during the climactic basketball game even though the exchange is meant to be tense.Despite some missteps, "Space Jam: A New Legacy" has the potential to keep the audience engaged and ends with a plot twist that many will see coming from a mile away. Still, viewers should stick around for it anyway - for nostalgia's sake."A New Legacy" is an entertaining one-time watch. "Space Jam: A New Legacy" is in theaters and on HBO Max July 16.

'Space Jam: A New Legacy' tries to juggle too much but LeBron James outshines Michael Jordan as a leading man

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword>'s prospective buyer will struggle to replicate the app's magic if the purchase doesn't include its recommendation <keyword id="6519448" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="algorithm">algorithm</keyword>, experts say.</li><li>AI and product experts told Business Insider that TikTok's recommendation algorithm is stronger than rivals partly because the company has access to extensive training data.</li><li>TikTok is currently thought to be wrangling over whether it can sell its recommendation algorithms to a US buyer as part of a wider deal, thanks to new Chinese rules.</li><li>"I think you can still replicate a lot of the magic of the algorithm if they were going to give you all the user data and all the video data, but you'd have to be willing to support that entire process," said Eugene Wei, a product expert who wrote a popular blog analyzing the algorithm.</li></ul>A prospective TikTok buyer may struggle to replicate the video app's magic if it buys the service without its recommendation algorithms, experts tell Business Insider.Parent company <keyword id="3749909" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bytedance">ByteDance</keyword> is currently in negotiations with bidders over the sale of TikTok's US business after President Trump in August ordered a sale or total ban. Lead bidders for the floated $20- to $30 billion deal include Microsoft, in partnership with Walmart, and Oracle.But <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktoks-us-sale-talks-hit-speed-bump-reports-2020-9">discussions have been slowed</a> by new Chinese rules restricting the export of key services, including algorithms. The upshot is that a US buyer may end up buying TikTok's US arm but only licensing the recommendation algorithm that makes the app so compelling."I personally think TikTok wouldn't be TikTok without its algorithm," said Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, a researcher at Queensland University of Technology, who has investigated TikTok.<h2>Employees call TikTok's algorithm its crown jewel</h2>TikTok has charmed around 100 million users in the US, and superficially isn't that different from YouTube. Individuals upload short videos of themselves doing anything from participating in set challenges to posting comedy skits and memes.What differentiates the app is its "For You" page, or FYP, which throws up a beguiling mix of random, highly shareable short videos. Like YouTube and apps like Netflix, this centers on a system that recommends what users should watch next. What's uncanny about TikTok is how good it is at it. Valdovinos Kaye visited ByteDance's Beijing offices in 2019, where employees called the algorithm the "crown jewel" of ByteDance's success.The algorithm was developed as a collaboration between ByteDance's AI Lab and Peking University, Valdovinos Kaye said, and is the secret sauce that powers all ByteDance's software.Initially developed for Toutiao, ByteDance's news aggregator, it is now used in every version of ByteDance's apps, including Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok."We're yet to see anyone else really successfully master recommendation to the degree they have," said Sabba Keynejad of Veed, a video editing app that has attempted to reverse engineer the algorithm.Certainly, ByteDance employs a vast engineering workforce to develop the algorithm.When Valdovinos Kaye visited the Beijing offices, he was confronted with a multi-story office packed with programmers. (TikTok was approached to participate in this story but declined an interview request. They did, however, publish<a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-tiktok-recommends-videos-for-you"> a blog post in June</a> providing a high-level explanation of the workings of its algorithm.)<h2>It's more than just the algorithm</h2><div type="image" title="tiktok microsoft" height="1000" width="1333" msid="77978284" hostid="261"></div>Keynejad added that we may be bestowing the algorithm with more influence than it has."The algorithm isn't the thing that runs everything but I think it's a perfect storm," he said. "It's product meets the right time in the market, meets these unengaged teens with this great recommendation engine, and all these themes running through the app."That's something Eugene Wei, a former product chief at companies including Flipboard and Amazon, agrees with. Wei previously delved into the magic behind TikTok's algorithms in a <a href="https://www.eugenewei.com/blog/2020/8/3/tiktok-and-the-sorting-hat">popular blog post.</a>"It has really easy-to-use video filters and editing tools combined with an algorithm that puts it in front of a lot of people quickly and gets feedback," he said. "That whole flywheel is connected at every point."He added: "A lot of people are treating the algorithm by itself as some sort of black magic."I don't think it's actually that. Most people who build recommendation engines using machine learning say it's pretty likely the techniques they use are pretty standard."Nikita Aggarwal of the Oxford Internet Institute added that the algorithm learns from the huge amounts of data that TikTok is able to draw on."It collects potentially more user data from other apps, and so is able to better profile the user and therefore recommend what videos they are more likely to enjoy," she said. She also agrees that the app's design — and its focus on full-screen immersive video — helps improve its popularity."Every click reveals a user's preference, to the extent that this gives TikTok more useful information about a user's preference and understanding that is what makes an app big," she says.The app can also test a user's interests at a scale unimaginable for other platforms such as YouTube.The short format of TikTok videos — none longer than a minute — means users can rifle through them at a far faster rate than on YouTube, where the average video can be more than 12 minutes long."It's harder to do for YouTube because they don't necessarily have an app that is putting a lot of random videos in front of a lot of people," Wei said. "People kind of self-select what they watch on YouTube, which is fine ..."TikTok's For You page serves its users hundreds of videos an hour, meaning it can occasionally try videos that it's not certain users will like with little effect."The feedback only takes a few seconds for me to register how I feel about a video, and because it's full screen, the app can assume that whatever I do reflects my opinion on that video," said Wei.That real-life data used to hone TikTok's machine learning algorithm is in turn more powerful than the training datasets other services use.<h2>A buyer will struggle to replicate the algorithm's power</h2>Even if it's a relatively standard algorithm, TikTok's has been well-trained on its near-600 million monthly active users — which could prove problematic if the algorithm isn't transferred over through a sale."I think you can still replicate a lot of the magic of the algorithm if they were going to give you all the user data and all the video data, but you'd have to be willing to support that entire process," said Wei."One of the things that comes up in this context is how you associate the values of the algorithmic system or the algorithm and the data it's trained on," added Aggarwal."If it was sold to Microsoft, Microsoft presumably could benefit from the same data, but there are the insights that ByteDance has already acquired from users it's already had or exposed the machine learning algorithm to, and that is valuable."The historical training has legacy value which clearly China recognizes."

Experts dissected TikTok's algorithm and say a US buyer will struggle to replicate its magic

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/live/us">Bloomberg TV</a></div></div></div><ul><li>One of the market's most notorious short-sellers, Citron Research's Andrew Left, is bullish on <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/snap-stock">Snap</a>. He has a price target of $17. </li><li>Left says the company could be bought within the next 12 months.</li><li>Snap shares have been battered this year, down 22%. </li><li><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/snap-stock">Watch Snap trade in real time here. </a></li></ul>The provocative short-seller, and founder of Citron Research, Andrew Left, is back at it again. Except this time he's bullish. Left, perhaps best known for his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/valeant-shares-crash-october-21-2015-10">damning October 2015 report</a> that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-short-selling-firm-is-accusing-valeant-of-being-enron-and-it-says-it-has-proof-2015-10">accused Valeant Pharmaceuticals of being a "pharmaceutical Enron,"</a> and helping bring up questions regarding the firm's accounting and relationship with the specialty pharmacy Philidor, thinks Snap is going to $17 a share, or roughly 68% above current levels."For the past 4 months, Snap Inc. has been a wonderful short as the company has suffered from a controversial redesign, a disappointing quarter, and management which held a conference call that Jim Cramer likened to an SNL skit," Left wrote in a note on Thursday. "And Snapchat's stock has the scars to show it, being down almost 50% over this period."But now he believes the company is "one stabilizing quarter from giving investors a 30% or more return -- more than you can see in any FANG stock in our opinion." He added, "You cannot ignore the size, scale, and reach of the product which has the mindshare of the most important demographic in the market."Left hangs his call on Snap's relatively fast revenue growth and cheap multiple compared to its peers. He says Snap is trading at three times its revenue, compared to Twitter's five times and Facebook's six times. "Snap is now trading at its largest-ever discount to social media peers despite generating the fastest revenue growth," he said. Plus, he mentioned Snap's market cap is smaller than Twitter's, despite having more users. "Snap currently has half the market cap of Twitter despite having more users," he said.Left expects those numbers, and advertising impressions to grow. "Ad impressions up up and away," he wrote, citing that a 70% year-over-year drop in ad prices took focus away from a 575% ad impression growth rate, a key metric. In his opinion, all of this means bad news for the shorts. Short interest has risen considerably since Snap went public in March of 2017, and the company is one of the most shorted companies in the entire US application software sector. As of Wednesday it sat at $1.29 billion, or 22.74% of the float, according to data from financial analytics firm S3 Partners. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">S3 Partners</div></div></div>"Google could easily give Snap the "grownup" it needs while also saving close to $100 million," he said. "Although we now find out that SNAP has plans for profitability in the neat 12 months, we still question if it will remain independent for that long ." Snap is down 22.11% this year. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/snap-stock"></a>Markets Insider</div></div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-survive-snake-bite-venomous-venom-attack-2018-5">How to survive a snake bite</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

The market's most feared short-seller is bullish on Snap and says it could be bought within the next year

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">GettyNetflix CEO Reed Hastings.</div></div></div>The biggest mistake that most companies make when choosing a strategy is "listening to the HIPPO, the HIghest Paid Person in the Organization," Neil Hunt, chief product officer Netflix, told attendees at the Churchill Club in Santa Clara.The Club presented Netflix with one of its prestigious annual awards on Thursday. Netflix won its Game Changer Award, for forever changing how the world watches TV and movies.Hunt was on stage to accept the award, interviewed by Foundation Capital's Paul Holland. (Holland was a Netflix venture investor who had worked for Netflix founder Reed Hastings at his previous company, Pure Software.)Hunt says the other mistake companies make is to listening to their customers because "customers are poor at knowing what they need."At Netflix, the data rules the company. In today's online, cloud computing world, where this philosophy has given rise to "data-driven" companies like Google and Facebook, such advice seems common sense.But back in 1997, when Netflix was founded as a subscriptions service that delivered DVDs through the mail, it was a radical idea.Hunt says that really committing to this idea means loads of A/B testing and a willingness to accept a high rate of failure.For instance, a major design change involved 600 A/B tests of which only "150 had a material win," meaning the other 450 bombed. This kind of testing requires painstaking commitment. It also means that changes and new product rollouts will be "very incremental, driven by customer feedback." <h2>Kicking out the breadwinners to change the company</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Business Insider</div></div></div>But a company that only changes itself in tiny incremental ways runs a different sort of risk: being put out of business altogether by a new idea that challenges the whole business.Netflix came close to the brink of that, too, in 2011, when it realized that online streaming was its future - and then bungled its move into that business so badly, it became fodder for a <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/284938">Saturday Night Live skit.</a>Netflix increased prices and spun out its DVD service into a new service called Qwikster. The change ticked off customers so badly that 800,000 of them immediately quit the service, and its stock tanked to about $42 from over $300 a few months earlier.Netflix quickly reversed the Qwikster idea.Internally, this wasn't just a huge A/B testing fail. The company still believed that internet streaming was its future and that it needed to spin-out the DVD businesses. So, internally, it stuck to its plan."We knew streaming, the internet was the disruption. Very few businesses get to survive a disruption. Usually the incumbent dies and the challenger succeeds. We didn't want to be the incumbent," Hunt says. Streaming video required a much bigger investment in technology than mailing DVDs. So it had to raise prices. And internally, Netflix still split the company apart. It selected key people to "spend all of their attention focused on streaming business," building it as if it were a startup. And "we pushed out the DVDS guys. They went into a different office," Hunt says. "Me and my team didn't want to spend any time thinking about the DVD business at all. They went off and continued to produce a nice revenue stream.""We didn't do it gracefully," he added. "It was a painful lesson, but it's how we were able to pay to attention to new customers and new revenue stream," and not just stay focused on the old business." <h2>Data plus vision = transformation</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">NetflixBen Mendelsohn stars in the Netflix Emmy winning series Bloodline.</div></div></div>By combining a data-driven focus and streaming video, Netflix was able to respond to another potential threat: the possibility that networks would stop letting it stream their shows.So the company was able to transform itself once again into an original studio.With over 80 million subscribers today, Hunt says Netflix has an "unprecedented" level of data that "helps us decide the kinds of shows/movies we should make and we can predict an audience for them with a surprising degree of certainty."One more thing Netflix has over traditional studios: It is so good at cloud computing that it has put its "studio in the cloud," Hunt says, and uses cloud computing to do everything from managing logistics (like union drivers delivering cameras to a location) to film editing (uploading the footage to be edited in another country immediately).And it seems to be working. Netflix shows have now been nominated for over 400 awards and won about 90 of them, including <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/09/19/emmy-awards-2016-hbo-fx/">a record nine Emmy awards last week.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-alien-megastructure-star-discovered-epic204278916-2016-9">Astronomers discovered a second 'alien megastructure' star that's even stranger than the first one</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="B1eG9zNTE6groKq5BMRrer_ocJMSx9Nd" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

A Netflix exec explains the simple but painful process that allows the company to thrive

'We had no idea how to do it': YouTube's founders, investors, and first employees tell the chaotic inside story of how it rose from failed dating site to $1.65 billion video behemoth

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Getty/Mario Tama</div></div></div>By now, you've probably heard of cloud computing.That's where companies rent shared software, computers, and storage instead of buying and installing it all themselves. They pay for their usage via subscriptions, accessing it over the internet.Cloud computing is all the rage right now, on track <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-q1-2016-cloud-business-2016-4">to be a $10 billion business</a> for Amazon in 2016; <a href=" There's a new thing called 'fog computing' and no, we're not joking.">Microsoft hopes it will become a $20 billion business by 2018</a>, and Google thinks <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/urs-holze-talks-google-cloud-beat-search-2015-11">it will become bigger than its internet ad business by 2020.</a>So what comes after the cloud? If you ask Cisco, it's something called "fog computing." Last month, Cisco was joined by other industry leaders including Intel, Microsoft, ARM, Dell, and Microsoft to back a new "fog computing" consortium, <a href="http://www.openfogconsortium.org/">the OpenFog initiative</a>. It sounds like something straight from a Saturday Night Live parody skit, but it's not.Later this month, the consortium <a href="http://scenic.princeton.edu/">is holding a conference at Princeton University</a>. Princeton is leading the <a href="http://fognetworks.org/">research into fog computing</a>.<h2>Why Cisco wants this</h2>So what exactly is it? To understand fog computing, you first have to understand cloud computing. In cloud computing, everyone shares the same massive data centers. You run an app on your phone in your home town, but the back-end computers may be in Virginia, or California, or Ireland, etc.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson Reuters</div></div></div>But with fog computing, computers and storage are scattered all over, perhaps placed closer to the app's users. The network is smart enough to know where the data is stored.With the network as the star, you can see why Cisco is championing this idea. It means selling a lot more high-end, very profitable network equipment to connect a lot more computers and data centers.Cisco has been largely left out of the cloud computing revolution.As its customers move to the cloud, they need to buy less networking equipment. Meanwhile, some of the biggest cloud operators, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-gives-away-sdn-software-sonic-through-open-compute-project-2016-3">like Facebook and Microsoft</a>, have invented their own, new low-cost network equipment.As for the rest of the traditional IT players (Intel, Dell, Microsoft, ARM), if "fog computing" takes off they stand to gain, too. Lots of computers scattered everywhere means selling lots of computer servers and operating systems and chips. <h2>Will it take hold?</h2>Just because it's in Cisco's self-interest to promote fog computing, doesn't mean it won't be a real thing someday.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://s780.mj.am/nl/s780/1i5u4.html?a=klStls&amp;b=1e828ed9&amp;c=s780&amp;d=0dfce163&amp;e=3fa629f9&amp;email=guillaumejarret%40gmail.com">Dronestagram/Ricardo Matiello</a></div></div></div>The name "fog" is new, but the general concept isn't. It used to be called "distributed computing." Years ago, the now defunct company called Sun Microsystems even had a slogan <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWNtaUaDxZw">"the network is the computer." </a>(Oracle bought Sun in 2010.)When you talk to anyone in the cloud computing industry today, they'll tell you that cloud is young and here to stay (and it is). Some believe it will stretch out in a linear line, growing endlessly bigger and more glorious over time.But that's not how the computer industry typically works. It's more like a spiral.The computing industry breathes in and out between centralized and distributed computing models: centralized (mainframes) turned into distributed (PCs and local computer servers, known as "client/server"), and have now become centralized again (cloud computing). So, next up would be distributed.It does this because each model solves the problem created by the last model. Centralized computing allows you to maintain control and efficiently share computers, which lowers cost. But it can create bottlenecks as all apps rush to share the same computers. And it's expensive to keep building more and bigger data centers.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Getty/Mario Tama</div></div></div>Decentralized allows you to run apps closer to the people using the apps so the apps perform better.This could becomes very important as billions of devices join the internet as part of the "Internet of Things." It can also be cheaper to shove a few computer servers in a room instead of building a big data center. But distributed computing can also create sprawl, get messy, and ultimately cost more.So fog computing could very well be the next thing.Then again, there's a rise of new technologies, like quantum computing, that could change everything and squash any tech based on the old ways to do things, including fog computing.<h2>A horrible name</h2>Whether fog thrives or dies, we can't help point out the karmic implications in the name. "Fog computing" might be a cute play on the term "cloud computing", but it also means: unclear, confusing, and fuzzy.

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