David Lidsky's Blog, page 380

TikTokers Matt and Abby Howard’s cruise ship controversy, explained

Controversy erupted after Abby said on Instagram that she and her husband were leaving their children in their room during a cruise to go to dinner elsewhere on the ship.

You don’t want to get on the wrong side of parenting TikTok. Just ask influencers Matt and Abby Howard.  

The exploding pager attack in Lebanon could signal a new, violent era of tech warfare

The attack will have a significant organizational impact within Hezbollah, a UN weapons inspector tells Fast Company.

Hundreds of pagers detonated simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday as part of what’s believed to be a coordinated attack against members of Hezbollah, killing at least nine people and wounding some 2,750 more.

DJT stock: Donald Trump’s stock falls near all-time low

Donald Trump claims he’s not selling Trump Media stock, but these investors are.

After getting a bump last week, shares of Trump Media and Technology Group (Nasdaq: DJT) are falling once again, nearing the lowest point since the parent company of Trump’s Truth Social platform went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger in March.

What’s astroturfing? The deceptive campaign strategy, explained

From moving companies to political campaigns, the practice of faking support is being called out more than ever.

Tobacco companies famously did it. Corporate giants still do it. Now, the Trump and Harris presidential campaigns have been accused of astroturfing—not rolling out synthetic grass on sports fields, but faking grassroots support.

Retail sales gain in August as consumers continue to spend

Fed policymakers could point to solid retail sales as evidence that there is no need to rush rate cuts.

Americans spent a bit more at retailers last month, providing a small boost to the economy just as the Federal Reserve considers how much to cut its key interest rate.

This will be Adobe’s biggest challenge in 2025

Bulls advise you look past Adobe’s “optically dimmed” forecast, but it certainly raises the bar for next year.

This story originally appeared in The Technology Letter and is republished here with permission.

5 LinkedIn tools to make power networking easier

Use these potent LinkedIn add-ons to save time, increase visibility, and grow your network.

Love it or hate it, LinkedIn has become an essential platform for networking, job hunting, and building your personal brand.

Michael Keaton is one of many famous actors who changed his name for professional reasons. Why does that SAG rule exist?

Long before the idea of being a ‘personal brand’ entered the mainstream, professional actors have relied on name recognition to build their careers.

People assign labels to other humans to help organize and personalize everyday life. Recent studies even show that we are not the only species on this planet to do so. Marmoset monkeys, bottlenose dolphins, and African elephants act in a similar manner. Things get hairy, though, when names are similar.

Here’s what a Fed rate cut this week could mean for your wallet

If the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates this week, this is how it could affect mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and more.

The Federal Reserve hasn’t lowered interest rates in four years, raising the federal funds rate 11 times since 2022. Now, much to the relief of Wall Street and many consumers, we appear to be on the verge of a cut. 

Musk’s post about lack of assassination attempts on Biden and Harris on Secret Service radar

Elon Musk later deleted the post on his platform, X, after criticism from users on the left and right of the political spectrum.

The U.S. Secret Service said on Monday it was aware of a post by billionaire Elon Musk‘s on the X social media platform musing about a lack of assassination attempts on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.